NYC burnout (finally), where's best cheese-free town w/ easy commute? (Garden City: apartments, condos)

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

I don't blame you. I absolutely hate Manhattan, avoid it at all costs. I say, come to the suburbs for a much better quality of life!!! With your budget, I would check out Garden City, RVC, or Manhasset (Munsey Park esp!). You will really love any of these areas I am sure. Great places for your children to grow up with all of the town attributes you are looking for.

Glad, please don't tell me my Smithtown neighbor is one of those Long Islanders who despises Manhattan?? The beauty of the metro area is being able to take advantage of both...you are really limiting yourself if you avoid it at all costs. Plus, the poster just talked about his 18 years in the city and from his tone and other comments he appears to have enjoyed much of his time in Manhattan and will most likely continue to do so...at some point your family situation though can dictate a change.

As for the towns to consider, this is one of those few threads where we all seem to agree to a point. In your price range I would go with Garden City first, especially for the community feel, but the other comments of support for Rockville Centre, Port Washington, etc, are spot on. Best of luck to you.

P.S. If you are interested in stretching the commute a tad bit more, Cold Spring Harbor is a phenomenal town.

[AlexisT]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

I would not recommend Great Neck to anyone with children. Mostly older folks living there, not many young families at all.

Not really--there are plenty of families with children, but not many very young ones because they can't afford to buy. Great Neck's "old fogey" reputation is a little overstated. School enrollment has actually gone up in the past 3 years.

However, it's increasingly dominated by Jews and Asians (it's been Jewish for a while but it's getting even more so).

[gwenrn]

Originally Posted by omigawd

I don't know how anyone can get NYC burnout!! With all the opportunity that Manhattan has and all it offers culturally, intellectually, and family-wise, it's a great place to raise a family.

If you *really* feel the urge to come out to the overpriced sand-bar that is Long Island, I would say Great Neck, Manhasset, Sands Point, Cold Spring Harbour. However, if you want a suburban feel with all that Manhattan offers, I would suggest Stuyvesant Town --- they're only doing rentals now, but I foresee them going condo in a few years and, if you live there, you will get insider prices.

I couldn't disagree more regarding Stuy Town. Do you live there? I do...the immediate area (for grocery shopping is awful), and they are making Stuy Town into a place for young/college kids.

[monkeygorilla]

I would say Cold Spring Harbor. Commute is just under an hour & the train station is adorable. Schools are top-notch...I've heard people compare it to a private school experience. Cold Spring Harbor itself has a cute Main Street w/ a handful of restaurants and boutiques. Plus, Huntington's village area is only minutes away & there is so much to do there. And of course, you're close to the water. Really, I can't think of anything bad about Cold Spring Harbor!

[Elke Mariotti]

See post #5 - love it there and lived there for 17 years! Then it was time to downsize :-(

Originally Posted by monkeygorilla

I would say Cold Spring Harbor. Commute is just under an hour & the train station is adorable. Schools are top-notch...I've heard people compare it to a private school experience. Cold Spring Harbor itself has a cute Main Street w/ a handful of restaurants and boutiques. Plus, Huntington's village area is only minutes away & there is so much to do there. And of course, you're close to the water. Really, I can't think of anything bad about Cold Spring Harbor!

[omigawd]

Originally Posted by gwenrn

I couldn't disagree more regarding Stuy Town. Do you live there? I do...the immediate area (for grocery shopping is awful), and they are making Stuy Town into a place for young/college kids.

I stayed in Stuyvesant Town for a while. I found it to be quite enjoyable. I was right off East 14th St and Avenue B. The grocery store was only 2 blocks from me and there were plenty of stores for everything else. Not to mention the 14th street crosstown bus that brought me to everything else I needed, including Union Square with it's wonderful green market.

I loved the playgrounds, the soccer fields, the tennis courts, the chess tables, and the other playgrounds where the kids could skate or play roller hockey or whatever.

I loved sitting on the benches in the Oval, reading a book or magazine and listening to the tranquil water running in that beautiful fountain.

I also loved it at holiday time when they lit the tree in the Oval and had a wonderful get-together with the people who lived there. Same thing at Easter when the "Easter Bunny" came to visit and gave all the kids chocolate bunnies and plastic eggs with treats inside.

I loved the fact that we could walk around the walkways peacefully and everyone was friendly and there were always those cute little squirrels running around and begging for food (the little black ones were so cute).

I have nothing bad to say about Stuyvesant Town. Nothing whatsoever. I can't even complain about the "young people/college kids".... NYU leases apartment in many of the buildings and sublets them to students. I never had a problem with any of them.

[Da41695]

Originally Posted by ledzep123

We still love the big town, so want an easy commute, both for my early-am job and everything else we like to do. I have a young family so want a strong school district for the kids to grow up in. Our price point is in the $1.5 - 2.0 mio range. We also like the idea of a community with identity, a main street, shops, parks, all the good stuff from 1950's movies. Communities that have other young families and are not dominated by empty nesters would also be preferred.

Probably Rockville Centre or Great Neck, both of them are upscale family-oriented communities with everything described above, however Great Neck is closer to New York City, school district and main street are equal, both Great Neck and Rockville Centre have parks and reacreation areas, Great Neck is near the water and slightly more upscale, but Rockville Centre is also very upscale and home prices fit right under your budget. So that is a fairly even comparison.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

Glad, please don't tell me my Smithtown neighbor is one of those Long Islanders who despises Manhattan?? The beauty of the metro area is being able to take advantage of both...you are really limiting yourself if you avoid it at all costs. .

It is true. I lived about 20 mins from Manhattan most of my entire life,and dreaded each and every time I had to go. And that was just to visit. I can't ever imagine living there, but I know many love it.

I am just not a fan of the congestion, noise, crowds, subway, taxis, etc. It really frazzles my nerves. Never was a fan and never will be, it's true. If I never had to step foot in Manhattan ever again in my life, I would not even think twice about it.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by AlexisT

Not really--there are plenty of families with children, but not many very young ones because they can't afford to buy. Great Neck's "old fogey" reputation is a little overstated. School enrollment has actually gone up in the past 3 years.
.

Just making a point that overall, I have never heard of Great Neck referred to as a place where people with young children prefer to buy. Not saying at all that there aren't any families or young children, but is it a town really geared towards children (like Garden City is)? I did personally look there years ago and this was my experience (not many young families). But please correct me if I am wrong.

[LIPumpkin]

There are many young families buying apartments in Great Neck, as they cannot afford the houses but want a closer commute to NYC.