BUYING in Huntington v. Merrick (Valley Stream, Commack: sales, real estate, house)

[Ganymede]

My partner and I are considering relocating from Manhattan to either Huntington or Merrick. We found a home in each town which we're considering but they're both off the beaten track (i.e. south of 25A or north of Merrick Road).

We're wondering whether these specific areas might be less "gay-friendly" or at worst, not necessarily nice areas since they are both off major highways.

The north shore house is on Barre Place (cross street is Stowe), one block north of (and facing!) Jericho Turnpike near DSW.

The south shore house is near the Merrick train station midblock between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road.

We're willing to pay to $600K with $10K taxes but even in this market are having problems finding a renovated ranch with central air on a minimal quarter acre lot.

[etaoin]

From a Newsday real estate profile of Huntington (which is where I live and which I find more tolerant of diversity than many south shore communities. If you send me a DM, I'll put you in touch with a gay couple I know in Huntington.


Best known for its vibrant downtown, Huntington draws visitors from near and far.
The "village" (it's actually a hamlet), offers dozens of shops, restaurants, bars and other businesses. There are also arts venues, recreational activities and historical sites.
"It's cosmopolitan - with a country feel," says Suzanne Ridenour, a sales agent with Coldwell Banker on Main Street who moved to Huntington as a single parent in the late 1970s.
Hot spots include the Book Revue, a family-owned bookstore noted for its special programs, including celebrity author book-signings. Other popular draws are two nonprofit venues, the Inter-Media Art Center, a media and performing arts center, and the Cinema Arts Centre, which offers a diverse program of independent, foreign and documentary films.
The Heckscher Museum of Art is in Heckscher Park, which also has a small lake, playing fields and a playground. During the summer, free concerts and plays are staged at an outdoor amphitheater.
Once you leave the downtown hub, Huntington becomes a quiet North Shore community. Neighborhoods offer a mix of Colonials, capes, ranches, split-levels, and newer postmodern homes.
The annual Long Island Pride Parade, celebrating the Island's gay and lesbian community, receives wide turnouts, as does the Long Island Fall Festival, which attracts more than 250,000 visitors.
Town beaches include Gold Star Battalion on West Shore Road and Mill Dam Park which borders Huntington Harbor. - Lisa Doll Bruno (7/9/2004)

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by Ganymede

My partner and I are considering relocating from Manhattan to either Huntington or Merrick. We found a home in each town which we're considering but they're both off the beaten track (i.e. south of 25A or north of Merrick Road).

We're wondering whether these specific areas might be less "gay-friendly" or at worst, not necessarily nice areas since they are both off major highways.

The north shore house is on Barre Place (cross street is Stowe), one block north of (and facing!) Jericho Turnpike near DSW.

The south shore house is near the Merrick train station midblock between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road.

We're willing to pay to $600K with $10K taxes but even in this market are having problems finding a renovated ranch with central air on a minimal quarter acre lot.

I would say Huntington hands down. Home of the gay pride parade on LI. Merrick, no way to that...very traditional and I don't know if you would feel as comfortable there as you would in Huntington.

I have gay friends and their friends just bought in Huntington as well. You will find what you are looking for there for sure.

[xbure9x]

I'm selling my home in Valley Stream and I have gay neighbors on either side of me, whom my wife and I love, they are the best neighbors ever, we will certainly miss them. I think you would be more than welcome, although my home is not a ranch and I don't have central air.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Ganymede

My partner and I are considering relocating from Manhattan to either Huntington or Merrick. We found a home in each town which we're considering but they're both off the beaten track (i.e. south of 25A or north of Merrick Road).

We're wondering whether these specific areas might be less "gay-friendly" or at worst, not necessarily nice areas since they are both off major highways.

The north shore house is on Barre Place (cross street is Stowe), one block north of (and facing!) Jericho Turnpike near DSW.

The south shore house is near the Merrick train station midblock between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road.

We're willing to pay to $600K with $10K taxes but even in this market are having problems finding a renovated ranch with central air on a minimal quarter acre lot.

Best of luck with your decision.

I've driven through Huntington shortly after the Gay Pride Parade and I thought it was wonderful to see a community outside of NYC that wasn't all hung up! My kids couldn't quite understand what was going on, but it turned out to be a great learning experience as they felt comfortable asking questions. As fate would have it, we were invited to a party a few months later where they met a new friend who happened to have 2 dads. It didn't phase them.

I'm a little further east of Huntington on the north shore and live in a community which is much more liberal than where I grew up on the south shore -- not too far from Merrick. Within my community you could find a house north of 25A within those price parameters (the taxes might be close or a little more), not far from SUNY Stony Brook, the LIRR and the beach. So if Huntington doesn't work out, please feel free to message me privately and I could give you the name of a local agent or try to answer any questions.

[sean sean sean sean]

Huntington, no doubt. I don't think you'd run into many problems in Merrick outside of a stare or two, but like others have mentioned I couldn't imagine a Gay Pride parade taking place down Sunrise Highway in a hundred years.

Additionally, even as big of a fan of South Shore Nassau as I am, I don't think we've got much that compares to the entire Huntington area's aesthetics. I like it a lot up there - hills, trees, non-conforming architecture and there's a legitimate downtown.... not just a couple dive bars and pizza parlors shoved into a strip mall. It's a town with a lot of life to it.

FYI the address you posted is in the hamlet of Elwood, and should also be in the Elwood school district, which is considered much better than Huntington/South Huntington schools.

[VTP]

I too have to chime in about Huntington. I think that not only would the residents be tolerant, but they frankly wouldn't even care. I also know a lesbian couple (albeit not in Huntington proper, but in Centerport) who have lived there peacefully for many years. The neighbors couldn't care less about their affiliation -- they are far more concerned with how their house is kept up, etc. Huntington is far more vibrant socially too (than Merrick). You should take a walk around the village on a weekend, or an evening. I'm sure you'll feel comfortable. Also, I'm sure you've seen that silly "Long Island Barbie" e-mail that circulates from time to time. In that, the gay Barbie is from Huntington. This is not to suggest that Barbie should determine your residential status, but it just humorously reinforces the general concensus that this locale is more welcoming of gay residents than many others.

[Walter Greenspan]

For those who may not be familiar with Elwood:

Elwood is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the central part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Elwood in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Greenlawn and the Hamlet of East Northport; on the east by the Hamlet of East Northport and the Hamlet of Commack; on the south by the Hamlet of Dix Hills; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Greenlawn.

Elwood is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet's name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of Elwood have a "Huntington, NY 11743", "Greenlawn, NY 11740" "East Northport, NY 11731", "Commack, NY 11725" or "Dix Hills, NY 11746" mailing address.





For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County):

Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource

[victorny]

I've lived in the Huntington area for 30 plus years and I can't see anyone giving you a problem. Good luck.

[Smash255]

I don't think you would have any problems in Merrick or quite frankly really anywhere on Long Island. Even some of the more conservative areas of LI aren't exactly the social conservative type, they are more of the fiscal or law and order type of conservative. In regards to the original question with Merrick or Huntington, Huntington would likely have the better atmosphere, and you would more than likely come across with more gay couples in Huntington than you would in Merrick.