Moving to LI- Port Washington? (Babylon, Huntington: renting, buying a house, neighborhoods)
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Hi everyone,
My husband and I currently renting in Astoria, Queens and we have been looking to move back to LI (we are both from south shore LI). After a few months of house hunting we really got hooked on the Port Washington area. It has great schools, great commute (I work in the city, husband works on north shore LI), diverse area, and seemed to have a lot to do (variety of restaurants, stores, the main street area, etc.) but we have been having trouble finding a house. We are looking to spend $450,000 max and have been looking for almost a year now and it is getting a bit frustrating. We don't need a ton of space, even a 2 bedroom would work, but we are very tall people so that being said a beach bungalow type house really won't work.
Due to the lack of houses available fitting our criteria we are thinking that we may need to move on from Port Washington and start again searching in other towns but in our initial search we didn't really see many towns that interested us. We are a young couple coming from Astoria so it is really important to be in a town that is not just residential with all houses. We are looking for a place with a bit of culture and amenities like a range of restaurants (not just the usual LI pizza place and Chinese food takeout), stores, etc. I love the PW train line since it is such a quick commute but the other towns on the line are way out of our price range. We also do not currently have children but I feel a decent school district is always important when buying a house and planning for the potential future. Does anyone have any suggestions to areas that have a similar feel to Port Washington?
Our main concerns in order are:
1. Housing price points
2. Commute- to city and North Shore
3. Amenities- not just a residential town but a town with stores, restaurants, movie theater etc.
4. Decent Schools
From looking on the forums I see that Sea Cliff may be a good option but the commute to the city is a tough one!
Hi everyone,
My husband and I currently renting in Astoria, Queens and we have been looking to move back to LI (we are both from south shore LI). After a few months of house hunting we really got hooked on the Port Washington area. It has great schools, great commute (I work in the city, husband works on north shore LI), diverse area, and seemed to have a lot to do (variety of restaurants, stores, the main street area, etc.) but we have been having trouble finding a house. We are looking to spend $450,000 max and have been looking for almost a year now and it is getting a bit frustrating. We don't need a ton of space, even a 2 bedroom would work, but we are very tall people so that being said a beach bungalow type house really won't work.
Due to the lack of houses available fitting our criteria we are thinking that we may need to move on from Port Washington and start again searching in other towns but in our initial search we didn't really see many towns that interested us. We are a young couple coming from Astoria so it is really important to be in a town that is not just residential with all houses. We are looking for a place with a bit of culture and amenities like a range of restaurants (not just the usual LI pizza place and Chinese food takeout), stores, etc. I love the PW train line since it is such a quick commute but the other towns on the line are way out of our price range. We also do not currently have children but I feel a decent school district is always important when buying a house and planning for the potential future. Does anyone have any suggestions to areas that have a similar feel to Port Washington?
Our main concerns in order are:
1. Housing price points
2. Commute- to city and North Shore
3. Amenities- not just a residential town but a town with stores, restaurants, movie theater etc.
4. Decent Schools
From looking on the forums I see that Sea Cliff may be a good option but the commute to the city is a tough one!
Thanks!
Try Rockville Centre, same short commute but added bonus if you are going to hunters point or atlantic terminal much easier.
I lived on the PW line in both Great Neck and Douglaston for years. I loved the commute. But getting to Wall Street or Brooklyn via train was a pain. If you work in Midtown it is great.
Garden City between Merlion Ave and Nassau Blvd trains is also a great commute.
Floral park incorporated on Nassau County side walking distance to train has less of a train schedule but pretty cute.
Seacliff and Oysterbay fit the bill you can find some homes in your price range over there. The commute is tough as the oysterbay train line is terrible. Depending where in those neighborhoods you are Hicksville train station (busiest station in LI)is a 7-12 min drive and will get you into Penn or Atlantic Terminal in 40-44 minutes.
Before we bought a house in LI I lived in Little Neck, the PW train is overrated, yes it avoids Jamaica, I found when ever there was an issue at Jamaica they pulled train from the PW line and we still had the delays, plus compared to other lines it doesn't run as often as I like. As SandyJet said if you Downtown and Brooklyn are a major pain to get to.
Try Rockville Centre, same short commute but added bonus if you are going to hunters point or atlantic terminal much easier.
I lived on the PW line in both Great Neck and Douglaston for years. I loved the commute. But getting to Wall Street or Brooklyn via train was a pain. If you work in Midtown it is great.
Garden City between Merlion Ave and Nassau Blvd trains is also a great commute.
Floral park incorporated on Nassau County side walking distance to train has less of a train schedule but pretty cute.
I don't think she is going to find anything short of a total regut in those areas for 450K. Something has to give.
You either raise your budget or you extend the commute time. You say that you don't want a "small" cottage type of house and you want a town with cultural amenities like you find in Port Washington. You're going to have to look on the south shore and compromise on some other "wishes" because your wish list is not realistic.
Try Lynbrook. Good commute. Close to the "culture" of Rockville Centre. You could also look in Mineola but the downtown is not going to be "quaint" or pretty.
Try Rockville Centre, same short commute but added bonus if you are going to hunters point or atlantic terminal much easier.
I lived on the PW line in both Great Neck and Douglaston for years. I loved the commute. But getting to Wall Street or Brooklyn via train was a pain. If you work in Midtown it is great.
Garden City between Merlion Ave and Nassau Blvd trains is also a great commute.
Floral park incorporated on Nassau County side walking distance to train has less of a train schedule but pretty cute.
I do work in midtown so I can just walk across town from Penn Station with no problem. Garden City and Floral Park might be a good place to look. I don't really know too much about Floral Park but I do know Garden City can get a bit pricey in certain areas. Thanks for the suggestion I'll take a look there!
Seacliff and Oysterbay fit the bill you can find some homes in your price range over there. The commute is tough as the oysterbay train line is terrible. Depending where in those neighborhoods you are Hicksville train station (busiest station in LI)is a 7-12 min drive and will get you into Penn or Atlantic Terminal in 40-44 minutes.
Before we bought a house in LI I lived in Little Neck, the PW train is overrated, yes it avoids Jamaica, I found when ever there was an issue at Jamaica they pulled train from the PW line and we still had the delays, plus compared to other lines it doesn't run as often as I like. As SandyJet said if you Downtown and Brooklyn are a major pain to get to.
Yep, I have heard from many people that line is terrible. We actually found a house we loved in Glen Cove but I just could not commit to that long of a commute everyday.
Good to know the PW train still has issues though. I had just assumed since it avoided Jamaica it wouldn't have all the problems the other train lines have.
Port Wash on a $450K max budget is practically impossible. Our budget can stretch up to $550K (we got preapproved for mid 600s) and theres no way we can afford our dream home in Port Washington once we factor in taxes and utilities (which sucks because my husband commutes there quite often and knows the town like the back of his hand).
You may better be served in NHP or even Floral Park. If commute time doesnt factor too much, anything on the south shore would def be in your price range. If you are dead set on North shore towns, your budget limits you to Sea Cliff, Glen Cove, Bayville, East Norwich and parts of Locust Valley.
Go south shore on the Babylon train line. Wantagh, Massapequa, Seaford, Merrick. All good SDs. There's a reason they call the area you're looking at the Gold Coast. And 450k won't buy it. If you need North Shore, go to Huntington Village. It's a decent line.
I have heard that Huntington Village is really nice but it is way too far. I am looking to have a max. LIRR commute of 45 min. I know the south shore is definitely more affordable but both are parents are from there and we are trying to put a decent distance between us. A 5 min. drive away is a little to close for comfort. I think the middle of the island may be the way to go here.
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