Is Centereach a good place to live (New York, Buffalo: houses, buyers)
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I'm looking to buy a house in long island... I know the "best" towns like smithtown and dix hills, but these are a little out of my price range. I came across centereach and was wondering if it's a safe/clean area. What other areas would you say are safe and clean?
Middle Country is a middle district. Not bad, not great and it seems like people on LI live and die depending on which SD they are zoned into.
Otherwise its ok. Only think I detest about Centereach is Middle Country Rd. Lots of traffic and lights. However, since theres plenty of commercial space the taxes are usually lower.
I grew up in Centereach and can tell you that I personally hated every second of it. This is my opinion and I'm sure other people have there own, but the town is only becoming more dangerous. The heroin problem in Smithtown is spilling over in Centereach, several of the people I went to HS with have either died for overdoses, or are in jail for possession. Over the years it has only been getting more trashy. Look up the mugshots on newsday.com and see how many people reside in Centereach. You'll lose count.
The schools are a literal joke. While I was looking at colleges I was considering Buffalo and the advice I received from my guidance counselor was "Do you know it is cold in Buffalo?". Wow, thanks a bunch, Mr. Rivera! Without his knowledge of the weather in upstate New York I might have packed only swimsuits for the four years.
There are areas of Centereach with nice looking houses that are fairly new developments but it's not worth the money you pay for it. There are other areas of the island that are safer, try looking in Kings Park.
And please, do not be fooled by the existence of "South Setauket". The zip code is still 11720, it's the same post office, it is Centereach. It's the same awful school district.
The only upside to living in this town was the easy access to Stony Brook University.
And please, do not be fooled by the existence of "South Setauket". The zip code is still 11720, it's the same post office, it is Centereach. It's the same awful school district.
Walter, have fun !! JK.
This is not related to the actual post but an observation on the PP.
I know that when I was looking, I would see houses in S.Setauket listed as "3V" schools, but if you click the school reports it would say "Centereach SD".
A few realtors had no clue when I asked them, luckily we did not find a house in that area to our liking, otherwise we would have had to look at the tax documents etc to make sure what SD the house really belongs to, but this is definitely a red flag for prospective buyers.... make sure you do your homework and not just go by the listing.
By the way, I second the traffic issue mentioned by the PP, its horrendous, Middle country rd is a mess.
You are right though, some zones in "S. Setauket" do go to three village school district so I may have spoken too quickly on that one. I tend to rant when I talk about Centereach. Maybe it was the peeping tom, the attempted break-in to my house, or someone trying to car-jack my father that makes me a little touchy on the town LOL. It would just irritate me when people in my school said they lived in "S. Setauket", I wanted to shake them and say "YOU LIVE IN CENTEREACH!"
There are a handful of South Setauket/Centereach, NY 11720 homes zoned for 3V, but one has to be very diligent and would be best confirming the address' zoning directly with the school district clerk.
And please, do not be fooled by the existence of "South Setauket". The zip code is still 11720, it's the same post office, it is Centereach. It's the same awful school district.
The only upside to living in this town was the easy access to Stony Brook University.
Specifically, I think Betty Ann drive, those other four long parallel blocks, and the adjacent community to the east are part of "South Setauket" and are also in the Three Village School district (unless something has changed since the 80's/90's). Something to factor in your decision if that district is still considered a plus.
Thanks for the input. I never knew smithtown had a drug problem. I thought it was a safe and clean town. As fr as the 3v even if I find a house that's in that sd I would still have to worry about break-ins and such? Also,besides kings park what are some other good safe/clean towns?
Break ins occur everywhere and as the economy declines they increase. No where is safe from break ins -- it is just that they are more commonplace in some areas as opposed to others.
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