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.