Avoid Long Island If You Can (Long Beach, Oceanside: sales, house, buy)

[LadyCharlotte]

I'm new to the Board but I did want to add my two cents. I grew up in Queens but have spent a good portion of my life out on Long Island. Whether it be at a relatives house, a friend or colleague's house, going to the beach, the wineries, shopping or just hanging out on The Island for an evening, I have always encountered the same thing - diversity as well as routine. Every area has its share of nice people as well as idiots and if you spend enough time in ANY area -whether its a rich area or poorer area, I guarantee you, you will find a little of both.

I agree with some of the earlier posts that mentioned attitude, which is a huge part of it all. If you move to an area that is unfamiliar to you, you cannot go in there with preconceived notions. You have to be open and take your time building your own assessments from your experiences. Granted, there are some idiots that won't like you no matter who you are, where you come from or what you contribute - and vice versa, but those idiots can be found ANYWHERE.

Overpricing etc. aside, one has to understand the general culture of Long Island in order to live there. There are many towns and four counties - two of which are actual Boroughs that are subject to NYC taxes etc..but there are also many 'areas'. You can have one town or several towns in an 'area'. The majority of people that live in an area, over time, generally dictate the sort of restaurants, stores and types of housing that can be found within that area. People get comfortable living in or spending time in a given area and do not like to see it change. So, while some areas may not have changed much, others have changed completely.

Take Rocky Point for example. I knew a family that bought plot of land there in the early 70s for less than $25,000. They built a summer home on it which they rented during the rest of the year. It was larger than most of the other 'summer' homes and bungalows because they planned on retiring in 30+ years and wanted this to be their retirement home. The road that lead to that section of Rocky Point from the Long Island Expressway had many twists, turns and forks in the road and was comprised of a narrow, two-way street with a double yellow line in the middle. If you drove on it at night, you'd have to stop constantly because of all the deer roaming around. Houses and bungalows were concentrated near the shore of the LI Sound and almost ALL stores -which were concentrated at road junctions for the most part and scattered everywhere else- were located on either Route 25 or Route 25A. It was like living in the country...how could they not want to retire there someday? It was a place where they felt they could escape the hustle and bustle of the City every summer, especially since they lived in Astoria only a few blocks away from the Triboro Bridge.

In the 80s, development stepped up quite a bit and suddenly, there were more folks out there all year round. More stores and restaurants started going up and some native folks started moving farther out towards Center Moriches or off the Island altogether. When I started hanging out at the house in the late 80s early 90s, I personally witnessed the widening of the narrow two-way street and addition of turning lanes to accommodate the additional traffic heading North from the Long Island Expressway to Route 25. The small-town feel gave way to larger shopping centers, trees were cut down and gated communities started to arise. Next thing you knew, the population changed. City dwellers were moving out there because the housing was cheaper than in the City and you could still get a nice piece of land, since most of that area had been farmland. Wells stop being used as City water was brought in to serve the community. By the mid 90s, the individual streets still had character, lots of trees and friendly neighbors, but as soon as you ventured towards Route 25A, it was like living closer to the City. It didn’t feel like country anymore. Crime also rose as the population grew.

The bottom line is, anyone living out there or owning a home out there HATED the newcomers because they changed the look of the 'area'. The whole reason these folks lived there was now gone and it became too expensive to relocate, not to mention that some of the natives were getting older and did not want to relocate at all.

Now, I am not saying that any one person or group should not move to any of the towns, counties or ‘areas’ of Long Island - I think people should move wherever they want to for the most part - but look at the BIGGER picture. People in general abhor change, whether its positive or negative. Unfortunately, a lot of the changes while initially positive have become negative. From my experience, 90% of the people I know that live on LI or have moved there are living there because a) they do NOT want to live an apartment would rather live in a house (even if they are forced to rent it) with a backyard; b) they cling to the perceived notion that it is ‘safer’ on LI than in the City (crime, drugs etc.) or outer Boroughs c) better schools; d) they feel on LI they will have a better quality of life in general because they are NOT in the City.

The way I see it, most of my friends and family are fed up with the cost of living on LI because it no longer outweighs the ‘quality of life’. While some ‘areas’ are still great places to live, there is no room for expansion because it IS an island. City dwellers continue to push East which has made Long Island much more crowded than it was even 10 years ago. Taking that into account, its no wonder why Long Island natives are annoyed with the influx of ‘outsiders’ because that means LI is becoming less of a refuge from the City and more a part OF it. Its becoming exactly what LI'ers were trying to get away from.

I agree that LI is very overpriced in every way, but so is Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester and Manhattan. Staten Island is slowly catching up as is New Jersey. NYC is the hub that drives everything around it and the Boroughs, LI and NJ -and parts of CT and PA - are just spokes in the wheel. Life is fast paced in most of these areas and if its not, its right next to a place that IS. Take these things into consideration if you plan to move to LI. Its not the City itself but it IS a part of the City that it tries so desperately to run away from. The people can be wonderful, but they are also possessive and distrustful of newcomers - just like in ANY OTHER ‘small’ town in the US. Think of it this way. Regardless of your ethnicity, race, gender or educational background, would YOU move into a town that you knew nothing about, didn’t understand and never spent time in just because it was within commuting distance to a new job that was offered to you? Of course not! You’d go to that part of the country and do extensive research to make sure it was worth the move. For some reason, folks don't research LI or the other Boroughs as extensively and are usually disappointed once they move here. Its NOT like it is on TV or in the movies and transplants that only lived here for THREE YEARS haven't really experienced it for what it truly is. Whenever you move to an area outside of a BIG City -especially NY- one must do a little extra research. You have to walk around. Drive around. Go into the stores. The diners. The restaurants. Shop in the supermarkets. Sit at a local park. Talk to the locals. You need to ask questions. It makes all the difference.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

What kind of educated person points out "Italian Americans" as one of the problems of Long Island?

Italian people are the least of the problems here.

I agree. Wonder who that statement is exactly coming from? That is the oddest thing I have ever heard. Since when are the Italians known for bringing down property values or causing havoc to a school system or neighborhood? On the whole, almost never. Every nationality or race has people who prefer to associate mostly with their own kind...including "minorities", very much so.

[clamboy]

LadyCharlotte;1198100


City dwellers continue to push East which has made Long Island much more crowded than it was even 10 years ago. Taking that into account, its no wonder why Long Island natives are annoyed with the influx of ‘outsiders’ because that means LI is becoming less of a refuge from the City and more a part OF it. Its becoming exactly what LI'ers were trying to get away from.

I couldnt agree more.


Go into the stores. The diners. The restaurants. Shop in the supermarkets. Sit at a local park. Talk to the locals. You need to ask questions. It makes all the difference.

Thats exactly what we did before deciding to leave for CT.

Great post!

C

[4StanleyCups]

I agree, great post!

I'd also like to add, anyone thinking about coming to LI from an area where traffic isn't a huge issue really needs to get some hands-on (wheels-on?) experience of what commuter hours are like here. Don't just come here on a weekend, or in the middle of a weekday and think "Well, I know it'll be worse during rush hours, sure", or take someone's word for it that to get from House Point A to Office Point B takes such and such amount of time. Invest a day and actually DRIVE from where you're thinking of buying to where you're thinking of working, during the actual hours you'd be commuting. Leave potential house area at 8 am or whatever (depending on where you're going and what time you'd need to arrive). If it's a good weather and there are no accident snarls en route, then you'll have experienced a "best day" so ask yourself "Am I okay with having this drive, OR WORSE, five days a week, almost year round?" It may not bother you, or not bother you enough to make a difference, or it may make you say "no friggin' way" -- but at least you'll know what to take into account in your decision.

I once worked with someone who moved here from Arizona with her husband. He took a teaching job at SUNY Stony Brook and she took a job in Huntington Village. Both needed to be at work at 9 am. The relo company found them a rental house in Wading River, saying "it will only take you 20 mins to get to SUNY and another 15 minutes drive past that to Huntington, just take the Expressway". Uh huh. Sure, on weekends, midday, or at 3 am. After one year they had enough and moved back to Tucson because their commutes were driving them crazy.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by 4StanleyCups

I agree, great post!

I'd also like to add, anyone thinking about coming to LI from an area where traffic isn't a huge issue really needs to get some hands-on (wheels-on?) experience of what commuter hours are like here. Don't just come here on a weekend, or in the middle of a weekday and think "Well, I know it'll be worse during rush hours, sure", or take someone's word for it that to get from House Point A to Office Point B takes such and such amount of time. Invest a day and actually DRIVE from where you're thinking of buying to where you're thinking of working. Leave potential house area at 8 am or whatever (depending on where you're going and what time you'd need to arrive). If it's a good weather and there are no accident snarls en route, then you'll have experienced a "best day" so ask yourself "Am I okay with having this drive, OR WORSE, five days a week, almost year round?" It may not bother you, or not bother you enough to make a difference, or it may make you say "no friggin' way" -- but at least you'll know what to take into account in your decision.

I once worked with someone who moved here from Arizona with her husband. He took a teaching job at SUNY Stony Brook and she took a job in Huntington Village. Both needed to be at work at 9 am. The relo company found them a rental house in Wading River, saying "it will only take you 20 mins to get to SUNY and another 15 minutes drive past that to Huntington, just take the Expressway". Uh huh. Sure, on weekends, midday, or at 3 am. After a year of they had enough and moved back to Tucson because their commutes were driving them crazy.

Wading River to Huntington by 9=90 min on a good day
Thats hilarious.
C

[2goldens]

I'm Italian-Roman Catholic from LI, born in Brooklyn, lived in Nassau then moved to FL in 1982. I've missed so much about LI that FL doesn't have to offer. I'm very surprised to read all this information but yet it's very enlightening to me. I wasn't aware of the housing problems, traffic and what not. Traffic?? I laugh! I drove a Fiat Spider in and out of traffic and had no problems parking in the city.
Good post!

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by 2goldens

I'm Italian-Roman Catholic from LI, born in Brooklyn, lived in Nassau then moved to FL in 1982. I've missed so much about LI that FL doesn't have to offer. I'm very surprised to read all this information but yet it's very enlightening to me. I wasn't aware of the housing problems, traffic and what not. Traffic?? I laugh! I drove a Fiat Spider in and out of traffic and had no problems parking in the city.
Good post!

People complaining about traffic is all relative. I don't think people realize how traffic is generally a lot worse in most other developed areas of the country. The mass transit infrastructure in the NY metro allows many people to take trains, buses, etc. Sure there's traffic, but where is there not? We visited my wife's friend that moved to the Poconos...gasp, there was traffic there, too.

[NY62]

Where is this all Italian place? I want to live there my development is boring we have white, black ,oriental ,indian,latino no racial problems yes it probably is mostly white but I dont know what nationality we all are. Not alot of cadilacs and suits here so I guess I mite be one of only a few Italians.

[NY62]

Oh yea where are all these gated communities? I only know of a handfull.and I have been here 45 years born and raised and bought my own house not my parents with hard work and saveing,Iwas a clam digger and did not have a college degree and fancy job but I made it.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by GCGuy

People complaining about traffic is all relative. I don't think people realize how traffic is generally a lot worse in most other developed areas of the country. The mass transit infrastructure in the NY metro allows many people to take trains, buses, etc. Sure there's traffic, but where is there not? We visited my wife's friend that moved to the Poconos...gasp, there was traffic there, too.

I agree try the 405 in LA

Youll Love the LIE

C