Nice Suburbs bordering Queens and Long Island? (New York, Hempstead: apartment, renting)
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Looking for a nice suburb on the border of Queens and LI as close to the outskirts of Long island, towards Queens as possible. We live in an apartment in Forest Hills, Queens now and love it. We have a baby on the way and our place is too small. Instead of moving into a bigger apartment, we are looking for a house in a more suburban feel and are considering going into LI. My husband works in Massapequa and my job is in the city. I am from NJ and would love to be close to family in NJ as well. Getting to and from NJ on the weekends takes too long. I am just looking for a nice family town where u can get a decent priced home with a decent sized yard that is no longer than an hour drive to Massapequa as well as NJ. Not so familiar with this area so if anyone can help or if anything comes to mind, pls let me know!! I've heard of Bellerose - on the border of Queens and Long Island. How is it there?
I happen to like Bellerose. Tree-lined streets, safe and relatively quiet. If you are new to the area you should be aware that there has been a tremendous increase in the Indian (Asian) population. This has led to many of the original homes being leveled and replaced with more ornate homes. Also, many stores have opened that cater specifically to that segment of the population.
Even in this market, I think you can still expect to spend over $550k for a 'move-in' condition home (smaller cape) in one of the nicer pockets.
You're also close to the Cross Island which I think is a big plus.
Good luck! I know how nice Forest Hills can be - so anything might feel like a 'neighborhood downgrade.'
I'd also check out Floral Park and Little Neck (more expensive unless you buy an attached home).
I've heard of Bellerose - on the border of Queens and Long Island. How is it there?
For those who may not be familiar with Bellerose:
Bellerose is a village (incorporated in 1924) in the northwest part of the Town of Hempstead, in the west part of Nassau County, on the Nassau/Queens border.
Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Bellerose in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by New York City (Queens County); on the east and south by the Village of Floral Park; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Bellerose Terrace.
Bellerose is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the village name in their mailing address: places in the Village of Bellerose have a "Floral Park, NY 11001" mailing address.
Looking for a nice suburb on the border of Queens and LI as close to the outskirts of Long island, towards Queens as possible. We live in an apartment in Forest Hills, Queens now and love it. We have a baby on the way and our place is too small. Instead of moving into a bigger apartment, we are looking for a house in a more suburban feel and are considering going into LI. My husband works in Massapequa and my job is in the city. I am from NJ and would love to be close to family in NJ as well. Getting to and from NJ on the weekends takes too long. I am just looking for a nice family town where u can get a decent priced home with a decent sized yard that is no longer than an hour drive to Massapequa as well as NJ. Not so familiar with this area so if anyone can help or if anything comes to mind, pls let me know!! I've heard of Bellerose - on the border of Queens and Long Island. How is it there?
So you are looking for something near the parkways (not too far south or too far north of them) and on the Queens/Nassau border. I am assuming you are looking to spend $500k or less. Here is what I would suggest:
Valley Stream: Gibson neighborhood (south of Sunrise Hwy., SD 24), Village (in the area around Merrick Rd., Sunrise Hwy. and east of Central Avenue, SD 24), and Westwood section (SD 13). Good LIRR service at several stations (Valley Stream in the Village, Gibson in Gibson, Westwood in Westwood); close to Southern State (3 exits are VS) for your husband's commute; close to the Cross Island Parkway; very near to Belt Parkway which leads to Verranzano Bridge. You can get to a close part of Jersey like Hoboken (via Manhattan MT Tunnel and then Lincoln Tunnel) in less than an hour and with no traffic in 35 minutes People might come on here and trash VS, but the Village has its own government and they watch over things very well, there are parking rules (can't park on the street all night), no illegal aliens running amok because the Village doesn't let that nonsense slide as in some other places on LI. There is a nice village green and they put on free concerts in the summer. There is an annual picnic and fireworks on 4th of July. Nice library. There are several parks, including with an outdoor swimming pool your family can join in the summer, walking and biking trail, etc. Massapequa is approx. 20 minutes by car (can be longer in rush hour traffic of course). The LIRR takes around 35 min. to get to Penn Station or Flatbush Ave Brooklyn.
Franklin Square: north of Valley Stream. Some really nice blocks here. There is a recent thread discussing it with more detail on areas. Be cognizant of school districts. Don't buy in Elmost SD (that is one of the worst on LI according to Newsday). Be cognizant about illegal aliens. There are some areas of Frankin Square that have them and areas where they congregate to wait for work, drink, etc. You don't want to waste your money in a section of FS like that, so find the good blocks.
Lynbrook: Next town east of Valley Stream. Has 1 exit off the Southern State Parkway. This is where the family in "Everybody Loves Raymond" supposedly lived. Advice would be to stay in SD 20. There are also some houses in VS SDs 24 and 13. Do not buy a house in SD 12 (Malverne). You will pay a lot of taxes like for the other school districts, but you will end up with a lower quality SD for your child and it will affect resale if you want to move.
From what I've seen of Bellerose (and part of it is in Queens, part Nassau), the main drag is very dirty and citified, traffic is heavy and full of bad drivers (who may have just moved here from the 3rd world), many of the houses remind me of Archie Bunker's, and the Nassau part is just like Queens so you might as well get a house in Queens and pay less taxes. The taxes are too high on the Nassau side for what you get.
I could give you other towns, but I started with those that are right in the geographic vicinity that you asked for ... not too far north or south of parkways so your husband doesn't have to spend 20 minutes each way driving north or south just to get to the SS Parkway and close to the Nassau/Queens border so it will be easier to get to NJ. Good luck!
I happen to like Bellerose. Tree-lined streets, safe and relatively quiet. If you are new to the area you should be aware that there has been a tremendous increase in the Indian (Asian) population. This has led to many of the original homes being leveled and replaced with more ornate homes. Also, many stores have opened that cater specifically to that segment of the population.
Even in this market, I think you can still expect to spend over $550k for a 'move-in' condition home (smaller cape) in one of the nicer pockets.
You're also close to the Cross Island which I think is a big plus.
Good luck! I know how nice Forest Hills can be - so anything might feel like a 'neighborhood downgrade.'
I'd also check out Floral Park and Little Neck (more expensive unless you buy an attached home).
Some of those newly built "McMansions" are a joke. Huge ugly house on a tiny lot. Some of them make the house so big they don't have a driveway anymore and then they park on the street. Yech!
Floral Park is partly in Queens and Nassau. I think part of Floral Park (Nassau side) is assigned to Elmont SD, so forget that. To me FP is kind of the same deal as Bellerose ... the Nassau side has high taxes and you don't get much for it and driving around there is a nightmare. Little Neck is in Queens not Nassau. If there was nowhere else to move but those 3 choices, I wouldn't spend over $550 in any of those areas except Little Neck.
Floral Park is partly in Queens and Nassau. I think part of Floral Park (Nassau side) is assigned to Elmont SD, so forget that. To me FP is kind of the same deal as Bellerose ... the Nassau side has high taxes and you don't get much for it and driving around there is a nightmare. Little Neck is in Queens not Nassau. If there was nowhere else to move but those 3 choices, I wouldn't spend over $550 in any of those areas except Little Neck.
You are giving misleading info here. Floral Park in Nassau County has two parts, Floral Park Village and Floral Park Center. Floral park Village is not assigned to Elmont district, it is zoned for Floral Park-Bellerose district, which is a good district. Floral Park Center is zoned for the Elmont SD, which is not desirable overall.
Also, you actually get a lot for your tax money. Village police are a huge plus in keeping the area very safe and very low crime. Parking restrictions keep the streets from getting congested or homes renting out illegally or people parking at the train and leaving their car in front of your home all day. Pretty high quality of life, with the convenience of being close to NYC and Queens.
To the OP, what I recommend is Floral Park Village (remember, Village only) or Bellerose Village. These two areas fit the bill exactly for what you are looking for, based on location to Queens, safe really pretty areas with gorgeous old homes. Many people move to these areas and never leave. Many children move back there when they get married to raise their own families. Floral Park, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Floral Park is partly in Queens and Nassau. I think part of Floral Park (Nassau side) is assigned to Elmont SD, so forget that. To me FP is kind of the same deal as Bellerose ... the Nassau side has high taxes and you don't get much for it and driving around there is a nightmare. Little Neck is in Queens not Nassau. If there was nowhere else to move but those 3 choices, I wouldn't spend over $550 in any of those areas except Little Neck.
Having family in Bellerose (Nassau side), Little Neck and Floral Park I have to raise an eyebrow to the "citified" and "dirty" comments, especially if you have also recommended parts of Valley Stream, Lynbrook, etc. I just hopped off at the Bellerose LIRR station this past weekend and it was a nice reminder of how pretty that neighborhood is. And maybe you should take a walk around Tulip Avenue and the Nassau County section of Floral Park. Area and schools are very good. That is getting something for those taxes...as for lousy drivers...not sure how Bellerose wins the prize for that. I think most on this board could cite lousy NY drivers from Brooklyn to Montauk. One man's opinion...
You are giving misleading info here. Floral Park in Nassau County has two parts, Floral Park Village and Floral Park Center. Floral park Village is not assigned to Elmont district, it is zoned for Floral Park-Bellerose district, which is a good district. Floral Park Center is zoned for the Elmont SD, which is not desirable overall.
Also, you actually get a lot for your tax money. Village police are a huge plus in keeping the area very safe and very low crime. Parking restrictions keep the streets from getting congested or homes renting out illegally or people parking at the train and leaving their car in front of your home all day. Pretty high quality of life, with the convenience of being close to NYC and Queens.
To the OP, what I recommend is Floral Park Village (remember, Village only) or Bellerose Village. These two areas fit the bill exactly for what you are looking for, based on location to Queens, safe really pretty areas with gorgeous old homes. Many people move to these areas and never leave. Many children move back there when they get married to raise their own families. Floral Park, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
any other questions, ask away
Thanks for the information that Nassau's Floral Park is actually separate municipalities. Paging Walter Greenspan! Please put up maps!
However, you admit I was right that the Elmont School District is involved. That was really all I was trying to point out to the OP ... avoid buying a house in the Elmont school district.
I disagree that these two places "fit the bill exactly" for the OP. Her husband is going to have extra commuting time to Massapequa and there will be extra commuting time to NJ as opposed to the areas I mentioned.
As for my less than flattering portrayal of Bellerose, I do go there often to buy authentic ethnic groceries (Indian). I suppose the area I go to is NOT THE GOOD PART as per your description.
So it's FLORAL PARK VILLAGE only and BELLEROSE VILLAGE only. It's good to know the distinctions. Thank you.
I have read your posts about the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream where you said you were upset at being "the only white person in the entire mall." That has never been my experience, but maybe we shop at different stores or something. Quite a sweeping generalization. Anyway, I will tell you this about Green Acres, #1 it is very safe and has excellent security and #2 the vast majority of the clientele who you found disturbing because you perceived them as "looking at you funny" DO NOT LIVE IN VALLEY STREAM anyway. They are mostly from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx and of course some of them are ghetto and I guess that scared you to be around them. I am not afraid of anyone and I suppose it shows because I do not get "threatening looks" like you said you did. I had a coworker (black female) from the Bronx who told me she liked to shop in Green Acres. I asked her why she drove that distance and she said it was better than anything they had in the Bronx as far as malls. A very nice gal, definitely not ghetto.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 05-03-2008 at 12:39 AM..
Having family in Bellerose (Nassau side), Little Neck and Floral Park I have to raise an eyebrow to the "citified" and "dirty" comments, especially if you have also recommended parts of Valley Stream, Lynbrook, etc. I just hopped off at the Bellerose LIRR station this past weekend and it was a nice reminder of how pretty that neighborhood is. And maybe you should take a walk around Tulip Avenue and the Nassau County section of Floral Park. Area and schools are very good. That is getting something for those taxes...as for lousy drivers...not sure how Bellerose wins the prize for that. I think most on this board could cite lousy NY drivers from Brooklyn to Montauk. One man's opinion...
I apologize for GENERALIZING about Bellerose and Floral Park. Apparently I wasn't in the nice area of each of them. Citified and dirty was meant for Bellerose (the NON-VILLAGE).
Bellerose
Floral Park
Northern Queens Village
Little Neck
Elmont
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For those who may not be familiar with Bellerose
People might come on here and trash VS, but the Village has its own government and they watch over things very well, there are parking rules (can't park on the street all night), no illegal aliens running amok because the Village doesn't let that nonsense slide as in some other places on LI. There is a nice village green and they put on free concerts in the summer. There is an annual picnic and fireworks on 4th of July. Nice library. There are several parks, including with an outdoor swimming pool your family can join in the summer, walking and biking trail, etc. Massapequa is approx. 20 minutes by car (can be longer in rush hour traffic of course). The LIRR takes around 35 min. to get to Penn Station or Flatbush Ave Brooklyn.
TY for the distinction!
I apologize
