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I am looking to move to Long Island from Forest Hills. We have been looking at several aras, and was wondering what peoples thoughts were regarding them.
First Question is : Which is a more desireable location to live and why - South Merrick or Plainview?
2nd Question: Can someone compare the towns Roslyn, Manhasset, Searingtown, East Hills, Plainview and South Merrick?
Thank you very much. I look forward to your responses.
As far as South Merrick and Plainview both are very nice areas, Plainview's school district might be a bit better but both are well regarded
In regards to comparing the areas, what exactly are you looking for? all the areas you mentioned have a pretty large upper middle class populations. Parts of Manahsset, Roslyn and East Hills are very wealthy.
South Merick and Plainview are both nice. IMO I like South Merrick due to the location to the water.
As far as the the others it boils down to North shore verse South shore, 2 very different feels. You would have to determine which is a better fit for you.
Between Plainview and Merrick, I actually believe Merrick has a better school district, but depending on what you like, both are nice neighborhoods. I agree that Merrick has more appeal being near the water and beaches and has a nature preserve. Plainview itself does not have any really interesting facets, but I believe many people who live there travel further North to other towns for entertainment purposes.
For the other neighborhoods like Roslyn, Manhasset. etc. I think they are all pretty typical of what you will find on the North Shore. If you are looking for a real sense of community, somewhere South like Merrick may be better. Plainview would be a bit less pricey alternative that is a bit further out on LI if you definitely want to be North but do not want a somewhat more outrageous price point and a possibly haughty area. As I am sure you know based on reputation, many of the North Shore towns that you mentioned have people there that may be considered snobs.
I agree again that it will also depend on the price range you are looking in as well as the feel of the neighborhood you want.
First, Nassau County includes 2 cities (Glen Cove and Long Beach), and 3 towns (North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay), and the 3 towns include 64 villages (municipal corporations) and 70 hamlets (unincorporated areas), and each of these 136 (2 + 70 + 64 = 136) communities has anywhere from 3 to 7 neighborhoods within each of their borders, for a total of about 675 neighborhoods in Nassau County.
Second, while there is the south part of the Hamlet of Merrick, there is no Hamlet of South Merrick.
We just moved to Plainview for a few reasons (none meant to offend anyone out there). One was because it was the North Shore, which just seems more accessible to us. Two was the price of house and property for our budget. Three was the school district. Four was the presence of Jewish life, which is important to us as we, too, came from Forest Hills and wanted young Jewish life for our future family. Fifth, this is a convenient place to live-you are literally in the middle of the Island and can go north, south, east, or west and it's not bad. Sixth..the town appears to have a lot to offer (with these taxes, they'd better!!) We are here almost 3 months..feel free to ask more questions if you want. Good luck in your search!
Plainview is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the center-east part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the east part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Huntington town line and the Nassau/Suffolk county line.
Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Plainview in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Syosset and the Hamlet of Woodbury; on the east by the Hamlet of Melville in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County (the Oyster Bay/Huntington town line and the Nassau/Suffolk county line); on the south by the Hamlet of Old Bethpage and the Hamlet of Bethpage; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Hicksville.
The Hamlet of Plainview has a different border than does the "Plainview, NY 11803" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Plainview, NY 11803" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Plainview and a place can be in the Hamlet of Plainview and have other than a "Plainview, NY 11803" mailing address): places with a "Plainview, NY 11803" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Plainview are in the Hamlet of Woodbury; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Plainview that have an "Old Bethpage, NY 11804" mailing address.
Big issue we've found with Plainview is that the taxes are so, so high. It seems to be a Town of Oyster Bay problem. Comparable houses in Hempstead or North Hempstead are cheaper. It can't be limited housing stock since areas in Hempstead with equally similar housing stock (i.e. no mansions, all houses fit into a pretty narrow price band) have lower taxes, and Plainview does have some commercial base. Syosset, Woodbury, Jericho are the same problem.
The ethnic spread in the towns you've mentioned varies. Plainview, Merrick, and Roslyn are heavily Jewish; Manhasset is not. Mentioning it only because you did pick a clutch of very Jewish areas and Forest Hills is no slouch there either!
Big issue we've found with Plainview is that the taxes are so, so high. It seems to be a Town of Oyster Bay problem. Comparable houses in Hempstead or North Hempstead are cheaper. It can't be limited housing stock since areas in Hempstead with equally similar housing stock (i.e. no mansions, all houses fit into a pretty narrow price band) have lower taxes, and Plainview does have some commercial base. Syosset, Woodbury, Jericho are the same problem.
The ethnic spread in the towns you've mentioned varies. Plainview, Merrick, and Roslyn are heavily Jewish; Manhasset is not. Mentioning it only because you did pick a clutch of very Jewish areas and Forest Hills is no slouch there either!
On a similar priced home, out of the three towns in Nassau, the taxes are going to be the highest in Oyster Bay followed closely by Hempstead and a bit further back is North Hempstead. Being in the own of Oyster Bay is part of the reason, but not the only one. Like much of the rest of Long Island the main culprit in Plainview is the school taxes, which is the highest of all the communities mentioned.
We just moved to Plainview for a few reasons (none meant to offend anyone out there). One was because it was the North Shore, which just seems more accessible to us. Two was the price of house and property for our budget. Three was the school district. Four was the presence of Jewish life, which is important to us as we, too, came from Forest Hills and wanted young Jewish life for our future family. Fifth, this is a convenient place to live-you are literally in the middle of the Island and can go north, south, east, or west and it's not bad. Sixth..the town appears to have a lot to offer (with these taxes, they'd better!!) We are here almost 3 months..feel free to ask more questions if you want. Good luck in your search!
How can you be both on "the North shore" and be "in the middle of the island"? To be on the north shore, IMO your town needs alittle water front property....
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For those who may not be familiar with Plainview
