Moving from Europe to LI (Huntington area) (New York, Huntington Station: apartment, renters)

[Fred_V]

My wife and son (6 months) will be coming to the US in December for a few years. I'll work in CSH and we were thinking of renting something close by. From what I heard Huntington Village seems nice but I have a few questions.

First, my wife doesn't have a drivers licence so shops and train station need to be in walking distance. Can you recommend a specific area? Also I'm curious, are bikes a popular transportation method on LI (I'm guessing no, but who knows)?

My second question is regarding the costs aside from rent, such as electricity, water, heating, cable internet, insurance. Can someone give me an estimate of those costs in that area for a small family of three.

Thanks for the response

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by Fred_V

My wife and son (6 months) will be coming to the US in December for a few years. I'll work in CSH and we were thinking of renting something close by. From what I heard Huntington Village seems nice but I have a few questions.

First, my wife doesn't have a drivers licence so shops and train station need to be in walking distance. Can you recommend a specific area? Also I'm curious, are bikes a popular transportation method on LI (I'm guessing no, but who knows)?

My second question is regarding the costs aside from rent, such as electricity, water, heating, cable internet, insurance. Can someone give me an estimate of those costs in that area for a small family of three.

Thanks for the response

Welcome to the US! It'll be quite a transition - I still remember my period of adjustment after coming from Berlin, including not having a driver's license in the beginning...

I've lived both in CSH and Huntington, so I'm thoroughly familiar with both. Bicyles are not uncommon, especially around the downtown Huntington area, but the bicyclist should be comfortable without bicycle lanes and in that area, with hilly terrain.

Cost estimates would be based on more information, i.e. how large an apartment/house you plan on renting, although renters insurance is probably the most insignificant of all the costs. Can you give us more details regarding your requirements?

Also, living within (European) walking distance of shopping AND the train station is not going to work (in my opinion). The immediate area of the Huntington train station hardly lends it self to regular walking PLUS there is limited shopping nearby. Downtown Huntington has everything, but is not within walking distance of the train station.
The CSH train station is quite different, but it's strictly residential, with no shopping within walking distance whatsoever - in addition, CSH does not have many rentals available.

Hope this info is a good start...

[Fred_V]

Well we're looking for a normal sized, unfurnished 2 bedroom apartment, preferably without carpet and with access to a patio or a small garden. I don't know if this is realistic but we're aiming at max $2,000 without utilities.

So if understand correctly it would be possible for my wife to go by bicycle from Huntington Village to the train station without risking her life? If so, we would prefer to be within walking distance of shopping.

Thanks for the help,

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Fred_V

Well we're looking for a normal sized, unfurnished 2 bedroom apartment, preferably without carpet and with access to a patio or a small garden. I don't know if this is realistic but we're aiming at max $2,000 without utilities.

So if understand correctly it would be possible for my wife to go by bicycle from Huntington Village to the train station without risking her life? If so, we would prefer to be within walking distance of shopping.

Thanks for the help,

Mmm, I would take a look at Huntington Station at all hours of the day/night before committing to a situation where my wife would have to ride a bike through there on a regular basis. Personally, I wouldn't consider it. Do a google on Huntington Station gangs. Also, Long Island in general is not bike friendly. Around the village of Huntington you'll be ok, but going down a busy road like 110 is a bit risky.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by Fred_V

Well we're looking for a normal sized, unfurnished 2 bedroom apartment, preferably without carpet and with access to a patio or a small garden. I don't know if this is realistic but we're aiming at max $2,000 without utilities.

So if understand correctly it would be possible for my wife to go by bicycle from Huntington Village to the train station without risking her life? If so, we would prefer to be within walking distance of shopping.

Thanks for the help,

I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis

[JonnyTrees]

You could bike to CSH station from Huntington Village, its about 3.5 miles down Woodbury road.

Though I have never used them , Finest Realty seems to do alot of rentals in Huntington. What could be a good option for you would be to get a rental off Woodbury Road close to Hunt Village, or the southside of the Village, around High St.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by JonnyTrees

You could bike to CSH station from Huntington Village, its about 3.5 miles down Woodbury road.

Though I have never used them , Finest Realty seems to do alot of rentals in Huntington. What could be a good option for you would be to get a rental off Woodbury Road close to Hunt Village, or the southside of the Village, around High St.

I used to commute from the CSH train station and taking the bicycle on Woodbury Rd... I'd think twice about it, with all the commuters zipping at a fast speed to catch the train . Going down that hill and around the corner of Woodbury/Rt 11 toward the train station, even with the new light, could be a bit iffy for all but truly experienced bicyclists.

FYI, Finest Realty does only do rentals but they're not a member of MLS.

[Elke Mariotti]

Another possibility is Greenlawn. It's a nice little "village", plenty of shopping, some rentals and the Greenlawn station. Doesn't work for everyone, but worth looking into.
I have a client right now who works at CSH Labs and is renting there while looking for a house, and the "commute" to the Labs isn't bad (according to him).

[Walter Greenspan]

Fred_V, 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, such as in the Hamlet of Huntington, 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.


You can get a fact sheet for any city, village or hamlet on Long Island by going here American FactFinder and input the name of the city, village or hamlet for "city/town" (leave out the ZIP Code) and New York for "State", and then click "GO".

You'll get a lot of demographic, and some economic, statistics for the city, village or hamlet you selected, and if you click on "Reference map" (it's on the right hand side), you'll get a map.


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.



It is important to know that there are 3 "Huntingtons" (from smallest to largest, in order of acreage):

1. There is the Hamlet of Huntington (whose "downtown" commercial district is colloquially referred to as Huntington Village);

2. There is the "Huntington, NY 11743" ZIP Code postal zone, and it includes the Hamlet of Huntington and parts of 2 villages (municipal corporations) and 6 other hamlets (unincorporated areas) within its service area; and,

3. There is the Town of Huntington, and it includes 4 villages and 15 hamlets as well as the "Huntington, NY 11743" ZIP Code postal zone and all or parts of 11 other ZIP Code postal zones, within its borders.


For those who may not be familiar with Huntington:

Huntington is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the north part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Huntington in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by Huntington Harbor, the Hamlet of Halesite, the Village of Huntington Bay, Huntington Bay and the Hamlet of Centerport; on the east by the Hamlet of Centerport and the Hamlet of Greenlawn; on the south by the Hamlet of Huntington Station; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor and the Village of Lloyd Harbor.





The Hamlet of Huntington has a different border than does the "Huntington, NY 11743" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Huntington, NY 11743" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Huntington and a place can have other than a "Huntington, NY 11743" mailing address and be in the Hamlet of Huntington): places that have a "Huntington, NY 11743" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Huntington are in the Hamlet of West Hills, the Hamlet of Halesite, the Village of Huntington Bay, the Village of Lloyd Harbor, the Hamlet of Centerport, the Hamlet of Greenlawn, the Hamlet of Elwood and the Hamlet of Huntington Station; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Huntington with a "Huntington Station, NY 11746" and a "Greenlawn, NY 11740" 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

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

Another possibility is Greenlawn. It's a nice little "village" ...

For those who may not be familiar with Greenlawn:

Greenlawn is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the central part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Greenlawn in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Centerport; on the east by the Hamlet of East Northport and the Hamlet of Elwood; on the south by the Hamlet of Elwood, the Hamlet of Dix Hills, the Hamlet of South Huntington and the Hamlet of Huntington Station; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Huntington Station and the Hamlet of Huntington.





The Hamlet of Greenlawn has a different border than does the "Greenlawn, NY 11740" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Greenlawn, NY 11740" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Greenlawn and a place can have other than a "Greenlawn, NY 11740" mailing address and be in the Hamlet of Greenlawn): places that have a "Greenlawn, NY 11740" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Greenlawn are in the Hamlet of Huntington and the Hamlet of Elwood; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Greenlawn with a "Huntington, NY 11743" 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