What are these LI towns like? (Huntington, Huntington Station: 2015, renting, high crime)

[engrvet]

I'm starting a new thread. My family is moving from W. MI to the NYC area for a job transfer (long story). Kids are 15 (daughter) and 12 (son). Both are smart and very athletic. Daughter runs CC and track, plays basketball, and LAX. Son plays FB, BB, and LAX. We are looking for a friendly and accepting community with great schools, sports, housing values ($800k) with good resale potential, pretty town, with decent commute to LGA. We are also considering renting before we buy, but want to be in the same school district so our kids don't have to change schools again. What are these towns like:
- Garden City
- Jerico
- Great Neck
- Manhasset
- Syosset
- New Hyde Park
- Glen Head
I've never been to LI, but am visiting Thursday. If anyone has other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

[SandyJet]

what does accepting mean?

[OhBeeHave]

Tossing this out there to add to the list -- Albertson. It was very nice over near the golf course and the schools are very good; I believe Herricks HS placed high on the US News 2015 ranking.

[daisyLI]

My advice would be to not max out your budget on home price and be conservative. You're looking at least $1000 per month in property taxes alone. Also, the homes here are older and maintenance will be expensive.

Albertson is a great suggestion and I will add Williston Park.

[ovi8]

You will be getting a fixer-upper in Manhasset, if any, for $800k.

Garden City and Glen Head are overwhelmingly white if you care about diversity.

Other than that, it's a good list to start.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by engrvet

I'm starting a new thread. My family is moving from W. MI to the NYC area for a job transfer (long story). Kids are 15 (daughter) and 12 (son). Both are smart and very athletic. Daughter runs CC and track, plays basketball, and LAX. Son plays FB, BB, and LAX. We are looking for a friendly and accepting community with great schools, sports, housing values ($800k) with good resale potential, pretty town, with decent commute to LGA. We are also considering renting before we buy, but want to be in the same school district so our kids don't have to change schools again. What are these towns like:
- Garden City
- Jerico
- Great Neck
- Manhasset
- Syosset
- New Hyde Park
- Glen Head
I've never been to LI, but am visiting Thursday. If anyone has other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

I think these are all good places to drive around and look at. As you're there on Thursday, and school is still in session, you can also get an idea of what it's like during the day and what the highways are like before/after work.

If you have the time, and don't mind the drive, check out places further east like Huntington (not Huntington Station) and Dix Hills too. The taxes in Suffolk County are likely to be a bit less and you might get a bit more for your money. Unfortunately $800K doesn't buy you a palatial estate on LI.

[leeber01]

Garden City sounds like a good fit for you. Athletics are a big part of the school feel there, and they have a really strong LAX team. The town is overwhelmingly white and Catholic, which is a positive or negative, depending on what your preferences are. Your budget will definitely get you a house in the district but it's not going to be one of the nicer ones. You'll likely end up with a smaller house or in a less desirable (but still nice) area of Garden City. The southern part of Garden City borders an area that is high crime for Nassau County, so that may be something to consider. Some people are fine with that, some aren't. I'm thinking streets like Meadow and Willow. Garden City would be a decent commute to LGA, probably around 30 minutes with no traffic but more like 45 minutes in normal commuting times.

Manhasset is another strong district with a focus on athletics. Your budget will only get you into the areas closest to the train station or in that little section across Northern Blvd. by the Macy's. If you buy a $800K house, you will be in the "poor" section of Manhasset, if that matters to you. The houses in this area are fine, but smaller ones with lot sizes that are much smaller than other lots in Manhasset. Commute to LGA would be decent, around 30-40 minutes. Manhasset is more diverse than Garden City, but Asians make up most of the non-white population. Economically, this is not a diverse area at all.

Great Neck has two school districts, North and South. I don't think they are what you are looking for. South has a really large (almost 40%) Asian population and while it has all the sports offerings, is not that competitive in many of them. However, it is an academically high achieving school. Your budget is low for Great Neck South unless you want to consider a co-op or a smaller fixer house, and even that may be hard to find. Great Neck North will have more houses in your district. There is a definite Persian community that has its own subculture. Again, academically strong but not very competitive in most sports.

Syosset and Jericho may be a good fit, school and neighborhood-wise, but it's further out in Nassau County so the commute to LGA would be that much longer. I would estimate at least 45 minutes from Syosset, and that's optimistic! Perhaps add Rockville Centre, Bellmore, and Merrick to your list to check out.

Also remember that on a $800K, you should expect taxes that are at a minimum $12K per year. The sad reality is that $800K doesn't buy you very much if you want a nice house in a school district with a good reputation and a decent commute.

[LoveBeingAMommy]

Tough budget to work with to go for those school districts.

[Coney]

Add Port Washington to your list.

If you have time, I'd call one or two of the schools that your interested in and see if you could go have a short visit, just to get a sense of what a L.I. school looks like inside. Most of the buildings are older.

[engrvet]

Thanks to you all for your advice. Unfortunately, I don't think that we can afford what we need on LI. definitely a dilemma. Might have to rethink our plan. Is there anyone out there who thinks it is NOT completely crazy to commute to LGA from Katonah, NJ, or CT?