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I dont think you can expect a person not from LI to understand this statement. Directly answer the poster's question if you really want to help. Talking about 15 years from now is not enough for some people to make a decision. OP has many concrete questions that deserve an answer regarding what the town is currently like, not 15 years from now.
I think you underestimate OP.
My response is simple and clear.
Sorry if it troubles you
C
Last edited by Keeper; 03-19-2008 at 02:00 PM..
Reason: poster named changed
wow..... I almost forgot the warm and fuzzy vibes conveyed on this supportive website
Dix hills is neither fantastic, nor wretched......
The good:
the area is comfy, flat out. You can drive anywhere quickly, the schools are very good, and the neighborhood is 'keep the purse in the car on your driveway with the doors unlocked' safe.
The bad:
taxes, and you may re-think wanting such a huge yard, unless you get the gardener to do EVERYTHING, not only the lawn.
the ugly:
I grew up there, and mom has lived there for almost 35 years. The earlier comment is true, though, that many of my classmates were pretentious snotballs.... I stayed in a corner with the only 'normal kids' (who, like lemurs, are a very endangered species in Da' hills).
If I had a budget similar to yours? I'd search in lloyd harbor.... pretty, upscale, quiet, near huntington (so there's stuff to do, and it's an hour commute), and the personalities are a tad lower-key.
I have lived in Dix Hills for 9 years and am raising 2 small children there, so I can give you some perspective. I also debated moving to the likes of Old Westbury and opted to stay here for a number of reasons.
The Pros - the neighborhood is beautiful, quiet, and safe. Overall, people take immaculate care of their property. The houses are for the most part large and you will have more than enough space indoors and outdoors. The schools are outstanding - my daughter is reading chapter books in Kindergarten. Also, the schools provide diversity because they include most of Wheatley Heights and part of Deer Park, and there are also non-white families in Dix Hills - I think that is a good thing. The district ensures that each school has a balance of diversity, rather than having all of the Wheatley Heights kids going to one school, for example. I would say 75% white, the remainder Asian, Indian, and black. Discipline is great with zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior.
The Cons - there is a stark difference in wealth between the Dix Hills people and the other towns in the district and this can be strange. For example, last summer my daughter had two birthday parties on the same weekend. The first party, in Dix Hills, included swimming and playing tennis in the child's backyard, and each child received an American Girl doll as a favor. The father was showing me his new Porsche. The next day, we went to a classmate's party in southern Wheatley Heights. The house was a shack, the neighborhood was a ghetto, and my daughter was afraid to get out of the car. The father showed me his blackened toenail that was about to fall off because he dropped a toilet on it at work. No exaggeration. Now, to the people of Dix Hills - this is a major con. While there are a select few families we met who are nice and down to earth, the vast majority are arrogant and showy. When I moved in 9 years ago, I tried maintaining my own lawn (by the way, forget that unless you have hours upon hours to spend). Within an hour, my next door neighbor rand the bell, not to welcome me to the neighborhood, but to tell me that around here they prefer the landscaping to be done professionally. That was my first introduction to these people, and it is just the way it is. And that goes for the women AND the men. The women look like clones, with the straight hair, thin as rails, perpetually tan, and "the bag" on their shoulder, covered in jewels to go to the supermarket. The men are no better. Also, there is no town to speak of. The plus is that it keeps the neighborhood residential, but you have to leave DH limits to buy milk.
The arrogance of the people prompted me to look elsewhere. But, to be honest, I found the same crap elsewhere. To get the same house in Old Westbury, I would need to spend double and pay around $3 million. I would have done it, and came close to closing on a place, but the next door neighbor walked the 2 acres to basically interview me during the engineer inspection and proceeded to lay out the "rules of the block."
Also, re: the person who said to stay out of the middle of the island and then responded back that Wyandanch, Wheatley Heights etc are nice this time of year - it is absurd to think that Dix Hills is the next Hempstead or Wyandanch. That is just ridiculous. With property taxes what they are and the school district what it is, that is not something I would be concerned about in our lifetime.
All in all, I think your children would be privileged to live here, but you need to expect to fight an uphill battle with most of these people. They function in very tight cliques and are obsessed with all that is material. The only saving grace is that once your kids are in school (which by the way is the one unifier in the community), the parents will let down their guard and perhaps display some basic human characteristics if their children become friends with yours. I just don't know whether that is a dIx Hills problem in isolation, however, or whether it is like that in all of the wealthier neighborhoods.
Good luck.
Clamboy is generalizing I think about the middle of the island. There are definite exceptions and Dix Hills is one of them. There is no way that Dix Hills will go ghetto.
It is changing, but more like Manhasset Hills did years ago; large influx of wealthy Indians, Middle Easterners, new immigrants, Jews, and well paid African-Americans. As far as the Half Hollow Hills school district is concerned it is now 73% white (significant Jewish population) about 11% black another 10% Asian and the remaining 6% Hispanic. It will become increasingly diverse and is likely to become another Herricks; diverse, wealthy and a reputation for excellence in academics.
As far as class goes the people are in general part of the insecure middle class or upper middle class, but aspiring to be recognized as upper middle or even upper class - they are nouveau riche. Hence the conspicuous display of wealth and obsession with showing off - as in the birthday party mentioned by the other post. More a sign of class insecurity than anything else. The snobby attitude is also a reflection of their insecurity.
Meanwhile the real upper class likes to live unnoticed in places like Old Westbury, Lloyd Neck or Brookville. Tucked away safely from the pretenders. They also need acreage for equestrian training.
The upper middles often choose classy towns such as Garden City, Cold Spring Harbor and East Williston and do loath such vapid locales such as Dix Hills that don't even have a village center. Are there any imported wine merchants in Dix Hills? any antique stores? any book stores? is there anything there?
Having grown up in the Dix Hills area I can tell you a bit about it. I love the area, but there is a bit of "snobbery" there. To all of you LI'ers who answered this, don't tell me you don't think there is snobbery in Brookville or Old Westbury, too. These areas are all affluent, but there does tend to be a bit of elitism from people who live there.
Luckily, I was raised by a mother who taught us great values and did not lead us to believe we were better than others because we had horses, large property, a swimming pool, etc...
I agree with those who posted about your own parenting being the driving force behind how your children will be turn out.
Good luck on your move. You are smart to consider all the options. Schools on Long Island tend to be better than in other places in the state due to the higher property taxes (that is how the per-pupil-expenditure is determined).
The women look like clones, with the straight hair, thin as rails, perpetually tan, and "the bag" on their shoulder, covered in jewels to go to the supermarket.
Yay! I will fit right in!! Except I won't be going to the supermarket covered in jewels- Peapod delivers my groceries.
Re: class - I'm sure there are middle class people there (mainly people who bought in years ago when prices were reasonable), I'm sure there are a lot of upper middle class, but, make no mistake, there is a lot of multimillionaire wealth as well (newer buyers perhaps but also people who have been there for a while and have chosen not to move for one reason or another). The latter group is probably the least arrogant as they have nothing to prove, while the middle and upper middle inhabitants are trying to keep up. The bottom line to the original question is that you will not be the richest person in town if you choose Dix Hills over some of the other places mentioned, so don't let that deter you.
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Dix Hills
