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Hi there! I have friends moving to LI from the city and they need some advice on where to move (I’m the only person they know from here so they’d like some advice and asked me to post here.) At the moment, they have narrowed their search down to Syosset and Merrick.
A little about them:they are a married couple, late 30s, with a 2 year old and one on the way. husband is a pharmacist who will be working in Plainview and wife is in PR in the city (in office 2 days a week) so a decent commute is an upside. They are Jewish, not Orthodox but practicing, and it’s very important to them to live in a town with a strong Jewish community without needing to send their kids to Jewish private school. On that note, they want great public schools, but would prefer not too snobby. They are also Democrats and not originally from NY if that makes a difference.
Their budget is $900K-$1M but they have basically found houses they like in both Syosset and Merrick. Anything they should know to inform their decision? I’m trying not to be biased as I grew up in Woodbury and went to Syosset schools (though their choice was unrelated). I’m not crazy familiar with the south shore but had some friends from Merrick growing up and it felt like a similar town. Any advice I could forward to them is appreciated. Thanks
I moved to North Merrick last year and love the area. Merrick is largely a mix of Catholics and Jews, with a higher proportion of Jews in South Merrick south of Merrick Road. The commute on the LIRR into Penn from Merrick LIRR is about 45 minutes, which is a bit faster than the LIRR from Syosset. I am in the Plainview area every so often for work. Depending where in Merrick you are coming from, you would get on the Southern State Parkway East at either exit 23, 24 or 25 and take it to 135 north. (Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway). With no traffic, i get to Old Country Road in Plainview in about 15 minutes from my house, but most of Merrick would probably be more like 20 minutes to Plainview.
Demographically speaking, i am not as familiar with Syosset but i would bet the Jewish population is shrinking alongside a growing Asian population, as is the case in many North Shore Nassau neighborhoods. Both the Syosset and Merrick-Bellmore school districts are great. The Merrick Bellmore school district consists of 3 high schools. If you live in either of Merrick or Bellmore south of Sunrise Highway, you are zoned for John F. Kennedy High school, which is academically the highest-ranked of the three. If you live north of Sunrise, about 3/4 of Merrick attends Calhoun High School, with the eastern 1/4 and Bellmore attending Mepham High School. Both schools are very good, probably a notch or two below JFK, with Calhoun ranking second and Mepham third. But you can't go wrong with any of them. Hope this helps.
The Jewish population in Syosset is decreasing with an increase in Asians. Syosset is a prettier town and close to even more pretty towns. But for long term, I'd say go with Merrick, even though it lacks the greenery of the north shore. The Jewish population in south Merrick seems to be stable for now. Both towns have lots of activities for the kiddies. Merrick actually has 2 separate elementary school districts, North Merrick and regular plain ol' Merrick. Merrick Schools as opposed to North Merrick has more Jewish kids. Both "Merricks" feed into the same high school district. There are very active conservative and reform synagogues on Merrick Ave. Syosset also has a conservative synagogue.
Hi there! I have friends moving to LI from the city and they need some advice on where to move (I’m the only person they know from here so they’d like some advice and asked me to post here.) At the moment, they have narrowed their search down to Syosset and Merrick.
A little about them:they are a married couple, late 30s, with a 2 year old and one on the way. husband is a pharmacist who will be working in Plainview and wife is in PR in the city (in office 2 days a week) so a decent commute is an upside. They are Jewish, not Orthodox but practicing, and it’s very important to them to live in a town with a strong Jewish community without needing to send their kids to Jewish private school. On that note, they want great public schools, but would prefer not too snobby. They are also Democrats and not originally from NY if that makes a difference.
Their budget is $900K-$1M but they have basically found houses they like in both Syosset and Merrick. Anything they should know to inform their decision? I’m trying not to be biased as I grew up in Woodbury and went to Syosset schools (though their choice was unrelated). I’m not crazy familiar with the south shore but had some friends from Merrick growing up and it felt like a similar town. Any advice I could forward to them is appreciated. Thanks
This couple sounds almost identical to my wife and I when we were looking. We ended up in Merrick, mainly because my wife was commuting to the city, and she did not want to drive to a train, and Merrick’s housing stock within walking distance of the train (i.e. Merrick Woods) was much nicer than the housing stock I saw near most of the other towns’ stations. We are a Jewish couple, although we do not practice. You can most definitely find a strong Jewish community here in Merrick, especially south of Merrick road. We personally wanted to stay away from that type of culture and ended up in Merrick Woods, which definitely has a Jewish population as well, but is much more mixed from what I’ve seen. Like other posters have said, I believe the demographics of the elementary schools in Syosset are FAR different from the demographics of Syosset high school —- there are far fewer Jews and a much larger Asian population in the younger grades, which means the district itself is changing drastically. This is happening in most of the North Shore towns.
Agreed. Merrick’s housing stock within walking distance of the train happens to be some of the nicest in town. Wide streets, lots of trees, beautiful Tudor homes and large lots in Merrick Woods. If the OP is also looking at Syosset, they should be able to find a home in MW within their budget. Whereas the north shore as a whole is prettier, Merrick is undoubtedly one of the nicest looking towns on the south shore, with various neighborhoods and housing styles to choose from and a lot of local pride.
Merrick is great, one of the best towns on Nassau’s south shore. Lots of trees and a nice little downtown. 40-45 minutes to Manhattan by train and high ranked schools.
Syosset for sure, I generally don't care for the South Shore.
How helpful. I'm convinced...
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