Great Neck Stinks - Co-ops Near LIRR? (Valley Stream, Long Beach: real estate market, to rent)
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My wife and I live in a 1-bedroom co-op in Great Neck. We are ready to upgrade and although I think the real estate market is going to fall another 15%, there are some decent deals out there and we would stay in our new home for 7+ years - enough to make buying a good alternative to renting.
We have been looking at 2-bedroom co-ops in Great Neck, but haven't been blown away by anything. We also don't like Great Neck all that much. It's convenient - our parents live in NE Queens and we both have a 60 second walk to the LIRR each morning, but the people are extraordinarily obnoxious. Additionally, although the schools are elite, I'm not sure I want my kids growing up in a place where everyone is wealthy, homogenous and uptight.
My wife and I are a bit on the lazy side - so we would like to live in a co-op. Are there any co-ops (or townhouses?) that are walkable to the LIRR anywhere other than:
Great Neck
Long Beach (too far from our parents)
Rockville Center
Port Washington
We like Port Washington, but 2 bedroom co-ops near the LIRR are rare.
Haha... I was about to recommend Port Washington... but yeah... the co-ops right near the LIRR are rare, and in my opinion (coming from Manhattan as the defacto condo/co-op), the co-ops aren't that great.
Personally, I take the Port Washington LIRR everyday, and it's usually super quiet and civil until we reach Great Neck. Then the flood of people fill up the train, and the loud conversations begin. I think it's because Great Neck has a much denser population, and it seems like everyone in Great Neck knows each other by name. Pretty fascinating. Never seen that on public transportation. Might explain why Great Neck is so expensive. If you know people there, why not live right there. Right?
I meet some people who grew up in Great Neck, and now live in Port Washington. Their description of the locals, schools, and how it is like growing up in Great Neck match what you describe word for word. I don't really see it since I've never grew up anywhere near there, but I did check out some houses there, and either I was checking the wrong houses or the locals aren't really in tune with what a old colonial home should look like, but they were extremely expensive for what you could get in Manhasset or Port Washington. I didn't really get it.
It's tough. You want to give your kids nationally ranked schools and safety, but then you run the risk of them growing up sheltered and spoiled. A little diversity (economic and otherwise) is great. The south part of Great Neck (near the LIRR) is a lot more diverse and "real" than the north part of Great Neck - that's where it's really snobby and uptight.
All you need to know about Great Neck you learn at the movies. When you say "excuse me" to get into a row of seats, NOBODY stands. Everywhere else (NE Queens, Manhasset, Port Wash) about 50% of the people stand to let you pass. That's basically Great Neck in a nutshell - constant rudeness.
The south part of Great Neck (near the LIRR) is a lot more diverse ...
That would be the Village of Great Neck Plaza, not the Village of Great Neck?
Please bear in mind that more than 8 of every 10 places with a "Great Neck, NY 11020 through 11024" mailing address (6,022 acres) are NOT in the Village of Great Neck (866 acres):
Places that have a "Great Neck, NY 11020 through 11024" mailing address that are not in the Village of Great Neck are in the Village of Great Neck Estates, the Hamlet of Great Neck Gardens, the Village of Great Neck Plaza, the Hamlet of Harbor Hills, the Village of Kensington, the Village of Kings Point, the Village of Lake Success, the Village of Russell Gardens, the Village of Saddle Rock, the Hamlet of Saddle Rock Estates, the Village of Thomaston and the Hamlet of University Gardens.
There are co-ops in Farmingdale right by the train but the area is sketchy and the schools aren't that great. We used to own a condo in the area and moved out of Farmingdale b/c the schools aren't rated well. I wanted to put Farmingdale out there for you in case you see anything online but I also wanted to tell you that their schools aren't rated well and there are much better districts out there. I would consider East Rockaway as someone else mentioned above or any of the surrounding areas. As I said, Farmingdale is a little sketchy near the train and I wouldn't want my child hanging around there or going to the school. That's my personal opinion though. Great Neck has MUCH better schools than Farmingdale.
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