Dix Hills (Islip, Babylon, Huntington: house, neighborhoods, school district)

[ibcio]

I am looking to relocate to Long Island. Have narrowed down the search to western Suffolk (will work in NYC but think Nassau is too congested). Want to be in an upscale neighborhood, good schools, and most importantly close to the highway. Really liked Dix Hills and would appreciate any feedback on: stability of neighborhood and housing prices, schools, the culture of the neighborhood (as in what the people are like), etc. I did look further north in Cold Spring Harbor, Lloyd Harbor, etc. but really do not want to be that far away from the highways as I will be driving, and I am coming from a neighborhood that is pretentious and am not looking to deal with that again. Have two small children and really want a family-oriented town. Thanks.

[jpg71]

Originally Posted by ibcio

...and I am coming from a neighborhood that is pretentious and am not looking to deal with that again.

I don't have a lot of experience with Dix Hills so I can't address your other concerns, but you might have a challenge finding an upscale neighborhood on Long Island that isn't pretentious. Even the not-so-upscale neighborhoods of Long Island can be pretty damned pretentious, if you ask me.

[ibcio]

Yes, i understand. I guess I should have phrased the question as whether or not it was pretentious relative to the other towns. Most concerned with schools, family-orientation, etc.

[Walter Greenspan]

ibcio, in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:

What people refer to colloquially as "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "towns", then, many times, the error is compounded when actual towns are referred to as "townships".

Also, many colloquially refer to a "downtown business district" in a hamlet as a "village".

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-y...-glossary.html and http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html may be of some help to you in understanding the geography of "Lawn Guyland".

http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...you-think.html may help you understand the great geographic confusions caused by non-conforming ZIP Code postal zones.

When you do find a house that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP or Census Designated Place is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.)

And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.


For those who may not be familiar with Dix Hills:

Dix Hills is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southeast part of the Town of Huntington, in the west part of Suffolk County, along the Huntington/Smithtown, Huntington/Islip and Huntington/Babylon town lines.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Dix Hills in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Elwood and the Hamlet of Commack in the Town of Huntington; on the east by the Hamlet of Commack in the Town of Smithtown (the Huntington/Smithtown town line) and the Hamlet of Brentwood in the Town of Islip (the Huntington/Islip town line); on the south by the Hamlet of Deer Park and the Hamlet of Wheatley Heights in the Town of Babylon (the Huntington/Babylon town line); and, on the west by the Hamlet of Melville and the Hamlet of South Huntington in the Town of Huntington.





The Hamlet of Dix Hills has a different border than does the "Dix Hills, NY 11746" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Dix Hills, NY 11746" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Dix Hills and a place can have other than a "Dix Hills, NY 11746" mailing address and be in the Hamlet of Dix Hills): places that have a "Dix Hills, NY 11746" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Dix Hills are in the Hamlet of Huntington Station, the Hamlet of Elwood, the Hamlet of Commack, and the Hamlet of Melville; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Dix Hills with a "Brentwood, NY 11717" mailing address.


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[r5020]

I have family in Dix Hills. They have been there probably around 30 years. The schools are highly regarded. I believe both high schools appeared in Newsweek's 1,500 top U.S. high schools.

[twingles]

I grew up in Hunington and honestly can not say that Dix Hills is any less pretentious than CSH. It's just a different kind of pretension, if you KWIM. And given the choice between the two, I'd take CSH in a NY minute over DH.

[anotherNYer]

I agree with twingles. I would take Cold Spring Harbor over Dix Hills any day. CSH is a beautiful area and excellent schools. Also it is extremely close to highways and parkways, very convenient to city and the Long Island Railroad station is right there.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by anotherNYer

I agree with twingles. I would take Cold Spring Harbor over Dix Hills any day. CSH is a beautiful area and excellent schools. Also it is extremely close to highways and parkways, very convenient to city and the Long Island Railroad station is right there.

As someone who lived in CSH for many years, I came to love CSH and certainly prefer it over Dix Hills.
However, I would never say it's extremely close to highways and parkways Commuting on the other hand was very nice from that quaint little RR station...

[CoolaTroopa]

From what I hear, Dix Hills is a nice place to live.

I have friends who live/lived in Cold Spring Harbor- it's a beautiful area and the schools are excellent but a lot of the people there are very obviously spoiled and it shows..however, I managed to make some nice friends from the area- so I don't think it will be much of a problem.. just keep in mind that elitism exists in high levels there but nevertheless CSH over DH- if you can afford it.

Have you thought about Syosset or Huntington?

[brassbin]

also Dix Hills doesn't really have a downtown, if u are really looking for a tight-knit community, Dix Hills might not be a good fit for you