Planning to buy house in Mineola (with East Williston Schools) (Accord: rentals, buying a house)

[shyguycalif]

I am presently living in queens. Wife works in manhattan. I am thinking of buying a house in Mineola (with East Williston SD). I mostly fly out for my job. We want to settle in a good area since we have been in rentals for a long time.

I have heard very good things about this SD. House is close to East Williston LIR but far from Mineola LIR. Wife will need to deal with this on day -to -day basis. I am little concerned on commute times for both of us.

Well honestly, apart from above, I do not even know what I do not know!! So I wanted to seek advice if I should be careful about something (any other thing that I might be overlooking).


regards,
shyguycalif

[longislander329]

I know first-hand the East Williston school district is the superior district on Long Island. Not only is it academically rigorous but there is a genuine culture of respect among staff and students that you don't find in the other high-achieving districts. The downside of the district is that it's small so it doesn't have the wide breadth of courses that other districts on the Long Islander. I would absolutely go for the East Williston district if you can afford it. IMO, you're better off going to the Mineola station since it has much more regular service than East Williston and you don't have to transfer at Jamaica. You can of course also use the service to airtrain to JFK. A 35 minute commute from Mineola is very doable and believe me people in other high-end suburbs like Weston, CT wish they had such a short commute!

[house.searcher]

shyguycalif - I purchased a house in Mineola last year. If you live in the village of Mineola, you can get a parking permit from the village for $55 and park in the garage at 1st St and Main St, and it's just a two block walk to the Mineola LIRR station. You can also park at the MTA Intermodal garage for $5 a day (MTA LIRR - Connecting Service - Mineola Intermodal Center)

According to an internet blogger, "there is limited parking available on nearby streets. There also is a pay-for-parking lot east of the Mineola Station on Second Street, between Main Street and Willis Avenue; and there’s a free and unrestricted (no permit required) lot on the north side of the nearby Merillon Avenue Station."

I work at Winthrop Hospital, so I can park in their garage for free.