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Our family is planning a move from Suffolk to Nassau to be closer to work and family and Levittown seems like it has all that we need: decent schools with good programming for those with special needs, safe place to raise a family, etc. We do have one question. We have read the threads re: MacarthurvsDivision, but otherwise, we really know very little about the various sections of Levittown, North Wantagh, etc. Is all of Levittown a pretty safe bet? Or are there certain areas/neighborhoods within the Levittown school district that are more desired than others? Any streets, etc you would recommend in particular? Thanks!
I think Levittown is pretty solid. Keep in mind most of the houses do not have basements. I don't know if that's important or not to you but just letting you know. I hope you find what you are looking for. The single most important thing to remember is that success in any school in any district depends on having a good support system from the parents.
See I'm not as mean as everyone makes me out to be.
I agree with you 100 percent re: school districts and the need for parent involvement in their child's education. We are very involved, but our current district is tiny and does not have the programmming, so parent involvement or not, the programming just isn't there (different class types, etc), and we hear Levittown schools are great for that. We are just still researching the community and didn't know if there were any areas to be avoided, etc or sections that aare extra nice that we should look toward. Thanks.
Also, I know that Levitt houses are on slabs, but do they have attics? Thanks!
Levittown is a nice town I live here currently and I love it. There are certainly nicer areas on LI but for the price of the homes I think it's a great town. BTW if you want a basement check out the Island Trees SD area, that's where I live and I have a basement, as do most of my neighbors Only downside imo is that the Island Trees library isn't as nice as the Levittown SD library is. I go to the library often so I usually take the slightly further drive to go to the Levittown one instead but it's not even a big deal, especially if you don't use the libraries very often or have kids.
You can definitely find a decent home in the 300-350k range over here and it's still a safe area with a decent SD, the only thing is the houses may not be as big or nice as ones you may find in the really nice areas on the North Shore.
OH and I don't have an attic, but I'm not sure about the other houses in my area. I do know they have basements though
Levittown is funny as there is a playful rivalry between North and South of Hempstead Turnpike. The sterotype is the northsiders are a little more rough and tumble bordering on Hicksville and the southsiders are the snooty upper crusties bordering on Wantagh [note: Walter, spare me the maps, please, it's just anecdotal]. In reality, it's all exactly the same. Very few original Levitts left, mostly all have had extensions or renovations of varying sorts. I feel it is a diamond in the rough for starter priced homes on LI. Nice combination of neighbors who watch out for each other and at the same mind their own business. Most families have young kids and are busting their butts to provide. Life revolves around work, school and endless kids activities, leagues, parties, etc. Typical suburbia. Downsides are high taxes due to zero industrial base and economic downturn on Hempstead Turnpike, distance from LIRR and the "no basement" thing. Island Trees taxes are slightly lower. We are snooty south siders near MacArthur/Salk/Gardiners schools and like it alot. While I can't stand Long Island in general (the whole suburbia thing, layers of govt hacks, oppressive taxes, nimby morons, etc), I do really like my neighborhood. Good luck whatever you do.
Levittown is funny as there is a playful rivalry between North and South of Hempstead Turnpike. The sterotype is the northsiders are a little more rough and tumble bordering on Hicksville and the southsiders are the snooty upper crusties bordering on Wantagh [note: Walter, spare me the maps, please, it's just anecdotal]. In reality, it's all exactly the same. Very few original Levitts left, mostly all have had extensions or renovations of varying sorts. I feel it is a diamond in the rough for starter priced homes on LI. Nice combination of neighbors who watch out for each other and at the same mind their own business. Most families have young kids and are busting their butts to provide. Life revolves around work, school and endless kids activities, leagues, parties, etc. Typical suburbia. Downsides are high taxes due to zero industrial base and economic downturn on Hempstead Turnpike, distance from LIRR and the "no basement" thing. Island Trees taxes are slightly lower. We are snooty south siders near MacArthur/Salk/Gardiners schools and like it alot. While I can't stand Long Island in general (the whole suburbia thing, layers of govt hacks, oppressive taxes, nimby morons, etc), I do really like my neighborhood. Good luck whatever you do.
With respect to the HS: which is preferable? A home zoned for MacArthur or one zoned for Division?
With respect to the HS: which is preferable? A home zoned for MacArthur or one zoned for Division?
MacArthur is ranked a little higher and is perceived to be a little better probably because it competes more with Wantagh, Seaford, Plainedge schools while Division is closer to Hicksville and East Meadow and is so close to Hemp Tpke. In reality I don't think it matters much. MacArthur covers the "North Wantagh" kids zoned for Levittown and also the lauded (tongue in cheek) "S" section of Levittown. Values have gone down the same in all of Levittown so it's hard to say how much it matters. I do think having all 3 good schools (MacArthur, Salk and Gardiners) in walking distance is good for my home's value in the long run.
MacArthur is generally considered to be the superior academic school overall, but Division had been getting better every year around the time I graduated from MacArthur ('02). Division also seems to do well with the Intel science competition, and I think their arts program was pretty solid - so my impression was that there were some more opportunities for real go-getter type students at Division, but that it was also easier fall in with a "wrong crowd" at Division.
I don't know if OP is looking exclusively at areas of Levittown within the LUFSD, but there are also homes with basements in the Levittown school district in the Forest City area of Wantagh, the area of North Wantagh west of Willowood Drive (I think that's the cutoff), the area between Seaman Neck Road, Jerusalem Avenue, Hicksville Road and the Southern State which we all referred to as Seaford, and I knew someone on Charles Lane who had a basement. These areas all go to Salk-MacArthur.
The only other difference between the different neighborhoods would be elementary school - I don't know if there's a sizable difference between any of them to be honest. I know Lee Road gets called the "country club" because of the small class sizes - I think when I went into middle school the class from Lee Road was about 39 students, compared to about 100 at my elementary school.
MacArthur is generally considered to be the superior academic school overall, but Division had been getting better every year around the time I graduated from MacArthur ('02). Division also seems to do well with the Intel science competition, and I think their arts program was pretty solid - so my impression was that there were some more opportunities for real go-getter type students at Division, but that it was also easier fall in with a "wrong crowd" at Division.
I don't know if OP is looking exclusively at areas of Levittown within the LUFSD, but there are also homes with basements in the Levittown school district in the Forest City area of Wantagh, the area of North Wantagh west of Willowood Drive (I think that's the cutoff), the area between Seaman Neck Road, Jerusalem Avenue, Hicksville Road and the Southern State which we all referred to as Seaford, and I knew someone on Charles Lane who had a basement. These areas all go to Salk-MacArthur.
The only other difference between the different neighborhoods would be elementary school - I don't know if there's a sizable difference between any of them to be honest. I know Lee Road gets called the "country club" because of the small class sizes - I think when I went into middle school the class from Lee Road was about 39 students, compared to about 100 at my elementary school.
My niece attended MacArthur; her family is east of 135 & north of Jerusalem with a Seaford zip code. Most of the SSP/135/Jerusalem/west of 107 attends MacArthur, except for about 1 block west of 107. Almost all of that is Plainedge.
If I were going to move into the area for Levittown schools, I would choose to live in that pocket. The homes I have been in there have basements.
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The single most important thing to remember is that success in any school in any district depends on having a good support system from the parents.
