Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I just thought this would be fun and possibly helpful to anyone looking to buy a house. It's nice to hear the good things about the places people live that you might not know about if you didn't live there.


We live in Patchogue. All of my adult life, I thought I would only live on the north shore because I grew up in Smithtown and just loved the north shore so much. As we started to look for houses, we couldn't find anything we liked. Our friends bought a house in Patchogue and we came down here to see it and fell in love with the area.
I had worked as a teenager and in my early 20s in Patchogue and thought it wasn't a nice place to live, however, all of my students who live here have always raved about it. When I saw how nice they've fixed up the town and looked into it more, I realized what a great place it really is to live.
I like that we have the feel of a beach community where I live. I am right near the water, it's at the end of my short block on one side. We have great restaurants and parks that we can walk to in five minutes. I can walk to the ferry to Fire Island. There's a cute little deli that we walk to when we need bread or milk. The train is right here. There's a huge emphasis on community, especially in the summer months. They do something called Alive After Five in the village where they close down Main St. and all of the restaurants and stores come out onto the street in the evening; bands play, booths are set up, etc. It's like a street fair that happens four or five Friday nights throughout the summer. There's a great library and shops in town. I love that there is a big emphasis on the arts. They are currently looking to build studios for artists and musicians to rent out. I love the Patchogue Theatre and the concerts at Shorefront Park (which I can hear from my house!). I feel safe here and love that there are families out and about with their kids walking all the time.
I truly feel like I live in paradise many days. I never in a million years would have thought I would feel this way about Patchogue!
I know that there's a lot of negativity about Patchogue-Medford schools, but I've actually not spoken to one person who has gone through the system here that had anything negative to say! And I've known kids and their parents for over tens years now that have been in all levels of the public schools. At any rate, I love Patchogue! It's been great to us so far!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

DH and I just bought in Little Neck, Queens. We love it cuz we love living in Queens, both of us grew up in Queens and lived there all our life. We picked LIttle Neck cuz we are in Queens again but are very close to Nassau County as well. We are 1 block from Marathon Pkwy and a few stores are in walking distance. We have a bank, pizza/restaurant, deli, post office, gas station, etc. Even though we don't have kids yet (not sure if we will) the school is right up the block, also in walking distance and is a great school district

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Message edited 9/1/2011 2:10:17 PM.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We live in Kings Park and we love it. It is easy to commute from here with the suken meadow, close to shopping, smaller town feel, great parks, and we do not have kids yet but I have heard good things about the schools.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Message edited 7/11/2009 10:13:50 AM.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We're buying a house in Smithtown because we both love it here. DH grew up in Kings PArk and I grew up in SMithtown. I work here, our friends are here and his family is very close (my family is out of state).

I also think it's a central location from NYC to Montauk, the school district is rated VERY well, the town programs are good and I think shopping, restaurants, mall, all that are very close.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Bayside, Queens. I've been in my current apartment since 2001 and lived in bayside for about 13 years.

The transportation is great..
The LIRR station is walking distance from my apartment. It is an express stop so the ride to Penn is usually less then 25 miuntes. The train doesn't go through Jamiaca so we escape delays caused by main line problems. There are express buses to Manhattan plus local buses to other parts of Queens and Nassau.

There is easy access to a couple of highways. I am between the Cross Island and Clearview - the LIE is less then a mile away.

I am a few blocks from Bell & Northern so all of this is within walking distance:

~over a dozen restaurants with all types of cuisine (American, Italian, Steakhouse, Greek, Japanease Hibachi, Thai, Cajun, Mexican, tapas, diner plus take out pizza, chinese, tacos, bagels, bakery, deli, etc).

~a ton of bars - at least two with dancing, a couple with outdoor patios.

~gift stores, small clothing stores, drugstores, butcher, produce stores, a small grocery store, staples, hair & nail places, several different banks.

There's really so much here!


Bay Terrace shopping plaza is two miles away - lots of shops, movie theater, restaurants.

I believe it's a good school district but I am not familiar with it at all.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We live in East Wiliiston. I love the small town, quaint feeling of my neighborhood. I always for safe here. We are steps away from everything, LIRR, Major road ways, shops, RALPHS!! 20 minutes to the beach and 30 minutes to NYC. Our town offers great functions for everyone - street fairs ,movies on the green, costume parades, adult dinner nights... It also has a lot of building rules and regulations which keeps it looking charming and traditional - all housing renovations are done tastefully, no big fences or commerical vehicles....A major plus is we both grew up in neighboring towns and know a lot of people and can walk to our parents houses!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Howard Beach.

I have lived here my whole life and trying to stay if possible!

I love it because it is 15 minutes from my job ( in Jamaica ) but also convenient to any bus/train/ even the airtrain!. I think it is a great place to raise kids with 3 great public schools nearby. I think it has a "small town" feel some people don't think you can find in Queens! I can walk and do just about anything from pick up groceries, pick up some beer, go to the park, get a mani/pedi and best of all, visit my DH at his store. We live on a pretty quiet street but during the summer its nice to see our neighbors out and about! I just wish the houses were more affordable!!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I lived in Levittown all my life and love it here. It is close to anything and everything. It is off of many major roads so it isn't hard to get to I found that to be a big plus. The houses and blocks are so kept and I love my neighbors they are so nice. The SD is one of the best on LI too.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We live in St. James. We found it as a fluke while driving around wasting time before a house viewing in Smithtown.

We like that it's a small community, has a main street type area, lots of independent businesses instead of chains, it's so quiet, has a train station which is convenient, is 3 miles from the mall, 2 miles from farms, 5 miles from beaches.

Our neighbors for the most part are nice and trouble-free. We feel safe here, and although a lot of people complain about how long it takes to get to a parkway, honestly, I don't mind it so much. It means we get less congestion and traffic here, so I don't really care.

There is a "St. James Day" in fall where they close down Lake Avenue and have booths and food and stuff. Next weekend there is an arts and crafts fair thing at a farm down the road. They have free acoustic concerts too. Plus, we're pretty close to Port Jeff (we were just there today) and I'm only 15 minutes from work!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Another Kings Park resident here!

I grew up here and couldn't wait to get out because I hated that it was a small town where everyone knew everyone else and you couldn't get away with anything -- but I was a teenager whose mom teaches in the school district!!

Clearly I got over that because we just bought a house in KP this year - something not so long ago I thought we'd never be able to do.

The schools are great, the access to highways is great (my DH commutes to Queens), we can walk to water, have tons of town beaches to go to if we don't feel like braving the Robert Moses traffic, and now that I am a "grown up" I appreciate the fact that everyone knows everyone else! When we have kids I will be happy to raise them here.

While we do hope to move into a bigger house at some point, we want to stay in this area.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Huntington Station... I don't love it, but I like it. I like how everything is near - shopping (except Target!), restaurants, the train station. I love the village. It's very close to the Northern State and the LIE. There are also a lot of back roads to get from one area to another. It's a pretty good location - kinda far from some things but I think you'd get that anywhere, since LI is so long.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in West Babylon and I love it. I commute to Queens and am able to get on the SS Parkway in less than 5 minutes. We don't have an incorporated village but we actually have 2 separate, distinct areas. I am walking distance to several great delis, an Italian market, a butcher, CVS and a mom and pop hardware store. We also have a large commercial area that is less than 10 minutes from me.

This is a multi-generational neighborhood. Many people grow up here and then buy here. We have a good SD, lots of sports for the kids and a great library. We are minutes from town beaches, parks and the Babylon LIRR.

My kids have tons of friends near by and I love the fact that on my block we are one huge family.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We live in Sayville. Our experience has been fantastic so far.

I love that we have a living Main Street with great shops and shop owners. I love that taking a walk down Main guarantees that I will run into some friends - and get friendly smiles from people I don't know.

I love the events and the continueal effort to get the community involved with their town. Festivals, parades, concerts, etc.. There always seems to be something going on. And even when there is nothing 'official' you can usually wander down Main to find someone outside playing music.

The school district is on the smaller side.. but the parents and teachers and adminstrators are incredibly invested in making the school experience richer and better for the students.

Most of the homes and lawns are well kept because people have a real sense of pride in their town.

There are lots of places to ride your bike or walk - a great little beach with a playground, a labyrinth walk at the town park.. even a little vineyard!

This is my forever home on Long Island.. and I hope to enjoy it for many years to come!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

It's an extended day- not half a day Kindergarden.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I have lived in a few towns across Long Island and each have their appeal. I grew up in Merrick and loved the "safe" feel I had within the community. However as an adult, I feel differently about the town and really have no desire to go back (unless it's to visit my family).

I lived in Patchogue for eight years and like Rachel, I loved everything about it. It's diversity, it's Main Street is perfect (west of 112) and that beach community feel. I was there on Friday (at Corey Beach) and I felt like "home". I really miss Patchogue.

I lived in Coram for a year and I loved living on the North Shore. I loved the close proximity to the shopping on Middle Island Road and I LOVED my rental complex. I also loved the neighboring park (Diamond in the Pines) and having PT Jeff nearby.

We have lived in Mastic Beach for less than a year and it has it's good and bad aspects. I live in a very nice, very affordable home that would cost me double elsewhere. I live on a block with AWESOME AWESOME neighbors who treat you like family. I like exploring the local eateries and generally everyone seems very nice. However, like all communities, it has it's good and bad element. Luckily I've seen more of the good than the bad. From what I can see from the schools (despite the rumours) there are alot of great programs. A school district can only do as much as the parents are willing to be engaged in. I think the town is on an upswing from where it's been with alot of development of stores, new homes being erected and the potential of an Incorporated Village. I can only pray as I have always had an appreciation for the area as it's untapped beach community waiting to soar!

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Park Slope. I grew up in Midwood, Brooklyn and have lived in Canarsie, Williamsburg and Seagate before movig here. It is definitely my favorite Brooklyn neighborhood.

DH and I currently rent a stabilized 1.5 bedroom apartment in a very nice part of Park Slope. We would consider being life long renters just to stay in this neighborhood.

There is a sense of community, convenience, progressive thinking, child-centered, adult interests, subways and buses, 24 hour everything, Prospect Park and I can go on and on....

Growing up in Brooklyn, I sometimes think, why would I pay 750K for a small 2 bedroom condo or co-op when I can get an entire house for 500K else where and then I think of my DD and all of the wonderful exposure she has in this diverse, eclectic, sometimes annoying neighborhood.

My Brooklyn friends always tease me and call me a snob for moving here, but I wouldn't give it up unless there was something HUGE looming.

Just to add, I have no plans on moving to LI or any suburbs. DH is from suburban CT and has no desire to go back, which I am extremely grateful for. I am truly a Brooklyn girl.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

We live in Levittown and love it. We love the neighborhood, the block we are on and the people. I have lived in Lynbrook and Bellmore in the past and they do not compare to Levittown. People on my block will go out of their way to do nice things for you. They bring in your garbage can, take in your news paper and are always there to lend a hand or anything.

The schools are also excellent. We love that our house is near Hempstead turnpike, the southern state, the seaford oyster bay, and wantagh parkway.

Finally we love how quiet our neighborhood is.

Scott

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Can I just say how much I love this thread? I feel like people are always saying how much they can't wait to get out of LI or NYC or NYS. It is nice to hear so many positives

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

Great idea for a topic!

I live in Lake Panamoka which is in the town of Ridge. Much like Patchogue, Ridge has an undeserved negative reputation. Part of it stems from Longwood school district, the rest mostly from people that have never lived here.

What most people don't know is that our lake was formed by a glacier, its spring fed and cystal clean and it is private and owned by the residents of the community. We were told by the Suffolk County Water Authority that if you run it through a coffee filter to remove the sand its clean enough to drink! The lake and the property around it was owned by the Queens County Boy Scouts until the 1940's when it was purchased by a developer. He divided the property into small lots & sold them to people in Queens and Nassau for $300 or less. The new residents built mostly kit houses that they purchased from Sears & Robuck. On weekends the men would all work on one house, when it was done they'd go to the next. There was no running water at first so one of the rules of the lake is still "no soap". In 1949 the new residents formed the Lake Panamoka Civic Association and built a community center on 4 acres and took ownership of the lake. During the summers the woman & children would stay out here full time and the men would go back west to work. There was one telephone at the community center that everyone shared.
Now we are celebrating our 60th year of the LPCA and the community is about 80% year-round. Many of the residents are 2nd or 3rd generation that decided to raise their families here full time after summering here as kids.
Most of the homes have been converted from tiny bungelows into year round houses. The civic association cares for the community center and lake & beaches, we have life guards & beach guards & a bath house on one beach. We have a large community center that residents can use for parties and we have teen nights, Bunco, Bingo, holiday parties & general meetings there. We publish a community newpaper & we have a new website. The older kids have car washes & bake sale to raise money for their teen nights, its really a cooperative effort. We all have such a strong desire to preserve our lake so people really try to get involved. Everyone knows everyone. I was on the board of directors for three years, and I chaired the welcoming commitee. DH is now the Treasurer. The summers are awesome, we all hang out on the beaches & play in the lake. 4th of July we have a huge fireworks display that would put Grucci family to shame over the lake, everyone packs the beaches to watch. Winter we have ice skating parties, some of the men go ice fishing. We have a tree lighting with Santa on the fire truck at Christmas & we have a lot of parties in the community center.
It is rustic here, people are hardworking, mostly blue collar, everyone looks out for all the kids and for each other. People here don't care about what kind of car you drive or what your countertops are made of, they'd rather chit chat about the fish they caught in the lake or what they are growing in their garden. All of the kids grow up knowing how to swim, fish, sail, kayak, hike, camp and even hunt. Its a bit of a time warp really, thats what I love about it.
The neighborhood is tucked in behind Brookhaven State park so we have abundant, beautiful wildlife. Turkeys, Pheasants, Deer, frogs, turtles, gophers and so many others.
As for the school district, its among the best for special ed, our cheerleaders have been National Champs several times, all of the kids in my neighborhood have great school pride, we have a planetarium in our middle school, our budget always passes. Our library is AWESOME! We have our own fire station in our neighborhood that just serves us & has boats for water rescue. The LPCA marches in the Ridge Memorial day parade. There is a nice new kid's park on rt 25. The local eateries, florists and real estate office are owned by people that live in my neighborhood, its nice to know the business owners. Everything closes early, you can't get gas past 10 pm most nights, only 7-11 stays open all night.
Because of the rural setting we lack the ability to walk to a "main street" which is something that would make this place perfect for me. I shop in Wading River which borders my neighborhood or Riverhead which is a 7 minute drive.
There are great farms stands everywhere which I love.
It is about a 5 minute ride to the William Floyd which takes me to the LIE or Sunrise so its pretty accessible, just too far east for most NYC commuters.

Sometimes I still can't believe how lucky I feel to live in such a special, beautiful place

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Lindenhurst Village and will be living in Lindenhurst Village when we close on our house. I truly love my town! More family oriented, always something going on in town. Lots of stores, restaurants, bars and parks/beach. Very low crime the only issue is groups of kids (teens) who hang out in the town square and 7-11 but they are pretty good just a bit intimidating (but there is life there at least!). We have our townies that chill at the bar as well that puts off people but they are actually really funny people when you know them.

Everything in the Village if you live near Wellwood is walking distance (train, food store, village stores, etc.). Various prices on homes, different styles, not many cookie cutter crap & good schools.

Re: Tell me what town you live in and why you love it.....

I live in Mattituck, on the North Fork of Long Island. I love it. I came to live out here because of my DH. He was born here and grew up here, as did his entire extended family. We're renting now, but do intend to buy. Living here, I always feel like I'm on vacation. I work 40 minutes west, and on my drive home, I always feel my stress level decrease the further east I drive. I forget about work on the weekends, and rarely go west of Riverhead (or as they say out here "up island") until the weekend is over. Actually I'm on summer vacation now (I'm a teacher), and I haven't been west of Riverhead in 2 weeks! We're surrounded by wineries, farms, local businesses, and great restaurants. We're nestled between the bay and the sound, and I see water daily. We have Love Lane which is a quaint main street, and truely looks like it is a set of a movie. We know people everywhere we go and feel a strong sense of community. Greenport is a 15 minute drive away. Riverhead and the Tanger Outlets are also 15-20 minutes away. I never thought in a million years that I would live this far out east, but now that I'm here, I can't imagine life any different.