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My husband will be starting a job in stony brook l this summer. We currently live in queens and will be relocating closer to his job. We are currently considering commack, smithtown and the three village area. I am obsessing about this a little more than I probably should and would appreciate any thoughts/opinions.
Here are my current thoughts:
Commack: great schools, close to highways, not too far from my parents (great neck) or his (stony brook) for our frequent family visits. Most of our long time friends are in nassau or queens. (although now that all our friends have kids we hardly see anyone anyway...) negative: although his commute won't be too long, why not have a shorter commute? i am currently home with our little kids. When i go back to work i can look for a job anywhere...
Smithtown: seems to rank a little lower than the other two in terms of schools. i know parenting is most important, but "rank" is still a consideration. Honestly, from what i have seen in terms of numbers, there does not seem to be much of a difference amongst the three, but an evil voice in my head keeps telling me it matters (no, i do not really hear voices). I think the area is really pretty, but i wonder how convenient it is to get to highways.
Stony brook: great schools (but high school is very large don't know if that is good or bad), my in laws live there (which can be a plus and a minus), awesome commute for my husband, and it is really pretty. My real hesitation is that is seems sooooo faaaarrrr "out there," coming from queens. I hate the nichols road 347 intersection. grrrr. This may sound silly, but i don't imagine people we know wanting to schlep all the way out there. .
thanks in advance for all opinions. I'd appreciate any advice.
As someone who grew up in Queens, currently lives in south Nassau , was 'going" to move to Three Village School District and ended up sending my kids to a preschool in Stony Brook, lol I can tell you...that everything is 'far' when you mention Suffolk county to queens folk Once you are in the car, and drive more than 45 minutes, it's far,...Commack, Smithtown, or Stony Brook are all the same for the car ride In fact, since I have such a long commute to my kids' preschool, I see no difference between Smithtown and Stony Brook in distance. I do like the homes in Smithtown (the newer ones). Stony Brook has a charm to it, there are some beautiful homes but they tend to be 'older' Three Village is also known for it's special ed programs and I don't believe Smithtown or Commack are as much. (not sure) which can skew ratings of schools. In fact, a school district that encompasses all types of learners gifted, general ed and special ed is a greater school district in my opinion. . I grew up in Queens so I actually liked that Three Village has a multi cultural feel. Three Village is a large SD and there quite a few of elementary schools. They house the self contained special ed classes in just one school, which I didn't like since one of my kids needs a class like that, and the others will not. This school is in South Setauket area and not Stony Brook. I was trying to find a home zoned for that school but the choices were limited. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices, they are all really nice towns with excellent school districts. Maybe you can just find a home you really feel comfortable with and see where it ends up Good Luck,...this moving stuff isn't easy
Well, I think all three are great areas and you can't go wrong in any of them.
Smithtown has great schools too. Much larger district and its size could be the reason for not being as high as Commack.
Commack prides itself on its schools, and it should.
The access to the Sagtikos Parkway was a hugh benefit for me as I travel by car and its saves me a bunch of time.
Stony Brook is beautiful. Tough to get to a major highway.
I would pick Smithtown over Commack but thats a person thing, I really could not tell you why.
Overall, because I commute by car: 1)Smithtown, 2)Commack, 3)Stony Brook
If I did not have to commute: 1)Stony Brook, 2)Smithtown, 3)Commack
Good luck!
For commuting I would rank Commack first. The Sag runs right thru Commack. You need to drive 5 miles from downtown Smithtown just to reach the Sag. Both towns are nice though. Stony Brook is a little too far North and east for me.
being from three village area (stony brook) and attended ward melville high school, it is not worth the money. yes setauket is pretty in some areas and stony brook village and port jeff but the driving the people, the atmosphere is horrible! I hate 347 and nicholls and try to avoid at any cost. For what people pay to live in this area i just dont understand it at all.
My grandparents live in commack and i would definitely say commack and st james are much better choices!
For commuting I would rank Commack first. The Sag runs right thru Commack. You need to drive 5 miles from downtown Smithtown just to reach the Sag. Both towns are nice though. Stony Brook is a little too far North and east for me.
Well you are correct. Depends on where you live in commack. The traffic on Jericho West of the Sag seems much worse than the portion East of the Sag (at least until Downtown Smithtown).
Thanks for all the advice. My husband will be starting a new job at stony brook hospital. When my youngest is in pre-k or k I will go back to work, either teaching or trying something new (schools seem to be cutting back a lot now.) I am not tied to a particular district in terms of a job.
Our top budget is probably about 550 but we'd really like to keep it to 500 or less. We'd like to keep taxes around 12 give or take a bit.
I am looking for great schools, a short commute for my husband, the potential for a short commute for me in the future, and a town with generally nice down to earth people. I suppose I need to be ok with not knowing what is best. There is probably no right answer. Thanks again.
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Once you are in the car, and drive more than 45 minutes, it's far,...Commack, Smithtown, or Stony Brook are all the same for the car ride 
