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You guys are hilarious... $140k is nothing... right, yeah ok. A $500k mortgage today ($600k house w/~100k down) is $2500 a month, $30k a year. Add $15k in taxes and that's $45k a year with a huge write off at tax time.
dman, if you really believe this, then every argument you've made about the cops on LI being overpaid just went out the window.
Reality is $140k is well above median household income and plenty of money to live on LI, especially without having any existing debt. A few of my neighbors make under that much and they are living comfortably in $500k+ houses.
All depends on what he has for down payment. If he's selling a house in IL I was working on the assumption that he has a substantial down payment. If he's just coming here with a $140K job and very little savings, I would agree he's not buying any time soon. But it sounds like he owns a house already.
You guys are hilarious... $140k is nothing... right, yeah ok. A $500k mortgage today ($600k house w/~100k down) is $2500 a month, $30k a year. Add $15k in taxes and that's $45k a year with a huge write off at tax time.
dman, if you really believe this, then every argument you've made about the cops on LI being overpaid just went out the window.
Reality is $140k is well above median household income of $92k, and plenty of money to live on LI, especially without having any existing debt. A few of my neighbors make well under that much and they are living comfortably in $500k+ houses.
I didn't say it was nothing, I said it's might not be as great as they think if there is not another person working in the household. 140K for one person working is excellent no matter how you look at it, but someone coming from Illinois might think that means you're living large when you're really just middle class here at that salary unless you have a spouse making another 50K or so more. And this person is probably working in private industry paying into their own retirement and medical. A LI cop making 140K is really making closer to 170K if you factor in paying nothing towards medical or pension.
True, good points on the down payment and PD bene's bringing their salary a lot higher.
If the OP has a sizable down payment over $100k with a nice cushion (which seems likely), I think they could comfortably get into most of Nassau in solid upper middle class areas; even a few north shore communities.
True, good points on the down payment and PD bene's bringing their salary a lot higher.
If the OP has a sizable down payment over $100k with a nice cushion (which seems likely), I think they could comfortably get into most of Nassau in solid upper middle class areas; even a few north shore communities.
Sure..not 5 bedroom 5 bath 3 car garage McMansion on Long Island, which is where they are apparently coming from in Illinois.
Red Hook is a pain in the butt to get to from any where in LI - I used to commute to the downtown Bklyn courts (Fulton/Court Street) and coming from the south shore Nassau, it was at least 1 hr 30 min by car or LIRR/subway combo.
In terms of neighborhoods, you want to stick to South Shore because thats the easiest way to get into Bklyn (via the Belt Parkway --> Conduit -->Atlantic Ave straight into Red Hook). You don't want to sit on the BQE, thats painful. Any of the towns along the Babylon LIRR line will be good - Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Baldwin, Merrick, etc. You want to target areas that are within 15 min of Sunrise Highway or the Southern State. If you end up near the Northern State or LIE (typically North Shore towns like Manhasset, Great Neck, Jericho, Westbury, etc) you're going to be stuck dealing with massive traffic jams going into Bklyn.
Re: the 140K income - is that just your income or a combined household income? Does your wife work? 140K doesnt get you very far here. Taxes (Property and School/Village) alone will run you at least $10-20K depending on the area. Transportation costs will also run you anywhere from $ 200-400/month depending on whether you drive (gas here is averaging $ 3.85/gallon give or take a few cents) or if you take the LIRR ($250 or more for a monthly LIRR pass, $ 89 for a NYC Subway Monthly card). Then consider auto insurance rates, cost of homeowners/flood insurance (depending on whether your house is in a flood zone), food, etc. Everything here is just..EXPENSIVE period.
If your wife works and earns another 50K, then you guys should be ok. But realize that a household income of 140-200K in Nassau County is very middle class.
DH is retired military w/modest pension. (Enlisted as a teenager: went through OCS and IOBC in his 20's and retired in his 30's. He was deployed so much he never had time to spend so he saved.) We have no debt. We hope to clear $500k on our house but we want to use some of this money for college for the boys. We are exceedingly thrifty. DH can fix anything. And yes we can lower our expectations. Thanks for all your comments.
You're best bet that nice section of Bayridge/Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn inbetween the water and 278. It's 10 minutes to Red Hook. As many others said, Red Hook is one of the worst places to try and get to anytime of day.
DH is retired military w/modest pension. (Enlisted as a teenager: went through OCS and IOBC in his 20's and retired in his 30's. He was deployed so much he never had time to spend so he saved.) We have no debt. We hope to clear $500k on our house but we want to use some of this money for college for the boys. We are exceedingly thrifty. DH can fix anything. And yes we can lower our expectations. Thanks for all your comments.
Very commendable. As someone who has had many family who were career military, I do get a laugh out of the Acronym driven speak all military and their family pick up and use like its acceptable English. Perhaps OCS and IOBC is common to you but Id bet many here have no idea what you are talking about.
Red Hook is a pain in the butt to get to from any where in LI - I used to commute to the downtown Bklyn courts (Fulton/Court Street) and coming from the south shore Nassau, it was at least 1 hr 30 min by car or LIRR/subway combo.
In terms of neighborhoods, you want to stick to South Shore because thats the easiest way to get into Bklyn (via the Belt Parkway --> Conduit -->Atlantic Ave straight into Red Hook). You don't want to sit on the BQE, thats painful. Any of the towns along the Babylon LIRR line will be good - Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Baldwin, Merrick, etc. You want to target areas that are within 15 min of Sunrise Highway or the Southern State. If you end up near the Northern State or LIE (typically North Shore towns like Manhasset, Great Neck, Jericho, Westbury, etc) you're going to be stuck dealing with massive traffic jams going into Bklyn.
Re: the 140K income - is that just your income or a combined household income? Does your wife work? 140K doesnt get you very far here. Taxes (Property and School/Village) alone will run you at least $10-20K depending on the area. Transportation costs will also run you anywhere from $ 200-400/month depending on whether you drive (gas here is averaging $ 3.85/gallon give or take a few cents) or if you take the LIRR ($250 or more for a monthly LIRR pass, $ 89 for a NYC Subway Monthly card). Then consider auto insurance rates, cost of homeowners/flood insurance (depending on whether your house is in a flood zone), food, etc. Everything here is just..EXPENSIVE period.
If your wife works and earns another 50K, then you guys should be ok. But realize that a household income of 140-200K in Nassau County is very middle class.
He just has to keep in mind that Atlantic Avenue can get pretty congested in the Downtown Brooklyn area. Also, the area at the Brooklyn/Queens border (City Line/East NY) is kind of industrial, so there may be a lot of truck traffic at certain times of the day.
If he wants a more suburban area that's closer to his job, maybe he can try Dyker Heights or Bay Ridge (by Shore Road). Both areas are a relatively short commute (he could do it on local streets like 3rd/4th Avenue rather than having to take the BQE), and public transportation is much easier.
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