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Hi everyone, I'm new to the C-D forums and need some advice on where to start our home search.
My husband and I are thinking about moving to Nassau county, to somewhere close by a LIRR station so we can have an hour-ish commute to Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn. We don't have kids yet, but plan on it in the very near future, so a good SD is also important to us. Our budget is $450k for a single family house, 2 or 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a yard and walkable to the train station and "Main Street". I'd also like to stay north of Sunrise Highway in case of future floods and preferably in an area with taxes at/below 10k.
It's a pretty demanding list, but I hope it's doable. Any recommendations on neighborhoods and school districts will be much appreciated!
Thanks NSHKL10. I will take a look at Valley Stream first since it looks to be a closer commute.
One thing I forgot to ask was whether these communities have a lot of working mothers- I have a feeling it would be difficult to live in a neighborhood where the majority of moms are stay-at-home, just because there might be a lack of daycare facilities, etc. that I would need.
Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Lindenhurst.
Check out the LIRR timetables and see what commutes are doable for you.
In general, my advice would be to not focus on moving to the area with the walkable downtown. If you get one, that's great, but don't let that be a deciding factor.
I've been using google maps to plot out commutes to our offices- it's surprising how far out I can go and still keep the commute to an hour or a little over. Of course that's assuming we'd be living right by the train station... generally, would you say the areas by train stations are not the best to live in?
How many streets away from the train tracks do you think I should keep my house search to in order to avoid the worst of the noise? Do the LIRR trains use their horns a lot? I used to take the train from Little Neck and the express trains would be blaring as they blow past the station- never understood how the people living by the tracks got used to it.
You want to live at least a quarter mile from the tracks. And in order to have a door to door commute of 1 hour I found that the max train ride was 40 minutes.
Hi there, we live in the Gibson section of Valley Stream, about three blocks from the train tracks (Gibson station). It takes me literally 3 or 4 minutes to go from my front door to the platform, which we love. From the train, its a 40 min ride to Atlantic. Peak express train is a 35 minute ride from Penn. Regarding the noise, we hardly hear it. Only at night when everything is quiet would we hear a low rumble or the horn. That is a non-factor for us. Schools are great (Hewlett Woodmere SD 14). I really don't know about childcare though...as we have a nanny who comes over while we go to work. But I'm sure with some research, you'll be able to find something within the area. Homes in our area goes for mid 300K for something unrenovated to mid $400K for something renovated. If you buy something in SD14, your taxes will be in the $12K-$13K range. If you buy something in the neighboring Valley Stream school districts, your taxes will be lower (around $9K to $10K).
What an exciting time for you and your husband. Good luck with your home search!
I currently live on the 4th floor of a building above a subway station- I'm used to the rumbling and brakes screeching now, so I think as long as the LIRR trains aren't blowing horns all the time, I should be able to deal with it.
Is the difference in taxes due to better schools? Sorry for all of the newbie questions! It is a really exciting time, but also nerve-wracking at the amount of knowledge I need to make an informed decision.
I've been using google maps to plot out commutes to our offices- it's surprising how far out I can go and still keep the commute to an hour or a little over. Of course that's assuming we'd be living right by the train station... generally, would you say the areas by train stations are not the best to live in?
How many streets away from the train tracks do you think I should keep my house search to in order to avoid the worst of the noise? Do the LIRR trains use their horns a lot? I used to take the train from Little Neck and the express trains would be blaring as they blow past the station- never understood how the people living by the tracks got used to it.
Thanks for the responses!
They don't use their horns a lot, no. The LIRR Babylon Branch is elevated (and electrified) which drastically reduces noise. Beyond 2+ blocks, it is nothing more than slight background noise. You won't even know it's there after a while.
I think most of the towns that best fit your criteria were suggested in this thread.
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