Thursday, October 1, 2026
For homebuyers who regularly travel by rail, the Five Towns offers an unusual level of choice.
Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere and Hewlett each have Long Island Rail Road access, allowing buyers to consider a range of housing options without losing sight of the commute that shapes their week.
Carolyn Argento, a Douglas Elliman branch manager and longtime Five Towns resident, said transportation is often an important part of a home search because the rail line connects residents with New York City while also providing transfer options and service to other parts of Long Island.
“There’s a train stop in basically each town,” Argento said. “When the train doors open, it’s unbelievable how many people work elsewhere.”
That concentration of stations can widen the map for a buyer who begins a search with the commute in mind. Instead of focusing only on homes within walking distance of one stop, buyers can compare several communities, housing styles and price points while considering how each station would fit their routine.
Proximity is only part of the calculation. Parking options vary by village and station, with some lots requiring resident permits and others offering paid parking. A home that is several miles from one station may still work well if parking is readily available, while a closer station may be less convenient if the permit rules do not match the buyer’s address or schedule.
Argento recommends investigating those details early rather than waiting until after a home has been selected. Buyers can check which municipality operates a lot, whether a resident sticker is required, what daily parking costs and how early spaces tend to fill. They should also review current schedules because the fastest morning option may not be the most convenient train home at night.
Transfer options matter as well, Argento said. Riders can connect for destinations in different directions, which means the system can support more than a traditional Manhattan commute. Argento recalled taking the train east for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills rather than driving in Hamptons traffic.
The line also helps with travel locally. Argento’s daughter, who lives in Gibson, a neighborhood in nearby Valley Stream, used the train to reach her job in Cedarhurst when she did not have a car. The trip demonstrated how closely spaced stations can connect neighboring communities and give residents another option for local transportation.
“My daughter would take the train from Gibson to Cedarhurst, get right off and go to work,” Argento said.
Those possibilities are useful because the Five Towns is not a single uniform housing market. The communities differ in their mix of homes, setting and proximity to commercial areas, which gives buyers several factors to balance. A purchaser may decide that more space is worth a short drive to the station, while another may place a higher value on being able to walk to the platform.
A practical comparison should account for the entire door-to-door trip, Argento said. Buyers can time the drive or walk from a prospective home, examine parking and drop-off arrangements, check transfers and consider how the return trip feels after a late workday.
Visiting during commuting hours can provide buyers with a clearer picture of the trip than mileage alone, she said.
Train access will not be the deciding factor for every buyer, but it can shape where a search begins and which homes remain under consideration. The strongest choice is often the one that balances the commute with the buyer’s broader priorities instead of treating station distance as the only measure of convenience.
In the Five Towns, the number of stations gives commuters multiple ways to make the geography work, allowing them to focus not only on where they work, but also on the community and home they want to return to.
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