Hemsptead, NY

[Guest FrozenMusic]

Anyone heading there? (Hofstra University) Any information about the place will be of great help. I am worried about housing what with being close to downtown NY and all....

[Guest brandeis alum]

Dude, don't be fooled by what the brochures tell you - out in Hempstead Long Island, you will NOT be anywhere NEAR "downtown NY"!!! When you say downtown NY, most people will think you are referring to Manhattan. Hempstead is, on a very good day with no traffic, maybe 45 minutes away from Manhattan by car - and you will definitely be needing a car out there (yes, there's quite a few buses and you can easily get around without a car but if you're planning on going to downtown NYC a lot, it'll be the biggest pain via public transit). However, if you don't want to go "downtown" but just some neighborhoods in Queens, like Jamaica or Flushing, than Hempstead isn't too far. It is extremely suburban so if you're worried about all the trappings that come with urban housing - the expense, the shoebox-sized rooms, lack of parking, low vacancy - it is far less of a problem all the way out there.

Anyone heading there? (Hofstra University) Any information about the place will be of great help. I am worried about housing what with being close to downtown NY and all....

[Guest FrozenMusic]

brandeis alum said:

Dude, don't be fooled by what the brochures tell you - out in Hempstead Long Island, you will NOT be anywhere NEAR "downtown NY"!!! When you say downtown NY, most people will think you are referring to Manhattan. Hempstead is, on a very good day with no traffic, maybe 45 minutes away from Manhattan by car - and you will definitely be needing a car out there (yes, there's quite a few buses and you can easily get around without a car but if you're planning on going to downtown NYC a lot, it'll be the biggest pain via public transit). However, if you don't want to go "downtown" but just some neighborhoods in Queens, like Jamaica or Flushing, than Hempstead isn't too far. It is extremely suburban so if you're worried about all the trappings that come with urban housing - the expense, the shoebox-sized rooms, lack of parking, low vacancy - it is far less of a problem all the way out there.

Well when i said close to downtown (manhattan) i did mean the same thing....45-1hour by car! I dont have to be travelling to manhattan a lot at all..unless i want to take a tour during the weekends! So that is not a big concern for me right now.

But I was more worried about the place that Hempstead is. Is it a very expensive place to live? IS it like a college town? What about the crime rate? Rent and other usual expenses? If you can give some info on this, it will be of great help! TIA

[Bass_on_Treble]

But I was more worried about the place that Hempstead is. Is it a very expensive place to live? IS it like a college town? What about the crime rate? Rent and other usual expenses? If you can give some info on this, it will be of great help! TIA

Growing up about 20 minutes from Hofstra....It's totally not a college town, it's just in the middle of the middle-island burbs. (Ever hear of Levittown? It's like 10-15 minutes away.) Parts of Hempstead are a bit sketchy, but that's not the area by the school. Living expenses aren't as bad as they'd be in the city....but it's not super cheap either....If you're bringing a car you could always look into living in Long Beach (about 25-30 minute drive on the streets I think) where there's some reasonable apartments and lots of younger people (single school teachers and professionals...) There's other areas around like that too...

[Zorah]

Growing up about 20 minutes from Hofstra....It's totally not a college town, it's just in the middle of the middle-island burbs. (Ever hear of Levittown? It's like 10-15 minutes away.) Parts of Hempstead are a bit sketchy, but that's not the area by the school. Living expenses aren't as bad as they'd be in the city....but it's not super cheap either....If you're bringing a car you could always look into living in Long Beach (about 25-30 minute drive on the streets I think) where there's some reasonable apartments and lots of younger people (single school teachers and professionals...) There's other areas around like that too...

Yep, Hempstead is not NYC. Hostra is a suburb of NY. I would say it takes at least an hour to get to NYC. You can take a commuter rail into the City. Hempstead is cheaper than NYC, but not cheap.