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FYI: I guess you are not very familiar with the price points on the North Shore. With his budget he's definitely not going to get into one of the top North Shore districts. And where he can afford on the North Shore has a couple of stinkers in its midst too ... much worse than any of the south shore towns he mentioned being interested in.
As he wants the south shore of mid to east Nassau anyway, the only school districts in that stretch I would not recommend are Baldwin and Freeport.
I agree completely. I cant afford the North shore, so to me it looked like the Merrick/Bellmore schools on that list were favorable.
I have no aversion to looking North Bellmore/Wantagh areas either. They are closer to the So. State, so that would be better for my wife anyway.
Does everyone agree with avoiding the south of Merrick Rd houses? I have no experience or facts to back up my claims, it just doesnt seem very "neighborhoody" to me.
I just re-read your post and 400-475 does price you out of the North Shore. W/ taxes and your wife's commute to Brooklyn, then its not really financially feasible.
I am not familiar w/ Merrick that much (my husband is though, he is an expert about all sectors of Bellmore and Merrick due to his P/T job) but I was told that most of the homes south of Merrick Road in Merrick and Bellmore are "big money"..I have driven around there and they are really nice. I dont get any anti neighborhood vibes at all, there are many stops on Merrick Road and its a pretty commercial strip..I wouldnt mind living in either town, honestly. I am not turned off by the fact that Merrick is closer to Freeport/Roosevelt - sounds to me like a rather racist type mentality, lol!
Where in Bklyn does your wife commute? The SSP is just a nightmare in the mornings. I used to drive from BH all the way to Court Street downtown and cursed the entire Belt Parkway. Its a good 1-2 hour drive from south shore Nassau.
Ideally, I would look at Oceanside and Rockville Centre if I were you, but I am not sure that 400-475K gets you very far there..When you say $ 400-475K as your home price range, are you accounting for property/village/school taxes?
Does everyone agree with avoiding the south of Merrick Rd houses? I have no experience or facts to back up my claims, it just doesnt seem very "neighborhoody" to me.
I could be wrong.
if you're a member of the tribe, you'll fit right in. If not, you really want to look elsewhere.
I agree completely. I cant afford the North shore, so to me it looked like the Merrick/Bellmore schools on that list were favorable.
I have no aversion to looking North Bellmore/Wantagh areas either. They are closer to the So. State, so that would be better for my wife anyway.
Does everyone agree with avoiding the south of Merrick Rd houses? I have no experience or facts to back up my claims, it just doesnt seem very "neighborhoody" to me.
I could be wrong.
Those school districts are fine. I was pointing out personal preference for the record. I don't honestly know much about the area south of Merrick Rd other than the need for expensive, useless insurance. My take on it was that, at least in Merrick and Bellmore, it was more pricy and affluent closer to the water. I could be wrong. You can definitely find something within your range in any of Seaford, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa/Massapequa Park. Just pay attention to the school district you are zoned for, particularly in Mass/Mass Park. You would want to avoid Amityville SD, and listings in that area are notorious for misrepresenting the district they sit in. Good luck.
You might wish to consider expanding your search slightly north. Anywhere from Merrick to Massapequa you can't go wrong, personally I would cross Merrick and Bellmore off your list and keep it to Seaford, Wantagh and Massapequa/Massapequa Park (avoid East Massapequa). Depending on where you are, south of Merrick Road and (I think) Sunrise Highway, you will require flood insurance, and that incredible waste of money can add significant $ to your monthly nut.
Spot on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LegalDiva
Then he should look at the North shore then because thats where most of the really good schools are...
By the way, school districts can be ranked: (the #'s are country rankings).
#53 - Rockville Centre
#151 - Garden City
#216 - Herricks (NHP)
#299 - Valley Stream South
#383/#431/#667 - Bellmore Merrick s.d.
#405 - Floral Park Memorial (Sewanahaka School District)
#424 - Valley Stream North
#543 - Oceanside
#586 - Lynbrook
#6583 - New Hyde Park Memorial (Sewanahaka School District)
#742 - Valley Stream Central
#812 - Carle Place
#830 - McArthur (Levittown)
#837 - Baldwin
#936 - Clarke (Westbury)
#1112 - WAlt Whitman (huntington)
#1330 - Plainedge (N. Massapequa)
#1410 - Division (Levittown)
These are from Newsweek magazine 2010
Did you look closer at that list to realize it doesn't even include every school in the country, let alone Long Island. Where's Massapequa SD and Wantagh SD on the list?? (Fyi- Plainedge is not Massapequa SD, and they are way higher than 1330 if you use real metrics for measuring SD quality). Newsweek's list is based on one parameter and one only. Not saying it doesn't have any value, but if you go by this then you're using an incomplete and worthless list. Rockville Centre ranked higher than Garden City should've tipped you off to that . Also I agree with I_Love, Baldwin schools are a disaster at the High School level.
That's the closest matching list to reality of Long Island school district ranks. The bottom being the best on that link of course...even though it's one metric, if you look at everything else it falls in line for the most part.
I just re-read your post and 400-475 does price you out of the North Shore. W/ taxes and your wife's commute to Brooklyn, then its not really financially feasible.
I am not familiar w/ Merrick that much (my husband is though, he is an expert about all sectors of Bellmore and Merrick due to his P/T job) but I was told that most of the homes south of Merrick Road in Merrick and Bellmore are "big money"..I have driven around there and they are really nice. I dont get any anti neighborhood vibes at all, there are many stops on Merrick Road and its a pretty commercial strip..I wouldnt mind living in either town, honestly. I am not turned off by the fact that Merrick is closer to Freeport/Roosevelt - sounds to me like a rather racist type mentality, lol!
Where in Bklyn does your wife commute? The SSP is just a nightmare in the mornings. I used to drive from BH all the way to Court Street downtown and cursed the entire Belt Parkway. Its a good 1-2 hour drive from south shore Nassau.
Ideally, I would look at Oceanside and Rockville Centre if I were you, but I am not sure that 400-475K gets you very far there..When you say $ 400-475K as your home price range, are you accounting for property/village/school taxes?
My wife works in Sheepshead bay, so she needs to either take the belt in the morning, or go through Rockaway and come back around through Flatbush Ave. Both ways are awful commutes.
I was only allotting that price for the house, and not counting taxes. The houses we have been seeing in that ranger are around 10-15K in taxes which I have included in my budget.
My issue with Oceanside/East Rockaway is that it seems too congested. To me, the furthest west I could afford with decent sized lots, and good schools, seemed to be Merrick, that's where my initial search began.
Did you look closer at that list to realize it doesn't even include every school in the country, let alone Long Island. Where's Massapequa SD and Wantagh SD on the list?? It's based on one parameter and one only. Not saying it doesn't have any value, but if you go by this then you're using an incomplete and worthless list. Rockville Centre ranked higher than Garden City should've tipped you off to that . Also I agree with I_Love, Baldwin schools are a disaster at the High School level.
Actually, what criteria is that based on? I didn't even notice Jericho being omitted from that list. I thought they were one of the top ones.
I didn't move from Brooklyn to end up sending my kids to an equivalent school while paying 5 x the taxes.
Actually, what criteria is that based on? I didn't even notice Jericho being omitted from that list. I thought they were one of the top ones.
I didn't move from Brooklyn to end up sending my kids to an equivalent school while paying 5 x the taxes.
It's just based on "how hard they challenge students / AP courses". It's a little absurd really for anyone to use that as a guide. It does have some value, but the reason you don't see every school on there is I believe it's voluntary and hand-picked. You have to push Newsweek to include your school otherwise they won't be on it. Regardless, it's pretty much worthless.
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. Also I agree with I_Love, Baldwin schools are a disaster at the High School level.
