Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Riverhead on the north shore is very nice. I only have one experience with Inwood. Wasn't very nice. Shirley has random streets that are well maintained. Really can't comment on the others.
I grew up in Inwood can you tell me the names of the streets you traveled through in Inwood? You consider Shirley well maintained? I'd rethink that if I were you. Don't get me wrong there are worse areas in Suffolk County than Shirley, and I know which ones are worse but the people who live in Shirley can be rough around the edges. Sometimes when I walk down the streets of the Shirley/Mastic/Mastic Beach area the people just start screaming and cursing for no reason. It's awkward that they just do that out of nowhere granted, they are usually with a group of people or talking on the phone with somebody, but it's still very unusual. One other thing I should mention is that there are some boarded up houses in Mastic Beach that may look like no one is living there however, just because a property looks abandoned doesn't mean no one is there. There could be gangs or drug dealers doing their business in these boarded up houses so you have to be careful.
Hempstead: The part of Hempstead west of Cathedral Ave is nice, it might be the "Cathedral Gardens" other users were referring to.
Wyandanch: There are no nice looking areas within the actual hamlet of Wyandanch (though there are some blocks that are ALRIGHT). Wheatley Heights that borders Wyandanch to the north is very nice-looking (especially the parts closer to the Dix Hills border), Wheatley Hts is a very diverse upper middle class to middle class community (the largest group is black though it's still diverse). The Belmont section of North Babylon/West Babylon that borders Wyandanch to the south is nice also, it is located west of Belmont Lake State Park and north of the Southern State Pkwy, it's a middle class majority-black community (almost all of it is nice except for the part in-between Little East Neck rd and Hilltop Ave which is not so good looking as well as the neglected homes [probably rentals] directly on straight path).
Bellport: Bellport itself is mainly affluent to middle class, I assume you were referring to North Bellport. North Bellport is only run-down between Sunrise Hwy and Montauk Hwy, the other parts of the hamlet of North Bellport are decent looking middle class areas. Even in that "run-down" part there blocks of newer homes.
Freeport: Freeport near the ocean is nice. It's a diverse coastal community with mainly well-maintained homes (the largest group is white in this section though still diverse). I think it's called Nautical Mile.
Mastic: I'm not sure about here but I would imagine that near the ocean would be nicer than the rest of it but since i've never really been here I can't comment on this particular place.
North Amityville: The whole northern half of the hamlet of North Amityville (minus the trailer parks) is fairly decent looking, I think the northern half looks no different from neighboring 'Town of Babylon' hamlets in terms of the housing stock and how well-maintained it is. There is an area that most residents refer to as "New Homes" (though the homes aren't really new anymore), this area is stunning, people clearly put a lot of money into their homes. This area is located off of Albany Ave before the North Amityville Pool. The streets here have names like Sunshine Ln, Rainbow Ln, Jeatom Ln, Autumn Ln; there is another new large luxury subdivision under construction as well, this subdivision is a little closer to the Pool than the older subdivision.
Brentwood: The area around Brentwood Pkwy/Country Club is beautiful.
Roosevelt: The area near Smith Pond is very well-maintained. The part of Roosevelt east of Park Ave and north of Grenada is fairly nice looking. There is also a section of Roosevelt off of N. Brookside Ave around Westbrook Ln and Greenwich Ave, I think this section can pass as a typical middle class Nassau County neighborhood.
Some communities you didn't mention:
Westbury/New Cassel: The area north of the Northern State Parkway (and south of Jerico Turnpike) of Westbury is upper middle class and very diverse (with Blacks being the largest group).
Central Islip: Near the Courthouse is beautiful, a lot of newly built condo's. The area around Connetquot ave is very nice, the property there seems to have a lot of land.
That jeatom sunshine ln section in north amityville really is pretty
I was looking at houses by the belmont lake section of north/west babylon and actually talked to a homeowner. That section ahs a TON of crime that goes unreported. The police station is pretty far from there and since the park is in the way its hard for police to get there in time. So while they neighborhood may look nice looks can be deceiving.
I work in huntington. The farther you get from 110/ and the train station the better it gets. So try to get closer to huntington main street area or jericho turnpike. For the southern part the South huntington school district is better (then right by the train station).
Also for gordon heights there is no NICE section there. Now Coram ,and medford there are nice sections . Gordon Heights itself is small and any nice area anybody comes up with is most likely to be in one of the surrounding areas.
I would love to speak to the "homeowner". I've lived off Belmont Ave in North/West Babylon for 8 years now and have seen nor heard almost nothing in terms of crime. Reported or Not. That is a heavy Italian section and if something went down, we would know.
Just out of curiosity, why would someone want to live in a nice part of a bad area? You would still be in the bad school district. Wouldn't it make more sense to live in a cheaper section of a good area?
Just out of curiosity, why would someone want to live in a nice part of a bad area? You would still be in the bad school district. Wouldn't it make more sense to live in a cheaper section of a good area?
Some people don't have kids and other people aren't afraid to send their kids to average schools. Also some people would prefer to send their kids to catholic school and could get a much better home in a less regarded place. I believe alot has to do with where one grew up and how they grew up. For those that grew up in fancy north shore schools, many may be opposed to giving their offspring anything less. On the other hand, someone that grew up in NYC public schools might not be opposed to sending their kids to an average school.
Just out of curiosity, why would someone want to live in a nice part of a bad area? You would still be in the bad school district. Wouldn't it make more sense to live in a cheaper section of a good area?
There's sometimes AMAZING deals to be had. Houses in a "bad town" are usually priced lower due to having an "undesirable address" so you get an amazing bang for your buck! You can get a big beautiful house for a hefty discount in a BETTER school district as long as you can handle the fact that you won't technically live within the border of that town.
For example, if you buy in a certain part of N.Amityville then you can get Farmingdale schools. A portion of Hempstead get West Hempstead schools. A small part of Roosevelt gets Baldwin schools. A couple blocks of Wyandanch gets W.Bab schools, etc.
It's like searching for a diamond in the rough, as a user put it
Last edited by PrestigiousReputability; 10-17-2013 at 04:14 PM..
For example, if you buy in a certain part of N.Amityville then you can get Farmingdale schools. A portion of Hempstead get West Hempstead schools. A small part of Roosevelt gets Baldwin schools. A couple blocks of Wyandanch gets W.Bab schools, etc.
Houses in a "bad town" are usually priced lower due to having an "undesirable address" so you get an amazing bang for your buck! You can get a big beautiful house for a hefty discount in a BETTER school district.
It's like searching for a diamond in the rough, as a user put it
On the flip side, sometimes the cheaper parts of a "good" area have relatively worse schools - i.e. parts of Rockville Centre zoned for Malverne or Oceanside schools (and before anyone jumps on me, I know these schools are more mediocre than bad, my point is just that, compared to the reputation of RVC schools, there's no contest). What's the good of the "prestigious" address when your kids are going to the same schools as people who own the same size or larger home at 2/3rds the price?
On the flip side, sometimes the cheaper parts of a "good" area have relatively worse schools - i.e. parts of Rockville Centre zoned for Malverne or Oceanside schools (and before anyone jumps on me, I know these schools are more mediocre than bad, my point is just that, compared to the reputation of RVC schools, there's no contest). What's the good of the "prestigious" address when your kids are going to the same schools as people who own the same size or larger home at 2/3rds the price?
in the case of RVC, living in the village does allow you access to certain amenities (LIRR parking, cheap electric, rec center, etc.), so you can make a valid case for living in the village while attending Oceanside schools. Not only that, but the difference between the districts isn't THAT big - certainly not nearly as big as the gap between RVC and Malverne. Although, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any homes in the village zoned for Malverne. There are, however, several zoned for Baldwin.
Just out of curiosity, why would someone want to live in a nice part of a bad area? You would still be in the bad school district. Wouldn't it make more sense to live in a cheaper section of a good area?
A HS classmate just bought an adorable house on a canal in Shirley. Her children are adults and no longer living with her, it's just her and her husband. Schools are no longer a concern for them, but access to the water is because they are into fishing and jet skiing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.