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Hi All,
My wife, 1yr old son, and I have been looking to buy a home lately. We are already pre-qualified and looking to spend up to the low 600's for a home with at least 3bed and 2bath (starter home I guess). We've outgrown our current apartment in Queens with all the baby stuff!
We were originally looking in New Hyde Park and Williston Park as well as some "stretch goal areas" like Port Washington or Great Neck. Unfortunately, the homes in these areas, in our price range, are quite small and need a good amount of work. I'm used to the 1.5 commute (one way) that I do now from Queens to Midtown East Manhattan (local bus and subway), so we figured we'd look a little East at the Syosset area. The homes in, our price range, in Syosset seem much nicer and the school district is considered great I believe. Our buying criteria are as follows:
- Great school district (9's and 10's on greatschools.org as a reference...although I know that website is not the end-all, be-all)
- safe area
- within 1.5hr commute one-way
...basically what everybody else wants lol. Anyways, a co-worker recommended we look into the neighboring town of Plainview which also has very good schools. Long story short we found a home we really love, and somehow are about to go "in-contract" (things moved so fast!). Our realtor told us that its a seller's market now so if we see a home we love, to snatch it up ASAP.
Basically, I'm looking for some re-assurance from some people that live around the area of Plainview, and that there are no major things to be wary of. Some questions we had were:
1) The home is literally on the west edge of Plainview (the homes across the street have Hicksville addresses!). Is there any concern for safety, being that close to Hicksville (not that the area is bad per se, we just want to make sure)
2) I'll have to drive around 10min to the Hicksville LIRR station daily to commute, how bad is the traffic along Old Country Rd or Plainview Rd around 7:20AM?
3) What time do I have to arrive at the Hicksville station in the morning to even have a chance of getting a parking spot?
4) How does the Plainview school district compare to say, New Hyde Park, Herricks, and Syosset? I heard the classroom sizes are only like ~12 kids per teacher which sounds nice.
5) In terms of general perception, it seems that Syosset/Jericho/Woodbury are a "step above" Plainview in terms of "status" or "prestige". This kind of thing really doesn't matter to us, but assuming our son will be interacting with other kids from Syosset/Jericho/Woodbudy in the future (due to the close proximity), will he be "picked on" or bullied for living in the "lesser neighborhood" of Plainview?
Thank you very much in advance for any input, we are just freaking out that we are moving too quickly and rushing things!
Hi All,
My wife, 1yr old son, and I have been looking to buy a home lately. We are already pre-qualified and looking to spend up to the low 600's for a home with at least 3bed and 2bath (starter home I guess). We've outgrown our current apartment in Queens with all the baby stuff!
We were originally looking in New Hyde Park and Williston Park as well as some "stretch goal areas" like Port Washington or Great Neck. Unfortunately, the homes in these areas, in our price range, are quite small and need a good amount of work. I'm used to the 1.5 commute (one way) that I do now from Queens to Midtown East Manhattan (local bus and subway), so we figured we'd look a little East at the Syosset area. The homes in, our price range, in Syosset seem much nicer and the school district is considered great I believe. Our buying criteria are as follows:
- Great school district (9's and 10's on greatschools.org as a reference...although I know that website is not the end-all, be-all)
- safe area
- within 1.5hr commute one-way
...basically what everybody else wants lol. Anyways, a co-worker recommended we look into the neighboring town of Plainview which also has very good schools. Long story short we found a home we really love, and somehow are about to go "in-contract" (things moved so fast!). Our realtor told us that its a seller's market now so if we see a home we love, to snatch it up ASAP.
Basically, I'm looking for some re-assurance from some people that live around the area of Plainview, and that there are no major things to be wary of. Some questions we had were:
1) The home is literally on the west edge of Plainview (the homes across the street have Hicksville addresses!). Is there any concern for safety, being that close to Hicksville (not that the area is bad per se, we just want to make sure)
2) I'll have to drive around 10min to the Hicksville LIRR station daily to commute, how bad is the traffic along Old Country Rd or Plainview Rd around 7:20AM?
3) What time do I have to arrive at the Hicksville station in the morning to even have a chance of getting a parking spot?
4) How does the Plainview school district compare to say, New Hyde Park, Herricks, and Syosset? I heard the classroom sizes are only like ~12 kids per teacher which sounds nice.
5) In terms of general perception, it seems that Syosset/Jericho/Woodbury are a "step above" Plainview in terms of "status" or "prestige". This kind of thing really doesn't matter to us, but assuming our son will be interacting with other kids from Syosset/Jericho/Woodbudy in the future (due to the close proximity), will he be "picked on" or bullied for living in the "lesser neighborhood" of Plainview?
Thank you very much in advance for any input, we are just freaking out that we are moving too quickly and rushing things!
1.) Hicksville is far from a bad area. Nothing to worry about.
2.) OCR always has traffic issues, but a 10 minute hop at 7:20 shouldn't be a big deal.
3.) I don't use the LIRR so cant help you there.
4.) Plainview is a great district, the others may be rated a bit higher, but its all semantics.
5.) Yeah those towns may be considered a "notch above" but no one is going to pick on your kid for living in Plainview lol.
beware of driving in parking lots in Plainview, especially at the Shop Rite supermarket parking lot, corner of Old Country and Woodbury Roads. It's one of the scariest places I have ever driven.
1) That area is safe. You are close to the shopping center and highways.
2) Traffic is fine on OCR or Plainview RD at that time in the morning. I prefer Plainview road, a little bit faster to Hicksville train station.
3) Get to the train station before 7:30 am
4) Elementary class room size is 20+ per teacher (be prepare for a lot of school activities)
1) The home is literally on the west edge of Plainview (the homes across the street have Hicksville addresses!). Is there any concern for safety, being that close to Hicksville (not that the area is bad per se, we just want to make sure)
I'm surprised there are houses in the 600 range on that side. Those are usually small capes but I guess you got an upgraded colonial. The area is fine - I know someone on one of those streets and often visit. But there's a lot of vehicles coming and going as you're near a major artery (SOB Rd.). Stratford Rd school is the elementary for that area and while good is not known as the top 3 best elementary in town if you get my drift. You asked what you should be wary of.
Quote:
2) I'll have to drive around 10min to the Hicksville LIRR station daily to commute, how bad is the traffic along Old Country Rd or Plainview Rd around 7:20AM?
Since you're on that side of town, Hicksville station may be best, but your other option is a straight shot down the 135 to Bethpage station and it's 10x less stressful, especially on the drive home. Newbridge Rd. & Old Country Rd, along with all the traffic lights, is a notorious mess at closing time. Parking is easier too at Bethpage. It has trains that cuts through Hicksville (since it is 1 stop east), but there are express trains. I suggest you look into it if Hicksville is problematic.
Quote:
4) How does the Plainview school district compare to say, New Hyde Park, Herricks, and Syosset? I heard the classroom sizes are only like ~12 kids per teacher which sounds nice.
I never understood the student:teacher ratios on reports. It would say 14:1 but in reality the classrooms are more like 22 per class, which is typical of most schools. I guess the 14:1 would include non-teaching staff. It just doesn't make sense, but perhaps the lower the better, still. Syosset has been consistently higher in rankings/scores, FYI.
Quote:
5) In terms of general perception, it seems that Syosset/Jericho/Woodbury are a "step above" Plainview in terms of "status" or "prestige". This kind of thing really doesn't matter to us, but assuming our son will be interacting with other kids from Syosset/Jericho/Woodbudy in the future (due to the close proximity), will he be "picked on" or bullied for living in the "lesser neighborhood" of Plainview?
You will have very little interaction with kids outside of your town growing up. You may see them in sports tournaments and the like, but growing up here, I hardly knew anyone outside my town. I suppose with FB groups and meetup groups for parents these days, that may be different, but I wouldn't put much weight into this at all. Do you get looked down upon? Probably not so much since all of these areas are similar classes and ethnic groups. But how do you feel about Hicksville? Perhaps only if you feel inferior would it really bother people. I always say there's going to be someone better than you.
I never understood the student:teacher ratios on reports. It would say 14:1 but in reality the classrooms are more like 22 per class, which is typical of most schools. I guess the 14:1 would include non-teaching staff. It just doesn't make sense, but perhaps the lower the better, still.
Note that you have 22 kids in a class, but then you have art teachers, music teachers, gym teachers, counselors, social workers etc. that are all qualified teachers. That's where the 14:1 comes.
1.) Hicksville is far from a bad area. Nothing to worry about.
2.) OCR always has traffic issues, but a 10 minute hop at 7:20 shouldn't be a big deal.
3.) I don't use the LIRR so cant help you there.
4.) Plainview is a great district, the others may be rated a bit higher, but its all semantics.
5.) Yeah those towns may be considered a "notch above" but no one is
going to pick on your kid for living in Plainview lol.
Thanks a lot for your feedback peconic117!
Quote:
Originally Posted by daisyLI
I agree that Plainview is a great district. If you're ok with the commute, go for it!
Appreciate your feedbakc daisyLI!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifetimeliguy
beware of driving in parking lots in
Plainview, especially at the Shop Rite supermarket parking lot, corner
of Old Country and Woodbury Roads. It's one of the scariest places I
have ever driven.
Do you mean its super tight in that parking lot? I'll have to go check it out again. Thanks for the info.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMing
1) That area is safe. You are close to the shopping center and highways.
2) Traffic is fine on OCR or Plainview RD at that time in the morning. I
prefer Plainview road, a little bit faster to Hicksville train station.
3) Get to the train station before 7:30 am
4) Elementary class room size is 20+ per teacher (be prepare for a lot of school activities)
Thanks
TMing, do you think the Google Maps estimates are accurate? In orther
words, is 1.5hr commute realistic from 10min drive to Hicksville LIRR
-> Penn -> 13min subway ride? And the "lot of school activities"
sounds like a good thing, yes? I know my wife would love to get
involved in those kind of things.
I'm surprised there are houses in the 600 range on that side. Those are usually small capes but I guess you got an upgraded colonial. The area is fine - I know someone on one of those streets and often visit. But there's a lot of vehicles coming and going as you're near a major artery (SOB Rd.). Stratford Rd school is the elementary for that area and while good is not known as the top 3 best elementary in town if you get my drift. You asked what you should be wary of.
Since you're on that side of town, Hicksville station may be best, but your other option is a straight shot down the 135 to Bethpage station and it's 10x less stressful, especially on the drive home. Newbridge Rd. & Old Country Rd, along with all the traffic lights, is a notorious mess at closing time. Parking is easier too at Bethpage. It has trains that cuts through Hicksville (since it is 1 stop east), but there are express trains. I suggest you look into it if Hicksville is problematic.
I never understood the student:teacher ratios on reports. It would say 14:1 but in reality the classrooms are more like 22 per class, which is typical of most schools. I guess the 14:1 would include non-teaching staff. It just doesn't make sense, but perhaps the lower the better, still. Syosset has been consistently higher in rankings/scores, FYI.
You will have very little interaction with kids outside of your town growing up. You may see them in sports tournaments and the like, but growing up here, I hardly knew anyone outside my town. I suppose with FB groups and meetup groups for parents these days, that may be different, but I wouldn't put much weight into this at all. Do you get looked down upon? Probably not so much since all of these areas are similar classes and ethnic groups. But how do you feel about Hicksville? Perhaps only if you feel inferior would it really bother people. I always say there's going to be someone better than you.
ovi8, thanks for your feedback. Yes, the one we are looking at is an upgraded colonial. Now that I'm looking at recently sold comps, I see what you are saying. They are usually in the high 400's to 500's. Now I'm thinking we are overpaying for this house . There was some kind of bidding war, so we had to go in at full asking price. Also, thank you for your information about the Bethpage LIRR station, I will look into that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markjames68
Note that you have 22 kids in a class, but then you have art teachers, music teachers, gym teachers, counselors, social workers etc. that are all qualified teachers. That's where the 14:1 comes.
Thanks markjames68, looks like i mis-interpreted the the teacher-student ratio.
parking lot at OC and Woodbury by Shop Rite not super tight - just poorly planned. There are fender benders there all the time.
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. There was some kind of bidding war, so we had to go in at full asking price. Also, thank you for your information about the Bethpage LIRR station, I will look into that.
