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There are a lot nicer places you can get something in for around that price and still be relatively close to the city. valley Stream, Lynbrook, Levittown maybe.
Yeah..Elmont is not what it used to be. Look into Franklin Square, very nice still, upper middle class, clean neighborhood. Not to mention its elmonts neighbor..not neccesarily a good thing but my point is that its just as close to the city.
kbashy81, 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".
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.
kbashy81, you should be aware that not all places with an "Elmont, NY 11003" mailing address are actually in Elmont.
For those who may not be familiar with Elmont:
Elmont is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Hempstead, in the west part of Nassau County, along the Nassau/NYC (Queens County) line.
Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Elmont in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Bellerose Terrace, the Village of Floral Park, the Village of South Floral Park and the Village of Stewart Manor; on the east by the Hamlet of Franklin Square; on the south by the Hamlet of North Valley Stream; and, on the west by New York City (the Nassau/Queens County line).
The Hamlet of Elmont has a different border than does the "Elmont, NY 11003" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have an "Elmont, NY 11003" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Elmont and a place can be in the Hamlet of Elmont and have other than an "Elmont, NY 11003" mailing address): places that have an "Elmont, NY 11003" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Elmont are in the Hamlet of Franklin Square; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Elmont that have a "Floral Park, NY 11001" and "Valley Stream, NY 11580" 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): Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource
I lived in towns bordering Elmont when I was younger and a lot of the rap it had seemed to be based on 4 things. 1. The area by the track was/is full of decrepid rundown store fronts that is not appealing or profitable, 2. There is a large migrant population that comes with the track, 3. Due to numbers 1 and 2 there seemed to be more crime in that area than in areas immediately surrounding it (although I would argue that Valley Stream mall was more well known for crime and shootings at that time) and 4 a lot of people in that area seemed to have racist attitudes about those who live in Elmont (again I am speaking of 10-20 years ago).
There are parts of Elmont that have very beautiful huge houses in very nice neighborhoods and there are parts of Elmont that are more rundown and unkempt. To me, the areas closest to So Floral Park and the Belmont racetrack are less appealing then those on the Valley Stream and Franklin Square boarders. To me, there are also many more nice parts of Elmont than there are not so nice. I know lots of people who live in the "nice" parts of Elmont and I have also considered getting an apartment in that area since it is usually cheaper than a lot of Nassau County.
Most of Elmont (if not all) is part of the Sewanakha Central High School District. The schools in that town vary greatly by neighborhood. The 3 high schools that serve the area are Elmont Memorial HS, Floral Park Memorial HS or Sewanakha Central HS. All of these schools have been blue ribbon winners. I can't speak personally about the elementary schools, but I had cousins who were elementary age when they lived in Elmont and they were zoned for a school in Stewart Manor, where they did very well.
I think Elmont is a great "starter" town for moving to LI from the 5 boroughs. It is very close to the city line and it has all forms of major transportation and the shopping stores are similar to those you would find in the city (read more culturally varied then some other towns), and the prices are reasonable, and it is still reasonably close to all your family and friends in Brooklyn (only a 15 or 20 min ride).
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Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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Also I work in the Bronx, and FH works on Staten Island, so being close to the city is very important to us. We would hate having to commute from towns further east into LI. 
Understanding the geography of "Lawn Guyland"
