Best areas to raise a family

Hi all,
We currently live I. Queens but are house hunting in Long Island and need some advice about different areas. I work as a doe teacher in queens also and I have a 5 and 3 yr old. We know nothing about Long Island except that the schools are far superior to city schools.

We are currently looking in massapequa park because we really like the are and it's close to bethpage state park. We are also considering bellmore, wantagh, massapequa seaford east meadow and Oceanside. I know it's a lot of options but we are looking for a nice area, w/o spoiled brats and good schools safe neighborhoods and the top of our budget is 525k. And we don't want to be in a flood zone or want a ranch or high ranch style home. Plse let me know what you guys recommend and what's good about massapequa park, thanks!
Cl

Re: Best areas to raise a family

I will say that if you want an area without spoiled brats, you are not going to find that in some of those areas.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

Agree w. above re: spoiled brats. They are in every town - granted, the schools in the higher ranked school districts do tend to skew toward the "more-likely-to -be spoiled-brat-" syndrome.

With that said, the areas you mentioned are all very do-able and suitable for what you are looking for. Our budget was similar to yours (we paid just over $500K for our expanded Ranch in North Bellmore earlier this year) but if you want a typical 4 bedroom/2 bath - inventory could be tight in that price range for something that is move-in ready. We saw a ton of homes in the Merrick/Bellmore/Wantagh area in the $450-550K price range and the ones that sold quickly were either move-in ready or were priced lower for a reason (motivated sellers). If you are looking in Wantagh and parts of Massapequa, beware of the Bethpage Toxic Plume. There are a ton of threads about it on the City data boards. see http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-island/2516211-north-wantagh-toxic-plume.html

Best areas to raise a family

Hey all, I checked out the link for the toxic plume, but am unable to read the street names because it's unclear- as another person mentioned hunts rd.- it looks like the plume is directly heading for massapequa park- where we ideally want to move to. Is ther a cleanup plan In place? What are they doing about this? Will this toxic plume cause cancer? I'm not buying a house where I will expose myself and children to cancer!! Will this plume just run its course? We won't be moving to Long Island til the summer probably so will it be cleared up by then?
And can pple tell me what's good about living in massapequa park? And what areas have really spoiled brats? What's the school district for massapequa park? What other areas r similar?
Thanks!

Best areas to raise a family

Those are all safe neighborhoods. We looked in the same areas 2 years ago and live in one of them now. All the towns you mention are basically the same from what I can see. My DD isn't in school yet but my understanding is that the schools in all those districts are pretty middle of the road. I would argue that some city districts are better.

You don't say where in Queens you work but I think the commute would be pretty crappy. It used to take me well over an hour to get to Middle Village in the morning. Personally, I don't find the area to be worth the headache of the commute and with your budget you could look further west.

Best areas to raise a family

LI is not what it once was, very crowded, congested rds, not as sub as it once was or should be. As much as I like it I hate for the way it has changed. The Plume is always there, it wont run its course its an on going issue for years. I live in the area.
The only way you will know what you like it by going to the towns and getting a feel. Each one feels differetn

Message edited 11/29/2016 9:10:41 PM.

Best areas to raise a family

I work in elmhurst queens so I would. Be taking the LITT to woodside. I know it's gonna take me over an hour but I can do lesson planning on the way to work which cuts down on the work I have to do. Can anyone give me pros and cons on mass park wantagh bellmore seaford and east meadow? I'm looking for specifics Plse thanks so much!!

Re: Best areas to raise a family

And what school districts are the best in Long Island and what towns are in them?

Best areas to raise a family

I take the LIRR everyday to Queens. You can prob look online News 12 might have an article of best schools. If you like the water, Mass, bellmore and wantagh is for you, anything south of sunrise Hwy is water. East Meadow is nice too. No water. All have good schools.

As far as spoiled brats, IMO parents create that not the area or location people live in.

Queens has some very nice areas Jamiaica estates for ex, those kids can be just as spoiled

Message edited 11/29/2016 9:46:36 PM.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

Spoiled kids are raised by parents that are not involved in their lives and just give toys and tv or the Internet to raise the kid. That can happen anywhere. There is a website called greatschools, I personally would look for schools ranked 8, 9, or 10. You can also look at US news list for top school districts by state and then look at which districts are on Long Island. From there, look at your budget. Be mindful of the need for a parking pass which may or may not require you to live in the town to get a parking pass.

Best areas to raise a family

Keep in mind your commute. I live in Bellmore and it takes me an hour on average to drive to the DOE school that I work in in Queens (off exit 23 LIE)

Re: Best areas to raise a family

Best areas to raise a family

If you take the parkway to work, try finding a house in an area that's accessible to the pkwy. I live in Oceanside, and it's a 10 minute drive just to get to a parkway. If you can take Sunrise highway, then you would be ok. I looked for houses in Bellmore/Merrick to be closer to the parkway entrance lol
Another factor I use for "good" towns is the %of HS graduates that go on to four year colleges. It's something DH and I consider important.

Message edited 11/30/2016 8:13:58 AM.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

I live in Suffolk but work in Levittown schools. So I would also look in areas like, Levittown, Wantagh, Seaford and Plainedge. All great areas. I will Say Levittown Is a Great school district and have wonderful programs, great special ed department, and even have a vocational school as an option in highschool. Good Luck!

Re: Best areas to raise a family

I'm going to throw out an area that you aren't focused on, particuarly since you mentioned commuting to Woodside.

Mineola or Carle Place/Westbury with Carle Place schools. Commute to Woodside is a breeze and you have solid schools in either district with a strong community feel. Mineola offers the pool in the summer and a summer rec program. Good luck in your search. We moved from Queens several years ago and are so happy to have found the right community for us!

Best areas to raise a family

Honestly - Wherever you and your family feel comfortable is a great place to raise a family.

Everyone will have varying opinions on the schools and towns and in the end you have to be happy and goign by others will not get you the answers you really want/need. Go spend an afternoon in these towns. Drive around.

In general even the worst school districts on LI are pretty dam good compared to other parts of the country so IMO you can't really lose.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

I just moved from Elmhurst to Lynbrook and love it! It's a great area, very close to LIRR, and the school districts are fantastic.

Best areas to raise a family

I live in Oceanside right now and don't "love" it.

Like pp, said far from highway and also I feel like it lacks a sense of community. There aren't many activities for children. The library programs aren't great and there is a serious mosquito and green fly infestation in the warm months. I can't even enjoy my yard.

We're looking to move to Long Beach or RVC. Most likely LB because I'd rather be closer to the beach than highway. And LB has a certain sense of community and lifestyle that I don't see in a lot of places.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

When we were considering Nassau, we looked primarily in Wantagh and seaford. I was leaning seaford for smaller district. But we decided on suffolk because there's more property for the $

I agree with other posters. if you can, spend some time in the areas you mentioned. Get a feel for the town. Check out their local FB groups too. That can help in your decision.

Re: Best areas to raise a family

Re: Best areas to raise a family

Are you considering western Nassau at all?

As another poster suggested, in my opinion, you'll be hard-pressed to find many truly poor school districts on Long Island.

Also, when you say "the best" school district, it depends upon what you mean. Highest academic ratings? Diversity? Strong athletic programs? Etc.?

Best areas to raise a family

Honestly we are open to anywhere that's nice, safe, good schools good community feel etc. as far as what I consider a good school I def say academic ratings extracurricular activities and athletics programs. What western Nassau towns do you recommend and why?

Best areas to raise a family

We also previously looked at lynbrook but found a lot of the zones schools were in valley stream which we didn't want. My DH wants to avoid Oceanside cuz his mother lives there with his sister and it's a lot of family drama he wants a buffer from. He's completely set on mass park but I'm open to other areas, esp mineola but looking at the houses on the market the houses are smaller like queens with small back yards. But in mass.park you can get everything we r looking for with a huge yard for less than what prices are in mineola.