Relocation to LI - Melville? (Oyster Bay, Babylon: real estate, condo, co-ops)

[maybemovin]

Hi All,
My family may be relocating to Long Island. The company is in Melville. Could you please let me know of areas that are within a 30 minute commute to Melville?
We are coming from the Midwest, and we currently live in an older neighborhood, homes 50-80 years old, brick and stone. Any areas on Long Island that would be similar?
We dont want to move to an area that just recently boomed, as I believe those property values will be the first to fall. Older established areas would be our preference.

Any help is appreciated!!

Thanks

[NYTom]

Your choices are pretty wide open here as Melville is centrally located and easy access to all major roads. LIE, and the Parkways. All the towns within a 30 minute commute have been well established and would be effected similarly by any real estate change.
Western Suffolk County and Eastern Nassau is very pricey, So I'm not sure how much $$$ you're looking to spend on a house. You can check mlslirealtor website to get home pricing.

Good luck!

[maybemovin]

Thanks for the help,
I checked MLSLI, and I cant find some of the town names on a map. No way to tell if they are 5 miles, or 30 miles away.
Are condo's or co-ops a wise choice? I would say we could spend 400-700K. We havent decided whether to go small and cheap, or larger and pricey.

[NYTom]

If you check Google maps you may find it there.

As far as condo vs house thats a decision you will have to make. Do you want a private yard, the freedom to do as you wish on your property? Or do you wan't no yard upkeep and pay maintance and common charges?

400k will get you a starter house in that surrounding area that needs updating.
500k will get a colonial that need updating

You can find something nice for 600-700k, Taxes will be high though.

[lvmy3grls]

Look at Smithtown, Hauppage, Lake Grove, North Massapequa, all great towns with good schools, but taxes could be very high as listed in a previous post.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by lvmy3grls

Look at Smithtown, Hauppage, Lake Grove, North Massapequa, all great towns with good schools, but taxes could be very high as listed in a previous post.

Also Melville, Dix Hills, Huntington, Northport, East Northport, Babylon. These are all Suffolk.

Close to border in Nassau are Oyster Bay, Syosset, Woodbury.

[NYer]

Search MLS by school district- research them at great schools dot com first. Some good ones? Northport- East Northport, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Elwood, Oyster Bay
That will narrow it down considerably. If you go by town name only you will drown in conflicting information.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by NYer

Search MLS by school district- research them at great schools dot com first. Some good ones? Northport- East Northport, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Elwood, Oyster Bay
That will narrow it down considerably. If you go by town name only you will drown in conflicting information.

Also Syosset and Half Hollow Hills (mostly Dix Hills and Melville, I think).

It's a good point. Some areas may have 3 school districts depending on where they are located. MLS allows a SD search, which is key and determines you level of taxation and the cost of the house.

[NYer]

Thanks, those 2 slipped my mind- great districts, but quite expensive to get into!

[nymom]

Huntington is nice with a good mix of old and new houses. Stick to the part of Huntington nearest to Melville. The town of Melville is nice too. South Huntington school district used to be pretty good but that was many years ago. I'm not sure how it is now. Dix Hills is very nice but expensive. Another nice town within 30 minutes to Melville is West Hills. It is very wooded and hilly and there are many old but well kept houses there. These are all in Suffolk county. If you choose to live in Nassau county be prepared to pay higher taxes.