UCB Parents Recommendations
Moving to Long Island
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January 2000
We are contemplating a job offer on Long Island, central, and are thinking
of living in the
Stonybrook,Port Jefferson area. We would be grateful for any information
about that area(real
estate, schools, pre-schools, pediatricians, good hospitals, fun things to
do with kids, how
to manage the weather, etc.)or other areas that are liveable and like
Berkeley(!?!). We have
2 children, one school age and one almost pre-school age. It would be
great
about how different
it is there or how liveable it is there. It is a big decision for us.
Thanks !!!
I grew up on Long Island and visit my father who lives in Port Jefferson
twice a year with my two kids. There is some good news about Long
Island
which is that many school districts (including Port Jefferson) are quite
good. Three Village School District, where Stony Brook is, has a very
highly
rated High School (Ward Melville) which apparently is very strong in
Math and
Science (lots of participants in the Intel (used to be Westinghouse)
Competition)
and placement in top colleges. The weather on Long Island is not really
that
bad, although the humidity in the summer can be a drag, though the
beaches are
great. The food is quite good (or perhaps, since it is the food of my child
hood, I think it's very good)
The bad news about Long Island is that it is totally a suburb, and an
insular, conservative suburb at that. There are some charming older areas
and
lots of strip malls, fast food joints and chain stores. And, since most of the
people who live there have family and long term connections with the
area,
it can
be very difficult to meet people and make social connections. Stony
Brook
is a relatively new University, and a commuter school. As a result it
doesn't have
the same kind of community around it that Berkeley has. Certainly, there
are
a lot of interesting people affiliated with the University and if you can
connect
with them, you'll have interesting people to talk to.
Port Jefferson is a solid two hours to Penn Station by LIRR, but you can
commute
to Manhattan, and use the wonderful resources there as well.
In any case, this may be somewhat more negative than you would get
from
someone else, but
I moved to Berkeley to get away from Long Island!
Myriam
Although I never actually lived there, I am a little familiar with the
Setauket, Port Jeff,
Stonybrook area. My parents lived in Setauket for six years (until last
year). My experience
is that it is not at all like Berkeley from the walkability,accessability
aspect. With the
exception of a little downtown area in Port Jeff and Stonybrook most
things
are located
in strip malls or the big mall along pretty busy highways. While we like to
walk and bike
as much as possible here, we drove everywhere when visiting there. I
think
the high school
has a pretty good reputation and my mother actually taught at a very
good
private but
expensive private elementary school (Laurel Hill) Real Estate is high but
not as bad as here.
I think you will get more bedrooms/bathrooms for your money. The
hospital
(Stonybrook) is
supposedly fantastic. I don't know any pediatricians but my parents had a
great dentist --
I think his name is Dr. Diehl on Lower Sheep Pasture Road. (this is all
from memory but
I'll verify if interested). Other good/fun things are the local beaches. We
actually spent
a lot of time playing and walking there and I believe at least one has a
playground. Feel
free to contact me if you'd like more information/opinions. I also happen
to have two friends
here in Berkeley that grew up there and I could maybe ask them some
things
too.
Mary
I grew up on Long Island, central-ish (East Meadow) and would be
happy to
go over lots of details with you. The climate is mild for the East Coast
and the country-side can be very attractive - lots of green trees and
grass. Detractions are the amount of people and having the megalopolis
that is New York City between you and the rest of the country. The
culture
and customs are very different from the Bay Area; hard to summarize in a
few words, but my thoughts include directness and intolerance along with
tight-knit and even friendly (after you are known and trusted.) I'm sure
there will be those that disagree with me, but those are my thoughts after
being gone for almost twenty years and having lived there for twenty-one.
We have close friends in East Northport if you want to contact current
residents.
Jeff
I have spent many years on Long Island, and my husband was born and
raised
there. I can't say I like it very much--It is too suburban and the
developed areas are really ugly, and I found many people there to be
closed
minded and negative (of course that's a big, bad statement and there are
many nice people there too). Generally, homogeneity wins over diversity.
The further east you go, the nicer and more rural the areas become.
Huntington is a nice town with good bookstores and restaurants, and
areas
around Oyster Bay are very pretty, although expensive. Stonybrook and
Port
Jefferson areas are also among the nicer towns. The strangest thing about
Long Island is that houses in "good" neighborhoods can be identical to
houses in less esteemed areas, and can carry 3x the price tag. My in-laws
sold their 6 bedroom house in Levittown for 165K, while in Westbury the
same size house (albeit with slightly fancier amenities) could run well
over 500K. Western Long Island, near Queens, the towns are more
urban but
also much closer to the city. However, public transportation is great in
NY, and It is easy to get to NYC via the Long Island Rail Road from
many
towns, a big plus for me. Sorry I can't offer too much advice on what to
do with kids (besides the beaches in summer)-- we moved before the
kids
came along. Good luck!
Laura
I went to graduate school at Stony Brook and then worked for a year at
Brookhaven National Lab, and most of that time I lived in Port
Jefferson. Firstly I'd say you're not going to find anything like
Berkeley on Long Island. It's a whole different culture. It seemed to
me that historically anything 'cultural' stopped in Manhattan and didn't
find it's way out to the island. I found that Pt. Jeff was the nicest
part of that local area to live in, but still it didn't have a whole lot
of culture or anything. Stony Brook is a somewhat well-off town and
generally they like to ignore the fact that there is a major university
there. There is nothing even close what you can find near UCB near that
SUNY campus for eats, bookstores, etc. My wife and I enjoy skiing and
other trips and I have to say that having to go through New York City
just to get off the island made travel rougher. We didn't have kids at
the time and we didn't buy a house so I can't really speak to your other
questions. It'll certainly be cheaper than Berkeley for cost-of-living
and real estate. The Stony Brook (and two other towns) Three Village
High School has some excellent advanced classes and always has lots of
entrants to the Westinghouse Science competition, for example. Anyway,
I did enjoy my time there but that way primarily because of the great
people I knew in the physics department and medical school at SUNY
Stony
Brook. I grew up in California and was glad to know that my time there
would end and I am happy to have moved back here! Personally I'm not
sure if I would move there on a permanent basis. Probably your family
should try visiting there and see what you think of the area, and it's
feel. Good luck!
Michael
I am not sure if you will find anyplace similar to Berkeley but you will
find other positives.
Positives:
1) No earthquakes
2) Homes that are built to last, and lots of storage space
3) Water that is warm enough to swim in during the summer
4) Generally the winters are mild considering its N.E. location
5) Homes are more affordable and you generally get a back yard.
6) Within reach of lots of fun places to visit.
7) You get all the seasons
Negatives:
1) Your kids might grow up with a Long Island accent
2) Your car will rust
3) Close but still about 1 hour from NY city
4) It will rain more and snow
5) Not as much diversity
I grew up on L.I. in the east end in a town called Riverhead. But I have
not lived there for 19 years.
My parents still live there and I visit bi-annually. I have very fond
memories of growing up there. The
summers where great with a choice of the ocean, bay or sound to swim
for
swimming.
Clifford
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