Any insight into Huntington Schools and general culture? (Huntington Station, Stony Brook: transfer, neighborhoods)

[Brooklyn321]

Hi, My family is interested in Huntington, NY and would like to know more about what it is really like to live there. We have lived in Brooklyn for more than a decade and love it but with two elementary age kids, the need for for more space and sky-high housing prices we are considering moving.

We want to find a place that has a real/warm sense of community, an active life style and an sense of openness. Huntington seems really nice with a vibrant community and active downtown but the schools are a concern because they are not highly rated. Does anyone have any idea about what they like? Are they getting better? How warm and supportive are they? What do they have to offer? Would you recommend them or not?

Also, while we like what we see in Huntington we have heard the LI tends to be more conservative. We would love to have more insight into what it is really like:


- How open/welcoming are these communities to new families not from the area.

- How conservative or liberal are they? Either way how open to liberal views are they?

- Are they active/warm communities to live in?


We would really appreciate any insights you might have.

Thanks in advance!

[gibson station]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn321

Hi, My family is interested in Huntington, NY and would like to know more about what it is really like to live there. We have lived in Brooklyn for more than a decade and love it but with two elementary age kids, the need for for more space and sky-high housing prices we are considering moving.

We want to find a place that has a real/warm sense of community, an active life style and an sense of openness. Huntington seems really nice with a vibrant community and active downtown but the schools are a concern because they are not highly rated. Does anyone have any idea about what they like? Are they getting better? How warm and supportive are they? What do they have to offer? Would you recommend them or not?

Also, while we like what we see in Huntington we have heard the LI tends to be more conservative. We would love to have more insight into what it is really like:


- How open/welcoming are these communities to new families not from the area.

- How conservative or liberal are they? Either way how open to liberal views are they?

- Are they active/warm communities to live in?


We would really appreciate any insights you might have.

Thanks in advance!

Huntington is pretty liberal. The schools have been the way they are for a very long time and are stable. They serve a pretty disadvantaged community in Huntington Station, which affects scores, but they also serve nicer parts of Huntington Station and Huntington. The fact that the better-off and sections of the district have not pulled out of the schools entirely as they have in other areas with similar demographics is a testament to the real quality of the schools and the openness of the community.

[chetstash]

Huntington hits all the points you are looking for and while not Bohemian it certainly has its share of liberal elements. I don't have first hand knowledge of the Huntington School District but some other districts that have portions of the Huntington 11743 PO Box include Harborfields and Elwood.

[twingles]

I grew up in Huntington and it sounds like a good fit for you. The schools get poor test scores because there is a large immigrant population that uses the schools. There is also a very wealthy population in Huntington Bay/West Neck that uses the schools. I have several friends from high school who have stayed in the district and their kids have done fine. It is a pretty big/spread out school district though - I am not sure "warm" is a descriptive term I ever would have used to describe it, but you'll certainly find everything you need living there.
Historically Huntington schools have put a big emphasis on the arts, and I've always thought the education I got there was a better all-around education than many of my peers from other districts.

[Brooklyn321]

Thanks so much for all your input. It really is helpful!

[mikeroz]

We moved to Huntington from the Bronx just a year ago but also lived in Brooklyn... We ended up in Centerport just couple of miles from Huntington and really love it there... I defenately recommend checking out president's streets in Centerport. I think it is comparatively affordable for what you get... And neighborhoods feel is great.

There are plenty of liberals (us including) and I even saw some "Bernie" signs in the area. work...if you work in NYC make sure you are OK with 1h:40min commute.

[AndreaII]

Originally Posted by twingles

There is also a very wealthy population in Huntington Bay/West Neck that uses the schools.

I'd like to make a correction to the above statement made by twingles: The West Neck area that's included in SD3 isn't a wealthy area. It's maybe upper middle class at the most and middle class overall. Perhaps Twingles is confusing this municiple area of Huntington with Lloyd Harbor whose border is 1 mile north of 25A down West Neck Road. Lloyd Harbor is a very well-healed, wealthy area compared to the Huntington West Neck area.

Huntington Bay does have its share of wealthier individuals and is more moneyed than the West Neck area, but again not everyone there is Rockefeller.

My own 2 cents about SD3: The primary grades are overwhelmed by Spanish speaking students who can't communicate with the teachers, unless, of course the teachers are bilingual. And the students who do speak English can't understand the Spanish speaking kids. Lots of time is lost because of the language barrier. Lost time = less education.

We moved from Huntington years ago to TVCSD out in Stony Brook where my kids attended K-12. Both received good educations, both went on to colleges (Bucknell and Dartmouth), and neither one had to worry about being shot at the Lowndes Avenue Elementary School in Huntington Station.

Police are up at Huntington High School as a regular matter of course. That's got to tell you something.

[85dumbo]

I know a few Brooklyn to Huntington transfers. Transplant hipster types who lived in Brookyln for a decade or so. Got married, had kids, and all of the sudden Brooklyn becomes incredibly expensive. They move to Huntington and seem pretty satisfied.