Valley Stream or West Hempstead

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by AntoniaGrace

I also take issue with your repeated assertions that Malverne families do not send their kids to the public schools. It is true that many families send their children to the excellent Catholic schools in Malverne and the surrounding neighborhoods. But just as many send their kids to the public schools and are quite happy to be there.

"Just as many send their kids to the public schools" means it is 50/50 private school vs. public school? In my book, that is still too high for anywhere on Long Island, the place with some of the highest property taxes in the nation that support some of the most expensive public schools in the nation.

If there was a family looking on Long Island for a middle class home with a good school district, would you tell them that Malverne is worth the high price of homes and high property tax money? I wouldn't. I would tell them they could do better elsewhere. And I would be telling the absolute truth.

Malverne itself is a nice village and has lovely homes and pretty blocks. I would live there in VS SD 13. SD 12 is not all that and people could do better for the high tax money they have to pay. When people are making the biggest investment decision of their lives, they should find the best deal they can get in terms of their children's education and future resale value. A home in Malverne 12 is not going to give them the best they can get for the money they currently have to spend on house price and on property tax. Is it so awful, are kids going to die if they go to Malverne 12? No, of course not. Like some of you have said, Malverne is probably better than a lot of what is available out there in the rest of the country and I agree with you. However, is it one of the better choices in this area of Nassau if you have $300K-$500K to spend? NO. I would be a liar if I advised people they couldn't do better. If you are such a concerned parent, PUSH your administration harder to EARN their high tax dollar keep. Keep voting out the school board if things do not keep improving. On another thread, somebody wrote on here that Baldwin used to be a nationally recognized school district of excellence and now it is nowhere near that. Perhaps Malverne can take its place on that list. Anything is possible, but right now Malverne SD is not the best buy for a home in a middle class school district in Nassau on Long Island and I am all about advising people on getting the most for their money. Sorry that my recommendation insults you. I can understand how you feel about it, but since you are not looking for a home, what I say is not directed at you. As I have done so on this board before (not just this thread), when I make a mistake, I apologize and set it straight. You noticed that. At this point, I don't think I am making a mistake when I say people can do better elsewhere than Malverne SD 12 for the same money in home prices and property taxes.

[teachrsrock]

Originally Posted by Tess22

So my husband and I are interested in buying a home in Long Island. First comparison Valley Stream or West Hempstead??????? We are in our 30's no kids yet but school district is important. We also both work in Manhattan so commute time is important.

Any suggestions

I would strongly suggest Malverne, although that is not one of your choices. You may want to research this area. I highly recommend Malverne. It is a quiet, safe and very friendly neighborhood. Malverne is filled with young working families and lots of children. We love living here.

As for the Malverne School District, what you have read or heard about the schools is not true. I speak from experience, as an educator and a parent, I am extremely satisfied with the district. Do NOT listen to those who do not know the schools. Many make assumptions based on newspaper articles and rumor. The Malverne Schools are superior in education. Living here and using the public schools have been the best decisions I have made for my family. Do your OWN research when it comes to schools.
There are so many other Malverne families who also use the schools. We are fortunate to share friendships with people from Malverne, Lakeview, Lynbrook and West Hempstead, all of the Malverne School communities.
Good luck in your decision making. If you do live in Malverne one day, I know you too will be happy with your decision as well.

[teachrsrock]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

"Just as many send their kids to the public schools" means it is 50/50 private school vs. public school? In my book, that is still too high for anywhere on Long Island, the place with some of the highest property taxes in the nation that support some of the most expensive public schools in the nation.

If there was a family looking on Long Island for a middle class home with a good school district, would you tell them that Malverne is worth the high price of homes and high property tax money? I wouldn't. I would tell them they could do better elsewhere. And I would be telling the absolute truth.

Malverne itself is a nice village and has lovely homes and pretty blocks. I would live there in VS SD 13. SD 12 is not all that and people could do better for the high tax money they have to pay. When people are making the biggest investment decision of their lives, they should find the best deal they can get in terms of their children's education and future resale value. A home in Malverne 12 is not going to give them the best they can get for the money they currently have to spend on house price and on property tax. Is it so awful, are kids going to die if they go to Malverne 12? No, of course not. Like some of you have said, Malverne is probably better than a lot of what is available out there in the rest of the country and I agree with you. However, is it one of the better choices in this area of Nassau if you have $300K-$500K to spend? NO. I would be a liar if I advised people they couldn't do better. If you are such a concerned parent, PUSH your administration harder to EARN their high tax dollar keep. Keep voting out the school board if things do not keep improving. On another thread, somebody wrote on here that Baldwin used to be a nationally recognized school district of excellence and now it is nowhere near that. Perhaps Malverne can take its place on that list. Anything is possible, but right now Malverne SD is not the best buy for a home in a middle class school district in Nassau on Long Island and I am all about advising people on getting the most for their money. Sorry that my recommendation insults you. I can understand how you feel about it, but since you are not looking for a home, what I say is not directed at you. As I have done so on this board before (not just this thread), when I make a mistake, I apologize and set it straight. You noticed that. At this point, I don't think I am making a mistake when I say people can do better elsewhere than Malverne SD 12 for the same money in home prices and property taxes.

The Real Estate market is strong in both districts. I'm meeting more and more people moving here from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and choosing to live here because SD 12 is desirable and known from within as a successfully integrated school district. Whatever schools people choose to use is up to them, but it has NOT effected sales in the least bit. It actually is becoming the trend in the last 4 yrs for young families to move here and feel confident in registering in Dist. 12. I also know of families choosing to leave Dist. 13. I'm just letting people know, do your own research and talk to people who live in Malverne.

[teachrsrock]

Originally Posted by Tess22

So my husband and I are interested in buying a home in Long Island. First comparison Valley Stream or West Hempstead??????? We are in our 30's no kids yet but school district is important. We also both work in Manhattan so commute time is important.

Any suggestions

You may also want to look into the different sections of Malverne, Malverne Woods and Malverne Park are not part of the Inc. Village therefore you don't pay Village tax. But you will find all of Malverne is beautiful and base your decision on the house that is right for you.

[maisy123]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

"Just as many send their kids to the public schools" means it is 50/50 private school vs. public school? In my book, that is still too high for anywhere on Long Island, the place with some of the highest property taxes in the nation that support some of the most expensive public schools in the nation.

If there was a family looking on Long Island for a middle class home with a good school district, would you tell them that Malverne is worth the high price of homes and high property tax money? I wouldn't. I would tell them they could do better elsewhere. And I would be telling the absolute truth.

Malverne itself is a nice village and has lovely homes and pretty blocks. I would live there in VS SD 13. SD 12 is not all that and people could do better for the high tax money they have to pay. When people are making the biggest investment decision of their lives, they should find the best deal they can get in terms of their children's education and future resale value. A home in Malverne 12 is not going to give them the best they can get for the money they currently have to spend on house price and on property tax. Is it so awful, are kids going to die if they go to Malverne 12? No, of course not. Like some of you have said, Malverne is probably better than a lot of what is available out there in the rest of the country and I agree with you. However, is it one of the better choices in this area of Nassau if you have $300K-$500K to spend? NO. I would be a liar if I advised people they couldn't do better. If you are such a concerned parent, PUSH your administration harder to EARN their high tax dollar keep. Keep voting out the school board if things do not keep improving. On another thread, somebody wrote on here that Baldwin used to be a nationally recognized school district of excellence and now it is nowhere near that. Perhaps Malverne can take its place on that list. Anything is possible, but right now Malverne SD is not the best buy for a home in a middle class school district in Nassau on Long Island and I am all about advising people on getting the most for their money. Sorry that my recommendation insults you. I can understand how you feel about it, but since you are not looking for a home, what I say is not directed at you. As I have done so on this board before (not just this thread), when I make a mistake, I apologize and set it straight. You noticed that. At this point, I don't think I am making a mistake when I say people can do better elsewhere than Malverne SD 12 for the same money in home prices and property taxes.

Two weeks ago Sunday Real Estate Section of Newsday
In these LI communities, houses are selling at a good clip -- Newsday.com

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

I would tell them they could do better elsewhere. And I would be telling the absolute truth.

I don't get it. Couldn't you say this about basically anywhere? You could do better than the schools in Malverne, academically. You could do better than the schools in Valley Stream, better than the schools in Wantagh, better than the schools in Jericho and Cold Spring Harbor (probably). You could pay lower taxes than you would in Malverne, or any one of those places - but not by much on LI. You could live in North Carolina and buy the same $450k home you would here for $200k, or less in other parts of the country. Does that somehow make all of these places faulty? A bad "investment"?

Speaking of which, as the other posters mentioned - Malverne real estate seems to be pretty strong. I caught that article in Newsday, and just looked up Q4 2008 data. Average sale price was well over $500k, they seem to be faring much better than other places on LI. Aside from that, I think it's beyond foolish to look at the purchase of a home you intend on living in for an extended period of time and raising a family in, in purely financial terms. No one knows what the future holds, by the time the OP has school aged children it is entirely possible that taxes in Malverne will have increased very little while alternative areas will have skyrocketed....it happens all the time. Similarly, it's just as likely that Malverne schools will have become upper echelon Blue Ribbon presidential Newsday top-10 list fodder as it is likely that some place like Bellmore, Valley Stream or East Meadow will be struggling to get 70% of their students to pass a regents exam.

In 1947, people in Freeport and Hempstead were looking down their noses at those low class tract housing shacks being built a few miles east in Levittown. It was predicted to be a welfare ridden ghetto within 10 years time. Obviously, things changed very quickly. I don't see any red flags or blatant indicators that Malverne will perish or prosper any faster or slower than surrounding areas. In the here and now, it would appear to be a solid community with solid schools. I think the worst thing you can say about the schools is that they aren't on par with the property values within the Village of Malverne - this is not to say they aren't on par with (or close to) schools in the general vicinity and many other places on LI. For a place that undoubtedly has appealing characteristics for many families, I just think it's very misleading to portray it as a rip off/overpriced because the high school ranks about 5-10% lower than what you would consider good.

Your logic on this is a real head scratcher for me, especially in the context of comparing the schools to VS 13 - a district that is a lot closer to Malverne than it is close to anything "really good", just as Malverne is a lot closer to VS 13 than anything "really bad". Right now, I would - without a doubt - say all three VS high schools are better academically, but being realistic I don't see some massive difference here. I honestly believe you're going to get your money's worth out of a school district 9 times out of 10 any place on Long Island. There are only a handful I would say "stay away from". If the OP was more concerned about her kids attending one of the more prestigious names on LI, I wouldn't recommend any of these!

Here's where I'm probably going to sound very stupid: Aren't there a lot of Orthodox Jewish families in Malverne? I think this may be a contributing factor as to why so many send their children to private schools, as it is in West Hempstead and Lawrence.

[maisy123]

Here's where I'm probably going to sound very stupid: Aren't there a lot of Orthodox Jewish families in Malverne? I think this may be a contributing factor as to why so many send their children to private schools, as it is in West Hempstead and Lawrence.[/quote]

Sean, Malverne is predominantly Irish, Italian and German. Several decades ago it did have a large Orthodox pop., but no longer. IMO there are 3 reasons a good portion of residents choose private/parochial.

1. There was a time approx. 10-15 yrs ago when Malverne schools were near the bottom of the list academically. Although those statistics have dramatically improved the perception and lack of current information steer people away.
2. Malverne has a large Catholic/Christian population. Many of these families choose the parochial environment for their children. Many are products of parochial schools themselves.
3. There are many families in Malverne and elsewhere that are not comfortable with sending their children into a district that has a large minority poulation regardless of academic standing or the culture of the district that IMO has the potential to be one of the most successfully integrated districts in the country.

Current trends show increased enrollment from Malverne residents due to economic factors and the outreach of a grassroots not for profit group of residents trying very hard to correct misperceptions and provide accurate information to residents about the schools.
See www.projectenrollnow.org

[Keke25]

Valley stream is better because you have three lines that can stop there Far rockaway long beach and sometimes babylon stops there. W hempstead the train barely runs its a pain. And v. stream has more to offer.