A Tall Order: What's Quiet, Near Water and Close to the City? (Babylon: homes, buy)

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by MoonlightFlight

I don't know what the taxes are in the St. James area today, but I lived in Nissequogue right after my daughter was born. We had a nice house with beach rights, and my husband commuted to Manhattan from the St. James railroad station. The Stonybrook RR station was only three miles in the other direction. Some of the older homes up there were smaller, less than 2000sqft. Our property was two acres, but I don't know if that was a minimum property size. Most of it was woods; there was only a small area around the house to tend. It may be out of your price range now, though.

Nissequogue is still 2-acre zoned. They still have their own police dept at the corner of Moriches Road and Golf Club Road. Houses start at about 700K for a fixer-upper and go up into the millions. Property taxes start at about $15,000 yr and go up. The Village also imposes its own tax, I think it's at least 12% of whatever the Town of Smithtown bill is. We're currently living in my SO's sister's house in Nissequogue (house-sitting for her while she's working in Europe for 24 months, which works out great because we're currently house-hunting ourselves after selling our house this past spring) so I know the area pretty well by now. A lot of the smaller (less than 2000 sq ft) houses have been torn down and replaced by large new ones. We could never afford to own a house there but it's nice to be "squatters" and enjoy the ambience!

[MoonlightFlight]

Thank you, frazzled. I didn't realize the smaller homes had been torn down. We lived on North Path off of Wilderness Rd. I think we had the smallest home in the community, but it was nice.... just a short walk (and down a lot of steps) to the beach. The railroad station was just 3 miles down Moriches Rd., but then, so was the milk and bread. It certainly was quiet and peaceful.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

Nissequogue is still 2-acre zoned. They still have their own police dept at the corner of Moriches Road and Golf Club Road. Houses start at about 700K for a fixer-upper and go up into the millions. Property taxes start at about $15,000 yr and go up. The Village also imposes its own tax, I think it's at least 12% of whatever the Town of Smithtown bill is. We're currently living in my SO's sister's house in Nissequogue (house-sitting for her while she's working in Europe for 24 months, which works out great because we're currently house-hunting ourselves after selling our house this past spring) so I know the area pretty well by now. A lot of the smaller (less than 2000 sq ft) houses have been torn down and replaced by large new ones. We could never afford to own a house there but it's nice to be "squatters" and enjoy the ambience!

What an ideal situation to be in while you're looking!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

I'm surprised that there are many houses in St James with taxes that low. Most people in St James are lined up waiting for Mark Lewis to grieve them.... Smithtown too.

But the OP said "near water" and I wouldn't consider St James in that category, or Smithtown (other than North Smithtown near the river, which is out of their price range) either.

It would be helpful to know how close to the shoreline the OP wants to be. Waterfront? Waterview? Winter waterview? no more than a mile? no more than 2 miles? no more than 5 miles?

Good points.

St James is not walkable to the water, but hop in the car and you're there in minutes. Depending on where one is in Head of the Harbor (same zip) you can be a bit distant, too, even though there are plenty of homes with waterfront & waterviews.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by MoonlightFlight

I didn't realize the smaller homes had been torn down.

Not all the small ones are gone, but quite a few are... or have been purchased by people who then renovated/expanded them.

OhBeeHave, yes we really did luck out with this situation. My SO's sister got this great opportunity to be abroad for 2 years but she didn't want to sell her house because she won't decide until the end of 2009 whether or not she will stay there permanently. She also didn't want to leave the house vacant, nor to rent it out to strangers. So when she learned that we were planning to put our house on the market early this year but didn't have a house "in hand" to buy (we were planning to rent if we got a quick buyer) it was the perfect solution. She has people she knows and trusts living in/caring for her house, and we have the luxury of two years in which to find the house WE want. And because we're so fussy, it will probably take us close to that long anyhow!

We offered to pay rent but she wouldn't hear of it; said it was worth it to have us living there instead of anyone else, and not to constantly worry about what would happen to a vacant home. So we pay all the utilities, and for the landscaper during those months; we'd have those expenses anyway if we rented a house, plus we'd be paying rent! It's a win/win for all concerned. The only thing we have to worry about is not getting nabbed by those darn sneaky little Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor police Jeeps, LOL! My SO got a speeding ticket the first month we lived here (for doing 49 in a 40 zone!) and I got pulled over once too but the cop gave me a "break" and wrote it for failure to signal instead. We learned quick.

[OhBeeHave]

You really are a lucky person! Bought any lottery tickets lately? Mind sharing some numbers? LOL

I haven't met with Nissequogue's PD *knock on wood* and hubby learned the hard way about HOH. He said traffic court at HOH was like a cattle call.

[nancy thereader]

How about Babylon? It is a beachy nautical New Englandish village with wonderful restaurants , parks, a movie theatre, a great library and many small shops, all totally walkable, You can hop the train to Manhattan and be there in under an hour. You are ten minutes way from the ocean and right on the water (The Great South Bay) itself.

It is a true village with a "city hall" and a mayor who is very active in the village. Flowers are everywhere and there are all sorts of activities all year long.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by pdxbray

Hi Friends:

Here's an admitted tall order. I went to Hofstra, and I'm familiar with parts of the Island, but I need some opinions from current residents, since I've been in Portland, OR for 20 years.

My wife and I are thinking ahead a few years to retirement. Here are our dream requirements:

We want to be close to the City (Manhattan). By close I mean a two hour commute on LIRR. An hour and a half would be even better.

We'd love a place with beach rights or good public beaches. Either shore.

We don't want a huge piece of property to take care of. A three bedroom, 1500 sq ft home, like a one level mid century ranch, would be perfect.

No depressed towns.

I hate driving. Hate it. So a quieter town with less congestion is better than a traffic nightmare.

Here's a tough one: I'd like to stay at 400K or under, with of course, property taxes that are at 5K or under (HA.)

I like what I've seen of Wading River, but it seems to be way the heck out there, and I can't find a train nearby (is there one? Where is it?)

Thank you, experts. I'm eager to hear if you think I might be able to come close on my wish list.

Thom in PDX

Rocky Point NY 11778

Look no further.


crookhaven

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by dman72

Wasn't the original poster asking for a price under $400K? That isn't happening in most of the places mentioned unless it is falling down.

It is doable in Sound Beach or Rocky Point, but to say that's an hour from Manhattan, unless you have a helicopter at your disposal, is a stretch.

The original poster needs to adjust their figures upwards of 500K and taxes around $7,000 to really approach anything close to what they are asking.

Agreed

Rocky Point/Sound Beach actually meets the criteria but truth be told its 90 min to NYC on a good day.

Not like its any picnic from Stony Brook either since their both leaving from Ronkonkoma.

Did someone actually suggest Nissequogue?

Holy delusional.
Does that come with a time machine or a magic wand?

crookhaven

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Crookhaven

Agreed

Rocky Point/Sound Beach actually meets the criteria but truth be told its 90 min to NYC on a good day.

Not like its any picnic from Stony Brook either since their both leaving from Ronkonkoma.



crookhaven

I had to travel into NYC last month -- took Ronkonkoma as opposed to Stony Brook. Turns out the time I saved on the Ronk line as opposed to SB was the time I spent driving, parking and waiting in Ronk. It was a wash off peak.

The further you get from Ronkonkoma, the less time you ultimately save. (Unless you are catching an express.)