Forest Hills

Stats

What you'll pay: $600,000
What you'll get: A 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath 1920s Colonial
Distance to midtown: 40 minutes on the E train or 15 minutes via the LIRR

If you took scissors to a swath of the shaded streets and stately homes that typify much of Westchester County, then made an opening in the Upper West Side to accommodate it, you'd have a sense of what Forest Hills is like. Part convenient urban hub—parks, playgrounds, shopping, restaurants and family-sized co-ops abound—and part swanky suburb, this is a neighborhood of options. "The great thing is there are a lot of real-estate choices at different price points," says market researcher Christine Gendreau, mother of Leo, 3.

Along the main artery of Queens Boulevard, you'll find luxury towers such as the Kennedy House, which sports a rooftop pool. North of Jewel Avenue are neat single-family houses built between the 1920s and the 1940s. Head south on Continental Avenue for the leafy streets and tony Georgian- and Tudor-style houses of Forest Hills Gardens; one of the country's first planned communities, it was laid out by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in the early 1900s.

Prices here vary widely. You can nab a 1,500-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with doorman and gym in the area's newest condo tower, the Windsor, for about $850,000, says Jacques Ambron, a broker with Madeleine Realty Limited. A 1,300-square-foot two-bedroom in an older building starts at just $325,000, while large two-bedroom rentals can be had for $1,900. Detached houses in central Forest Hills Gardens fetch $2 million and up.

For a moment of Zen, parents head to Metropolitan Avenue, where the Tree of Life Yoga Center (102-19 Metropolitan Ave at 71st Ave, 718-544-5997) offers kid and toddler classes, and the low-key Metro Caf (102-07 Metropolitan Ave between 71st and 72nd Aves, 718-793-0820) is stroller-friendly. On Austin Street, stop for a slice at A&J Pizzeria (71-37 Austin St at 71st Ave, 718-520-9018) or stock up on organic snacks at the food store Natural (72-56 Austin St at 72nd Rd, 718-268-4477) before hitting the swings at popular Ehrenreich-Austin Playground (76th Ave to 76th Dr, between Austin St and the main line of the Long Island Railroad), one of the many area parks. Parents reward their kids for good behavior at Piu Bello Gelato (7009 Austin St at 70th Ave, 718-268-4400).

Locals laud the neighborhood's diversity in age and background. Laura Siggia-Anderson enjoys living alongside long-term residents, including an 83-year-old neighbor who loves to fuss over her son, Peter, 1. Siggia-Anderson, who grew up in the area, remembers attending Our Lady Queen of Martyrs school on Queens Boulevard with friends whose families had immigrated from Japan, China, South America and the Caribbean. She and her husband had considered moving to Nassau County but chose to raise their son here, in the hope that he'll develop a similarly broad social network. "On Long Island," she notes, "my child would be one of 25 white kids in his class."

Cultural multiplicity isn't all that schools in Forest Hills have to offer. Elementary school P.S. 196 (71-25 113th St at 71st Ave) is ranked one of the highest in New York City for its top-notch academics; it also has high attendance rates, according to Insideschools.org. "Everyone moves here—or stays—because of the schools," says Gendreau.

Residents do have gripes. The area is popular among Queens commuters who park their cars there before hopping on the subway or train into Manhattan. Locals worry that if some form of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing plan should ever pass, more drivers would flock in, making parking even more scarce. And speeding cars are known to tear down dangerously busy Queens Boulevard (pedestrians can cross the thoroughfare via tunnel). Still, for many here, Forest Hills' convenience and comforts far outweigh those drawbacks. "It doesn't have the Manhattan cachet yet, so I feel like it's our little secret," says Siggia-Anderson.

Bottom line: Head here for a top-notch grammar school, nearby parks and an easy commute to midtown.