Old Westbury

Hi Everyone,

I am a long time user but rarely post. I have been house hunting for me and my five year old daughter. Initially in Merrick and RVC but settled on the Harborfields school district. The inventory is really low there right now and I was shown a house today in Old Westbury with east Winston schools. I am coming from Queens and do not know these areas. Does anyone know about this neighborhood?. Is there a lot to do with kids on the weekends. Is there a strong sense of community?. I love the area of Huntington that goes to Harborfields schools and Greenlawn. I have been told by several people that it is a really kid friendly community. How does old Westbury with east Williston schools compare?. Any insight you guys could give would be so helpful. Thank you!

Old Westbury

I don't know about the area specifically, but I know that East Williston Schools are excellent. Its a very small district.

Re: Old Westbury

Thanks for responding!. I do want a small district for my daughter so this is really helpful. Can anybody comment on the old Westbury area and how much of a community feel it has for instance are there things to do with kids on the weekends.

Thanks!.

Message edited 11/6/2016 11:03:45 PM.

Re: Old Westbury

Old Westbury is a very wealthy community. The homes are millions of dollars and come with way more land than the average suburb in Nassau county - so you aren't going to get the "ride your bike on the sidewalk with other kids" feel.
Also, I imagine the zoning laws are pretty tight.

Many towns like this (and I'm not sure about Old Westbury in particular) don't let you park on the street even during the day - you must know someone so you can park in their driveway.

But if you can afford it - who cares?

It's a beautiful place to live.

Also, completely agree, East Williston schools are really good.

You might also want to check out Garden City - the homes around the golf courses and on the numbered streets will get you similar land/pricing and the town has a community feel. There isn't a whole lot of diversity - but that seems similar in a lot of communities on Long Island.

Re: Old Westbury

Thanks for responding. The home we saw is in a beautiful walkable area but we didn't see any kids. Anyone else familiar with the east Williston district and what there is to do with kids on the weekend?. Thanks so much in advance

Old Westbury

I'm very familiar with EW school district, have good friends who have grown up and now raise their own children there. Schools are exceptional, it's very tight knit. Howard Stern sent his own kids to the public high school (Wheatley) with my good friends despite being filthy rich. The schools are that exceptional.

Lots of families from EW go to the Life Time Gym in garden city on weekends and EW hosts a very nice summer rec program or Old Westbury Summer Camp (at holy child academy) is a popular option. It's a great town.

Message edited 11/8/2016 11:34:55 AM.

Re: Old Westbury

Old Westbury

I would check the LIRR train schedules from stations near Old Westbury compared to those out of Huntington. We also looked in Roslyn and areas of East Williston and the trip from the Albertson and Roslyn was actually longer than express trains from Huntington. Plus, almost all of the trains on the Oyster Bay line make you switch in Jamaica and they don't run as frequently.

So while mileage wise we are further from Manhattan the train schedules were actually better for us in Huntington compared to any area that runs on the Oyster Bay line.

Re: Old Westbury

Old Westbury

You know, I thought about this and actually, my comments apply more to East Williston, definitely a community feel and you can find lovely homes in the $1MM to $1.25MM range. You can easily drive and park in Mineola which offers frequent train service. If you are Catholic, EW is close to St. Aidan's which has a great CYO program for kids....East Williston is a great place.

Re: Old Westbury

Re: Old Westbury

I think you also posted in the City Data forums and echo some of the good advice given there. My question is - what exactly do you mean by "community"? Something out of a "Family Ties" TV episode? Most of the towns in Nassau are just bedroom communities, majority of 2 income working parent households that really arent going to be spending a ton of free time hob nobbing w/ neigbhbors or holding lemonade stand sales on their driveways. I just dont see that at all on my block (North Bellmore), and not on my former block in Baldwin.

Many people here are so focused on commuting to work and their daily lives that its very rare for real neighborly relationships to flourish (at least that has been our experience as Long Islanders for past 10 years). We moved into our house in May and didn't end up talking to our neighbors until probably mid June!! (and I am sure they dont even know our names). While we don't have kids, our next door neighbors are a family of 5 kids and I never see them interacting with any other family on our block..

I can't say you will experience that much difference in Old Westbury, where more helicopter type parenting takes place and most kids are shoveled from 1 extracurricular activity to another by their parents in luxury SUVs and when they aren't, the kids are glued to their iPads/iPhones/Xboxes in their bedrooms.

as far as schools go, you can't go wrong w any of the districts you've mentioned. EW, Old Westbury, Harborfields, etc. They are all excellent public school districts with great resources (much more than what most NYC public schools offer) but don't forget that a lot of the work must also be done by parents at home too so that a child can really excel.

Message edited 11/9/2016 4:42:58 PM.

Re: Old Westbury

Re: Old Westbury

Re: Old Westbury

Posted by EclecticEsq10810

I think you also posted in the City Data forums and echo some of the good advice given there. My question is - what exactly do you mean by "community"? Something out of a "Family Ties" TV episode? Most of the towns in Nassau are just bedroom communities, majority of 2 income working parent households that really arent going to be spending a ton of free time hob nobbing w/ neigbhbors or holding lemonade stand sales on their driveways. I just dont see that at all on my block (North Bellmore), and not on my former block in Baldwin.

Many people here are so focused on commuting to work and their daily lives that its very rare for real neighborly relationships to flourish (at least that has been our experience as Long Islanders for past 10 years). We moved into our house in May and didn't end up talking to our neighbors until probably mid June!! (and I am sure they dont even know our names). While we don't have kids, our next door neighbors are a family of 5 kids and I never see them interacting with any other family on our block..

I can't say you will experience that much difference in Old Westbury, where more helicopter type parenting takes place and most kids are shoveled from 1 extracurricular activity to another by their parents in luxury SUVs and when they aren't, the kids are glued to their iPads/iPhones/Xboxes in their bedrooms.

as far as schools go, you can't go wrong w any of the districts you've mentioned. EW, Old Westbury, Harborfields, etc. They are all excellent public school districts with great resources (much more than what most NYC public schools offer) but don't forget that a lot of the work must also be done by parents at home too so that a child can really excel.

You are probably right. You live on the Island and I am in Queens and therefore you have more first hand knowledge. I know where I am in Queens there are no kids on my block. No one plays on the street. The library is in disrepair and offers no activities for kids and there are no street fairs or festivals. What I mean by community is the opposite of this. I did post on city data and between Lifamilies and City data have gotten awesome advice. Thanks to everyone.

Old Westbury

It's a beautiful neighborhood. schools are incredible, and there are absolutely things to do in the area-there's an adorable little art ship on hillside that just opened by the high school , and it's a very accessible area

Re: Old Westbury

Re: Old Westbury

Posted by EclecticEsq10810

I think you also posted in the City Data forums and echo some of the good advice given there. My question is - what exactly do you mean by "community"? Something out of a "Family Ties" TV episode? Most of the towns in Nassau are just bedroom communities, majority of 2 income working parent households that really arent going to be spending a ton of free time hob nobbing w/ neigbhbors or holding lemonade stand sales on their driveways. I just dont see that at all on my block (North Bellmore), and not on my former block in Baldwin.

Many people here are so focused on commuting to work and their daily lives that its very rare for real neighborly relationships to flourish (at least that has been our experience as Long Islanders for past 10 years). We moved into our house in May and didn't end up talking to our neighbors until probably mid June!! (and I am sure they dont even know our names). While we don't have kids, our next door neighbors are a family of 5 kids and I never see them interacting with any other family on our block..

I can't say you will experience that much difference in Old Westbury, where more helicopter type parenting takes place and most kids are shoveled from 1 extracurricular activity to another by their parents in luxury SUVs and when they aren't, the kids are glued to their iPads/iPhones/Xboxes in their bedrooms.

as far as schools go, you can't go wrong w any of the districts you've mentioned. EW, Old Westbury, Harborfields, etc. They are all excellent public school districts with great resources (much more than what most NYC public schools offer) but don't forget that a lot of the work must also be done by parents at home too so that a child can really excel.

Re: Old Westbury

My SIL and family live in Old Westbury. I can't comment on the schools as the boys have always gone to private school and now that they're in HS, they're still in private school.

Where they live they border Old Westbury Gardens and it's not like they can "play with a kid down the block". It's just not that kind of area....at least that I've seen.

With regards to the train, my BIL drives to Mineola and gets the train from there.

Re: Old Westbury

Re: Old Westbury

Posted by EclecticEsq10810

I think you also posted in the City Data forums and echo some of the good advice given there. My question is - what exactly do you mean by "community"? Something out of a "Family Ties" TV episode? Most of the towns in Nassau are just bedroom communities, majority of 2 income working parent households that really arent going to be spending a ton of free time hob nobbing w/ neigbhbors or holding lemonade stand sales on their driveways. I just dont see that at all on my block (North Bellmore), and not on my former block in Baldwin.

Many people here are so focused on commuting to work and their daily lives that its very rare for real neighborly relationships to flourish (at least that has been our experience as Long Islanders for past 10 years). We moved into our house in May and didn't end up talking to our neighbors until probably mid June!! (and I am sure they dont even know our names). While we don't have kids, our next door neighbors are a family of 5 kids and I never see them interacting with any other family on our block..

I can't say you will experience that much difference in Old Westbury, where more helicopter type parenting takes place and most kids are shoveled from 1 extracurricular activity to another by their parents in luxury SUVs and when they aren't, the kids are glued to their iPads/iPhones/Xboxes in their bedrooms.

as far as schools go, you can't go wrong w any of the districts you've mentioned. EW, Old Westbury, Harborfields, etc. They are all excellent public school districts with great resources (much more than what most NYC public schools offer) but don't forget that a lot of the work must also be done by parents at home too so that a child can really excel.

Message edited 11/28/2016 7:01:17 AM.

Re: Old Westbury