NWR: north bellmore homes

My fiancé and I have been looking for houses for months now. We have been looking in the Massapequa/Plainview area, but with little success. Either we don't like the house or lose out on it in a bidding war.

We have decided to expand our area. I'm not all too familiar with the north bellmore & bellmore area. Anyone have insights? There's only so much that you can get from online. Any areas to avoid? Which high school is best to be zoned for (it seems like JFK - but how are the others???)

Thanks for any help!

I grew up in Merrick and here is how it goes. Anyone in Merrick or Bellmore Sounth of Merrick rd go to Kennedy, the rest of the Merrick people to go Calhoun and the rest of the Bellmore go to Mepham.
There is a small area in North Bellmore that isn't so great by Jerusalem Ave, but other than that your good. Schools are excellent. I'm moving back to Merrick in July and I can't wait I love it there.

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Posted by MsA2MrsA

Thanks! I'm trying to find out how to tell which house is zoned for what school. We just don't want a house south of Merrick road n

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When we were looking, I would just call the realtors from the phone numbers listed on MLSLI and would ask them over the phone which district it is zoned for... Also important to keep in mind, even though most of the areas of Bellmore and Merrick that are south of merrick rd are zoned for JFK, alot of them are in flood zones now... Since hurricane Sandy, a few more areas around there became flood zones and insurance is said to be skyrocketing shortly so I'd be careful buying anything where you'd need flood insurance!

There are pros and cons in that case: the pro is a great school district, but the flood zone can be a con... When my FH and I were seriously looking over in that area, we wound up sticking to alot more of the Bellmore area that was north of merrick rd. and was zoned for Calhoun

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Posted by cets1290

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Posted by MsA2MrsA

Thanks! I'm trying to find out how to tell which house is zoned for what school. We just don't want a house south of Merrick road n

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When we were looking, I would just call the realtors from the phone numbers listed on MLSLI and would ask them over the phone which district it is zoned for... Also important to keep in mind, even though most of the areas of Bellmore and Merrick that are south of merrick rd are zoned for JFK, alot of them are in flood zones now... Since hurricane Sandy, a few more areas around there became flood zones and insurance is said to be skyrocketing shortly so I'd be careful buying anything where you'd need flood insurance!

There are pros and cons in that case: the pro is a great school district, but the flood zone can be a con... When my FH and I were seriously looking over in that area, we wound up sticking to alot more of the Bellmore area that was north of merrick rd. and was zoned for Calhoun

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Thanks for your post. We definitely don't want to be in a flood zone. I'll ask my realtor about the zoning.
I also like the wantagh area that's zoned for MacArthur HS. I wish house hunting was easier. I hate it right now

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Posted by MsA2MrsA

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Posted by cets1290

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Posted by MsA2MrsA

Thanks! I'm trying to find out how to tell which house is zoned for what school. We just don't want a house south of Merrick road n

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When we were looking, I would just call the realtors from the phone numbers listed on MLSLI and would ask them over the phone which district it is zoned for... Also important to keep in mind, even though most of the areas of Bellmore and Merrick that are south of merrick rd are zoned for JFK, alot of them are in flood zones now... Since hurricane Sandy, a few more areas around there became flood zones and insurance is said to be skyrocketing shortly so I'd be careful buying anything where you'd need flood insurance!

There are pros and cons in that case: the pro is a great school district, but the flood zone can be a con... When my FH and I were seriously looking over in that area, we wound up sticking to alot more of the Bellmore area that was north of merrick rd. and was zoned for Calhoun

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Thanks for your post. We definitely don't want to be in a flood zone. I'll ask my realtor about the zoning.
I also like the wantagh area that's zoned for MacArthur HS. I wish house hunting was easier. I hate it right now

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we looked in wantagh too! The 'd' streets and the 'w' streets are zoned for macarthur for sure, and my cousin's boyfriend lives in the w section and LOVES it! the only thing with that area is that they are mostly levitt-style homes, so they have no basements. I didn't really like that and the fact they are all oil heat mostly over there and the water tanks are like next to your kitchen behind a funny looking door lol. I personally wanted a basement, but other than that I didn't really have any complaints about the area at all..

In both of those areas you are looking at, it was really evident that everyone seems to care about their homes and the neighborhood...it's nice to see areas where everyone is really making a effort to make the block looks nice :) So many areas we looked at just had no 'curb appeal' to them, and it was noticeable there there was really no sense of community. You can't go wrong with any of the towns you suggested though.


Good luck with the home search! It took us awhile and we lost out on a few we loved, but everything happens for a reason and i'm sure you will end up with your dream house!

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Posted by cets1290


we looked in wantagh too! The 'd' streets and the 'w' streets are zoned for macarthur for sure, and my cousin's boyfriend lives in the w section and LOVES it! the only thing with that area is that they are mostly levitt-style homes, so they have no basements. I didn't really like that and the fact they are all oil heat mostly over there and the water tanks are like next to your kitchen behind a funny looking door lol. I personally wanted a basement, but other than that I didn't really have any complaints about the area at all..

In both of those areas you are looking at, it was really evident that everyone seems to care about their homes and the neighborhood...it's nice to see areas where everyone is really making a effort to make the block looks nice :) So many areas we looked at just had no 'curb appeal' to them, and it was noticeable there there was really no sense of community. You can't go wrong with any of the towns you suggested though.


Good luck with the home search! It took us awhile and we lost out on a few we loved, but everything happens for a reason and i'm sure you will end up with your dream house!

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Thanks. I hope so. We definitely want a basement too.

We are actually still looking in the Massapequa area as well because I grew up there and I just really like the area. But we will see if we can find anything there. I definitely pay attention to the look of the area as we look at houses. I told my fiance that I'd rather pay more to live in a nicer area than to live in one that isn't as nice. Or we'd buy a house that needs updating in a nicer area vs. one done up in an area that isn't so nice. Because, well, I just never, ever want to look for houses again.

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Posted by emmac

I have a friend who is a realtor who grew up in Merrick and lives in Wantagh now so she knows Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh very well let me know if you would like her info. Good Luck

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Thanks! We have a real estate agent already. We actually saw a house we liked tonight and will probably put an offer on it. We are just debating on how much to offer, I don't want to lose it by bidding too low but then I hear you should never offer asking price.

I Bought a house in N bellmore a year ago. My Fiance grew up here and loved it. He went to newbridge, and Mepham and only has good things to say. Im a queens girl so it took a bit of adjusting but I like it.
There just arent enough supermarkets!! ( i know that sounds silly)
Good Luck!!!

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Posted by Our14wedding

I Bought a house in N bellmore a year ago. My Fiance grew up here and loved it. He went to newbridge, and Mepham and only has good things to say. Im a queens girl so it took a bit of adjusting but I like it.
There just arent enough supermarkets!! ( i know that sounds silly)
Good Luck!!!

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Haha I'm used to Long Island and I think there's enough supermarkets. The ones in queens are so small to me.