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ForestHillsDaddy...that's exactly it...I don't want to live on top of people and want a backyard for my kids to be able to run around. nothing west of there offers that unless you want to go north of a mill or spend a ton on renovations. would love to hear some of these that offer 70% of that.
Yep, we have two young kids and we both work in the city...wife can walk to/from Penn and I work in the 50s so itd be a long walk or a subway ride. the more I talk it through out loud the more ridiculous it sounds. but then I think, Syosset is only 12 minutes west lol
OK. If you're priority is to get off at Penn, for what it's worth you don't have to live in Huntington or LI for that matter. A lot of my former co-workers in my last employer lived in NJ and they would take the train at Summit, Secaucus etc. where there is more frequent train service. Looking at NJ might give you more housing and commuting options. If you're OK to get off at Grand Central, you might want to consider Croton (or Ossining - some have told me this is up and coming) in Westchester which has very good train service both Metro North and Amtrak.
In terms of watching over the kids, that's going to be a challenge in any suburb. You may want to consider hiring an au pair. Most of my suburban colleagues where both spouses work hired au pairs. I remember in the Westchester forums there were a couple of posters who have experienced doing this with overall positive results.
aNYCdb, are you in the same boat as me in terms of having kids? wife work as well? we have contemplated the whole one parent working, one home with kids and as much as we think it would work, we both look fwd to advancing our careers and think wed regret it once the house is empty and kids are in school until 3 (or later w after school activities)
all about tradeoffs as always. but jeesh, the good school districts like port wash, Rockville centre, garden city, Manhasset, etc...you struggle to get anything over 6000 sq ft lot and if you do, the houses seem to be in dire need of some TLC. bit depressing to say the least.
We have two kids (6 & 8) we moved out when we were pregnant with #2. Honestly we did very much the same calculus before picking Huntington and its been pretty great overall. Wife and I both work (my wife's commute is actually worse than mine now as she drives to the Bronx). We got a little lucky in that Grandma was able to help out a bit before the kids were in school, now with them in school its a lot easier they go to a sitter after school. Obviously we would both love to win the lotto and quite our jobs to stay home full time, but I don't think that's in the cards.
Figure a door to door commute of about 2 hrs each way. Expect the north parking garage to fill up by 7:30a, and the south parking garage to take longer. There will be some loss of parking as well due to redevelopment around the train station, since the parking lots are being sold by the town to developers. Cold Spring Harbor parking fills up quickly but is an alternative as well. Stations further east like Greenlawn and Fort Salonga are diesel trains only, they are fewer in number and might require a change at Huntington, so most residents out there choose to drive to Huntington instead.
Usually, the morning commute is fairly smooth and you can do some work or doze a bit. Since the trains start at Huntington, there's a good chance of getting a seat (although the trains seem to get more crowded each year). The evening commute tends to have more problems (track/tunnel/equipment/car on tracks), you might have to stand for a good portion of it, and it can drag on, because you just want to get home as soon as possible.
Also, Huntington line tends to have a good deal of weather related disruptions in both summer and winter.
All in all, it's a manageable commute, but you'll be truly tired once Friday comes along.
ForestHillsDaddy...that's exactly it...I don't want to live on top of people and want a backyard for my kids to be able to run around. nothing west of there offers that unless you want to go north of a mill or spend a ton on renovations. would love to hear some of these that offer 70% of that.
Yep, we have two young kids and we both work in the city...wife can walk to/from Penn and I work in the 50s so itd be a long walk or a subway ride. the more I talk it through out loud the more ridiculous it sounds. but then I think, Syosset is only 12 minutes west lol
If both husband and wife work in City the big backyard is fairly useless as no one is home to enjoy it.
also watch out for maint and taxes on the big homes. Snow removal and landscaping are killers on large plots so factor it in.
Also watch out for the "big house" tax on home improvements. contractors and handymen assume I have a lot less cash based on house. They actually throw out low low quotes and many admit they make it up on the "rich folk"
My cousins who both work have one of the big houses in Hunt area. Everytime is a big snow it is 200 bucks to shovel everything out. Lawn service is 75 bucks. His taxes are 19K.this is on top of mortage.
Compare this to my first starter home. My taxes were 6k, I mowed my own little lawn and shoveled my own little walk. Heck I did not even have sprinklers so used the hose and cleaned my own gutters. Pretty easy.
I once almost bought a 4,000 square foot house on two acres with an inground pool around 2011 in Laurel Hollow as I had a good year at work. Could easily afford mortgage and taxes. I backed out believe it or not in talking to owner about bills. The snow removal, lawn service, pool service, cost of a roof, re-blacktopping driveway etc. The maint costs were huge that we felt we would just be "renting" house for ten years as no-way could I keep that up in retirement.
I commute from Huntington or Cold Spring Harbor every day, and live in Dix Hills. It is not a 2 hour commute. 1 hour 40 minutes each way, which isn't short. The Huntington line is pretty good - certainly better than Ronkonkoma. You will get a seat, the train is waiting there for you in the winter, etc. The express trains are very doable (I have a colleague who commutes out of the Garden City station on the Hempstead line and that's 50 minutes on the train.) Both parents working in the city, though, may be a problem. A bit far to get home quickly if you need to....
I commute from Huntington or Cold Spring Harbor every day, and live in Dix Hills. It is not a 2 hour commute. 1 hour 40 minutes each way, which isn't short. The Huntington line is pretty good - certainly better than Ronkonkoma. You will get a seat, the train is waiting there for you in the winter, etc. The express trains are very doable (I have a colleague who commutes out of the Garden City station on the Hempstead line and that's 50 minutes on the train.) Both parents working in the city, though, may be a problem. A bit far to get home quickly if you need to....
Wow, leave the house drive 10--15 mins, arrive park, wait for train and get to Penn and then subway then walk to work 1:40 is pretty dogone fast but I guess if everything works out perfectly it is possible. My friend does a similar commute (except he works on Wall Street and needs to hit Huntingon with enough cushion to be sure he doesn't miss his best train and the same goes with hitting Penn on the return with a bit of a cushion) and tells me his round trip door to door usually is about 4.5 hours with a bit of driving traffic on his return from Huntington)
I live 5 miles from Huntington Station, so the drive in is about 15 mins. Then an hour and change on the LIRR into Penn Station and another 35-40 mins between subway and walk to office. That's how it ends up being 2 hours. If you're fortunate enough to have an office in midtown close to Penn, it could be less.
Wow, leave the house drive 10--15 mins, arrive park, wait for train and get to Penn and then subway then walk to work 1:40 is pretty dogone fast but I guess if everything works out perfectly it is possible. My friend does a similar commute (except he works on Wall Street and needs to hit Huntingon with enough cushion to be sure he doesn't miss his best train and the same goes with hitting Penn on the return with a bit of a cushion) and tells me his round trip door to door usually is about 4.5 hours with a bit of driving traffic on his return from Huntington)
He is leaving off that train runs local very early. If you dont work regular hours or cant leave work at same time every day it is very hard.
Unlike Port Wash or RVC line which is every 30 minutes off peak and on weekends and runs pretty much express off peak too.
Just miss a local train to Huntington after getting off work at 8pm and you feel the pain
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Here's how mine breaks down
