Sasha Maslov for The New York TimesA stairway to the beach in Southold, N.Y., on the North Fork of Long Island, which is giving the South Fork, a k a the Hamptons, a bit of a run for the money these days. More Photos ?Around 75 miles east of New York City, just past the “Rip van Winkle” revival unfolding in somnolent Riverhead, the Long Island Expressway ends in a blaze of commercial glory at the Tanger Outlets. Soon after that, Long Island succumbs to a severe case of geological split personality and sprouts an intriguing pair of sibling peninsulas. Naturally there’s a bit of a rivalry. 
The overachieving one, the South Fork, is starting to flirt with being overbuilt, overhyped and overcrowded, but from the perspective of the average homebuyer’s portfolio, owning a home there is an inarguably lovely wish-list item. The Atlantic is a proven tonic to South Fork property values; so is the star wattage of its denizens. The North Fork is a wallflower and an underdog by comparison, but alluring for its own vistas and virtues. It is not resort chic, and few of its properties are exorbitant. It has no ocean, but plenty of Long Island Sound frontage. Dotted but not glutted with affordable and ofttimes historic homes — and driven by an accumulation of niche farms, vineyards, foodie fanaticism and activities like pumpkin- or berry-picking newly christened as agri-tainment — it is building an identity based on what it is not. “I think the North Fork is fast becoming the un-Hampton,” said Scott Russell, the supervisor of Southold, an amalgam of scenic hamlets which, along with the South Fork’s Southampton and East Hampton, claims roots back to 1640. “We don’t have the traffic issues, our real estate has stayed within a range of reasonable standards, the bay and Sound beaches are pristine, and farmland is still the cornerstone of our community. We rely on our natural landscape for recreation and as a tourist attraction, and it seems to be working: people are even moving here from the Hamptons. “It’s a bit of a mixed blessing,” he concluded, “because every time the word goes out about what a hidden jewel we are, we’re a little bit less hidden.” But Mr. Russell, a confirmed cheerleader for preservation over development, does not like it one iota when people express confusion about his Fork’s qualifications as a haven for weekend homeowners, boaters, golfers and oenophiles. “That perplexes me,” he said. “Maybe we’re a victim of our own success. We’re distinct and different. And we’re unpretentious.” The North Fork, a verdant jumble of farmland and vineyards interspersed with an intricate ecosystem of creeks and bordered to the north by the Sound, juts 30 miles toward its quaint terminus at Orient Point. The South Fork, better known as the Hamptons, basks in conspicuous consumption and multimillion-dollar ocean frontage all the way to Montauk Point. The Great Peconic Bay separates these desirable peninsulas, which are linked, with Shelter Island in the middle, by car ferries. If proof is needed that the less flamboyant Fork is emerging as a preferred destination in its own right there was, as of 2012, upgraded ambassador-class seating on some weekend Hampton Jitney routes to the North Fork. The jitney took over North Fork bus service from Sunrise Coach Lines in 2006, immediately doubled the schedule, and in the last few seasons has noted a 20 percent rise in ridership. Andrew Lynch, a Jitney vice president, said the ambassador jaunts had proved “extremely successful,” just as on the South Fork. According to Nicholas J. Planamento, the president of the Hamptons and North Fork Real Estate Association and a broker at Town and Country Real Estate, summer rentals typically range from $4,000 per week to $35,000 for the season. Greenport, the North Fork’s only incorporated village, is the hub of commerce, culture, dining and recreation (its restored merry-go-round is a big hit). The Hamptons have long since arrived on the global luxury real estate map; the stalled conga line of weekend traffic on Route 27 attests to its popularity — and not just in the height of summer. It is a celebrity magnet, a mash-up of movers and shakers. Hedge-fund managers have stormed the hedgerows. There is gala gridlock. And then there is the Fork less taken, the one without the velvet ropes, the one where the heaviest traffic accumulates on fall harvest weekends. The modest priority list of typical North Fork house-hunters: privacy, easy upkeep, low taxes, water view, bike to beach and/or town. According to Gayle Marriner-Smith, a fourth-generation summer resident and an agent for Douglas Elliman Real Estate, “The Hamptons are a place where people go to see and be seen, and the North Fork is a place where people go to see the scenery.” She said the low interest rates and moderate prices of the past two seasons had brought a new sort of buyer to the North Fork: escapists from New York who don’t own their apartments and are buying their first home to use as a second home. She met Regina Baptista and Nikolai Pohorelsky last summer at an open house. The couple had ventured out to Southold three years ago to dine at the North Fork Table and Inn and were quickly smitten by the North Fork’s bucolic charm. This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: June 22, 2013
An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of Perri Dorset’s husband. The correct spelling is Brett Moskowitz, not Moscowitz. The company that Regina Baptista works for was also misspelled. Ms. Baptista works at IT Cosmetics, not IP Cosmetics.
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