Ronkonkoma vs. Ridge (Brookhaven, Valley Stream, Riverhead: environment, homeowners association, budget)

[kznny]

I am considering buying two homes of equal price - the average 3 bedroom / 2 bath ranch on .4 acres 2 minutes from the Expressway in Ronkonkoma, or a very nice large home colonial in Ridge on 1.25 acres - not far from William Floyd and 25. We have no kids yet, but hope to start after the home is purchased and recognize that the Sachem school district is better than Longwood. Ronkonkoma and Ridge are equidistant from our jobs as far as the commute is concerned, but Ronkonkoma is closer to the civilized world. The home in Ridge is so nice though, we won't want to leave. Advice or comments?

[rocafeller05]

Why I chose Ronkonkoma:

1) Better schools than Ridge(Longwood)
2) Better transportation(LIRR)
3) More civilized(Not driving 15 mins to a store)

Even though Ridge is very rural and pretty, its just a little to far out there for me. But thats just my 2 cents. Some people love that. And the commute would be a nightmare for anyone going beyond 110, in my opinion.

[KellyFG]

I had a similar decision to make four years ago & we picked Ridge.
I was living in a townhouse in Oakdale for nearly ten years & had been recently married.
We started our search for a larger single family home in bohemia, Ronkonkoma & Lake Ronkonkoma. We probably looked at 50 homes, most everything we found that was in our price range was on a main road or too small & needed major work, that was ok since my DH is a carpenter. Our plan was to buy an affordable fixer & then buy land upstate & build a summer cabin.
He is from Valley Stream & thought living in Oakdale was the boonies but he started a home improvement project for a customer in Ridge, Lake Panamoka to be exact. He was in love. It reminded him of being upstate camping with his family as a kid. So we talked about the pros & cons of moving further east & we decided to start searching only in Ridge.
Within a couple of months we found our house, its a 5 bedroom, 3 full bath, built in 1987 with a view across the lake that needed major renovations.
We paid $260,000 in 2004.
So now we live in a "vacation home" all year.
We love EVERYTHING about living here, the people are nice, the pace is slow, the wildlife & beauty of the area is amazing.
We each have a child we brought into our marriage, my son graduated from connetquot the year we moved & my stepdaughter lives mostly with her mother in Nassau county so our kids don't go to Longwood. However I'm very friendly with lots of parents in my neighborhood & my good friend works for the district. All of the kids have terrific school pride, I never hear anything negative from the kids or the parents. The sports teams are great, we have tons of other programs & fantastic special ed, our budget always passes even with the highest senior population of any district in suffolk. Our library is awesome, our fire dept is dedicated & doesn't rob us blind building fancy new fire stations.
I personally think Ridge has much more to offer families because its more rural, kids here get another kind of education. All of the kids in my neighborhood learn how to fish, swim, sail, kayak, hike, birdwatch & many other things when they are young. I rarely see an obese child here like I did when I lived in Oakdale. Kids here play outside on the quiet streets when the weather is nice, they ride there bikes through the hundreds of acres of state land that surround our neighborhood.
Shopping is easy, Ridge doesn't have much to offer except the basics but Rocky Point & Riverhead & Shirley(I don't go down there much) all have great shopping. It takes me 7 minutes to get to Tanger outlets.

So you have my opinion, although it maybe biased.
I think Ronkonkoma is a fine town too, I almost bought a home there myself.
Good luck!

ETS-as far as our commutes go-I work in Massapequa 4 days a week & bought a Prius so I fly there in the HOV lane by myself & only use a gallon of gas each way.
My DH changed his whole business & only works in the Hamptons now which turned out to be a blessing considering how many regular home improvement guys are starving right now!

[slynn41072]

Sorry, I would not send my kids to Longwood Schools if you gave me the house for free. Bad rep and if you look at the test scores, its deserved. Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it.

[okaydorothy]

We also did consider Ridge and I looked at some houses there. I love it ; it is the country. I think if it is land you want with your home, its a great deal.

As for schools ; Longwood is big. We live in Longwood but my boys go to parochial school. For special needs or extra help, Longwood is wonderful.
Knowing some kids in the sachem district ; its just as big, has some problem, is awful when it comes to special ed.

d

[kznny]

KellyFG - All those reasons were the reasons that I was thinking to move out to Ridge. I really appreciate sharing your experience with me, I was hoping a move to Ridge would bring that lifestyle.

rocafeller05 - All perfectly valid points, especially since I am a Nassau boy - 20+ years. I do have to commute to 110 twice a week, guess I better get that Prius!

Thanks to all for the input. It most likely will be Ridge for me.

[rocafeller05]

Your welcome. Just do one thing before you do it. Drive from the location where you plan on buying and to your workplace at rush hour. You may lucky b/c its only twice a week. Also, just plan on driving to Riverhead for dining out. Thats the draw backs, other than that , go for it. Good luck!

Originally Posted by kznny

KellyFG - All those reasons were the reasons that I was thinking to move out to Ridge. I really appreciate sharing your experience with me, I was hoping a move to Ridge would bring that lifestyle.

rocafeller05 - All perfectly valid points, especially since I am a Nassau boy - 20+ years. I do have to commute to 110 twice a week, guess I better get that Prius!

Thanks to all for the input. It most likely will be Ridge for me.

[rocafeller05]

Kznny, there is one more thing I wanted to ask you. Is this house your looking at close to the Brookhaven National Lab? My coworkers are saying stay away from that area? Dont know if anyone else has any input on the matter? They say there is ALOT of dangerous solutions leaked out and stored underground? They claim to see 2 headed deer!(Not joking, they are hunters) Just wanted to give you a heads up!

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by rocafeller05

Kznny, there is one more thing I wanted to ask you. Is this house your looking at close to the Brookhaven National Lab? My coworkers are saying stay away from that area? Dont know if anyone else has any input on the matter? They say there is ALOT of dangerous solutions leaked out and stored underground? They claim to see 2 headed deer!(Not joking, they are hunters) Just wanted to give you a heads up!

There were lots of things that leaked from the lab about 40 years ago, it has been proven that all it of flowed away from Ridge, southeast down toward Mastic & into the forge river. There has been a clean up effort underway at a snails pace for years.
We have a committee that deals with environmental issues in our homeowners association & we follow any toxic spills or other hazards that could potenially pollute our lake. We have people from our community that attend all meetings & hearings about such local matters. We've had the DEC & Suffolk county dept of health as guest speakers at our meetings.
Many of us in my neighborhood still drink well water which we have privately tested, the lake gets tested all summer as well.
To my knowledge there has not been any pollution problem that came from the lab in my neighborhood. I don't have first hand knowledge about the "Gull Dip Road" area AKA horse country near the lab.
I know people in my neighborhood that work at the lab, my good friend's husband has worked there for years. I've never heard him talk about anything like two headed deer, about 99% of the men in my neighborhood hunt locally & I've never seen any two headed deer or any other mutated wildlife. My DH & I hike in the state land here in Ridge every week year round for the past four years & I've never seen anything freaky.

I did however see a totally albino deer living in the Brookhaven town dump on horseblock road a few summers ago.

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by kznny

KellyFG - All those reasons were the reasons that I was thinking to move out to Ridge. I really appreciate sharing your experience with me, I was hoping a move to Ridge would bring that lifestyle.

rocafeller05 - All perfectly valid points, especially since I am a Nassau boy - 20+ years. I do have to commute to 110 twice a week, guess I better get that Prius!

Thanks to all for the input. It most likely will be Ridge for me.

That is awesome! The only thing I forgot to mention is the area near Smith Road, there is an condo complex there that is mostly rented to section 8 now, its a very contained area & I know there have been minor drug busts there. No serious crimes with weapons or anything, just unsavory lifestyles.
I personally wouldn't buy too close to there, but Ridge is very large & chances are you're not looking at that area.