Cold Spring Hills & South Huntington School District??? (Oyster Bay, Huntington Station: cul-de-sac, middle-class)

[jamibit]

My husband and I currently live in Plainview with our 2 small children (pre-school age). We're looking for a larger home and we love Plainview but we just can't seem to find homes big enough for us in our price range with the land that we'd want, and close enough to the city b/c my husband commutes. We happened upon Cold Spring Hills which is absolutely beautiful and in our price range. (Not to be confused with Cold Spring Harbor.)

Does anyone know about the demographics/religion of Cold Spring Hills (we're jewish, not religious at all but curious about this) and any information on South Huntington school district?

Thank you.

[AndreaII]

Cold Spring Hills is sort of like poor man's Cold Spring Harbor, including the school district. You'd be getting District 13 which isn't bad, but I really think Plainview has a better reputation regarding education.

I don't know if there are any geographical fringes in Cold Spring Hills that are actually part of the Cold Spring Harbor school district, but it's worth checking into in case your kids could go to school there.

As far as prices go, it's no cheaper in Cold Spring Hills than Plainview. At least you don't have the 2-acre zoning you have in Cold Spring Harbor, so your real estate taxes would be on par with what they are now.

The area you're interested in has a mix of religions and you wouldn't be out of place there.

And if you golf, there's always the Cold Spring Harbor CC at O. Kahn's house.

Perhaps you ought to check out the area in West Hills in and around Sweet Hollow Road. There's quite a mix of housing there; some with acres, and some with only 1.

[monkeygorilla]

Cold Spring Hills is an absolutely beautiful neighborhood. It has its own civic association & it really its own little enclave. I've driven thru it many times & I love the feel of it. No idea what the people are like, but its one of the prettiest neighborhoods I've seen.

I've heard that the S. Huntington elementary schools are good...we have some friends with young kids who are very happy with them. They have no complaints & their children love the school. I'm not sure about high school though. I've heard mixed things, but don't know anyone who has kids that go there.

As for prices, I'd be shocked if the prices are less than Plainview. I agree that you should check out West Hills too. Its a very pretty neighborhood too (though I personally prefer Cold Spring Hills, with it being built around the castle & the country club). Both Cold Spring Hills and West Hills are very well-maintained upscale neighborhoods though.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by jamibit

Does anyone know about ... Cold Spring Hills ... ?

Cold Spring Hills is a neighborhood in West Hills.

For those who may not be familiar with West Hills:

West Hills is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southwest part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County, along the Huntington/Oyster Bay town line and Nassau/Suffolk county line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of West Hills in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor and the Hamlet of Huntington Station; on the east by the Hamlet of Huntington Station and Hamlet of South Huntington; on the south by the Hamlet of Melville; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Woodbury in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County (the Huntington/Oyster Bay town line and the Suffolk/Nassau county line).

West Hills is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of West Hills have a "Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724", "Huntington, NY 11743", "Huntington Station, NY 11746" and "Melville, NY 11747" 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):

http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[etaoin]

<i>I've heard that the S. Huntington elementary schools are good...we have some friends with young kids who are very happy with them. They have no complaints & their children love the school. I'm not sure about high school though. I've heard mixed things, but don't know anyone who has kids that go there.</i>

I have one at Whitman, coming from nothing but private schools and we're very happy. It is a diverse school, ethnically and economically, which we like--that's the way of the world and a good experience for real life. We have lived in lilywhite areas and I don't recommend it--it breeds really narrow thinking. When you look at state scores, the scores tend to be decent, not as good as Harborfields or Northport but if you look carefully, you'll see that there's a cluster of kids doing exceedingly well. A lot of AP courses, a lot of honors. Two kids from last year's graduating class went to Brown, so the school does okay. A few years ago, the high school has some security issues but those don't exist now. We like the school very much and are pleased we made the switch.

[AlexisT]

I'm a Whitman graduate. Some of the antipathy to it is snobbery/racism, but some is well founded. Things got noticeably worse between when I graduated ('94) and my youngest sister ('00).

I would not put Whitman on a par with Plainview.

[etaoin]

Originally Posted by AlexisT

I'm a Whitman graduate. Some of the antipathy to it is snobbery/racism, but some is well founded. Things got noticeably worse between when I graduated ('94) and my youngest sister ('00).

I would not put Whitman on a par with Plainview.

Hi, yes, I hear that it was a little rough in that time period--there was some serious violence around 2000, I understand-- but all indications are now that those problems have been resolved. I could be wrong but I'm not seeing or hearing any of those problems now.

[h-tonian]

Originally Posted by AndreaII

Cold Spring Hills is sort of like poor man's Cold Spring Harbor, including the school district. You'd be getting District 13 which isn't bad, but I really think Plainview has a better reputation regarding education.

I don't know if there are any geographical fringes in Cold Spring Hills that are actually part of the Cold Spring Harbor school district, but it's worth checking into in case your kids could go to school there.

As far as prices go, it's no cheaper in Cold Spring Hills than Plainview. At least you don't have the 2-acre zoning you have in Cold Spring Harbor, so your real estate taxes would be on par with what they are now.

The area you're interested in has a mix of religions and you wouldn't be out of place there.

And if you golf, there's always the Cold Spring Harbor CC at O. Kahn's house.

Perhaps you ought to check out the area in West Hills in and around Sweet Hollow Road. There's quite a mix of housing there; some with acres, and some with only 1.

Andrea - I have to say I'm pretty offended by your rather ignorant view of Cold Spring Hills as a "poor man's Cold Spring Harbor."

I grew up in the Huntington area and could easily afford a CS Harbor home, but chose to live in CS Hills.Not everybody is concerned with the CS Harbor "name brand" and not everybody sends their kids to public school. Unless your lucky enough to find (and are able to afford) a historic, waterfront, or architecturally special home, 90% of the homes in CS Harbor are 1950's ranches, Mc Mansions, and faux colonials on boring upper-middle-class suburban streets and cul-de-sacs.

House values in CS Hills are significantly higher than Plainview. I'm not sure what property taxes are in Plainview, but mine hit 23K last year.

Beyond the economic aspects, CS Hills is a beautiful and historic place to live. Every square inch of CS Hills was originally part of the Otto Kahn estate. Great care was taken in the design of the neighborhood when it was planned in the 1930's - leaving as many mature growth trees as possible and blending the houses with the Olmstead designed landscape. My home overlooks a private golf course designed by the Olmsted Brothers, an expanse of woodland, ponds, and Gold Coast era structures. After the golfers have gone home in the evening I have my own Central Park to enjoy with my family and neighbors.

Although the Cold Spring CC was origialy part of the estate, it is now a private club and is not associated with Oheka castle.

There is a strong sense of community that is sorely lacking in other ares of Long Island an extremely strong and politically powerful civic association.

[Kbinspections]

Good friends of ours lives in CS Hills and it is a lovely area. The elementary school is bi-lingual teaching 1/2 the day in spanish and 1/2 the day in english.

They were surpised that their child in kindergarten this past year was one of the only kids in the class which spoke english. It was difficult for him to communicate and make friends early in the year. Other than that, they were very happy.

[jeanettetyler]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

Good friends of ours lives in CS Hills and it is a lovely area. The elementary school is bi-lingual teaching 1/2 the day in spanish and 1/2 the day in english.

They were surpised that their child in kindergarten this past year was one of the only kids in the class which spoke english. It was difficult for him to communicate and make friends early in the year. Other than that, they were very happy.

I dont know what school your friends are sending their child to.

As a resident of CSH, who's daughter is currently enrolled in 1st grade in the local public school, I can assure you this is completely untrue.