Garden City or Rockville Centre? (Hempstead, Oyster Bay: sales, crime rate, homes)
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I am looking for a house for my family, and we have narrowed our search down to Garden City and Rockville Centre for the good public schools, easy commute to Manhattan, beautiful brick houses and proximity to the rest of our family. I have found houses I like in both towns, and am having a hard time pulling the trigger on anything as they both seem to have a lot to offer. This will be our "forever" home so I want to make sure its the right decision.
I am a SAHM so I'm looking for a town with plenty of activities for young children, a community feel, plus good restaurants for my husband and I. Any help or opinions on this choice would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!
Garden City is the best suburb in the NY metropolitan area IMO. Best of luck!
I was looking at a bunch of towns and narrowed it down to these two since then. It seems like there isn't that much in terms of kids activity gyms etc. in RVC (more in Oceanside) so I was hoping someone in a similar situation as I am (young kid, SAHM) would be able to share their experiences living in either town
RVC and GC are both great towns. But there are a ton of kids programs in RVC between the rec center, CATS, Sportset, the library, Tanglewood, etc. That should not be the deciding factor IMO
The street next to Hempstead is Meadow. I would not buy there, but the rest of the area is fine. To be honest the "boundaries" have not moved in a gazillion years, if you are concerned about encroachment.
Being close to Hempstead is not a real problem. Garden City has its own police force. In addition the part of Hempstead that is close to Garden City has improved over the years with a new luxury rentals, car dealerships and other commercial development. There are homes that sell for $3 million with $50k in property taxes just 1-2 blocks from the Hempstead border. Trust me those homeowners wouldn't be paying those prices if they there was an issue. Also the area that borders the "bad" part of Hempstead represents like less than 5% of the villages housing stock. I know people who live in that section and they are professionals with young kids and don't have any problems. Garden City is a great suburb. It will always hold value given there are 6 LIRR stations that are within walking distance and excellent schools and recreation facilities. 3 country clubs. A nice downtown area.
The street next to Hempstead is Meadow. I would not buy there, but the rest of the area is fine. To be honest the "boundaries" have not moved in a gazillion years, if you are concerned about encroachment.
Meadow is not that bad. I know families that live there with kids. Highly educated professionals who commute to great jobs in NYC. Live totally normal suburban lives. They are not sitting in their homes cowering in fear. Ridiculous to suggest meadow street is some kind of hell hole. They are tearing down old homes on Meadow and building new construction that is selling for almost $1 million. Maybe there is some more petty crime like a stolen package once in a blue moon but that kind of stuff can happen anywhere.
I've noticed more homes listed over the past couple of weeks in GC. Appears supply on the rise. Nice solid homes.
P.S. what's with the homes that have the double sided fireplace that practically splits a whole living room into two? Sometimes one of the sides is left with very minimal space. Perhaps a different taste from another era..
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