midde class african amer. neigh. (Huntington, Coram: houses, neighborhoods, school district)

[tiaam]

Can anyone tell me where the middle class african americans live? I'm open to both nassau and suffolk counties

[fyrisle]

My wife, whom is african-american, felt comfortable near Huntington village even though it's predominately white. Are you looking for a large african-american population?

[tiaam]

I wouldn't mind a diverse community, but I want to be comfortable. I don't want to live in a community where my children stand out.

[fyrisle]

Huntington Station has a large minority community that's about 12% african-american and 23% hispanic. There are some nice middle income neighborhoods with lots of trees and winding roads and some not so nice lower income neighborhoods. Patchogue is a similar situation with roughly the same proportions. The areas vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.

[fyrisle]

I understand what you mean when you say you don't want your children to stand out - my son is biracial. We are relocating from Manhattan where it's common to be biracial to the suburbs where there is less diversity. I have the impression that communities that have a large number of former Manhattanites/Brooklynites are more open - meaning more accepting of others. Anyway, we both felt comfortable and just judging by our interaction with the people living/working there, we didn't really feel like we stuck out in Huntington village or where we are now considering, the communities along the Hudson River in Westchester.

[eatyummypuppies]

Shirley or Mastic are somewhat lower class than Huntington Station, and are much farther east, however, they are probably much more economical. These areas are up-and-coming in my opinion. You should also investigate the Copaigue-Lindenhurst area, which is much more west, if that's a concern. I do work at people's homes all over the island, and it seems to me a lot of these communities vary substantially by the block. I have middle class black customers in all these places.

[KellyFG]

Malverne, Baldwin, Amityville, Wheatley Heights, Coram, Middle Island, Centereach, Ronkonkoma, Bay Shore. I think all of these towns are diverse & everyone feels welcome.
I am white and grew up in a very "white town", but my best friend as a child was african american, she & her two brothers & maybe 2 other kids were the only african american kids in our high school. It was rough for her socially because she didn't want to date white guys. Although she was very well liked I remember her confessing to me sometimes that she hated being "different". She moved to South Carolina after college.
Good luck in your search!

[llama8]

I would recommend Elmont. I used to live there and motly middle class black families moved in (I would try to look in the part that border Franklin Square, the racetrack side isn't nice at all). Baldwin may also be a nice place to look as well as Huntington Station.

Someone recommended Malverne, but I would not for you. I lived there and my parents still live there. The entire town is almost all white, but the school district incorporates a town called Lakeview. The school is almost all African American (most of the white families send their kids to private school). Lakeview is not middle class at all...it's more along the lines of the poverty found in the Roosevelt area. When you drive through Lakeview, you see gangs and houses boarded up. Quite a few Malverne residents are still bitter over the integration of the schools so it may not be the most welcoming place or type of area you are looking for.

[okaydorothy]

I live in Medford and in our very nice development we have people of all races and we all get along very well. It dosnt matter where you came from, as long as you keep your home nice, tidy and that you are friendly.

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[nbres]

In Suffolk: Highly recommended are Dix Hills and Wheatley Heights because it is in the Half Hollow Hills School District. There are many middle class and professional African-Americans in the area, some are quite wealthy. Half Hollow Hills is a diverse school district with outstanding statistics. Nice homes are quite affordable in the Wheatley Heights section, but there are buys throughout the district.