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Do you know if you get a Plandome LIRR parking sticker if you live in the area straddling Plandome?
Also, how different are property taxes amongst the various communities. Said differently, does any one area have significantly higher taxes and why is that?
Plandome is in Manhasset, so you would need a Manhasset zip to qualify for a pass.
I can’t help with taxes by neighborhood. You can look on the link below if you have specific addresses or, at least, sections and blocks. https://lrv.nassaucountyny.gov/
I think for a lot of people, that's precisely the charm. And personally, I really like Port Washington's downtown. It's a great combination of useful amenities and charm. Plus the harbor. I like it better than Great Neck and Manhasset for those reasons. And it's cheaper than either.
I just couldn't deal with the low quality of the housing stock at that price point. That puts a Manhattan commuter in a tough spot.
If one does not need a speedy, frequent and reliable train, the villages along the Oyster Bay line offer better bang for the buck and, particularly in an area like Roslyn, the houses at the 600-800k range offer a whole lot more.
Garden City beats all of these options. Garden City schools are more uniformly affluent than Port Washington, Roslyn, and the villages along the Oyster Bay line (with the exception of the East Williston SD). Even Manhasset SD has some "projects" within the school district. You can walk to an LIRR station from at least 80% of the village of Garden City (you need to drive to the train from most of Port Washington, Manhasset, Roslyn, Great Neck, etc.) Garden City gives you slightly more bang for your buck (foreign Chinese money driving up prices in Great Neck and Manhasset -- unless you are Asian and want to live among Asians there is no reason to pay that premium to be in those North Shore towns).
Garden City beats all of these options. Garden City schools are more uniformly affluent than Port Washington, Roslyn, and the villages along the Oyster Bay line (with the exception of the East Williston SD). Even Manhasset SD has some "projects" within the school district. You can walk to an LIRR station from at least 80% of the village of Garden City (you need to drive to the train from most of Port Washington, Manhasset, Roslyn, Great Neck, etc.) Garden City gives you slightly more bang for your buck (foreign Chinese money driving up prices in Great Neck and Manhasset -- unless you are Asian and want to live among Asians there is no reason to pay that premium to be in those North Shore towns).
Garden City does have a few strikes against it.
First it is in middle of Island, so if you like beach and stuff it is far away.
Second its property taxes are very high. Add in village tax which MLS fails to list it is even worse.
Third, very strict zoning. If you want to fence in yard with the typical six foot privacy fence, put a pool in yard or even cut down a tree you have to deal with a ton of issues or simply not allowed.
Fourth, high taxes, high mortgage, older homes, estate sales etc means most of homes listed at a decent price are fixer uppers. Between town building dept and fact contractors mark up any-work done in GS due to they think you are rich or the added headache you will pay extra for the renovation. My contractor for any town with their own building dept and parking restrictions etc. he tacks on 10% mark up. Also cause a lot of towns make you be licensed in their town which is an additional mark up.
That said I love GC, but it is not like turn key homes at good prices are for sale with low taxes. Some might say on plus side there are barriers to entry that keep riff raff out.
First it is in middle of Island, so if you like beach and stuff it is far away.
Second its property taxes are very high. Add in village tax which MLS fails to list it is even worse.
Third, very strict zoning. If you want to fence in yard with the typical six foot privacy fence, put a pool in yard or even cut down a tree you have to deal with a ton of issues or simply not allowed.
Fourth, high taxes, high mortgage, older homes, estate sales etc means most of homes listed at a decent price are fixer uppers. Between town building dept and fact contractors mark up any-work done in GS due to they think you are rich or the added headache you will pay extra for the renovation. My contractor for any town with their own building dept and parking restrictions etc. he tacks on 10% mark up. Also cause a lot of towns make you be licensed in their town which is an additional mark up.
That said I love GC, but it is not like turn key homes at good prices are for sale with low taxes. Some might say on plus side there are barriers to entry that keep riff raff out.
Garden City is closer to the south shore beaches (which are far superior to the north shore beaches) than any of the other towns op is looking at. 20 minutes to Point Lookout.
Yes, property taxes are high in Garden City but you get a lot of services in addition to great schools. Village has its own police force, recreation dept, pool, etc. also, prop taxes in some North Shore towns are just as high (Roslyn has prop taxes just as high as GC).
Third and fourth points are true but like you said you can view these as positives as it keeps out the riff raff and prevents Garden City from turning into ugly, soulless McMansion central like some of the unincorporated parts of the Town of North Hempstead (drive through South Strathmore to see a neighborhood that has been decimated by ugly McMansions). Garden City has too much intrusive local govt to allow the neighborhood to go to hell.
Garden City is closer to the south shore beaches (which are far superior to the north shore beaches) than any of the other towns op is looking at. 20 minutes to Point Lookout.
Yes, property taxes are high in Garden City but you get a lot of services in addition to great schools. Village has its own police force, recreation dept, pool, etc. also, prop taxes in some North Shore towns are just as high (Roslyn has prop taxes just as high as GC).
Third and fourth points are true but like you said you can view these as positives as it keeps out the riff raff and prevents Garden City from turning into ugly, soulless McMansion central like some of the unincorporated parts of the Town of North Hempstead (drive through South Strathmore to see a neighborhood that has been decimated by ugly McMansions). Garden City has too much intrusive local govt to allow the neighborhood to go to hell.
This shouldn't be a pissing match. If you are fortunate enough to be choosing among these options, you can't really go wrong.
I am very partial to the North Shore (funny where I wound up). But here are some things I learned:
1. Property taxes in Port Washington and Garden City are very reasonable for Long Island in terms of house prices/property values. If my exact house (3-4 bed, 1.5 bath, 1700 sf) was in PW or Garden City, its taxes would be about the same, or less, than what I pay here in Valley Stream/Hewlett SD. Even though my house would go for 50%-100% more.
2. I, too, thought Garden City was a better bang for the buck than the North Shore. Now I am not so sure. There are some listings now on the western end of GC that are commanding prices in the 800s 900s for plain old splits/ranches on smaller lots that are no nicer than any other part of Long Island. That's the same thing that's going on on the North Shore.
3. I wonder how many people really cross-shop PW with Garden City. They are great areas, but with very different charms. Manhasset vs. GC, sure. Great Neck with GC, um, never.
I personally prefer the North Shore to an area like GC. The North Shore towns have a certain charm to them that is very different from just the one main street in GC. The restaurants are better here, the Americana is here (which is a great alternative to Roosevelt Field) and there are a ton of things to do on a daily basis. I lived in GC a few years back and my personal preference is definitely the North Shore. With that said, i do still think GC is very nice, just not my 'cup of tea'.
I personally prefer the North Shore to an area like GC. The North Shore towns have a certain charm to them that is very different from just the one main street in GC. The restaurants are better here, the Americana is here (which is a great alternative to Roosevelt Field) and there are a ton of things to do on a daily basis. I lived in GC a few years back and my personal preference is definitely the North Shore. With that said, i do still think GC is very nice, just not my 'cup of tea'.
I appreciate all the input here. GC seems like a great option given I can walk to the train and top notch schools. I understand some parts of the town have a flight noise issue from JFK changing the flight path a few years back. I am not sure how big an issue this is yet, but will dive deeper on this over the next few months. GC also lacks any diversity and my wife is from S. America. Although none of these towns (w the exception of Manorhaven I understand) are too diverse so she will have to suck it up. . Just kidding. She is well aware.
In summary all options seem like great neighborhoods and we probably can't go wrong with any of them.
I am framing what seem like the potential drawbacks are for each area based on my initial research. To be clear all areas seem great.
PW - schools are not top tier and higher relative % of low income / multi-family housing
manhasset - got to spend 1.5mm for something nice and you are buying into a foreign fueled demand bubble
GC - Potential flight noise issue and neighboring areas are not nice
Roslyn - train service not as frequent as the other options.
E Williston - ?
What would the downside in E Williston be. The neighborhood is nice, the schools are great, you can drive to minneola and be in city in 40 minutes. I read taxes are high but how high are we talking? I expect to drop roughly 20k on prop taxes on a 1mm home. Are they significantly higher?
I did not list "snooty" as a drawback in any town so please don't chime in with this as a drawback. All affluent areas are likely to have both snooty and down to earth types.
East Williston would be a good bet if you are looking to drop 20k in taxes. Keep in mind taxes are close to 20k and going nowhere but up. Schools are great, small class size, small village feel. Very little commercial base in town.
Careful about driving to Mineola, not sure how crowded it is at the station and if they require town permit you may be out of luck. They do have daily parking for a fee though.
Parts of Roslyn have PW train sticker, or you can rent a spot in PW for about 200 a month. Roslyn Schools are good too.
The demand bubble exists more on the North Shore but is not totally absent elsewhere on LI, basically anywhere schools are good you will find competition and some degree of a bubble.
Depending on your needs you may want to expand to Manhasset Hills, Albertson and Herricks
Last edited by th003g; 12-29-2015 at 05:25 PM..
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. Just kidding. She is well aware. 
