West Babylon or Lindenhurst?

[jackinyc]

I would love some more input on this town- I am thinking of buying here- I seem to get mixed reviews when i ask people about this town, Some say it is shanty/trashy and keep far away and some tell me its ok- i know i need to take a ride out there and see for myself- I am just trying to narrow it down before i go actual looking- i am in whitestone- I really like hearing about the Venetian shore and lindenhurst being so close to beaches- looking forward to all suggestions/opinions - thanks

[LINative]

Originally Posted by jackinyc

I would love some more input on this town- I am thinking of buying here- I seem to get mixed reviews when i ask people about this town, Some say it is shanty/trashy and keep far away and some tell me its ok- i know i need to take a ride out there and see for myself- I am just trying to narrow it down before i go actual looking- i am in whitestone- I really like hearing about the Venetian shore and lindenhurst being so close to beaches- looking forward to all suggestions/opinions - thanks

Not just Lindenhurst & West Babylon but basically most of the Town of Babylon was built up pretty early in the suburban wave of the 1950s/1960s. The result is that much of the housing in the town is on the smaller side, small ranches, cape cods etc. Hi-ranches are actually the biggest houses on many blocks. Properties are often smaller also, at least by Suffolk County standards.

The result is a larger blue collar and working middle class population than many other parts of Long Island. Some people look down on that and consider blue collar people to be "white trash" but I personally find this makes the area a little more laid back. Less keeping up with the Joneses type thing. No one cares if your lawn is perfect down here.

The bad thing is that lower middle class people are often just trying to survive and makes ends meet. The result is they are often apolitical and so the Town of Babylon has long been letting developers get away with things that they would not get away with in Smithtown or Huntington.

But still, there are several things that are helping the area in the long run. One advantage is the Southwest sewer district since most other parts of Suffolk still use cesspools. This was a factor for me when I decided to move to Babylon Village after looking at Commack and Hauppauge.

Another thing is that while I mentioned properties generally are smaller than much of Suffolk, they are still larger than parts of Nassau and especially Queens. The result is that people can and are expanding their houses. I see this quite often near my parent's house in Lindenhurst and also parts of West Babylon, Deer Park, North Babylon and West Islip (town of Islip).

So there is both good and bad to the area. One major plus is there is a very good LIRR access in Lindenhurst, Babylon village, Amityville and Copiague.

[rammie]

While most people are so nice here in Lindenhurst and everyone gets a long great despite your ethnic background, there are a lot of houses that should be kept up and are not. I do care about how the lawn looks so thats why Im moving out of here in about 6 months but if you are someone who doesnt care about the look of a neighborhood than it will be a good place to live.

[Jc4]

Rammie

Just curious

where do you plan to move -I think lindenhurst has no problems with lawns IMO

[jackinyc]

is the area really unkept?

[ocabrera7]

I lived in lindenhurst from about 11 years old until 18 (went to OLPH and SJB schools)and still have family there and visit often enough. I am in my mid-30s now so I can't speak for more current events, as a kid I always felt safe there and walked around late coming home from friends houses all the time. There are some really nice private settings all over lindenhurst but I dunno much about areas north of sunrise HWY. I mostly hung out south of sunrise and south of montauk between say 16th street and the old south bay shopping center (which now has panera and marshalls, etc) I think that the town and the village are very nice and there is some very nice down to earth people there, lots of block parties in the summer, etc. I think given the right neighborhood and home it is a nice place to live. I am not sure about the schools, but I do know that my brother in law and sister send their kids to private catholic school (OLPH) I've always heard the high school is not great back in the day, assume that stigma remains today, taxes tend to be high as well. I would say all things being similar lindenhurst has more to offer than WB. I would recommend staying away from north of sunrise and looking at the neighborhoods sandwiched south of sunrise and north of montauk hwy. I know that when I used to live on shore road about 200 yds from the water my house was floded by a storm. I'd stay away from areas too close to areas with storm surges also....oh yeah, plenty-o-strip-malls in LIndy.

[rammie]

Hi jc4, to answer your question, I planon moving to AZ in July. I can get a 4 bdrm/2bath for only 150,000. I brought in Lindenhurst in 2004. I spent 365 for this little ranch and just sold it for 305,000 after putting money into too and I still dont think my house was even worth that. Houses in LI are just too expensive plus the taxes. I couldnt afford the 2100 a month payment anymore especially when Lindy looks like a bklyn with trees. I grew up on bklyn and I just want something a little nicer looking, thats all...

[AMD411]

Rammie where in Bklyn looks like Lindenhurst? Honestly i dont see it.

[rammie]

I grew up in Greenpoint/Williamsburg area. It was a dump but are now improving it like a mini manhattan and now you have to be rich there but there are still a lot of old dumpy houses too. Lindenhurst has both old and new on the same block but yet you can walk to a lot of things like in bklyn but it has a lot more trees....lol.

[StellaPrice]

brooklyn is nothing compared to lindenhurst. brooklyn is loud, mixed & low class. lindenhurst is quiet, peaceful & has great schools. i'm moving there soon from brooklyn & i can't wait.