West Babylon? (Deer Park, Dix Hills, Plainview: fit in, apartments, co-op)

[TrudiRose]

Hi! I've been reading the Long Island forum obsessively - it's been very informative!

Here's my situation: I currently live in Brooklyn. Back in 1993, my husband and I bought a co-op apartment in Windsor Terrace (the neighborhood next to Park Slope) for $122,000. Over the past 14 years, our neighborhood has skyrocketed in value. Park Slope became super-hot, with apartments going in the millions, and Windsor Terrace then benefitted from the spillover effect: people who wanted to live in Park Slope but couldn't afford it came here, so prices rose here too. Our apartment is now worth in the range of $500,000 - $550,000.

We do like our neighborhood; however, with our apartment worth so much, we're considering selling it and buying a house on Long Island. I'd really love to upgrade from an apartment to a house! My husband is a big collector, and our apartment is very cluttered as a result. I would love to own a real house, with a basement for my husband's collection and a backyard for the kids. Plus, we're getting fed up with all the co-op rules: our dog was grandfathered in, but the co-op is no-dogs allowed, so when our dog dies, we won't be allowed to get another one. Also, we have a garage space, and we stored a bicycle in front of our car in our space, and immediately got a nasty letter from the co-op saying the garage is ONLY for cars, etc. We'd like to have a house so we can have a dog if we want, store whatever we want in our garage, and just feel like it's OURS without having to deal with a co-op.

Anyway, getting to the point! I'm considering West Babylon (or maybe Babylon if we can afford it - it's so pretty). Here are my questions:

1) My husband makes $90,000. I know everyone here says you have to make $250,000 to live on Long Island. However, since we'd be selling our Brooklyn apt. and using that money for the new house, our mortgage would only be about $50,000 to 70,000. (Figuring on selling for about $530,000, minus $180,000 for paying off our old mortgage and home equity loan, realtor's commission, the co-op's cut, closing costs, moving costs, etc. So that would give us $350,000 to put down on a house, and we're looking at houses for $400,000.) So my question is, if the cost of the house itself is not an issue, would $90,000 be enough to live there? I know property taxes are high, but what else is there to consider in terms of monthly budget and cost of living?

2) Are the people in West Babylon friendly and nice? Reading this forum, I get nervous because there seems to be a general consensus that Long Islanders are all rich and snooty and materialistic and "keeping up with the Joneses." But on the other hand, I saw a very interesting thread about "which neighborhoods are working class, middle class and upper class," and someone on that thread said that West Babylon and North Babylon are working class... and defined working class not just by income, but also by attitude: going to Hershey Park for vacation instead of Martha's Vineyard, enjoying baseball and football instead of golf, collecting Disney figurines instead of...I forget, something snooty. And honestly, that DOES sound more like us - we're just regular down-to-earth people. I have a Master's degree in journalism, but I'm a stay-at-home mom and just do freelance writing and editing from home to pick up extra money. My husband is a registered nurse. So, would we fit in there, do you think?

3) We're Jewish - would that be an issue? We're not very religious or anything. I see that there's Congregation Beth Sholom in Babylon, so we'd join that. But is there any Jewish population in West Babylon, and in general, what's the attitude toward Jews? One of the people on a thread in this forum said Long Island is all either Italian, Irish, WASP, or illegal immigrants, so I feel like I should ask. Our current neighborhood in Brooklyn is largely Irish and there are lots of firefighters, along with a lot of Dominicans, and now with the prices going up, we're getting some Yuppies. So there aren't many Jews in our current neighborhood. There ARE three synagogues in Park Slope, and we belong to one of them, but in my kids' school there are hardly any Jews. But no one makes fun of them for their religion, and in winter the classrooms ALWAYS have a menorah along with a Christmas tree and the kids sing the Dreidel song along with Christmas songs, and that's very important to me. Is West Babylon tolerant and inclusive in that way?

Any advice or insight you can give me would be very welcome! Thanks!

[clamboy]

With that much down you should be fine on 90 k with that size mortgage.
I would shop based on Taxes.

With that being said, try and stay around $7000 if you can.

W.Babylon is a nice working class community.Modest homes,modest people.

However the part that borders Wyandanch can be a little scary but not a deal breaker.

I dont believe being Jewish would really be an issue anywhere on LI.
I think Jewish culture is very much part of the fabric of Long Island.(My family is half...Im gonna miss the Bagels and Deli down here when we move to CT)
However if you are looking for areas that have a strong Jewish community...maybe check out the Plainview, Dix Hills, Three Village or 5 towns area.

Best of luck in your search.

C

[GypsySoul22]

I lived in Babylon a few years. People are quite nice (as nice as people are these days...most people are 'pleasant' in their own way).

There is a great health food store and yes, right on Deer Park Ave is a synagogue. There's a fantastic bakery also (Wilhelms).


Babylon has a lot of German (descendants) by the way..everyone seemed to be named Schmidt we met. So there might be a large amount of Jewish people there.

[TrudiRose]

Thanks so much, Clamboy and GypsySoul! That definitely sets my mind at ease. I really appreciate you taking the time to write!

(I really LOVE this forum - it's so valuable to hear insights from people who actually are FROM Long Island and have a feel for the atmosphere etc., rather than just sifting through demographic data!)

[MollyMe]

My brother and his family live in west babylon and my sister and her family live in west babylon. The children go to the elementary schools and love it. The school was featured on Rachel Ray and Bill Clinton was there saying that there lunch menus are great. I lived there for a year and liked it as well. Good luck. Go for it!!!!

[TrudiRose]

Thanks, Molly! That's definitely good to hear! I appreciate you writing!

[jfkIII]

I left LI in 1988...back then WB was a neighborhood that Tony Soprano might have liked. WB natives include Geraldo Rivera...and Jessica Hahn.

[GypsySoul22]

TrudiRose--
Let me know if you need more info on Babylon. I can tell you first hand it's a nice place (I am less familiar with W. Babylon). We go to Babylon a few times a month in the summer. There's a wonderful park you can walk (with a big lake), good shops, and like I said, a health food store. Some houses, especially on Park Avenue are 'slumlorded out' (these are huge houses with several apartments) but on Deer Park Ave it's nice.

[TrudiRose]

Thanks, Gypsy! Last weekend we went to some open houses in West Babylon, and then we went to a movie at the Babylon Clearview Theater, so I saw some of Babylon as well, and I just LOVED it! We passed Argyle Lake, which was just so pretty and scenic, and Deer Park Ave. and Main Street both looked so quaint with all the shops.

We're looking at houses in Babylon too, and ideally I'd love to move THERE, but it seems that there's more in our price range in West Babylon. But that's okay, I'm kind of in the same situation right now in Windsor Terrace: my neighborhood is residential, but the next neighborhood over is Park Slope, which is the "cool" neighborhood with all the shops etc. As long as we're close, it's fine.

I'm also delighted that there are parks there (I understand that Belmont State Park is gorgeous AND huge), because right now we're living right near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, so I'd like to still have access to a beautiful park if I move.

So far it seems like Babylon/West Babylon has all the good things my current neighborhood has, plus much better schools with lots more extracurricular stuff (sports, drama, etc.), plus I can have a house with a basement and a backyard, instead of living in an apartment. So I'm very excited by the idea!

[nbres]

To Trudi Rose:

As a resident of the general area I think I can give you some advice.

First of all you will definitely be able to find a home in your price rage. There are many very nice homes in both West Babylon and North Babylon. Many homes go for between $350K and $450K. As far as Babylon Village is concerned it tends to be more expensive with higher taxes. Of West Babylon or North Babylon it becomes a question of which school district and neighborhoods you might prefer.

Just so you know, parts of West Babylon go to North Babylon schools. Now this is my view. The school districts are pretty even in terms of academic achievement. Both have somewhat diverse student bodies, although NB Schools are more diverse than WB schools. I can not tell you about the WB elementary schools, but I can say that the NB elementary schools are really good. NB teachers often live in the community and have a vested interest in seeing the kids do well. Some of them have kids in the district or did have kids in the district. Also, they have the same down-to-earth attitude as many of the residents of NB of course.

One thing for sure is the amount of parental involvement in the schools - which is very high. The district welcomes parents into the schools - especially Kindergarten. The area tends to have a lot of stay at home moms who are class mothers, etc.. I think this is because North Babylon is one of the few areas where a family can afford to live on just one income - home prices are lower here. There is a tremendous amount of community pride here: we have lots of sports (Patriot Soccer, T-ball, football, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) and community activities at the library. Of course there is Belmont State Park, but also the facilities at Phelps Lane Park: brand new pool - swim lessons for kids and day camp. We can thank Steve Bellone our Town Supervisor for that. He is doing a great deal to make Babylon Township better.

Now as far as being Jewish - nothing to worry about. I suspect, I may be wrong, that you are pretty secular Reform Jews. I think there is a temple in Deer Park? Anyway, you will find that NB schools do recognize all faiths. The kids do get to see Santa at school, but they also learn about dradles. Most people in North Babylon (11703 Census says 90% white) are probably Italian and Irish, but there are Jews sprinkled about as well.

As far as neighborhoods, West Babylon has no character. Its mostly on a grid. Most North Babylon neighborhoods are really nice with curved streets our wide streets at least with well maintained homes. The best areas are Sunset City, the Phelps Lane area and the Poet Section. I'd check out Sunset City. Lots of very nice splits in your price range.

So Good Luck, I hope this helped.