Looking to relocate to Long Island (need advice on where to live) (New York: apartment complex, house)

[Surge337]

Hello!!

I am from Michigan and I am looking to relocate to Long Island. I will be working in Syosset and would prefer to live in the cities west of Syosset (maybe be only about 30 mins away from work at the furthest). I am just looking for an apartment (studio and/or 1 bedroom apartment). I have done much search of the various available apartments and cities but I am not sure what cities are good and what are not. The cities I have found apartments that I like and are in my price range are in cities such as Long Island City, Kew Gardens, Glen Cove, West Babylon, and Astoria (I know that some of these cities are further then 30 mins from Syosset). I would greatly appreciate any and all advice on areas to live.

Thanks so much!
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[Jdawg8181]

First of all, to get technical- Astoria, Kew Gardens & Long Island City (despite its name) are not actually considered Long Island- they are Queens, which is a boro of New York City. Doesn't mean they are bad, but if you are saying you def. want to be on Long Island, then those can't really come into play...but if you don't care, then carry on.

Personally I do not like Astoria. A lot of people like it, but as a single young female, I don't find it safe nor do I find it clean or appealing...but that is just me, so don't base your opinion solely on what *I* think. Astoria, Kew Gardens and LI City (probabaly, altho I have never been) would have more of a "city" feel than somewhere on Long Island...as LI is more suburban than most parts of the boros. You gotta decide what your preferences are.

Glen Cove is for the most part nice, however there is a bad part somewhere so if you are seeing an ad for an apartment where the price is really low, it's probably there b/c genereally GC has been an expensive area to live...probably comparable to Syosset.

Never been to West Babylon...but from hearsay it's also shady in some parts...but take that with a grain of salt b/c most places on LI have both good & bad parts.

Whatever you decide, make sure you see it first, see if you like & feel comfortable and safe in the area. Keep in mind too, that if you have a car, some places in Queens aren't really car-friendly.

Good luck in your search and with your move.

[Walter Greenspan]

Surge337, in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:

What people refer to colloquially as "cities" and "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "cities" and "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 "Long Island".

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.

Looking at the communities that you list:

Long Island City, Kew Gardens and Astoria are neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Queens, which is on the western end of Long Island, the part of Long Island that, along with the New York City Borough of Brooklyn, is within the jurisdiction of New York City.

Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County.

West Babylon is a hamlet in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County, and is to the east of Syosset.


For those who may not be familiar with Syosset:

Syosset is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the central part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the northeast part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Syosset in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of East Norwich, the Village of Oyster Bay Cove and the Village of Laurel Hollow; on the east by the Hamlet of Woodbury; on the south by the Hamlet of Plainview, the Hamlet of Hicksville and the Hamlet of Jericho; and, on the west by the Village of Muttontown.





Please note: the southwest border, separating the Hamlet of Syosset from the Hamlet of Jericho is further to the southwest than is shown on this map.

Syosset is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name in their mailing address are not in the hamlet: places with a "Syosset, NY 11791" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Syosset are in the Village of Muttontown and the Village of Laurel Hollow; and, at the same time, there are places that are in the Hamlet of Syosset that have a "Jericho, NY 11753" 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

[Buscape]

Will you be working by the train station or somewhere else in Syosset? In my opinion, the best places to live around syosset would be Mineola and Westbury. This two are like 30-45 train from the City and fairly close to Syosset. Huntington is also nice but it is further from the City than Syosset. If you are a fast driver and your office is close to the highways South Shore areas of Nassau are another potential for you. Forest Hills is really nice but their more residential. LIC and Astoria are cool but a lot of yuppies and snobs are starting to move their. Flushing and Bayside might be a good choice for you in Queens.
P.S. Walter
Parts of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove have Syosset 11791 zipcodes. Its a small portion off of northern blvd. Its served by Syosset post office, Oyster Bay Fire Department, and Cold Spring Harbor Schools.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Buscape

P.S. Walter
Parts of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove have Syosset 11791 zipcodes. Its a small portion off of northern blvd. Its served by Syosset post office, Oyster Bay Fire Department, and Cold Spring Harbor Schools.

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Thanks for the update, Buscape.
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[DawnSells]

What are you looking for besides beening 30 minutes away. New Hyde Park may be an option.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by DawnSells

New Hyde Park may be an option.

The geography of the Village of New Hyde Park can be very confusing because the "New Hyde Park, NY 11040" ZIP Code postal zone (3,339 acres) is more than 6 times larger than the Village of New Hyde Park (531 acres), and places that have a "New Hyde Park, NY 11040" mailing address that are not in the Village of New Hyde Park are in the Village of Lake Success, the Hamlet of Manhasset, the Village of North Hills, the Hamlet of Manhasset Hills, the Hamlet of North New Hyde Park, the Hamlet of Herricks and the Hamlet of Garden City Park.

[Surge337]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

First of all, to get technical- Astoria, Kew Gardens & Long Island City (despite its name) are not actually considered Long Island- they are Queens, which is a boro of New York City. Doesn't mean they are bad, but if you are saying you def. want to be on Long Island, then those can't really come into play...but if you don't care, then carry on.

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

Personally I do not like Astoria. A lot of people like it, but as a single young female, I don't find it safe nor do I find it clean or appealing...but that is just me, so don't base your opinion solely on what *I* think. Astoria, Kew Gardens and LI City (probabaly, altho I have never been) would have more of a "city" feel than somewhere on Long Island...as LI is more suburban than most parts of the boros. You gotta decide what your preferences are.

Glen Cove is for the most part nice, however there is a bad part somewhere so if you are seeing an ad for an apartment where the price is really low, it's probably there b/c genereally GC has been an expensive area to live...probably comparable to Syosset.

Never been to West Babylon...but from hearsay it's also shady in some parts...but take that with a grain of salt b/c most places on LI have both good & bad parts.

Whatever you decide, make sure you see it first, see if you like & feel comfortable and safe in the area. Keep in mind too, that if you have a car, some places in Queens aren't really car-friendly.

Good luck in your search and with your move.

Thanks so much for your input and advice!! I think the biggest thing that I want is to be a close/semi close to my work which is in Syosset. When I was doing research of places to live, I was aiming to live somewhere in between Queens and Syosset area (I would prefer to be living West of Syosset). I have heard many people mention Astoria as a good place to live… but I will definitely keep your advice in mind while I continue my research. Thanks again!!

[Surge337]

Originally Posted by Buscape

Will you be working by the train station or somewhere else in Syosset? In my opinion, the best places to live around syosset would be Mineola and Westbury. This two are like 30-45 train from the City and fairly close to Syosset. Huntington is also nice but it is further from the City than Syosset. If you are a fast driver and your office is close to the highways South Shore areas of Nassau are another potential for you. Forest Hills is really nice but their more residential. LIC and Astoria are cool but a lot of yuppies and snobs are starting to move their. Flushing and Bayside might be a good choice for you in Queens.

Originally Posted by Buscape

P.S. Walter
Parts of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove have Syosset 11791 zipcodes. Its a small portion off of northern blvd. Its served by Syosset post office, Oyster Bay Fire Department, and Cold Spring Harbor Schools.

Thanks for the advice everyone!! As of right now, I have not received the full details of where exactly I will be working in Syosset therefore I am not sure if ill be by the train station or not.... Our building is still being built so all I have been informed is that I will be working in Syosset. I will definitely check out the places you mentioned here as well. I prefer to not be too far away from the city and would like to be somewhat in between the city and my work. Anyhow I’ll check out the places you mention and see where I end up. thanks so much!

[Buscape]

What company do you work For? Iam trying to think of what is being built in Syosset. The only thing I can think of is an Apartment complex with some office fronts at the ground level(right near the train station), a 7-11 off Jericho (not near the train station, but close to expressways), and I theirs another vacant land in Syosset which is owned at the intersection of Jericho and South Oyster Bay rd. (kind of close to the train) I might be missing something but perhaps your working in a neighboring community like Woodbury or Jericho