Questions about Port Washington? (Oyster Bay, Babylon: rental, houses, buying)
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Hi all.
A few questions about Port Washington since I'm considering a move there.
1.) How is the parking by the train station? When does parking fill up? Can I get to the train station by 7:30 and find parking? Or would I need to get there earlier to catch a train?
2.) I know the school district is strong overall but are some of the elementary schools "bad"? I'm asking because there are two potential houses I'm looking at. One is zoned for Sousa and the other is zoned for Daly. I like the Daly house better but Sousa seems to have much better test scores. Is Daly still a good school? I know a portion of Sands Point is zoned there or do people in that area tend to send their kids to private schools?
3.) Any areas to avoid in Port Washington in general? When I say Port Washington - I mean anywhere in the Port Wash school district.
Hi all.
A few questions about Port Washington since I'm considering a move there.
1.) How is the parking by the train station? When does parking fill up? Can I get to the train station by 7:30 and find parking? Or would I need to get there earlier to catch a train?
2.) I know the school district is strong overall but are some of the elementary schools "bad"? I'm asking because there are two potential houses I'm looking at. One is zoned for Sousa and the other is zoned for Daly. I like the Daly house better but Sousa seems to have much better test scores. Is Daly still a good school? I know a portion of Sands Point is zoned there or do people in that area tend to send their kids to private schools?
3.) Any areas to avoid in Port Washington in general? When I say Port Washington - I mean anywhere in the Port Wash school district.
Any questions, let me know.
Thanks in advance.
I don't think you can really call any school in port washington "bad". It's a good district with a % of population that is English as a second language / eligible for free lunch. Port will always be desirable thanks to commute , near water, north shore etc. Port is more mixed and less of a wealthy bubble like Garden City or most of the North Shore towns. Some people like it for that reason. Good luck!
Manorhaven is the less desirable section of Port..houses are cheaper there because they are smaller and further away from the village.
While it is less desirable, the prices don't seem to indicate it. I am assuming lots of investors are buying up those properties for rental income.
A home in Manorhaven is still more expensive than a comparable one in almost any solid but "regular" town on LI (Merrick, Wantagh, Massapequa, Syosset, etc).
OP- what is your budget? PW prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the past 2 years.
And in terms of LIRR- the 7:37 is really your last chance at parking - but don't cut it too close or you'll be heading home and calling a cab.
While it is less desirable, the prices don't seem to indicate it. I am assuming lots of investors are buying up those properties for rental income.
A home in Manorhaven is still more expensive than a comparable one in almost any solid but "regular" town on LI (Merrick, Wantagh, Massapequa, Syosset, etc).
OP- what is your budget? PW prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the past 2 years.
And in terms of LIRR- the 7:37 is really your last chance at parking - but don't cut it too close or you'll be heading home and calling a cab.
It's sad but PW has slipped firmly into "not worth it" territory at least in the non-high end market. Its starter housing stock is inferior to most of the rest of LI and into the 700s. I was dead set on the north shore but had to face the facts. It's schools are very good, but also no better than much more affordable areas. Downtown is charming, the scenery is great but you still need to live... I envy those who got in before things got totally nuts; it was clearly designed as truly economically diverse community. The PW LIRR line is very good but you can have the same commute on the Babylon Branch as far as Baldwin and on the Long Beach branch as far as Eas Rockaway, main line as far as Mineola and Hempstrad as far as Floral Park. PW branch is not your only option for a bearable LIRR commute.
It's sad but PW has slipped firmly into "not worth it" territory at least in the non-high end market. Its starter housing stock is inferior to most of the rest of LI and into the 700s. I was dead set on the north shore but had to face the facts. It's schools are very good, but also no better than much more affordable areas. Downtown is charming, the scenery is great but you still need to live... I envy those who got in before things got totally nuts; it was clearly designed as truly economically diverse community. The PW LIRR line is very good but you can have the same commute on the Babylon Branch as far as Baldwin and on the Long Beach branch as far as Eas Rockaway, main line as far as Mineola and Hempstrad as far as Floral Park. PW branch is not your only option for a bearable LIRR commute.
Completely agree about PW. And while you can get a similar commute on other lines, it comes at the cost of a much more generic, less charming, staler community in most cases. It's just not nearly the same. Or you can extend your commute for a similar feel. Unfortunately for most, PW is just not viable anymore.
Thanks for the information on PW.
Budget is around $900K to $1M could go as high as $1.2M but would rather avoid paying that much if I can.
Living in Syosset now actually but want to make an upgrade in terms of house. Staying in the Syosset area is an option too. Taxes are crazy there meaning I wouldn't go over $1M there but you get more for your money...
We were looking at Great Neck initially but houses seemed overpriced there to the point that the better commute wasn't worth it. Port Washington seems kind of overpriced too but not to Great Neck levels or Manhasset levels.
Garden City and Rockville Centre are also areas I've been considering but my wife is Chinese and I'm Jewish so I've been concerned whether those areas would be too WASPy - particularly for my wife's sake, doesn't matter to me much.
There's also Jericho but that's in the same boat as Syosset commute wise.
It depends on what youre looking for. Do you care about being in a waterfront area? Personally I'd choose PW over any of those other options. At 1.2 you can possibly get entry level into sands point.
Thanks for the information on PW.
Budget is around $900K to $1M could go as high as $1.2M but would rather avoid paying that much if I can.
Living in Syosset now actually but want to make an upgrade in terms of house. Staying in the Syosset area is an option too. Taxes are crazy there meaning I wouldn't go over $1M there but you get more for your money...
We were looking at Great Neck initially but houses seemed overpriced there to the point that the better commute wasn't worth it. Port Washington seems kind of overpriced too but not to Great Neck levels or Manhasset levels.
Garden City and Rockville Centre are also areas I've been considering but my wife is Chinese and I'm Jewish so I've been concerned whether those areas would be too WASPy - particularly for my wife's sake, doesn't matter to me much.
There's also Jericho but that's in the same boat as Syosset commute wise.
You can find something *I* would consider nice for 1.2mm in Port Washington. Whether it would be an upgrade from what you have in Syosset, I dunno. You get a lot more for your money in Syosset. But you are right, taxes become the issue and Port seems more reasonable overall in that regard.
Jericho has none of the charm of Port And you must know that since you live nearby. I consider Syosset better in all respects to Jericho.
What about Roslyn? If you are already commuting from Syosset, Roslyn is no worse.
You would not be out of place in RVC. Garden City, maybe.
Hewlett/Woodmere has some beautiful properties at that price and is cute. The Hewlett-Wooodmere school district is very very good. The school problems in the Five Towns are in Lawrence SD.
Thanks for the information on PW.
Budget is around $900K to $1M could go as high as $1.2M but would rather avoid paying that much if I can.
Living in Syosset now actually but want to make an upgrade in terms of house. Staying in the Syosset area is an option too. Taxes are crazy there meaning I wouldn't go over $1M there but you get more for your money...
We were looking at Great Neck initially but houses seemed overpriced there to the point that the better commute wasn't worth it. Port Washington seems kind of overpriced too but not to Great Neck levels or Manhasset levels.
Garden City and Rockville Centre are also areas I've been considering but my wife is Chinese and I'm Jewish so I've been concerned whether those areas would be too WASPy - particularly for my wife's sake, doesn't matter to me much.
There's also Jericho but that's in the same boat as Syosset commute wise.
In that case and with your budget I would go with Roslyn, Roslyn Heights or East Williston. You can ride the Oyster Bay line (slow) or drive to Mineola or Manhasset for a faster commute.
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