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I know the topic has been discussed at length in the forum but i cant seem to find where some of the different areas are within Plainview. For instance, Manetto Hills and Woodbury? Where are these in terms of close streets and why do they seem to be the more desirable within the area?
Can any recent movers into the area touch on the schools in terms of middle starting in the 5th grade...is that really too big a deal? Ive been looking primarily at Syosset over a month or two and just feel like Im getting more bang for my buch if i expand out to P/OB (schools seem to be quite competitive as well) although the "sense of community" feedback im seeing here is a little unsettling. Perhaps just some one off, bitter folks who are taking their anger to the boards and venting and not a true indication of the surrounding area.
thanks all..the boards/these forums have been truly helpful to date!
I know the topic has been discussed at length in the forum but i cant seem to find where some of the different areas are within Plainview. For instance, Manetto Hills and Woodbury? Where are these in terms of close streets and why do they seem to be the more desirable within the area?
Can any recent movers into the area touch on the schools in terms of middle starting in the 5th grade...is that really too big a deal? Ive been looking primarily at Syosset over a month or two and just feel like Im getting more bang for my buch if i expand out to P/OB (schools seem to be quite competitive as well) although the "sense of community" feedback im seeing here is a little unsettling. Perhaps just some one off, bitter folks who are taking their anger to the boards and venting and not a true indication of the surrounding area.
thanks all..the boards/these forums have been truly helpful to date!
If you don't believe the many people that pointed out the lack of "Community Feel" in Plainview then spend a weekend at the local stip malls (Morton Village & John's Farm) and you will get an idea. Neighbors hardly talk to each other and block parties are non existent. I've live in Plainview and Old Bethpage for most of my life and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. The houses all look the same, people kept to themselves and kids were spoiled brats. The grass is not much greener over at Syosset.
Every time I drive through Plainview to visit friends and family I get an unsettling feeling. Like "you could not pay me enough to live here again". There is no charm to that town.
However it is very safe and has a great library. If you are looking for a cookie cutter ranch or split level house and pay a fortune in taxes then look no further than Plainview. The Manetto Hills and Woodbury area is supposed to be the nicer part. It's a bit quiter and more expensive.
I went to POB schools since 4th grade and chose to come back to live with my new family. Kids are currently in K. I have a few friends from childhood who have done the same and see them all the time at kids bday parties. My brother who just married also bought their 1st house here. I'm not sure what "community feel" really means (especially if people think that there has not been any here) so I'd like for them to define it. No there are no block parties (we had that in Hicksville ONCE a year), but plenty of neighbors talk to each other from my parents' house's neighborhood, to our area, to our kids' friends areas. Like any other block at any other street in this country, it depends on your neighbors themselves. We have a couple who won't so much as wave to you and then we have the neighbors who borrow tools - we all get along great and watch each other's houses when they tell us they're going away.
There is a large Jewish population here but people of all types get along fine with each other. This was evident when I was a kid as I had friends of all types - indian, jewish, asian, caucasian - didn't matter. When parents wonder about a town's diversity, it exists even here. Also there's a FB group with nearly 2700 members (Syosset has 1k) and people of all types get along there as well.
Home styles - splits and ranches with a sprinkling of colonials, just like Syosset. Generally speaking, taxes can be more in Plainview but home prices slightly lower. Syosset schools are a bit better according to rankings, but Plainview is right behind them for Nassau/Suffolk. Plainview was higher a couple years ago so it actually is very close.
Aesthetics - Plainview has tree-lined streets with strip malls at various areas for shopping while Syosset has Jericho Tpke. Splits & ranches will look the same as other splits & ranches. Colonials will generally have more flavor since they are newer and builders today present a lot of options. "Cookie-cutter" is more evident in newer areas (not Plainview/Syosset) - I think over the 50+ years many have evolved/updated/upgraded and even in our area, ranches have changed into colonials (including ours) so it's more mixed than cookie-cutter like you would have in a new development.
Plainview Library was the only one in all of NYS to be rated 5-star at one point recently and it's still being improved. Plainview Water was also voted best-tasting.
If you want community fairs, the Town of Oyster Bay (TOB) - governs both POB and Syosset among many others - does them, not the individual towns. If I may digress with this point - just last month we had a Spring Festival where everything was completely free (food & fun). And more recently, they did it again for the Massapequa area. TOB also sponsors sports programs which makes it very affordable. For instance, they have ice hockey at Bethpage for $200/season where another town like a Freeport charges nearly $600 for a non-sponsored, private program. They also have Tobay Beach which is nicer than Jones Beach itself. TOB is great and also very responsive when it comes to sanitation and park & street maintenance.
Just things I know for sure. The only thing that will ever make me leave are excessive taxes (or just a desire to live on the west coast at some point too).
wow, great feedback guys, very much appreciated. To be honest, the prices of the homes started the search here (more for your money in my opinion without too much of a sacrifice in SDs although the more i dig aorund for homes and schools, the more i think im realising the SDs and ranking are like pulling hairs)
I always envisioned my kids (1 and 4) growing up in an environment similar to the one i had when i was a kid in Queens...going out after school, kids playing on the street until called in for dinner and having a tight knit group of parents that hung out while the kids played. i dont ever want to regret moving into a home and then waking up a month or two later only to realise the area i live in doesnt offer anything like that! i do feel like every area, wherever you are is going to have some of that and others wont have any of that. superficial folk will be everywhere as well.
you do touch on a good point with regards to the housing. the last few times i drove through plainview i saw many of the same splits...split after split with a random new construction thrown in. to be honest, i (and i know my wife) would love to buy a new construction but dont want to be the only 3000 sq ft monstrosity on the block and stick out like a sore thumb. has the area changed much? are there actually more of those type homes going up in the area?
originally i asked about Woodbury and Manetto hills areas...where exactly are those?
rh71...your child is in K...is there only 1 K for the entire district? all the kids then get seperated after that?! ugh, not sure i like that. my daughter is in pre k now and i already feel like im going to be upset pulling her away from her pals to more somewhere where shell have to go through that same thing (potentially two more times if i put her in another pre k program before K starts!)
hello, we just moved to Plainview, Manetto Hills area. so far neighbors have been nice, have introduced themselves to us and we exchanged contact info. So far we like it alot, quiet, and seems safe. I second the POB library, its very nice and a great section for the kids. We moved primarily for the school system, my son will attend K in the fall, so I can't opine until then. But so far the school district has been responsive as we register him for the fall. Our block is changing, long time residents moving on and young families moving in, so that is a plus. Seems like the block is turning over.
im not an expert in Plainview, but Manetto Hills is the section east of Manetto Hill Road and Woodbury Hills is close to the Plainview center strip mall. Also one of my neighbors mentioned that although there is one K center, they generally would group the kids by what elementary they are zoned for, to try to avoid pulling them away from their Kindergarten Pals. Not sure if anyone else knows more info on this.
Good to hear positive remarks about the area...there were a couple of homes a few months ago that we were interested in so perhaps a drive by this weekend will do us some good! yeah, the concept of grouping the kids together does make sense! would hate to seperate the kids from those they grew close to!
hmmm, never know...perhaps youll both be getting a new neighbor soon, lol. looking to move on something before the summer starts. fingers crossed. has inventory in the area been snapped up quickly or is it still a buyers market somewhat? I looked in some other areas in and out of LI recently and there were actually bidding wars going on in some areas...couldnt believe it.
somehting else i should have touched on/asked about...commute to manhattan. wife and i are working parents. seems closest station is either bethpage or hicksville. any ideas how late a train you could take before the lots fill up?
- my wife takes the Bethpage train instead of Hicksville because it's a much easier commute coming home. Taking the 135 north back from Bethpage is only a few stop signs and 1 quick exit for her whereas if she did Hicksville it would be a ton of lights AND traffic down Old Country Road going west. The only downside to Bethpage is there aren't as many and frequent trains, but she manages to catch the same trains, to and from, 99% of the time.
- yes they changed it to only 1 K Center residing in the back of Stratford Middle School. The benefit to this is it opens up rooms in the elementary schools to allow for smaller class sizes (4 grades instead of 5). Whether that's actually the case I don't know since I don't have numbers. They are however talking about putting K back into each individual elementary and I'm not sure I like the idea of larger class sizes (going from 4 grades to 5 grades in 1 building). It is still up in the air at this point.
As for separating from friends, your (in general) kids will have already experienced that loss when they leave pre-school friends and get assigned to different classrooms within K center. They may see them in the hall or on the bus but that's about it. It is true they try to group the kids according to their home school, but even in our kids' classes, only about half of their class will be going with them. My kids' best friends (from pre-school) don't have lunch or bus or class with each other but we see each other 2-3 times a week through sports. Next year they will be at the same elementary school and onward.
Yes it may be unfortunate to split K kids up from their friends but from 1st grade on, they can make new friends just like they have from pre-school vs. K. It's only a year later just the same, and they are all but guaranteed to see them in middle school forward too.
well there's the often-recommended yet expensive and maybe wait-listed ones (Miss Sue's, Debbie's), or the pretty-good and more affordable ones (Plainview Nursery, Good Shepard)... which is more up your alley? I think the mid-island Y has something too.
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