And the BEST town on Long Island is........ (Hempstead, Babylon: best towns, insurance)

[MemoryMaker]

Rockville Centre!

The following is the best towns on Long Island using a methodology designed to appeal to the BROADEST amount&range of people. I picked these towns specifically since they have major downtowns by LI standards:

NASSAU COUNTY-

VILLAGE OF ROCKVILLE CENTRE:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
No flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓ (though a TINY bit does border Hempstead, I give it a pass since there's a Hospital/College/Pkwy seperating it)
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 10/10

VILLAGE OF GARDEN CITY:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Beach ✓ (pass due to extensive recreational park)
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 9/10

VILLAGE OF LYNBROOK:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Major Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 9/10

VILLAGE OF VALLEY STREAM:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/MajorBeach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image X
Extremely Safe X (not really unsafe but crime is pretty elevated in the shopping areas)
SCORE: 7/10

HAMLET OF PORT WASHINGTON:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 7/10

CITY OF LONG BEACH:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Major Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 6/10

VILLAGE OF WESTBURY:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image X
Extremely Safe X
SCORE: 5/10

VILLAGE OF FREEPORT:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image X
Extremely Safe X
SCORE: 4/10


SUFFOLK COUNTY-

VILLAGE OF BABYLON:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC X
Major Park/Major Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 8/10

VILLAGE OF PATCHOGUE:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC X
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image X
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 5/10

VILLAGE OF PORT JEFFERSON:
Mostly Walkable X
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/LIE Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC X
Major Park/Major Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 6/10

VILLAGE OF AMITYVILLE:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓ (its exactly 1/hr but i'm feelin generous so i'll give a pass)
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 5/10

VILLAGE OF BAY SHORE:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone X
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC X
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image X
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 4/10

VILLAGE OF HUNTINGTON:
Mostly Walkable X
LIRR Stop X (technically in hunt. station)
High-Performing Schools X
Not flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access X
Under 1/hr from NYC X
Major Park/Major Beach X
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe X
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 3/10

If you disagree with this methodology then how would you improve it?
(I was thinking about doubling the weights of the school's since they're of upmost importance in a suburban setting like LI)

Read-
**NOTE**: From Route 109 and east in Suffolk County, Sunrise Hwy is counted as a Pkwy/Expwy since it becomes a limited-access highway.
**NOTE**: High-performing schools were based off of the Long Island School District rankings page/thread on City-Data
**NOTE**: If a significant chunk of the area is in a flood zone then it get's the "X", even if the entire town isn't under a flood zone.
**NOTE**: Under 1/hr to NYC via nearest LIRR stop.
**NOTE**: NYC obviously means Manhattan in this list.
**NOTE**: By "village", I mean the entire community NOT just the shopping/commercial area.

[twingles]

Interesting list. That's a lot of work!

I mostly looked at Garden City and Huntington since that's where I spent most of my life.

GC - what's the major park/beach? GC has a fabulous parks system but they are for village residents only and they will check your i.d.; when I think of a MAJOR park or beach I think of something that is open to a broad range of people, as well as being quite large. I can't think of anything that meets that criteria in Garden City. Sure, Eisenhower is nearby, but it's not in the village.

Huntington -
since you put "village" there next to Huntington I have to disagree with your walkability score although not scaling that category itself and making yes/no is tough here - Huntington VILLAGE is very walkable and it's walkable from the surrounding area. We used to walk to the "village" all the time (although it was uphill all the way home which was a bummer).
Also, Huntington's image is fine, but again it's a simple checkmark or "x" in your system so there's no way to rate it on a scale. Huntington Station certainly has a bad image, and that is still only true for certain parts of the 11746 zip code, mostly the 110 corridor just north and south of the train station.
Finally it has no less in the way of MAJOR park/beach than Garden City but it still gets an "x". It has quite a few town beaches - whether you like small, rocky north shore beaches is another story.

[MemoryMaker]

^^ By "village", I don't mean the actual shopping area but the entire community legally considered huntington village or babylon village or village of westbury, etc.

As for huntington, even though the downtown area itself is AMAZING and huge.... most of huntington village is spread-out hilly affluent suburbia with no sidewalks that isn't that walkable...kinda like Dix Hills.

Garden City has an amazing recreational park. May not be that large in size but it offers recreational huge amenities.

[OneToGo]

The "ALL Neighboring Towns Safe" is laughable. What is your criteria? Blacks? Hispanics? Murderers? Registered sexual predators?
Please 'splain'.

[MemoryMaker]

Originally Posted by OneToGo

The "ALL Neighboring Towns Safe" is laughable. What is your criteria? Blacks? Hispanics? Murderers? Registered sexual predators?
Please 'splain'.

If the next town over is unsafe then there is a major risk of crime spillover. Garden City/Hempstead is a notorious example of this.

And no, race was not a criteria in this list. Notice that I didn't give Valley Stream an "x" despite bordering Rosedale and North Valley Stream which both have a large black presence...that is b/c those are generally safer minority areas. However, if it bordered Wyandanch, Brentwood or New Cassel then it would get an "x".

I was actually considering putting "diversity" as a positive criteria but changed my mind.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by MemoryMaker

^^ By "village", I don't mean the actual shopping area but the entire community legally considered huntington village or babylon village or village of westbury, etc.

As for huntington, even though the downtown area itself is AMAZING and huge.... most of huntington village is spread-out hilly affluent suburbia that isn't that walkable...kinda like Dix Hills.

Garden City has an amazing recreational park. May not be that large in size but it offers recreational huge amenities.

Got it. However (paging Walter Greenspan) Huntington is not LEGALLY an incorporated village, so when you talk about "Huntington village" people generally assume you're talking about the area right around the business center. When you grow up there or live there you say "I'm running to the village, want anything?" but you don't tell people "I live in Huntington village" unless you say you live in Huntington and then someone says "oh, what part?" and you say "the village" which means you're pretty much walking distance. Like when I went away to college I would meet people who would say "oh, I'm from Huntington too!" and then it would turn out they were from Commack or Northport or some other far afield place. When people would ask what high school I went to and I would say "Huntington" they would say "oh you're REALLY from Huntington" Confusing enough?

As far as GC, you're right the community park is wonderful but not open to the unwashed masses so I don't consider that a "major park" but I can see why you put it there. I guess my other example of Huntington beaches is similar because you must be a Huntington TOWN resident to get a pass.

[SandyJet]

The better parts of RVC like Old Cant, New Cant etc are not walking distance to anything. The shady parts of town are walking distance to LIRR.

Part of RVC are in a flood zone. Houses by Mill River often require flood insurance

RVC have an above average HS one of best on LI. But not all the elementary schools are at that level

Not all of RVC has RVC schools, Malverne, Baldwin and Oceanside schools could be zoned to your RVC house.

RVC has no beach.

The huge downside of RVC is sky high taxes and the better parts of towns nice 4 bedroom homes on good blocks with good plots in good condition start at 1.2 million.

VILLAGE OF ROCKVILLE CENTRE:
Mostly Walkable ✓
LIRR Stop ✓
High-Performing Schools ✓
No flood zone ✓
Pkwy/Expwy Access ✓
Under 1/hr from NYC ✓
Major Park/Beach ✓
ALL Neighboring Towns Safe ✓ (though a TINY bit does border Hempstead, I give it a pass since there's a Hospital/College/Pkwy seperating it)
Pristine Image ✓
Extremely Safe ✓
SCORE: 10/10

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by MemoryMaker

^^ By "village", I don't mean the actual shopping area but the entire community legally considered huntington village or babylon village or village of westbury, etc.

As for huntington, even though the downtown area itself is AMAZING and huge.... most of huntington village is spread-out hilly affluent suburbia with no sidewalks that isn't that walkable...kinda like Dix Hills.

Garden City has an amazing recreational park. May not be that large in size but it offers recreational huge amenities.

Downtown Huntington is not "legally considered a Village" - it's not incorporated, therefore only a Hamlet (Walter would have had a field day with this post )

That's the first time anyone has compared Huntington to Dix Hills very interesting comparison. Don't know how you arrived at that but maybe you're not that familiar with either or both.

[MemoryMaker]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

Downtown Huntington is not "legally considered a Village" - it's not incorporated, therefore only a Hamlet (Walter would have had a field day with this post )

That's the first time anyone has compared Huntington to Dix Hills very interesting comparison. Don't know how you arrived at that but maybe you're not that familiar with either or both.

It's obvious not as affluent as dix hills but some parts of huntington have that dix hills feel with very large lots

[ovi8]

When you say walkable, do you mean after driving down to the village main street area? Because I've never lived in a village area before and friends who live in PW aren't near the village itself.