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The problem with either of the towns is it's all pretty much back roads to Garden City. Where in GC is the job? Is it in the village or is more in East Garden City? It will make a big difference how close the job is to, say, the Meadowbrook Parkway.
One thing you should be aware of is the sentiment already expressed in this thread - homeschooling is not popular on Long Island and the extracurriculars for homeschoolers that are available in other parts of the country will be few and far between there.
Does anyone know if there are school districts that are more open to home schooled students participating in extracurricular activities? I ask because I believe that is the case for select states(i.e.-former NFL player Jason Taylor was home schooled from grades 10-12, but played Football at Woodland Hills HS in the Pittsburgh area).
We are a young family moving to LI looking for a long term rental in a safe area. School district and proximity to LIRR is NOT important since we will be homeschooling and using our own transportation. My husband will be working in Garden City and will be commuting by car. Could I get suggestions for neighborhoods to the North, East and possibly South of Garden City within ~25 driving minutes. We prefer to be closer to Suffolk County. I'm not sure of realistic commute times in that area though I have an idea we don't want to go much farther East than Huntington based on google maps? We hope to not spend more than $2800 a month and would prefer a single family rental or legal duplex. I've read through many forums and searched but so many families were looking for good school district neighborhoods and we hope we can get a better value in a less desirable school district? Ideals but not necessities would be nearby safe/well kept parks, libraries, Whole Foods/Trader Joe's type grocery stores, and local shops. Open to any and all advice regarding renting on LI and if we need to adjust our expectations or housing budget. Also if someone wanted to shed light on neighborhoods to AVOID that are affected by this toxic plume I'm reading about that would be spectacular. Thanks so much!
If you are on Facebook - do a search something like Long Island rentals and you will find a few groups and pages dedicated to rental apartment and homes on Long Island. You can post your query there and will probably get a few realistic options. Good luck. Welcome to the Island.
The problem with either of the towns is it's all pretty much back roads to Garden City. Where in GC is the job? Is it in the village or is more in East Garden City? It will make a big difference how close the job is to, say, the Meadowbrook Parkway.
One thing you should be aware of is the sentiment already expressed in this thread - homeschooling is not popular on Long Island and the extracurriculars for homeschoolers that are available in other parts of the country will be few and far between there.
The job is right off the Meadowbrook pkwy near Roosevelt Fields Mall. That is helpful to know regarding homeschooling. We have the flexibility to be in Long Island for anywhere from just a couple years to forever if we love it, and homeschooling culture will play into that.
I'm reading positive things about Mineola and Westbury. We may explore there more since it seems like anything outside of that radius has a longer commute than we want.
I've also looked into Bellmore, Freeport etc, since the commute seems to be faster than to the North. But I'm wary of flooding/weather - but since we're renting not buying, would it be worth it to look predominantly south? The value seems to be better.
If you are on Facebook - do a search something like Long Island rentals and you will find a few groups and pages dedicated to rental apartment and homes on Long Island. You can post your query there and will probably get a few realistic options. Good luck. Welcome to the Island.
Does anyone know if there are school districts that are more open to home schooled students participating in extracurricular activities? I ask because I believe that is the case for select states(i.e.-former NFL player Jason Taylor was home schooled from grades 10-12, but played Football at Woodland Hills HS in the Pittsburgh area).
Here in NC there are homeschool sports teams (my son's HS baseball team plays a homeschool team every year) and the town I live in has classes and camps that cater to homeschoolers.
I brought up the home schooling issue because as others said, it's not very popular on Long Island or really anywhere in the NYC area. Usually it's for religious reasons or because the child has social issues. However, there are a few Long Island home school groups. It's just that it is a small minority and I posted those links above to show that the state has more mandates for homeschooled kids than other states, e.g. providing progress reports to the school district at determined dates during the school year, providing a very detailed curriculum to the school district, restrictions from participating in home district school and after-school activities, etc. This is not common in other states. However, your children are very young and it's too soon to be concerned about it. Be careful about town names because there are subsections that have very different cultures. For example, New Cassel is part of Westbury and Old Westbury is part of Westbury, but the 2 neighborhoods couldn't be more different. BTW, the Westbury school district has a poor reputation and on Long Island, School District is what matters and is a reflection of the character/make up of the neighborhood, in general.
Honestly, in other parts of the country, if you mention that you homeschool your child, no one will think it's unusual or odd. Here, if you declare that you homeschool, the unsaid thought will be "there's something odd/wrong/weird with that child/family" or that your child can't handle public school.
The job is right off the Meadowbrook pkwy near Roosevelt Fields Mall. That is helpful to know regarding homeschooling. We have the flexibility to be in Long Island for anywhere from just a couple years to forever if we love it, and homeschooling culture will play into that.
I'm reading positive things about Mineola and Westbury. We may explore there more since it seems like anything outside of that radius has a longer commute than we want.
I've also looked into Bellmore, Freeport etc, since the commute seems to be faster than to the North. But I'm wary of flooding/weather - but since we're renting not buying, would it be worth it to look predominantly south? The value seems to be better.
I brought up the home schooling issue because as others said, it's not very popular on Long Island or really anywhere in the NYC area. Usually it's for religious reasons or because the child has social issues. However, there are a few Long Island home school groups. It's just that it is a small minority and I posted those links above to show that the state has more mandates for homeschooled kids than other states, e.g. providing progress reports to the school district at determined dates during the school year, providing a very detailed curriculum to the school district, restrictions from participating in home district school and after-school activities, etc. This is not common in other states. However, your children are very young and it's too soon to be concerned about it. Be careful about town names because there are subsections that have very different cultures. For example, New Cassel is part of Westbury and Old Westbury is part of Westbury, but the 2 neighborhoods couldn't be more different. BTW, the Westbury school district has a poor reputation and on Long Island, School District is what matters and is a reflection of the character/make up of the neighborhood, in general.
Honestly, in other parts of the country, if you mention that you homeschool your child, no one will think it's unusual or odd. Here, if you declare that you homeschool, the unsaid thought will be "there's something odd/wrong/weird with that child/family" or that your child can't handle public school.
The schools are LI are so good there really isn't a need to homeschool...
We have some of the best schools in the nation.
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