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OK..we need HELP!! My husbands job might be transfered to Long Island. The office is in Uniondale. I've been reading alot of the posts on this site, similar situations, but not the same. Most people seem to be commuting into the city. I don't want my husbands commute to be too long..with in 45 mins with traffic.
We need to figure out if we can afford to live on Long Island before he accepts the job.
We were told to look in the following towns:
Garden City, Westbury, Old Westbury and Port Washington
Our max house price would be $650k.
I'm finding nicer houses (although smaller) in the $450k range than in the $650k range..which I don't understand!
How about Merrick? There seems to be great houses there for great prices? Is there something wrong with this area? What is it missing that others are paying for in the other towns?
We have a one year old and hope to have more children, so schools are important. We don't need to be near the train line (but is this very important for resale?) I'm a stay at home mom, so I would love to be near a town / village. But its not an absolute requirement.
Ultimately we are looking for something that doesn't need a ton of work, is in a nice safe town, is not far from Uniondale and that we could resale some day pretty easily. This would not be our "forever" home.
We assuming commuting eastward against traffic would be best?? Both of our families live in NJ..so the further west on the island, the better.
Thanks for your help!!!
OK..we need HELP!! My husbands job might be transfered to Long Island. The office is in Uniondale. I've been reading alot of the posts on this site, similar situations, but not the same. Most people seem to be commuting into the city. I don't want my husbands commute to be too long..with in 45 mins with traffic.
We need to figure out if we can afford to live on Long Island before he accepts the job.
We were told to look in the following towns:
Garden City, Westbury, Old Westbury and Port Washington
Our max house price would be $650k.
I'm finding nicer houses (although smaller) in the $450k range than in the $650k range..which I don't understand!
How about Merrick? There seems to be great houses there for great prices? Is there something wrong with this area? What is it missing that others are paying for in the other towns?
We have a one year old and hope to have more children, so schools are important. We don't need to be near the train line (but is this very important for resale?) I'm a stay at home mom, so I would love to be near a town / village. But its not an absolute requirement.
Ultimately we are looking for something that doesn't need a ton of work, is in a nice safe town, is not far from Uniondale and that we could resale some day pretty easily. This would not be our "forever" home.
We assuming commuting eastward against traffic would be best?? Both of our families live in NJ..so the further west on the island, the better.
Thanks for your help!!!
Who told you to live in Westbury? Some of Westbury is bad, be careful with that town, the nice part is the Salisbury area. Postings on the MLS can be shady to make you think it's in the nice part when it really isn't...check it out thoroughly before you commit! The other towns you listed should be fine. Keep in mind Garden City is right next to Hempstead, which is bad, so be careful with postings for that town too.
Merrick is great. No real "downtown" area but there are a lot of various places to shop. The town is nice and has its own train line, 45 mins to the city. Merrick varies in price. Some of the homes by the water are million-dollar homes, but you could def. find something for $650k as well as lower. It's a mixed town, but it isn't bad by any means. It does border Freeport though, which is a bad town. I think that's its only downfall but it really isn't bad, as I find there isn't any influence or "spill-over" from Freeport. Schools are highly-rated, although I wouldnt put too much emphasis on the "ratings"...most schools are good, LI's schools exceed most schools in the country!
Merrick also has playgrounds, Merrick preserve which is kind of like an "environmental park" no playgrounds but a hiking trail and some birds, and a pond with ducks...if your kid likes that. I don't think you would be bored in Merrick.
Floral Park Village (the most western part of Nassau, great family area, great resale, easy commutes to LI or NYC). There are a few areas you can live in this town that you can purchase a home within walking distance to LIRR, and shops, etc. The resale here is excellent b/c it is a quick commute to the city, and a very safe and family oriented area. Kids playing in the street. Incorporated so it's very safe, with it's own police dept. You can't go wrong buying here, def won't have a resale issue ever and the commute to Uniondale, through the streets, would be about 20 mins. Your DH would not even have to take a highway. With your budget, you can get a great house.
Merrick, eh, I am not a fan of Merrick, does border Freeport which isn't somewhere I would want to live near. And resale might be slower here.
Even Rockville Centre but your budget may be a bit low for there. Also an incorporated village, so it's a good solid area with good resale.
I would NOT look in Westbury, you don't seem to have the budget for Garden City or Old Westbury and Port Washington is too far of a commute for what you state.
When do you need to decide by? Keep in mind, the real estate market is slow right now being it's February. So if you look at the www.mlsli.com, you may not see too many homes that are of interest to you. But more will come on in the next few months, I assure you.
Last edited by Glad2BHere; 02-18-2010 at 03:13 PM..
How about Albertson, Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Baldwin Harbor, Barnum Island, Baxter Estates, Bayville, Bellerose Terrace, Bellerose Village, Bellmore, Bethpage, Brookville, Carle Place, Cedarhurst, Centre Island, Cove Neck,East Atlantic Beach, East Farmingdale, East Hills, East Massapequa, East Meadow, East Norwich, East Rockaway, East Williston, Elmont, Far Rockaway, Farmingdale, Floral Park, Franklin Square, Freeport, Garden City,Garden City Park, Garden City South, Glen Cove, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Greenvale, Hempstead, Herricks, Hewlett, Hewlett Bay, Hewlett Bay Park, Hewlett Harbor, Hewlett Neck, Hicksville, Inwood, Island Park, Island Trees, Jericho, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Lakeview, Lakeville Estates, Lattingtown, Laurel Hollow, Lawrence, Levittown, Lido Beach, Locust Valley, Long Beach, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Manhasset Hills, Manorhaven, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Matinecock, Merrick, Mill Neck, Mineola, Muttontown, New Cassel, New Hyde Park, North Baldwin, North Bellmore, North Hills, North Massapequa, North Merrick, North New Hyde Park, North Valley Stream, North Wantagh, North Woodmere, Oceanside, Old Bethpage, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Plainedge, Plainview, Plandome, Point Lookout, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Heights, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Saddle Rock Estates, Sands Point, Sea Cliff, Seaford, South Farmingdale, South Floral Park, South Hempstead, Stewart Manor, Syosset, University Gardens, Upper Brookville, Valley Stream, Wantagh, West Hempstead, Westbury, Williston Park, Woodbury, or Woodmere?
lovekels, 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.
Wait! Garden City is the equal to Ridgewood, NJ. Mostly Wall Street and Financial people. Can be very pricy and the real estate market had pretty much held on w/ prices. Houses $600K+.
Westbury has some nice areas. Others are very high crime areas.
If you like the water and boating...South Freeport is a treat during the summer months. You might want to use private schools, though. Shy away from the areas north of Merrick Rd---even though some of the houses are very beautiful throughout that area.
Merrick and Bellmore are good places with acceptable schools.
You will hit "rush hour" traffic both east and westbound on the highways. There are many reverse commuters who live and work out east into Suffolk Counties. It might be best for you to look at towns North or South of Uniondale for less commuting time.
Everyone..Thank you so much for your suggestions and recommendations! I've seen alot of Walter Greenspan's postings, and not knowing much about LI, his info. is great!! SO Thank you!!
RoleModel - is that a serious list of good towns?? Thats alot!!
We have to decide what we are doing next week.
We are from NJ and currently living in the DC area, so we are familiar with high taxes and expensive homes!
Does anyone have suggestions about commuting? All we know is that The Island has the worst traffic ever! So we would like to avoid that, if possible. Again, my husband would be driving to Uniondale. Are there roads / highways to avoid? Thanks!!
Garden City would give you a great commute to Uniondale, especially if you live in the eastern section. $650K is the absolute low end of the market, the house would definitely need some work, but there are houses that low right now. I live in GC and I used to commute to Uniondale - great commute, you can take back roads the whole way.
Floral Park has that village feel you are looking for. Stewart Manor is another option. You're probably looking at private/parochial school for high school though.
I've seen alot of Walter Greenspan's postings, and not knowing much about LI, his info. is great!! SO Thank you!! :)
You're quite welcome, lovekels.
Moving from south to north, to the immediate east of the Hamlet of Uniondale you'll find the Hamlet of North Merrick, the Hamlet of East Meadow and the Hamlet of Salisbury, all fairly nice communities.
A map of the Hamlet of Uniondale in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County:
The Hamlet of Uniondale has a different border than does the "Uniondale, NY 11553" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have an "Uniondale, NY 11553" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Uniondale): places that have a "Uniondale, NY 11553" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Uniondale are mostly in the Hamlet of East Garden City.
OK..we need HELP!! My husbands job might be transfered to Long Island. The office is in Uniondale. I've been reading alot of the posts on this site, similar situations, but not the same. Most people seem to be commuting into the city. I don't want my husbands commute to be too long..with in 45 mins with traffic.
We need to figure out if we can afford to live on Long Island before he accepts the job.
We were told to look in the following towns:
Garden City, Westbury, Old Westbury and Port Washington
Our max house price would be $650k.
I'm finding nicer houses (although smaller) in the $450k range than in the $650k range..which I don't understand!
How about Merrick? There seems to be great houses there for great prices? Is there something wrong with this area? What is it missing that others are paying for in the other towns?
We have a one year old and hope to have more children, so schools are important. We don't need to be near the train line (but is this very important for resale?) I'm a stay at home mom, so I would love to be near a town / village. But its not an absolute requirement.
Ultimately we are looking for something that doesn't need a ton of work, is in a nice safe town, is not far from Uniondale and that we could resale some day pretty easily. This would not be our "forever" home.
We assuming commuting eastward against traffic would be best?? Both of our families live in NJ..so the further west on the island, the better.
Thanks for your help!!!
lovekels, Merrick is a nice hamlet.
On the South Shore as you go eastward from Merrick, you will hit Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, and Massapequa Park --- all nice communities. All have good districts from what I understand. Generally the homes below Merrick Road (near the shore) will be more expensive.
I do not think being near a train is a necessity, since so many of us Long Islanders drive, but it cannot hurt! Although not important to you NOW, all these communities I mentioned have train stations with decent train service to Manhattan. You will be suprised, when the schools are closed I often see parents taking the kids on train trips to the city, especially around the holidays. Sometimes I see high school & college kids taking the train too.
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Understanding the geography of "Lawn Guyland"
