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What is so dissimilar about them? Haven't driven through centerport yet but have driven by a few homes in Dix Hills. Some areas look really nice. I can't imagine centerport being any worse. What am I missing?
You should rule out Dix Hills completely based on what you're looking for. It has no real community feel as there is no "center" or "core" around which it's built. It's just houses that share a town name. Centerport doesn't really have a town center either, but it's close enough to Huntington, Greenlawn, and Northport to give you that community feel you want. It's also not as sprawling. Personally I'd choose a larger lot in Greenlawn or Huntington that is zoned for Harborfields if I wanted to live in that area. You'll still be close enough to the beach (there are a lot of beaches in the Town of Huntington). As far as the schools, you are not going to find the same vibe in these school districts that you are getting in Great Neck, but personally that isn't a terrible thing. Sounds like your kids have some good outside interests and moving in middle school is the absolute toughest time to move anyway.
You should rule out Dix Hills completely based on what you're looking for. It has no real community feel as there is no "center" or "core" around which it's built. It's just houses that share a town name. Centerport doesn't really have a town center either, but it's close enough to Huntington, Greenlawn, and Northport to give you that community feel you want. It's also not as sprawling. Personally I'd choose a larger lot in Greenlawn or Huntington that is zoned for Harborfields if I wanted to live in that area. You'll still be close enough to the beach (there are a lot of beaches in the Town of Huntington). As far as the schools, you are not going to find the same vibe in these school districts that you are getting in Great Neck, but personally that isn't a terrible thing. Sounds like your kids have some good outside interests and moving in middle school is the absolute toughest time to move anyway.
Thank you for this it is very valuable advice. I will look in greenlawn and Huntington as well. Question: are most people members of the Centerport yacht club? My friend told me she is. I think my kids would like that but we are not necessarily the yacht club types...we are originally from Brooklyn and just like to be around down to earth friendly people. This is my concern with the Centerport area (although it is sounding a lot better than Dix Hills at the moment).
I know middle school is tough but we need to go. As far as the schools, I am hoping for a different vibe from great neck. It's pretty bad here-but I won't get into that. Those who know Great Neck and what has been happening here over the last few years will know what I mean. I don't want my kids exposed to that anymore. So off we go!
[quote=NYCLawyerMama;48497481]No I meant Centerport. As I said I have a friend from college who lives there. She loves it but I was trying to get some opinions from people who live there. We love that beachy feel and my older son is an avid sailing enthusiast. So I have done my research. Greenlawn has small lots. We want close to an acre. I know there are a few places in Centerport that have this. Seems like people on this thread are steering me away from Centerport? Is there a reason for this?
My primary focus has and always will be school. That is very important to our family. We are coming from Great Neck a very highly rated district. I specifically said in my post Harborfields or HHH.
I'm curious what you mean by don't assume different is worse? When did I say anything like that?[/QUOTE]
Very few homes in Centerport have close to an acre. (That is why a couple of posters tried to be helpful and directed you towards Greenlawn [see Old Fields section especially] which is within the same high-performing district)
Ordinarily someone seriously looking in Dix Hills does not have 'beachy feel" as a priority. Hence my surprise you were deciding between the two.
I must have misunderstood based on a quick reading:
"What is so dissimilar about them? Haven't driven through centerport yet but have driven by a few homes in Dix Hills. Some areas look really nice. I can't imagine centerport being any worse. What am I missing?"
Last edited by Quick Commenter; 06-14-2017 at 07:04 AM..
No I meant Centerport. As I said I have a friend from college who lives there. She loves it but I was trying to get some opinions from people who live there. We love that beachy feel and my older son is an avid sailing enthusiast. So I have done my research. Greenlawn has small lots. We want close to an acre. I know there are a few places in Centerport that have this. Seems like people on this thread are steering me away from Centerport? Is there a reason for this?
My primary focus has and always will be school. That is very important to our family. We are coming from Great Neck a very highly rated district. I specifically said in my post Harborfields or HHH.
I'm curious what you mean by don't assume different is worse? When did I say anything like that?[/QUOTE]
Very few homes in Centerport have close to an acre. (That is why a couple of posters directed you towards Greenlawn which is within the same high-performing district)
Ordinarily someone seriously looking in Dix Hills does not have 'beachy feel" as a priority. Hence my surprise you were deciding between the two.
I must have misunderstood:
"What is so dissimilar about them? Haven't driven through centerport yet but have driven by a few homes in Dix Hills. Some areas look really nice. I can't imagine centerport being any worse. What am I missing?"
Yes. I didn't mean "worse" in that sense. I meant that according to what I have read on these posts both of these areas seem to be really nice.
Dix Hills is very suburban from what we saw. Like I said we just started our search so don't know either area very well except for other people's opinions. I read that Dix Hills is close to Huntington, and someone else told me that people in Dix Hills go to Northport to go out as well. So although we like beachy feel, we need to make sure we get into an area where our boys will be happy. They both play sports and like the outdoors. However I want them to be able to bike to a friend's house or go hang out in town for a bit. Sounds like Greenlawn has that kind of small town feel while being close to a city like atmosphere (i.e., Huntington). I'm all for Huntington for going out, but I don't know about letting my boys hang out there alone may be too busy.
Just throwing this out as another option, but what about LLoyd Harbor? Isn't Cold Spring Harbor a decent school district? (I don't have kids but I have friends that went there). Then you'll be close to Huntington Village, and far from all the riff-raff in the station (where I live)
I guess potentially a bit of a longer drive to the train station though...
Just throwing this out as another option, but what about LLoyd Harbor? Isn't Cold Spring Harbor a decent school district? (I don't have kids but I have friends that went there). Then you'll be close to Huntington Village, and far from all the riff-raff in the station (where I live)
I guess potentially a bit of a longer drive to the train station though...
I thought about CSH but the district is way too small for our taste. I think only 900 kids in the entire high school. Plus my older son (about to enter 8th grade) doesn't want to go there. He said they play CSH in sports and the teams are small. He's very against it. So I had to cross CSH district off my list for those reasons. I heard it is beautiful there. Oh well...
Dix hills might not fit the bill for a downtown type of area. If you want 1 acre that is for sure a great place to look. There are many sections of Melville that have 1 acre lots tuxedo hills is one of them and that area borders Nassau County.
Harborfields and HH are so different. The former is small and not diverse at all but has a community feel geographically centered in Greenlawn; the latter is much bigger with no physical town center. HHH is much more welcoming of other races than Harborfields, which is still lily-white. HH has more of a new-money feel, while Harborfields (and Centerport in particular) is more understated and tasteful (IMHO) with respect to architecture, etc. Totally different vibes, although both districts offer superb educational experiences. If you want the beachy vibe and that close-to-the-water feeling, definitely go with Centerport over Greenlawn or Huntington. Most of the district's boaters/sailors live in Centerport, and yes, many are in the yacht club, which offers a lot of sailing activity (regattas, camps, etc.). What Centerport does not have are large lots (with a few exceptions), a good commute to NYC, or a town center. Greenlawn (in the same school district) offers a small town center but it's too far away from Centerport to walk. Centerport kids are driven there and dropped off to hang out and walk around. It's not big, though, so if Northport village seems tiny to you, I don't see how Greenlawn would seem any bigger. Huntington Village is about 15 minutes away for shopping or eating, but parking is a big problem there. There are beautiful sections of Greenlawn and Huntington that feature large lots and are in the Harborfields district. No gangs around there. Can't walk to the water from these areas, though, which you could do from most of Centerport. A huge drawback to all of Harborfields but Centerport in particular is the LIRR service. It is miserable. You have a relatively short drive to the Greenlawn LIRR station from Centerport, but then you are stuck on the perennially awful Port Jeff line of the railroad, which almost always forces a Jamaica transfer and gets worse all the time. Your other option is a 15-20 minute ride to the Huntington LIRR station (depending on where in C-port you live and what time you are driving), but that involves (in addition to the drive to get there) a long walk to the station from parking areas and garages that are full by 7 or so. That line is no picnic either and most trains involve a ride that exceeds an hour, despite what the timetable might say. If depending on the LIRR for transport, I would rather live in Dix Hills and use either the Deer Park or Wyandanch stations, although again, the LIRR is awful everywhere unless you live on the Port Washington line. Again, you are lucky to be able to choose from two great school districts, but do be aware that you are dealing with two entirely different community experiences.
No I meant Centerport. As I said I have a friend from college who lives there. She loves it but I was trying to get some opinions from people who live there. We love that beachy feel and my older son is an avid sailing enthusiast. So I have done my research. Greenlawn has small lots. We want close to an acre. I know there are a few places in Centerport that have this. Seems like people on this thread are steering me away from Centerport? Is there a reason for this?
is that true? I don't know a ton about Greenlawn but the few friends of mine who've lived there had an acre.
What's your budget?
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