Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I recently discovered Brightwaters Village South of Montauk Highway. I love the houses and the fact that the area has it's own beach with a playground.

Although it is an incorporated village with it's own zip code, it does not have it's own school district. If we lived in the area, our kids would go to Bayshore. I have heard good and bad. I'm not sure.

What would you do???

I added a poll so that you can anonymously give an opinion without hurting anyone's feelings.

Thanks

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

We are looking in West Islip, let me know if you decide to sell

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I would send my kids to Bay Shore SD no hesitation, and I think Brightwaters is a really nice area.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I think I know where you are referring to and it's gorgeous. If you have family not far from there, I would go for it.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

DH and friends of ours teach in Bay Shore, and the SD has a lot to offer. Brightwaters is BEAUTIFUL; I'd move there in a heartbeat.

GL in your decision!

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

My sister and I both grew up in Bay Shore. The school district is very diverse (which my parents wanted for us) and my sister and I both got a lot out of our education there. We were both in honors accelerated classes from middle school throughout high school. I just graduated college with my PhD.
My sister liked her experience there so much she bought a house in Bay Shore and my nephew is now in 1st grade there.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

Brightwaters is beautiful, so I'd go for it! I've heard mixed reviews about the Bayshore SD, but that was mainly about the high school not elementary

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I have a co-worker who lives there and loves Brightwaters, but does not love the SD and now that his DD is in school they want to move, and are having a hard time selling b/c of the district. I think for resale value I'd go with West Islip.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

http://projects.nytimes.com/new-york-schools-test-scores/counties/suffolk/districts/smithtown

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I am a product of the Bay Shore School District.. that's your warning.

I loved Bay Shore. Honestly. It is diverse and it has a lot going for it. Great programs in AP and Music and Sports. The people in the community are fantastic - I lived very close to the area you are referencing. The property values are pretty steadfast around the concourse and surrounding areas. My sister had to have her property appraised in 2005 and again in 2009 - the drop off was about 2.5% - not bad all things considered.

They have some wonderful and fairly unique programs because of the level of diversity. For example - they have Spanish Immersion classes. Basically you can opt to have your child put in a class with mostly Spanish speaking children so that they get a truly bi-lingual experience. My GF did this for her sons from the time they were in kindergarten. Both of the boys are fluent in Spanish.

There are problems... there are in just about every district. I think many outsiders tend to have a very skewed perspective based on 'reputation' rather than actual experience.

ETA: I graduated in the late 80's - but quite a few of my former classmates became educators in the district. I also have several friends who have children in the district and are pleased with it.

Message edited 10/5/2009 2:09:41 PM.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I have heard from a friend who is a teacher that the staff at the schools are wonderful and the teachers don't take any sass and it's a great district.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

DH graduated from Bay Shore (around the same time as you Jeannie) and did his student teaching there. He was devastated that there were no openings for him. He ended up in a less diverse district and really misses it. If we had the chance to buy in Brightwaters we would. Without a doubt.

Re: Found a beautiful neighborhood that I love..What would you do??

I love that area and tried to convince DH to look in that area. He grew up in Bay Shore and was not a fan of the district. We decided that if we lived there we would have to pay for private school and that wasn't in our budget.