Questions about Garden City & Syosset (Hempstead, Plainview: budget, job, house)

[mambwe]

My Fiance and I are looking to buy a house in Syosset or Garden City. I live and grew up in Plainview so I am somewhat familiar with Nassau County. Our price range is not that high being $500-600k. So we probably do not have that many options.

We want a great school district for our future children and we want a nice area to live. I know Syosset pretty well being that it is the town next to Plainview. I am well aware of the reputation Plainview and Syosset have as being "Jappy" and competing to buy the newest BMW. I am not like that and neither will my children be. Syosset is one of the top districts which is why we are looking there. I know we can afford a house in Syosset, but the sense of community that I keep reading about in Garden City is starting to appeal to us. Which leads me to a few questions about Garden City:

I have read that you should live in the Village of Garden City. Where exactly is the village?

Is it realistic, given my budget, to buy a house in Garden City? I also don't want to live on the border of Hempstead.

Is it safe being on the border of Hempstead?

We are Jewish but not really religious. Is this going to be a problem in Garden City? I have read that there really aren't many jewish people in GC. We won't be going to temple but would want to send our children to hebrew school and have them Bar/Bat Mitzvahed eventually. Do they have hebrew schools in GC? Will my children be picked on for being Jewish?

Are there other areas we should be looking at in Nassau?

Sorry for the long post.

[mambwe]

I found a few posts about Garden City bordering Hempstead. So, I now know that the police do a good job in keeping things safe and secure.

Can you guys help with the other questions I posted? I'm curious about some of the religion issues.

[Kbinspections]

I really do not think you can afford Garden City with that budget. Merrick is nice if you want to live in Nassau....good schools.

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

I really do not think you can afford Garden City with that budget. Merrick is nice if you want to live in Nassau....good schools.

I dunno KB, there's 9 listings on MLSLI under $600.....all nice and actually in the Village of Garden City...

I do not believe there are many Jewish people in Garden City at all, but there has to be at least a few. I seriously doubt your kids would get picked on for being Jewish...when I took driver's ed a long, long time ago I took it through the Hewbrew Academy of Nassau County, which is just over the border in East Garden City.......I believe they have a hebrew school, and if not, West Hempstead isn't far!

[Glad2BHere]

To be honest, GC does not have many of the Jewish faith. Your children would certainly be the minority, if this might concern you. They would likely be the only ones going to Hebrew school, etc, and I don't even know if you could find one in the area. Plus, your budget really isn't a budget for GC.

I really think you would be better off in Syosset with your budget and other wants/needs. Syosset is very mixed religion wise, so no one is a minority. The schools are excellent and your budget would get you a really nice home there. Your budget really is too low for GC regardless and if you did find a home in that price range, it would be a horrific location no doubt.

[mambwe]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

To be honest, GC does not have many of the Jewish faith. Your children would certainly be the minority, if this might concern you. They would likely be the only ones going to Hebrew school, etc, and I don't even know if you could find one in the area. Plus, your budget really isn't a budget for GC.

I really think you would be better off in Syosset with your budget and other wants/needs. Syosset is very mixed religion wise, so no one is a minority. The schools are excellent and your budget would get you a really nice home there. Your budget really is too low for GC regardless and if you did find a home in that price range, it would be a horrific location no doubt.

What do you mean by a horrific location? I thought GC was a very nice area...

What area is the Village of GC? What area of GC is in the Village?

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by mambwe

What do you mean by a horrific location? I thought GC was a very nice area...

GC is a very nice area, this has nothing to do with GC. It has everything to do with the average cost of homes there and your limited budget. With your budget, any home that might be in your price range would likely be a main road or undesirable street (such as the outskirts of GC or right near a train or main road). You stated in your above post you didn't want to live on the outskirts by Hempstead and I assume you wouldn't want a main road or busy street being that you have young children, so that is why GC is not the better choice for you.

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

I dunno KB, there's 9 listings on MLSLI under $600.....all nice and actually in the Village of Garden City...

I do not believe there are many Jewish people in Garden City at all, but there has to be at least a few. I seriously doubt your kids would get picked on for being Jewish...when I took driver's ed a long, long time ago I took it through the Hewbrew Academy of Nassau County, which is just over the border in East Garden City.......I believe they have a hebrew school, and if not, West Hempstead isn't far!

Seanx4, wow I was surprised but 2 I know are very close to RR tracks.....the tudor looks interesting, must be something really bad going on on the inside!

[mambwe]

I had a feeling GC might be too expensive for us. I'm still going to look around a little bit to see if there is anything for us.

On a side note, I was driving around GC today and saw the GC Jewish Center on Nassau Blvd. So there has to be some Jewish people in GC. When I said I wanted to send my kids to hebrew school I meant on sunday mornings, not for their regular schooling. We are not religious at all so I am sure this wouldn't be an issue in GC if we were to move there. I'm also an italian jew with a very italian last name so we could go incognito if we wanted.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by mambwe

I had a feeling GC might be too expensive for us. I'm still going to look around a little bit to see if there is anything for us.

On a side note, I was driving around GC today and saw the GC Jewish Center on Nassau Blvd. So there has to be some Jewish people in GC. When I said I wanted to send my kids to hebrew school I meant on sunday mornings, not for their regular schooling. We are not religious at all so I am sure this wouldn't be an issue in GC if we were to move there. I'm also an italian jew with a very italian last name so we could go incognito if we wanted.

I love GC and you would not have a problem being Jewish. I wouldn't worry about it. Syosset is nice, too, but we really love GC for a number of reasons I spoke about time and time again. Good luck. If you could swing it, I would move to GC.