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Just bc a school is a good school doesnt necessarily mean the kids are a good influence.
Perfect example is Mepham. Ranked highly and yet they were hazing and sodomizing their own classmates.
3-4 criminal kids in one incident in one year, however, do not represent a school of hundreds (or thousands of alumni). There are bad kids in excellent schools too. I think what is most important are the school statistics and programs year after year, not 3 kids in the history of a school who did one very bad thing..
Yea im sure there are kids that suck anywhere but you pretty much want your kids with other kids that have good families with good values and such was just asking is the determinatiom between great and good just test scores? Also thanks for the link for best highschools. I always see highschool lists but never really see anything about elementary schools? To us elemantary schools are extremely important because that is when kids are probably the most impressionable
I agree with elementary schools being very important. That is where kids learn values, morals, and work ethic. As a high school teacher, I receive kids that are already set in their ways from their elementary school.
newly married and now the house searching is starting casually. just looking on redfin at houses all the time and driving around neighborhoods to get a feel for each of them. let me start by listing wants and then list the towns we have spent some time driving around and thoughts on them and questions (maybe you can also tell me if our impressions are on or way off):
needs:
1) great community, tight knit type, neighborly, nice block etc
2) good schools ( don't have kids yet but hope to have a nice family one day)
3) 60x100 lot or greater because i really want to have an inground pool eventually and space to entertain (not a fan of the cookie cutter 40x100 spaces or 50x100)....i think 60x100 may be workable but would prefer bigger
4) thinking property taxes 15k or less.....preferably less
5) don't know how much we are approved for yet (gonna meet with mortgage broker shortly and hash out numbers) but we are hoping to spend between 400k-600k tops but prob can afford up to 700k but really would not like to stretch that much.
6) 3b+ preferably a 4 BR
7) 1.25+ baths
8) wife would like to be as close to an hour door to door commute to midtown as possible and preferably way under. I work in queens and drive to work so i don't mind driving from anywhere really.
wants:
1) nice village like what pequa and rvc have
2) basement
3) a house that is move in ready ( most houses seem like they have a kitchen or bathroom that could use updating but as long as it doesn't look like a disaster and is workable till we want to renovate that is fine by us.)
4) big kitchen
5) open layout
6) would love a cul de sac or dead end street but definately do not want to be on a main drag type street if possible.
okk and now for our exploration and thoughts so far.
1) my choice in best place to live would be massapequa and my wife likes it also the problem is she works in city in midtown so prob door to door commute may be an hour and half to two hours each way. not ideal unfortunately because i love everything about pequa. like the village, seems like a town that has a pretty good like tight knit community feel.
2) rvc would be her first choice of places to live because the commute to midtown may be around an hour each way and it is a nice town and she has friends that live there but in looking around the taxes seem really high for anything with a bigger property anyways.
3) wantagh- we drove around the woods section which is really beautiful and we both loved, seems the taxes in that area are the same as rvc.
drove around the twin lakes section also and really liked that and seems like taxes are lower there.
how is wantagh as a town? does it have that community feel like rvc and pequa? also what sections are the most desirable and least? does it have a village area? or just the strip mall type places on merrick road and sunrise?
4) merrick- driving around south it looks nice and other parts. drove around some parts of merrick woods which looked like a nice community but drove in one circular area and didn't like the style of homes not sure what they are like ranches i guess? with wood shingle type siding? then we drove by the movie theater area by train and that looked a little run down and sketchy.
5) bellmore- really liked driving around south of sunrise homes are beautiful although not a fan of the roman columns on a house but like all the cul de sacs. north bellmore seemed pretty nice also although the more north you get then it seems to get sketchier. what is bellmore community like? i believe bellmore SD is good but n. bellmore is not as good?
6) mineola- just drove around there for a tiny bit tonite to drive past two houses with large properties which seems very rare there but seemed decent on the two blocks we drove on. anyone have an opinion on mineola?
last question for tonight anyways im sure ill have a million more as people respond. I really like that as a resident of pequa you get access to your own private beach in tobay beach. do any of the other towns have access to that beach or have there own residents only beach? if so where? if not what beach would those towns go to? not a huge fan of jones beach actually haven't been in probably 15 years as i am a long beach kinda guy myself.
ok thanks for any input, advice, suggestions etc. and any other towns that i am not thinking of that may fit the bill would be appreciative. williston park seems nice also but don't think there are any houses with decent sized property.
Congratulations on your new union!!! May you have a blessed marriage full of joy and good health!!!
Buying your first house can be nerve racking, exciting, fun and frustrating all at once. My only advice is to not jump at the first house you like. Look around and make sure it's the best house for you. It's a huge decision and not one to be taken lightly. No matter what, I'm sure with a lot of research, going to open houses and coming to a decision that you both agree on, you will find a house that you will love for years and years to come. All you have to do is Bolieve.
Thank you Bo Li. Yea not gnna jump in thats why we are trying to zero in on communities we like. Where do you live? Any insight into amy of the towns on south shore like wantagh, merrick and bellmore, oceanside? Thanks!
Thank you Bo Li. Yea not gnna jump in thats why we are trying to zero in on communities we like. Where do you live? Any insight into amy of the towns on south shore like wantagh, merrick and bellmore, oceanside? Thanks!
I live out east now but lived in Levittown for many years. Of those choices I prefer Wantagh, but everyone has different criteria. You will most likely not find a house that has everything you want. The key is to find one that has as much of what you want. Prioritize what is most important. Generally good areas and good schools come hand in hand, so once you decide what towns have schools you'd be happy with than narrow it down more to commute, shopping areas, etc... If you do this it'll make your decision less stressful. All you have to do is Bolieve.
I prefer to no say where I teach due to privacy concerns, but I do teach at a public high school on Long Island. I live in Levittown. My husband and I are very happy with the area. It is not very expensive, it is convenient in location, and you get a lot of house for your money. Our taxes are not high, although not the lowest. Many of the residents are young families with kids. There are playgrounds in every development and there are 7 free pools open to the residents. It has a nice community feel and it is safe. I chose parochial school for our kids, but the 2 school districts, Levittown and Island Trees are rated well. We have lived here 8 years and expanded our home to make it very large and I am very happy with the area. It has great starter homes and many nicely remodeled larger homes. There is also great shopping and convenience to highways. It is also not far from the Wantagh train station to access the city.
Cool. So being a hs teacher in public schools on li. What schools would you consoder sending your kids or better put would feel confident they would get a good education? Especially woth regards to the towns i have imterest im?
Found a decent one on beltagh ave in holiday park section. Anyone have any ideas on that section or a breakdown of the sections. Also is there a downtown area of wantagh other then wantagh ave?
Beltagh Ave has quite a bit of traffic; not the place you want to raise a family (or even try to get out of the driveway sometimes.)
Great thanks! See there always seems to be a catch lol
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