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I would agree with sticking to eastern Nassau County. North Eastern if you want to be on the North Shore. The extra 5 to 10 minutes on the train is well worth it for less traffic and congestion, including reverse commuting by car. Beware of purchasing anything in a below average school district if you are planning to sell in a few years. It will make it more difficult. With a budget like yours it sounds like you could be in the market for your "forever home" now and avoid the stress of another purchase a few years down the road.
I like the Port Washington line for an easy commute to the city. It's completely separate, so even when the other 3 lines are down, the Port Washington branch is still running. Of course that makes homes near it's train stations a little more expensive but you should be able to find something within your budget.
I like the Port Washington line for an easy commute to the city. It's completely separate, so even when the other 3 lines are down, the Port Washington branch is still running. Of course that makes homes near it's train stations a little more expensive but you should be able to find something within your budget.
I lived on that line for the 3 years, and the 1st thing the MTA does when other lines have issues is pull trains from the PW line to use on other lines and then they combine trains and run them local. If you want to go Downtown or BK its a nightmare since you can't go to Atlantic. PW is the most overrated line, when there is an issue your stuck since there is no other line. They have buses at main st but no one want's to use that method.
Is there any material difference among different lines, in terms of speed, frequency, and reliability? any related statistics would be helpful.
we are currently looking for SFH in towns that are along the Port Jefferson branch. Anything I should be concerned about this line?
I believe the Ronkonkoma line has the most trains and 65 min express trains. Anything near PJ will be a very long commute, St. James/Smithtown is 1 hour 45 min each way with a change of trains in Huntington. I would stick to Nassau or Western Suffolk close to LIE which would put you on the Ronkonkoma or Mineola line.
Note the definition of “on time†- essentially up to 6 minutes late. And they hit that around 90% of the time. I remember reading a few years ago that the Port Jeff line always averaged around 90% on time. You also get more switching problems in icy weather.
I’ve taken the train from Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington, St James, Stony Brook and Port Jeff. If you can live Huntington or west you have more options and more frequent service. From Stony Brook it’s like 1 hour 20 to Penn and many trains require a change at Jamaica, Hicksville or Huntington.
I looked all over nassau and western suffolk for the last year in the same price range. here's my $.02. The schools dictate pricing out here. No reason to overpay for a house in a bad school district. In nassau, New Hyde Park to Mineola is my personal favorite as a city commuter. Easy train ride on LIRR. Decent school districts and houses run from $550k-$700k. Downsides are smaller lots, less upgraded houses, and traffic congestion depending upon where you live. Roslyn has some new townhouses/condos near the train. They're around your price range, but some are very pricey.
On the south shore, I looked from Merrick all the way to Babylon Village. I think Babylon Village is very nice. 70 min commute from Penn, but it's a great community with a main strip full of bars, rests, etc. South shore has way more upgraded homes and/or new build from $400k-$600k. You get larger lots, more house, and likely a newer house at that price point. Downsides are commute to Penn is longer, flood insurance in some areas, and resale value.
Taxes are horrible on the Island in general. The best advice is stay out of villages as it adds around 10% to your tax bill. I found there to be no hard and fast rule for lower taxes. For those with lower taxes, some people grieved their taxes regularly; some had smaller houses/lots; some did un-permitted work and never got reassessed. It ran the gamut, but I would not say any one town blows another away in regards to tax savings. At least the none of towns within an hr LIRR ride to Penn.
Lastly, I'd just rent out here with no kids. My wife and I are in the same situation. We thought about buying and it just doesn't make any sense from a lifestyle/cost perspective. There are tons of luxury buildings that compete with one another. Tons of full houses for rent as well. I live in one and my rent increased .5% from last year. Obviously, buying has many factors, but no reason to pay all those taxes as rents are barely over $4k for $800k houses out here.
Scorpionking wow thank you for the insights. Very helpful.
Renting a place was our original plan as we are pretty unfamiliar with LI in general and we wanted to make sure we will like the community/neighborhood before we fully commit.
Could you give some places/areas where you would recommend? We are open to luxury rental apt and residential house. I guess since it's only temporary, a 2B2B would suffice. Also did you go through rental agency?
Scorpionking wow thank you for the insights. Very helpful.
Renting a place was our original plan as we are pretty unfamiliar with LI in general and we wanted to make sure we will like the community/neighborhood before we fully commit.
Could you give some places/areas where you would recommend? We are open to luxury rental apt and residential house. I guess since it's only temporary, a 2B2B would suffice. Also did you go through rental agency?
Thank you for the advice!
In general, the agency/brokers are worthless & a scam for luxury rentals. Maybe they are decent for houses, but I wouldn't use one unless you want something very specific.
There's tons of places in mineola, farmingdale, and Rockville Center walking distance to the train. They'll run you anywhere from $2,500 - $3,300 for a 1 bedroom. $3,500 - $5,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath. Most were built within the last 5 years, so everything is modernized. However, some will try to nickel and dime you. Make sure you get all the fees as some charge move-in fees, amenity fees, parking, water/sewer, while others impute such costs into the rent.
Buildings
Mineola - 1 third ave., The Allure.
Farmingdale - 231 main street lofts, the Jefferson
Rockville Center - the Avalon
There is a new place in Westbury, the Vanderbilt. Very expensive and not walking distance to a LIRR train.
The fairfield and avalon are large groups that have apartments all over. Other than RVC, I don't know of any that are walking distance to the LIRR.
Houses
I used zillow, apartment finder, and craigslist for houses. Very difficult to find a home for rent that is also walking distance to the train. However, $4,000 will get you a nice whole house in most neighborhoods. The real issue is timing. Good places go quickly and Landlords/brokers want someone to move in 2 seconds, but with great credit, 4 months worth of upfront payments, and a tremendous rental history. If a renter has their stuff together, it's doubtful they are looking to move in tomorrow as they are coming from another lease or sold their home. It's been my experience in other cities to rent for the subsequent month. IE, you see places in October for December 1st. Here, you get brokers that claim the house will be rented tomorrow, but it sits there for weeks. If you go the house route, just be ready for tons of run around.
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