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My first time posting. My wife and I currently live in Manhattan and are considering buying in Port Washington. Our price range is $700-$850. Before reading any of the threads on here, our thinking was:
(1) we need to be within walking distance of the LIRR
(2) we want to be near the water
Those two things seemed to more or less coincide (as the public dock is not too far from the LIRR), so I thought we were all set. But having read some threads here, I am having some serious reservations, mostly because I hadn't considered the elementary school issue. We have an infant (and hope to continue to grow our family), so elementary schools are a major concern. Is the elementary school near the LIRR area a good one?
Even beyond the issue of the elementary schools, the idea of a massive influx of illegals and gangs is downright scary. I am overreacting or is the problem that bad? I had no idea about any of this.
Last summer, we looked briefly at PW, but also Manhasset and Great Neck. My wife is not too keen on the idea of moving to LI in general, but PW is particularly appealing to her because of the proximity to the water and overall charm of Main Street. We want proximity to water, easy commute to NYC and good schools. Any thoughts on what we should do?
Thanks!
Hi there!! I wrote already something about my opinion on all this bad postings about PW. My husband have lived here his whole life. Then after he finished school and we got married we moved back. We are also a young couple with young children. My older goes to elementary school. The school system here is great - I could not ask for more. Also, the town is very safe and quiet, summer here is wonderful - I don't know where these people are coming from with all these bad things about Port... In your price range you can sure get something uptown or lower Main Street. Actually , take a look on the Prudential website - I think there is a very nice colonial (brand new construction) steps from the town dock. And I believe the elementary for those who live in that area is Phillip Sousa - one of the best of Port. The parents get very involved. About immigrants... yes there is a signifcant population of immigrants here in Port, but you will see - they are our nannies, babysitters, the guy who will clean your garden...people that are here to work (which is good!!). You will love Port if you move here. Great Neck is a little stiff...but ok.
For those who may not be familiar with East Garden City
Quote:
Originally Posted by babr1999
... easy access to big mall like Roosevelt Mall in Westbury ...
The Roosevelt Field Mall is not in "Westbury"; it's in the part of the Hamlet of East Garden City that has a "Garden City, NY 11530" mailing address:
Just like the Hamlet of Port Washington (2,732 acres), where the same-named ZIP Code postal zone, "Port Washington, NY 11050", is much larger (6,652 acres) than the community whose name it "shares" and the majority of places that have a "Port Washington, NY 11050" mailing address are not in the Hamlet of Port Washington, the Village of Westbury suffers the same fate, as the "Westbury, NY 11590" ZIP Code postal zone (4,302 acres) is about 3X the size of the Village of Westbury (1,511 acres).
For those who may not be familiar with East Garden City:
East Garden City is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeast part of the Town of Hempstead, in the central part of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line.
Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of East Garden City in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Carle Place and the Village of Westbury in the Town of North Hempstead (the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line); on the east by the Hamlet of East Meadow; on the south by the Hamlet of Uniondale and the Village of Hempstead; and, on the west by the Village of Hempstead and the Village of Garden City.
East Garden City is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name as part of their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of East Garden City have a "Garden City, NY 11530", "Westbury, NY 11590", "Uniondale, NY 11553" and "Hempstead, NY 11550" mailing address.
Here are some well-known places that are in the Hamlet of East Garden City:
Cradle of Aviation Museum, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)
Fortunoff, East Garden City (Westbury P.O.)
Hofstra University Dorms, East Garden City (Hempstead P.O.)
Mall at The Source, East Garden City (Westbury P.O.)
Nassau County Community College, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)
Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum, East Garden City (Uniondale P.O.)
Roosevelt Field, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)
When you go house hunting, look for abandoned shopping carts, large amounts of trash on garbage pick-up day, many cars parked out on street, screen doors left in the open position, and ice cream trucks vending in front of certain homes. This should act as tip off for illegal home - stay away from these areas. We are life long residents and are actively looking to move out of Port Washington.
That would be mostly Manorhaven, I guess, and maybe Manhasset Isle? Totally not my idea of great neighborhoods. Especially if you're moving from one of the boroughs (and even more, if you grew up in one of them), you definitely will be turned off (I know I was).
I didn't finally make my long-awaited move to the suburbs to live in a microcosm of an outer borough. While Manorhaven and Manhasset Isle are definitely a step up from that, it's a small step at that -- and too high a price to pay.
When you go house hunting, look for abandoned shopping carts, large amounts of trash on garbage pick-up day, many cars parked out on street, screen doors left in the open position, and ice cream trucks vending in front of certain homes. This should act as tip off for illegal home - stay away from these areas. We are life long residents and are actively looking to move out of Port Washington.
Wow, you are really generalizing quite a bit here! Port Washington has lots of different types of neighborhoods -- and some of the prettiest I've seen.
We too are new to the area. We have read about various sections, however, one of the homes we have looked at is in the "park" section. We have not seen anything written about this area, and would appreciate any information.
The Park section is good area. It is zoned for either Sousa or South Salem Elementary both very good schools. You can also walk to the train station which is a big plus. A very good Irish pub called Sullivans Quay is nearby on Port Boulevard. The neighborhood is also adjacent to the Middle and High Schools.
Port is a good place to live. The reports of it being overun with illegals is greatly exaggerated. Yes, it is more diverse than surrounding towns but it is stable and not experiencing white flight. The schools have remained about 65%- 75% white for many years (which suggests that many whites continue to move into the district even as minorities do also) and the High School is highly ranked. Race is not a big issue in Port, you'll find that out fast once you move here.
Manorhaven isn't the troubled area people make it out to be. It's just working class, nothing wrong with that. Most of the problem with vandalism a few years back up there have been solved. If you move to Port get involved with the community. I find that it is those who don't know what is going on that tend to have a negative view of the place, including myself past tense.
Last edited by Port North; 11-07-2008 at 09:52 AM..
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For those who may not be familiar with East Garden City
