Moving to LI, Suggestions on Nassau Neighborhoods/Schools??? (Islip, Oyster Bay: best town, rent)

[vanishent]

WHO WE ARE
30 y/o married couple moving to LI with our 8 y/o son this summer.
I will be working in Yaphank (50 mi East of Queens), traveling often for work (access to airports a plus).
My wife is graduating from Law School and will be:
1) Looking for Full/PT work in the city or at a firm/office on LI
2) Stay at home mom b/c of our son's before/after/days off school needs.


WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

SCHOOL -
GREAT school, preferably Catholic but w/ the Cost of Living and taxes we don't know if we can afford it. After that would be great public schools, but the taxes and cost of housing in those areas are a barrier to entry. It's a "catch 22."

NEIGHBORHOOD
A neighborhood that is family oriented, where kids play outside together and the parents don't have to worry too much. We have heard Suffolk is the place for good schools, but where are these types of communities?
We would also like this reasonable access to NYC via LIRR or reasonable drive - i.e. Nassau County, however we heard not to live in Nassau.

WHAT WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT LI
LOCATION- Live in Suffolk as Nassau isn't that safe (we are looking for opinions on this, preferably specific places that might cater to what we are looking for in a NEIGHBORHOOD in Nassau).
SCHOOLS- Port Jefferson, Miller Place, Rocky Point are the good public school districts. Our Lady of Wisdom (love it) and Laurel Hill (love it, can't afford it) are the great private schools.
St. ANTHONY's in Hamilton is the Catholic School our child should go to for High school.

WITH THIS IN MIND, WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR US AS FAR AS:
LOCATION
Family-style neighborhood w/ sense of community, preferably w/ access to NYC, however not mandatory.
Thank you for your detailed feedback in advance as this is a huge concern for us.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by vanishent

WHO WE ARE
30 y/o married couple moving to LI with our 8 y/o son this summer.
I will be working in Yaphank (50 mi East of Queens), traveling often for work (access to airports a plus).
My wife is graduating from Law School and will be:
1) Looking for Full/PT work in the city or at a firm/office on LI
2) Stay at home mom b/c of our son's before/after/days off school needs.


WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

SCHOOL -
GREAT school, preferably Catholic but w/ the Cost of Living and taxes we don't know if we can afford it. After that would be great public schools, but the taxes and cost of housing in those areas are a barrier to entry. It's a "catch 22."

NEIGHBORHOOD
A neighborhood that is family oriented, where kids play outside together and the parents don't have to worry too much. We have heard Suffolk is the place for good schools, but where are these types of communities?
We would also like this reasonable access to NYC via LIRR or reasonable drive - i.e. Nassau County, however we heard not to live in Nassau.

WHAT WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT LI
LOCATION- Live in Suffolk as Nassau isn't that safe (we are looking for opinions on this, preferably specific places that might cater to what we are looking for in a NEIGHBORHOOD in Nassau).
SCHOOLS- Port Jefferson, Miller Place, Rocky Point are the good public school districts. Our Lady of Wisdom (love it) and Laurel Hill (love it, can't afford it) are the great private schools.
St. ANTHONY's in Hamilton is the Catholic School our child should go to for High school.

WITH THIS IN MIND, WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR US AS FAR AS:
LOCATION
Family-style neighborhood w/ sense of community, preferably w/ access to NYC, however not mandatory.
Thank you for your detailed feedback in advance as this is a huge concern for us.

Where exactly did you hear Nassau County wasn't safe from?? Their tend to be misconceptions of Long Island, that is generally not one of them though in this case it appears it is. Both Nassau & Suffolk have VERY low crime rates, Nassau lower than Suffolk. According to the FBI the Nassau-Suffolk region had the lowest crime rate of any metro area in the country, with Nassau ranking as the safest county in the entire U.S. Their are some areas which aren't the greatest, but they really are only considered bad compared to the rest of LI & not the rest of the country. As a whole both Nassau & Suffolk are extremely safe, very low crime rates (little lower in Nassau) and have great Schools.

As far as areas to recommend, it would probably be a bit easier if you can give a general idea of what the price range your looking for, so we can give a better picture of what neighborhoods are within your price range and which ones aren't.

[Glad2BHere]

Nassau County and Suffolk county each have unsafe/safe areas. Nassau is extremely safe, I never heard that ever. That is entirely false. I agree with the above poster re Nassau. So do not limit yourself based on that. Property size, max you want to spend on a home/taxes are what we need to know to help you best.

[sean sean sean sean]

Whoever gave you this information is very misinformed, like Smash255 said Nassau is statistically the safest county in America and also has, arguably, the best public schools.

As has been mentioned, it'll really help to know what your price range is but based on the fact that you're looking for a neighborhood where kids hang out and play with each other I'll take it you're looking more towards suburban developments and not condos, gated communities, rural areas or "Gold Coast" mansions. These type of areas are generally concentrated along the south shore in Nassau and Western Suffolk...sad to say you really don't see kids playing outside much anywhere these days, but I do see them from time to time on my block in North Wantagh. West of the Meadowbrook Parkway is more congested but has plenty of nice areas and good schools, and is also very close to JFK Airport. Trains are roughly 40 minutes to Penn Station. East of that in Nassau there's less density and all of the communities are somewhat similar, ALL of these school districts are good and if you get away from the shore a little bit places like East Meadow, Levittown, Plainedge, North Massapequa and Hicksville also have what you're looking for with good districts. In Suffolk you've got Lindenhurst, West Babylon, Babylon, West Islip....as I realize how long this post is getting, I'm sort of realizing that you could throw a dart at a map of Nassau/Western Suffolk and find what you're looking for anywhere....so I'll start wrapping it up.

IMO, the catholic schools aren't worth it and many times aren't a whole lot better, if any better at all. Unless you live in a place like Amityville or Freeport where there's nice waterfront property and bad schools, they're just superfluous. I went to Kellenberg for a few weeks in 9th grade, it was worse in every imaginable way than the Levittown Public Schools I ended up graduating from - and cost a pretty penny. I worked in Yaphank for awhile too, the commute is not bad at all since it's opposite the flow of traffic, I used to get there in 40 minutes or so. Drive home took a little longer.

Let us know what you wanna spend I'll give you more specific places to look. Who told you Rocky Point Schools were good?

[rockypointny]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

Whoever gave you this information is very misinformed, like Smash255 said Nassau is statistically the safest county in America and also has, arguably, the best public schools.

As has been mentioned, it'll really help to know what your price range is but based on the fact that you're looking for a neighborhood where kids hang out and play with each other I'll take it you're looking more towards suburban developments and not condos, gated communities, rural areas or "Gold Coast" mansions. These type of areas are generally concentrated along the south shore in Nassau and Western Suffolk...sad to say you really don't see kids playing outside much anywhere these days, but I do see them from time to time on my block in North Wantagh. West of the Meadowbrook Parkway is more congested but has plenty of nice areas and good schools, and is also very close to JFK Airport. Trains are roughly 40 minutes to Penn Station. East of that in Nassau there's less density and all of the communities are somewhat similar, ALL of these school districts are good and if you get away from the shore a little bit places like East Meadow, Levittown, Plainedge, North Massapequa and Hicksville also have what you're looking for with good districts. In Suffolk you've got Lindenhurst, West Babylon, Babylon, West Islip....as I realize how long this post is getting, I'm sort of realizing that you could throw a dart at a map of Nassau/Western Suffolk and find what you're looking for anywhere....so I'll start wrapping it up.

IMO, the catholic schools aren't worth it and many times aren't a whole lot better, if any better at all. Unless you live in a place like Amityville or Freeport where there's nice waterfront property and bad schools, they're just superfluous. I went to Kellenberg for a few weeks in 9th grade, it was worse in every imaginable way than the Levittown Public Schools I ended up graduating from - and cost a pretty penny. I worked in Yaphank for awhile too, the commute is not bad at all since it's opposite the flow of traffic, I used to get there in 40 minutes or so. Drive home took a little longer.

Let us know what you wanna spend I'll give you more specific places to look. Who told you Rocky Point Schools were good?

I wrote in another post that they were on par with Miller Place, but not quite as good as Port Jefferson. As far as eastern/central Suffolk, Rocky Point is a very good school district.

[catlaw1]

I like the schools in Bethpage, Plainview and Syosset. All three districts are exceptionally strong. The Catholic schools (specifically St. Edwards, Our Lady of Mercy and Pius V are excellent, as well as a complete waste of money as they cannot compare to the public schools here.

As for Catholic HS. St. Anthony's isn't what it was in the 70's. It is certainly does not hold a candle to Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor Plainview or Jericho. The Best Catholic HS is Chaminade, which does keep up with those schools but doesn't have the breadth of courses in the arts or music.

As for a sense of Community, BETHPAGE!!! People there understand the word and it is rare not to see kids out and about all the time. Runner up, Syosset, especially near Baylis Elem, and South Grove. Willets and Village too.
Woodbury and North of Syosset "Proper" the homes are far away from each other and you don't see the neighbors quite as much but they are neighborly too.


The Town of Oyster Bay has the Best Town Parks and programs galore. Soccer, Baseball, hockey, Golf. You name it, TOB has it!!

Commute? Syosset straddles the LIE and the Northern Parkway. It is 50 minutes by car to Patchogue and 55 minutes by train to Penn Station. (Express lane usage and Express train usage can cut the trip down by about 10-15 minutes.)

Safety? Nassau as has been pointed out is the safest county in America. I am a criminal defense lawyer and I know that to be true. I have lived here as a catholic kid all my life and I lived all that I have written. I am sure you and your family would be most happy in the Town of Oyster bay.

Can't wait to see you.

[vanishent]

Thank you for the details. See my soon-to-be-new posting on this site (meaning give me five minutes and I'll have it up there).
Thanks again!

[vanishent]

BUDGET would be $250-$350's.

I would work in Yaphank.
She has yet to decide. Our son's school would influence where we live, see my posting about Private Schools in Long Island.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

[VillageOfWestbury]

Originally Posted by vanishent

BUDGET would be $250-$350's.

.

Ahhh...you might want increase your budget by about 50% to get into some decent areas....

[vanishent]

Yeah, the budget means RENT for a while.
oh well.

Originally Posted by VillageOfWestbury

Ahhh...you might want increase your budget by about 50% to get into some decent areas....