Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The commute time thing really depends where you live. I'm in Cold Spring Hills, and it's 5-10 minutes from the N. State, 5-10 minutes to the banks of CSH, and about a 5 minute drive to CSH LIRR (an hour or less). This is perfect for my wife and me. Years ago, we lived on Lloyd Neck, which was beautiful, but a bit of a hassle to commute to Manhattan from daily. To each is own.
The commute time thing really depends where you live. I'm in Cold Spring Hills, and it's 5-10 minutes from the N. State, 5-10 minutes to the banks of CSH, and about a 5 minute drive to CSH LIRR (an hour or less). This is perfect for my wife and me. Years ago, we lived on Lloyd Neck, which was beautiful, but a bit of a hassle to commute to Manhattan from daily. To each is own.
I totally agree with you, regarding convienance it depends on where you live and where you work. Generally however, the North Shore tends to have more communities much further from the main roads. This is especially true in Nassau where 3 major limited access roads; the Meadowbrook, Wantagh and the Seaford-Oyster Bay, provide service to the South Shore and Mid-Island areas but not the North Shore.
So the South Shore and Mid Island are more convienant but that convienance comes with a heavy price. The South Shore and Mid-Island tend to be way overbuilt, which is the main reason I voted for the North Shore.
The North Shore also has more of the surviving old historic Long Island look as well as more woods and hills. However, the South Shore does have the better beaches and boating.
On the second link, check out the map near the bottom. I am glad this parkway was never built but it would have been nice to have two more state parks at Lattingtown and Eatons Neck.
I think the North Shore is a lot nicer place to live. However, I think a fairer evaluation is to compare the SS versus the NS with a specific dollar amount. For example, a $450k house on the North Shore or a $450k house on the South Shore? I visited listings on the North Shore that were in my price range and...well...yuck!!! I'll live better on the South Shore on my housing budget.
While I find the north shore beautiful, I like prefer the south shore more. Better beaches and boating, the people are more laid backand less snooty. I'm in Merrick and :gasp: we happen to have trees here! My neighborhood is loaded with trees.
North Shore selling points: more spread out (good for people who want more elbow room), less cookie-cutter houses (although this can vary by town), generally less strip malls, many areas feel quaint, more trees, more interesting topography, very pretty aesthetics overall
South Shore selling points: better beaches, more commercial, generally more affordable, upbeat happy atmosphere
North Shore is home to most of the top performing school districts, but school district varies by town more than anything (e.g. RVC schools are better than Glen Cove Schools). Overall I think I'd chose the South Shore because to me it has a more down-to-earth feel and is less snooty. Of course not everyone is snooty on the North Shore but overall the feel and most people I've met tend to be more snooty. Also the North Shore feels more isolated and most areas are not conveniently located to the four main turnpikes/parkways which is a turn off for me.
some seriously snotty people here but also a lot of really fun cooky ones, it must be something in the water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCNNY
North Shore selling points: more spread out (good for people who want more elbow room), less cookie-cutter houses (although this can vary by town), generally less strip malls, many areas feel quaint, more trees, more interesting topography, very pretty aesthetics overall
South Shore selling points: better beaches, more commercial, generally more affordable, upbeat happy atmosphere
North Shore is home to most of the top performing school districts, but school district varies by town more than anything (e.g. RVC schools are better than Glen Cove Schools). Overall I think I'd chose the South Shore because to me it has a more down-to-earth feel and is less snooty. Of course not everyone is snooty on the North Shore but overall the feel and most people I've met tend to be more snooty. Also the North Shore feels more isolated and most areas are not conveniently located to the four main turnpikes/parkways which is a turn off for me.
Schools: North Shore (The bulk of the best performing districts are on the North Shore)
Commute: South Shore (since it's more convenient to the island's 4 main roadways)
Convenience: South Shore (since it's less spread apart)
Beaches: South Shore (no competition)
QOL: North Shore (more affluence=better QOL but not more happiness)
The people: South Shore (I wanted to leave this blank since everybody has their own personality but since people on the South Shore are for more likely to be exposed to income and ethnic diversity, they may be more aware of other people's stories and less sheltered. Less materialisticness).
Cost/Value: South Shore (well, you definitely get more for your money on the South Shore, generally speaking)
Atmosphere: North Shore (much of the North Shore has a very quaint and New England type atmosphere, though there are a number of places on the South Shore with this vibe)
Dining/Shopping: South Shore (the South Shore has more Shopping Malls and overall much more commercial activity)
I consider the dividing line to be the I-495 but west of the Meadowbrook Pkwy, I would say the dividing line turns into Rt. 25. That's of course, if there is no mid-island category.
I like the post +1 but the cost/value is a town to town thing and I think there is a slightly better value on the north shore with towns like Selden, Sound Beach, Rocky Point, East Setauket, 'North' coram. South has more malls but the North has a much better outlet and then the Smithhaven mall. The people is probably a town to town thing. When my wife and I go to stores, restaurants,etc...we can get a major difference from one town to the next town over. My wifes favorite is that she finds alot of businesses in Miller Place have stuck up shoppers and sometimes lesser customer service but when she goes to PJS or in the other direction Rocky Point which is right after MP, you seem to get friendly customers and better service as a whole. The only other thing is food. Sorry but the north shore hands down trumps the south shore in this category.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
