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Beltagh Ave has quite a bit of traffic; not the place you want to raise a family (or even try to get out of the driveway sometimes.)
Beltagh is not that busy, esp the area by Forest Lake. The more busier area is from Oakfield Ave to where Forest Lake is but make the left by Forest Lake, Beltagh continues and it's less busy.
And Beltagh gets nowhere near the amount of busyness Sunrise Hwy or Merrick Rd gets.
Cool. So being a hs teacher in public schools on li. What schools would you consoder sending your kids or better put would feel confident they would get a good education? Especially woth regards to the towns i have imterest im?
That is a tough one to say without actually experiencing each school district. The best advice I can give is to go on the Newsday website and look at each school's "report card". It will tell you graduation statistics, Regents diplomas, grades on Regent exam, diversity, income level, etc. It is not the finale say on a school district, but it is a very good place to begin your research. I would also look on school district websites (once you narrow down the areas you can really afford) and look at their clubs, programs, etc. and see if it meets your criteria. I would also drive around the towns and actually look at the area to see if you can see yourself living there.
I was less concerned with school district when I bought, because I knew I was going to send my kids to parochial school regardless of where we purchased a home, but if public school is what you are looking for, definitely research.
Also keep in mind that a lot of education comes from the home and the way you raise your children. A school district can only do so much. Even if a school district may not be "top notch" or stellar in your price range, it does not mean that your child won't succeed or do well, but you do want to look for a school district that has (at worst) good to average statistics because you want a district that is at least meeting standards for the majority of their students.
We live in Massapequa and love it. It a very close community with wonderful neighborhoods and schools. My husband works Manhattan (downtown). However, he prefers to drive to the Hicksville train station bc it is faster than the Massapequa line. Sometimes they have trains that go straight from Penn, to Jamaica (no transfer) and then Hicksville. It's a 10 minute drive. Some days he is home in a little over an hour, door to door. And thats from Downtown so obviously less time from Midtown. Something to think about if you really like Pequa.
Having a private beach does not mean it is a rich town always. Island Park and East Rockaway have private resident only beaches.
Nassau County has already put up the 10-1-2014 School Tax Calculator on their website. I like RVC a lot and look at homes there on and off. Recently I took the assessed value of a home for sale and plugged it into the calculator on my nassau county land record viewer site and almost fell off chair as the super high taxes were going up 1,500 on 10-1-2014. Guess why owner was selling.
RVC for a larger home with lower taxes you have to focus on estate sales etc. homes that have not been sold in a very long time that need a lot of work so you get for a fair price. The work has to be type of work that does not attract permits as that may jack taxes. RVC also has their own town tax. If you grieve on Nassau County RVC does their own assessed value so you have to grieve and win twice.
Not all homes located south of Sunrise Highway or Merrick Road are considered flood zones. FEMA maps for flood insurance are based off elevation. My co-workers in south Bellmore live right across from a canal yet their house is not considered within a flood zone because their street and home is elevated. Likewise, there are homes NORTH of Sunrise Highway which COULD be in a flood zone (once again, check out elevation). You can see if the home falls in a flood zone by plugging in the address on FEMA's web site:
As to parts of Merrick/Bellmore - Merrick Woods is a really nice area, its the section of streets just north of the LIRR station with streets named Seneca Gate,Cayuga etc. You can tell right away where you are because you won't see many capes, tudors or colonials. Most of these homes are considered "ranger ranches" (I am sure someone else can pipe in with historical information).
The other homes just south of Sunrise Highway which you considered to be tiny or odd-shaped with stucco siding / tile roof is called Gable Estates. (specifically around Wynsum Ave - the area between Merrick Rd and Sunrise Hwy). Per a web site listing that describes this part:
"The Gables Estates neighborhood of Merrick is located south of Sunrise Highway, just east of Merrick Avenue. This distinctive neighborhood is most recognizble for its Spanish-stucco, California style homes, most of which were built in the 1920s to replicate the kind of homes to be found in Hollywood at the time. Indeed, many attribute the name of the neighborhood to Hollywood legend Clark Gable, who lived in the New York area during his career on Broadway."
We saw some of these homes at Open Houses and they are rather small, but they have an internally cute architectural style if you want something that isnt "cookie cutter" like other homes on LI.
Honestly what is BIG DEAL about flood zones in most cases. My house got like a lot of water in Sandy. But that was a once in 712 year storm. Two storms crossing exact same time, hitting together right by my house and it was high tide.
My house now will sell for same as pre-sandy even though the entire lower level was redone. My flood insurance is only $525 a year and due to Sandy I won a significant tax grievance so my taxes are very very low.
Houses just a half mile north not in a flood zone are often all original as they did not redo after sandy, have much higher taxes and cost more.
Come 10-1-2014 school tax bill and the 1-1-2015 TOH general bill in some Nassau County South Shore towns the parts of town not impacted by Sandy and not in a flood zone may see large tax increases.
Remember the letters with a new assessed values went out to homeowenrs already but you wont see the new values on-line till 1-1-2015.
Great info!! Keep it coming. Massres thanks i got excited for a minute but looking at the train schedules it maybe saves five mins in the monring thats if everything goes smooth....unfortunate because i love pequa....what section do you live in if you dont mind me asking?
Also can anyone tell me what is the cute merrick downtown that i see people mention? Like what street(s) because when we drove through by the movie theater by the train it looked kind of run down in that area.
4) merrick- driving around south it looks nice and other parts. drove around some parts of merrick woods which looked like a nice community but drove in one circular area and didn't like the style of homes not sure what they are like ranches i guess? with wood shingle type siding? then we drove by the movie theater area by train and that looked a little run down and sketchy.
I'm on these forums looking for something else but just happened to see this... I live in one of those homes for 33 years. It's called a Ranger Ranch, they are large ranches (LR,DR,small Den, 3 BR, 2 baths, EIK) which were built with an unfinished area upstairs which I'd say almost all people have been finished off ( know of exactly ONE that isn't). I have a large playroom, office, full bath and a small storeroom up there. No basement. I cannot even begin to tell you the amazing and beautiful things people have done with these houses. The size as seen from the outside of the home is very deceptive, everyone new is always amazed when they walk in my door. It's a great neighborhood, great schools, (Chatterton, Merrick Ave MS and Calhoun HS) and everyone I know who lives in Merrick Woods loves it. There are many colonials and interesting older homes too. Added advantage of walking to train station. It's NOT an inexpensive area by far, the downtown is FINE, there is one small area with auto body shops but they don't bother anyone. Merrick and Bellmore are almost like small towns...everyone knows everyone!
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I hope you everything works out for you!
Merrick Woods
