East Meadow or Bethpage?

I am looking for a house under 450k where should look in east meadow or Bethpage? I heard both towns have great school district. Which is better town??

East Meadow or Bethpage?

bethpage has one of the best school districts and closer to LIRR...in case you need to commute.

East Meadow or Bethpage?

Bethpage has it's own stop on the LIRR but EM is in the middle of three - Bellmore, Merrick, and Hicksville. Bellmore and Merrick are on the Babylon line which has the best rep for timely and frequent trains. Bethpage is further east and further from highways. Where do you work? Definitely investigate commuting times, maybe even take a test drive if possible.

EM is a larger district. EM has 5 elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. Bethpage SD has 3 elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Both districts are well rated and offer some great programs. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

Also... town doesn't always = school district. Parts of Bethpage go to Island Trees and other parts to Plainedge SDs. Parts of Hicksville goes to Bethpage. There is a small section of Levittown and a chunk of Westbury (called Salisbury) that to to EM schools. (Are your eyes crossing yet? lol).

eta: I just looked it up on MLS... there are 14 houses under 450k in Bethpage SD, and 50 houses in EM schools.

If you need a realtor, we used a great one.

Message edited 3/16/2015 11:06:15 AM.

Re: East Meadow or Bethpage?

Bethpage is more expensive than East Meadow in term of real estate.

Re: East Meadow or Bethpage?

Bethpage has those cancer clusters, I'd steer clear of it and go for E.Meadow instead.

Re: East Meadow or Bethpage?

I've sold homes in both areas, so feel free to contact me if you have questions or need some help. ([email protected] or (516) 587-7618)

It really depends on what's important to you -- school district, proximity to train, etc. Do you have an agent who can advise you on your particular needs/wants? The first thing I like to do with a buyer is sit down and discuss their situation -- things like commute, finances, wish-list -- and then discuss the pros/cons of the areas being considered and perhaps suggest other areas to consider that would fit the bill.

Is there a reason why you are only looking at these 2 areas. A $450K budget would work in other surrounding areas, like Seaford, Massapequa, Wantagh, N. Bellmore, N. Merrick, Levittown, Farmingdale etc. A lot of people who look in Bethpage and/or East Meadow also consider these other towns.

In my opinion, both Bethpage and East Meadow are large areas with distinct neighborhoods. And as others have said, Bethpage falls into different school districts which affects taxes (Bethpage with Plainedge taxes = high taxes, Bethpage with Island Trees taxes = low taxes for Nassau, and Bethpage SD is in between). East Meadow has generally lower taxes than surrounding towns/school districts, and as others have said, there will be more houses in your price range in East Meadow (although certain neighborhoods, such as Barnum Woods, have higher home values). So I would really look not just at your price range, but what you are budgeting for taxes (or what is assumed in your preapproval).

Some people do have concern about the Grumman plume issue in Bethpage (which is purportedly moving south toward Massapequa, Seaford), but plenty of people still buy in those areas. There are also high tension power lines in certain areas of Bethpage (just north of Hempstead Turnpike in the Island Trees area) that may be a deterrent.

East Meadow or Bethpage?

I'm in Salisbury so just wanted to let you know that, East Meadow residents are due to vote for full-day kindergarten on May 20th. We have not heard whether, or how much, our taxes will go up if this passes.

Re: East Meadow or Bethpage?

Message edited 3/19/2015 6:05:38 PM.