When looking for a home, this part of Long Island has been an easy choice for many well-to-do families. Its close proximity to NYC as well as county's amazing possibilities kept attracting some of USA's wealthiest people. Being directly east of the NYC, Nassau County is considered NY metropolitan area, placing its residents close to Big Apple's avenues, but far away from its "jungle" characteristics. Long Island is comprised of four counties, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Queens & Kings County. Nassau County itself can be broken down into three towns, two cities, and 75 villages & hamlets. Let's look into these towns for families in Nassau County and find out what makes them so great.

Nassau County-the most affluent county in NY

Moving to Long Island with a family has never been better that is, only if you can afford it of course... Today's area used to be a big part of Queens County, one of the original 12 counties formed in 1683. Nassau was created in the late 19th century by the division of Queens County. The later became a borough of NYC and the rest is history.Since that moment Nassau became the preferred location for wealthy New Yorkers and their country estates. Today's county doesn't only derive its prestige from history but from literature as well. The "Gold Coast" became the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. No wonder Forbes magazine proclaimed it "one of the highest income counties in the United States and the most affluent in the state of New York".

The setting of the Great Gatsby

Towns for families in Nassau County

As previously mentioned since the beginning of time Nassau County has three towns, they are all still here and better than ever! Before you start researching "movers Long Island" you ought to learn some more about each so you can pick the perfect setting for your next family home!

Hempstead

Hempstead is one of the earliest towns in New York and deeply entwined with NYC's and the history of USA. It was established in 1644 following an agreement between English colonists, John Carman and Robert Fordham, and the Lenape Indians. Since then the town became the most populous municipality in NY metropolitan area and well ahead of Washington and Seattle with its size.

A controversial place with a great commute.Hempstead of today is a controversial place. People either love it or hate it, some even deem it dangerous. Official statistics paint a different picture. One thing everyone can agree on is that Hempstead's short commute is at unattainable 17 minutes, while the National average is 26! This quality alone can be a deciding factor for a young family looking to settle somewhere close to NYC. Before you start looking into our "Moving to the suburbs guide", consider that awesome unbeatable commute!Another advantage Hempstead has, in comparison to other towns for families in Nassau County, is education. For a young family, this is obviously a very important deciding factor. Public schools here spend almost 25,000$ per student while the national average is merely half of that. One of the town's downsides is cost of living being almost 30% higher than the U.S. average. Single-family homes average at 293,000$ and they are usually from 1950's and need a lot of work.

North Hempstead

The Yankee North Hempstead separated from its southern part during the American Revolution becoming a town of its own. Since then its population kept growing, especially after the introduction of Long Island Rail Road, and today it still doesn't show any signs of slowing down.North Hempstead's population of 230,000 is an average age of 42 and almost 59% is married. One of the most contrasting things between Hempstead and North Hempstead is the median home price, reaching 807,000$ in the latter town. The commute is slightly longer than in Hempstead but still impressive. A prominent spot among "cons" is the above average cost of living, crowded lifestyle and weak prospects for job growth. North Hempstead's strength is its public schools which spend $31,381 per student.

North Hempstead has been a Yankee stronghold and today it is a hot piece of real estate.Single-family homes in North Hempstead are very contrasting in beauty compared to its neighbor Hempstead. No wonder prices are higher on this side! Homes are still from the 1940's and 50's but much better preserved and maintained. This is obviously a more "middle class" town and more upscale than Hempstead, putting it higher on our list of towns for families in Nassau County.

Oyster Bay

The only town to extend from Long Island's North Shore to South Shore, Oyster Bay is Nassau County's easternmost of three towns. When looking for friendly towns for families in Nassau County, Oyster Bay comes as a golden middle between Hempstead and North Hempstead. The population stats are very similar at 250,000 people while the median house prices are lower than in North Hempstead.There are 18 villages and 18 hamlets comprising this wonderful town giving it a diverse real estate outlook. The town was also a number one choice of President Roosevelt when he was choosing a place for his summer residence. One of the downsides to Oyster Bay is the fact that cost of living is 70% higher than the country's average. But no one can beat the commute time at 17 minutes and it's close proximity to NYC!Long Island is an amazing place to raise a family and towns for families in Nassau County offer a wide choice of real estate for you to do so. Another amazing fact is that Nassau County has some of the best public schools plus no one can bite the close proximity to NYC. You will get to save a lot of time during the commute and spend it with your family instead. For some, you can't put a price on this, if you are the same Long Island's Nassau County might have your future home.