A Place for Us? (Huntington, Oceanside: apartment, to rent, condo)

[Happy Tuesday]

Okay. Here's the deal. My husband and I are renters, currently in Rego Park on the Forest Hills border. We have always dreamed of buying something someday, but have had trouble saving over the last few years. My husband works in Great Neck and makes a decent salary ($100K+), but I am a stay-at-home-mom to our two little ones so we are living on one income.

We are miserable in our current apartment and had been looking to rent in Forest Hills (not RP) in better school zones (PS 196 or 144), but have found that a large 2-3 bed/1.5 bath in a pet-friendly building (we have a small dog) would involve taking on a rent that would prohibit us from being able to save and therefore set us up for a lifetime of renting. This is further complicated by the fact that we really don't want to be in Forest Hills for more than seven years because we'd rather not send our kids to the middle school there.

So we started looking into ways to buy without having to put the 20% down (FHA mortgages and similar) and are beginning to see that there might be a way for us to buy something after all, particularly in this market. We are prepared to leave the city and move to Long Island.

We experimented with Long Island briefly a few years ago when my husband first started working in Great Neck and discovered very quickly that we chose the wrong area for our family. As far as we knew, we were the ONLY Jews, and the neighborhood, which was slightly more working class than we expected, had far too many Bush/Cheney and pro-life bumper stickers than we were comfortable with. My husband (who has two advanced degrees and is contemplating a Ph.D) and I are "theater people", artists, a little funky and we felt very, very out of place in this community.

Well, now that we know that we need to do our homework, we're doing it. But we need some help. (And more money, but that part we can't fix.)

I started doing a bit of research and have a lot of family on the Island so am familiar with certain areas already. I've poked around and searched the forums quite a bit and bookmarked all the lists of the best school districts in Nassau and Suffolk and have gotten a sense of what neighborhoods tend to be Jewish or "Jewish enough", but what I am wondering is can we possibly get a house for about $350K in any of these areas? Are there pockets of smaller homes in these school districts that we might still be able to afford?

We saw a few houses on MLS in Melville and Dix Hills that were in that range that still said that they were zoned for Half Hollow Hills. Is this for real? We don't mind being the poor family in a wealthier community if it means that the kids get a better education. We just don't want to be the only Jewish family in "the hood".

We are also curious about Huntington. We know to stay away from Huntington Station, but what's the deal with the schools? Is Harborfields a good district? What is Robin Park like? Are there Jews?

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Neighborhood suggestions are welcome as well!

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Happy Tuesday

Okay. Here's the deal. My husband and I are renters, currently in Rego Park on the Forest Hills border. We have always dreamed of buying something someday, but have had trouble saving over the last few years. My husband works in Great Neck and makes a decent salary ($100K+), but I am a stay-at-home-mom to our two little ones so we are living on one income.

We are miserable in our current apartment and had been looking to rent in Forest Hills (not RP) in better school zones (PS 196 or 144), but have found that a large 2-3 bed/1.5 bath in a pet-friendly building (we have a small dog) would involve taking on a rent that would prohibit us from being able to save and therefore set us up for a lifetime of renting. This is further complicated by the fact that we really don't want to be in Forest Hills for more than seven years because we'd rather not send our kids to the middle school there.

So we started looking into ways to buy without having to put the 20% down (FHA mortgages and similar) and are beginning to see that there might be a way for us to buy something after all, particularly in this market. We are prepared to leave the city and move to Long Island.

We experimented with Long Island briefly a few years ago when my husband first started working in Great Neck and discovered very quickly that we chose the wrong area for our family. As far as we knew, we were the ONLY Jews, and the neighborhood, which was slightly more working class than we expected, had far too many Bush/Cheney and pro-life bumper stickers than we were comfortable with. My husband (who has two advanced degrees and is contemplating a Ph.D) and I are "theater people", artists, a little funky and we felt very, very out of place in this community.

Well, now that we know that we need to do our homework, we're doing it. But we need some help. (And more money, but that part we can't fix.)

I started doing a bit of research and have a lot of family on the Island so am familiar with certain areas already. I've poked around and searched the forums quite a bit and bookmarked all the lists of the best school districts in Nassau and Suffolk and have gotten a sense of what neighborhoods tend to be Jewish or "Jewish enough", but what I am wondering is can we possibly get a house for about $350K in any of these areas? Are there pockets of smaller homes in these school districts that we might still be able to afford?

We saw a few houses on MLS in Melville and Dix Hills that were in that range that still said that they were zoned for Half Hollow Hills. Is this for real? We don't mind being the poor family in a wealthier community if it means that the kids get a better education. We just don't want to be the only Jewish family in "the hood".

We are also curious about Huntington. We know to stay away from Huntington Station, but what's the deal with the schools? Is Harborfields a good district? What is Robin Park like? Are there Jews?

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Neighborhood suggestions are welcome as well!

$350 in a "Jewish" area in Suffolk is the very lowest end, usually a major fixer-upper, although prices are dropping. However, in Suffolk, you are going to run into more Republicans no matter where you go.

My wife and I make close to 150K combined and we ended up in a 2 bedroom condo because I just didn't like the numbers buying a house, between higher taxes, mortgage, and the cost of heating oil.

[sickofnyc99]

Stay west of the Nassau-Suffolk border, we'll both be happier!!

[okaydorothy]

how about commack or east northport.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by Happy Tuesday

Okay. Here's the deal. My husband and I are renters, currently in Rego Park on the Forest Hills border. We have always dreamed of buying something someday, but have had trouble saving over the last few years. My husband works in Great Neck and makes a decent salary ($100K+), but I am a stay-at-home-mom to our two little ones so we are living on one income.

We are miserable in our current apartment and had been looking to rent in Forest Hills (not RP) in better school zones (PS 196 or 144), but have found that a large 2-3 bed/1.5 bath in a pet-friendly building (we have a small dog) would involve taking on a rent that would prohibit us from being able to save and therefore set us up for a lifetime of renting. This is further complicated by the fact that we really don't want to be in Forest Hills for more than seven years because we'd rather not send our kids to the middle school there.

So we started looking into ways to buy without having to put the 20% down (FHA mortgages and similar) and are beginning to see that there might be a way for us to buy something after all, particularly in this market. We are prepared to leave the city and move to Long Island.

We experimented with Long Island briefly a few years ago when my husband first started working in Great Neck and discovered very quickly that we chose the wrong area for our family. As far as we knew, we were the ONLY Jews, and the neighborhood, which was slightly more working class than we expected, had far too many Bush/Cheney and pro-life bumper stickers than we were comfortable with. My husband (who has two advanced degrees and is contemplating a Ph.D) and I are "theater people", artists, a little funky and we felt very, very out of place in this community.

Well, now that we know that we need to do our homework, we're doing it. But we need some help. (And more money, but that part we can't fix.)

I started doing a bit of research and have a lot of family on the Island so am familiar with certain areas already. I've poked around and searched the forums quite a bit and bookmarked all the lists of the best school districts in Nassau and Suffolk and have gotten a sense of what neighborhoods tend to be Jewish or "Jewish enough", but what I am wondering is can we possibly get a house for about $350K in any of these areas? Are there pockets of smaller homes in these school districts that we might still be able to afford?

We saw a few houses on MLS in Melville and Dix Hills that were in that range that still said that they were zoned for Half Hollow Hills. Is this for real? We don't mind being the poor family in a wealthier community if it means that the kids get a better education. We just don't want to be the only Jewish family in "the hood".

We are also curious about Huntington. We know to stay away from Huntington Station, but what's the deal with the schools? Is Harborfields a good district? What is Robin Park like? Are there Jews?

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Neighborhood suggestions are welcome as well!

In Huntington - it's not easy, but it can be done... and you definitely wouldn't feel "alone"...

[djdairyp]

Merrick might be a good choice. Relatively close to great neck, good schools, jewish community, not too much in the 350's now but it exists. Maybe next year there will be more.

[AlexisT]

I only see a couple of houses in HHH that are below $400K; I don't think you'll manage it here. I'm also not sure you'd like it socially. I don't, particularly--I'm not planning to stay. It's not that everyone's awful--far from it--but there's enough of the flashy "look at my McMansion" types to put me off.

I went to South Huntington. There are some Jews, not a huge number--most of them live in the Triangle section (which borders Half Hollow Hills). Because the district isn't as well regarded as HHH prices are lower, but your budget might still be tight.

I think you'd enjoy Huntington more in terms of crowd, but the schools aren't as good. It's nowhere near as Jewish as Melville/Dix Hills but your kids wouldn't be the only Jews in their school. Harborfields is a good district, but i don't think you'll find anything in your price range.

Unfortunately, $350K is a very tight budget in any Jewish neighborhood in the NY area. If you stretch a little further, you might get one of the smaller ranches in Plainview (make sure it's Plainview-Old Bethpage schools). I'm seeing a decent selection under $400K. I also second Merrick, though the commute to Great Neck won't be as good.

[LilTownBlues]

Oceanside might fit the bill

[Smash255]

Many of the Jewish neighborhoods on Long Island tend to be a bit out of your price range. You could perhaps check out Plainview, which has a large Jewish population and is liberal. However, the vast majority of homes in that area will be out of your range and looking at MLSLI, I noticed a few in the $350,000 range or slightly higher (which could perhaps be negotiated with in this market)

As far as the comment on Merrick. It is a possibility, but the portions of Merrick where you will likely see homes in that price range is North Merrick, which has a much smaller Jewish population and is much more conservative than southern portions of Merrick.

Oceanside is another good choice, perhaps not as high of a Jewish population as Plainview, Jericho, Dix Hills, but a fairly sizeable one, also a much more middle class area than the others so the chance of finding something is a bit better, and its generally a liberal area as well.

Out of curiosity where on LI were you previously? I would say as a general rule most of the Republican and conservative areas on LI are much more economically and fiscally conservative than they are socially conservative.

[sean sean sean sean]

I didn't think there was gonna be anything decent in Merrick for under $400k, but 32 came up on MLSLI.com - I think that would be an excellent choice if you could find a house that fits. North Merrick is much more diverse, but there are still tons of Jewish families. I would also say it's much less conservative than South Merrick. The commute to Great Neck would be much crappier than coming from the North Shore, but not as awful as other places on the South Shore since the Meadowbrook Parkway is right there.

Oceanside is a good pick, Plainview I'm not a big fan of for the same reasons AlexisT doesn't like HHH.