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The NYC income tax is a resident income tax. If you live in NYC you pay regardless of where you work and if you don't live in NYC you do not pay regardless of where you work. So you will not pay it living in long island.
As for the commute, when I lost my nanny last year I drove my kids to my mother-in-laws house for about 6 weeks while looking for a replacement. So we did a East Northport to Forest Hills queens drive during that time which is probably slightly longer than yours would be. I could make the drive in 45 minutes very rarely when there was almost no traffic. Typical was 1hr to 1:30, and rarely it could be a bit more than that. Your drive will be better than this, the traffic will be between exits 31 and 25 on the northern state (do not take the LIE!!!!)...then the cross island will move slow but it will move.
The drive from CSH will be about 20min less than Northport especially if you live closer to the highway. I think you could probably average under 1hr on that commute, including the rare really long day, and will probably be 45min most days. Now, this is key, leave your house at 7am maybe 7:15 or it will take longer. Coming home, leave the office by 3:30 or after 6:30 to miss traffic and have a 35 min commute. If you leave betweeen 4:30 and 5:30 you are looking at over 1hr consistently...better off staying in the office and working later than leaving at that time.
The NYC income tax is a resident income tax. If you live in NYC you pay regardless of where you work and if you don't live in NYC you do not pay regardless of where you work. So you will not pay it living in long island.
As for the commute, when I lost my nanny last year I drove my kids to my mother-in-laws house for about 6 weeks while looking for a replacement. So we did a East Northport to Forest Hills queens drive during that time which is probably slightly longer than yours would be. I could make the drive in 45 minutes very rarely when there was almost no traffic. Typical was 1hr to 1:30, and rarely it could be a bit more than that. Your drive will be better than this, the traffic will be between exits 31 and 25 on the northern state (do not take the LIE!!!!)...then the cross island will move slow but it will move.
The drive from CSH will be about 20min less than Northport especially if you live closer to the highway. I think you could probably average under 1hr on that commute, including the rare really long day, and will probably be 45min most days. Now, this is key, leave your house at 7am maybe 7:15 or it will take longer. Coming home, leave the office by 3:30 or after 6:30 to miss traffic and have a 35 min commute. If you leave betweeen 4:30 and 5:30 you are looking at over 1hr consistently...better off staying in the office and working later than leaving at that time.
Great info, Nick. Thanks. Your plan is exactly what I had in mind. My employer would be cool with me working 7 am - 3:30 pm on most days. On others, I would be working late. Sounds like it is doable, with the obviously rotten days. Thanks again.
I'm sure you know all you're going to get are personal "opinions" ; we all have different tolerances with regard to what we're willing to "put up with".
I lived in CSH for many years and commuted into NYC for most of that time. Periodically, I needed to use my car (instead of the LIRR) and living that far north, quite frankly I found that using 25A (Northern Boulevard) was the most efficient way to travel (instead of spending time traveling south to get on a highway); I would park at the Queensboro Bridge and take the subway from there. In your case, you could take 25A and then get on the Cross Island Parkway or the Clearview Expressway north to Whitestone. Of course the time of day has an impact on how much traffic you will encounter - but that is true no matter what road(s) you use. The congestion didn't start until I was in the heart of Queens. Just a thought; maybe you can give it a trial run? Obviously earlier is better
I love CSH but wanted to downsize once my kids were truly out on their own. And in this market, your budget can get you a nice home; maybe not two acres (unless you go up to Lloyd Neck or get a fixer upper), but definitely a good sized piece of property.
Thank you Elke. I had figured that 25A would not be an option at all due to all of the traffic lights. Glad to hear it may be in play.
The NYC income tax is a resident income tax. If you live in NYC you pay regardless of where you work and if you don't live in NYC you do not pay regardless of where you work. So you will not pay it living in long island.
If your job is really flexible I would leave at 6:30am (from CSH, earlier from Northport) to almost always miss traffic. Then leave the office at 3:30 on good days and on days you need to stay late stay until 7. My wife used to do somthing like that (although a different commute) she would work late 1 or 2 days a week but just stay really late and then take advantage and leave early the other days (you can always finish up some emails from home).
So we drove the area over the weekend and somewhat confirmed what I thought going into this in the first place. Call me snobby, but the Oysler Bay and surrounding areas are definitely where we would be looking to live. I did drive through some of the areas closer to Whitestone such as Manhasset, Roslyn and Great Neck, but at the end of the day, I would want my family in the Oyster Bay / Cold Spring / Huntington area. It seems we would be on the lower end of the real estate in the area with a 900k budget, but that's alright. You can find some nice homes with that budget even though your neighbor might have a 4 million dollar estate. My family would love using the beaches, enjoy the extra land to have my girls play outside without a huge concern of crazy street traffic, etc. Also, we have a pretty active dog that would need some running! Anyway, just appears to be the best fit.
So, with this in mind, what hours are best to drive the route I would be taking? (Most likely the LIE unless someone can tell me a better way) Does having a Clean Pass car really help in the mornings and evenings? Does that lane move faster? If so, I can handle a Prius to get me to work and back!
Thanks everyone. This would be a HUGE lifestyle change for us, and your input has been very valuable. YOU ALL ROCK!
I would agree with Nancy the Reader's original post.
900K will not buy you a home and property worth having in Cold Spring Harbor. When you check out the homes 900K and below you will know what I mean (either no property to speak of or tiny fixer uppers sure to blow your 900K total budget or remote and dated LLoyd Neck ranches or all three). If you meant CSH school district and not CSH proper be assured Laurel Hollow and Lloyd Harbor have nothing in the 900K range. Both Oyster Bay and Huntington have school district issues that may or may not bother you.
You might consider Port Washington (excellent schools, some nice property, and a MUCH better driving commute) or Locust Valley (on the western border of Oyster Bay). Both these areas have their share of multi-million dollar estates, wooded vistas, nearby water/beaches AND homes in the 900K vicinity.
Part of me says STAY in PA, but you sound like you've thought about the financial factors realistically and since I also have a young kid, I understand the urge to move up careerwise and make more money. I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but add in some $ for NYC tax. If you work in NYC (Queens) you will have additional income taxes taken out of your check. I do not know the percentage, but it's money. Just part of the "everything will cost alot more here."
Also, I'd stay as far west as possible. Aside from taxes, commuting is the biggest enemy of "quality of life" here and if you are getting a 50% raise, expect your employer to want some extra dedication. Add work hours AND long commute and you will be pining away for old PA mighty fast. Keep expenses in check, keep the commute reasonable and you will stress less and have a great chance at success. Good luck.
Thanks again everyone. Tonight is the night! I have a call set up to make my decision. Scary thing is, I am still not sure which way I will go with this. I have never been one to believe that a career should come before family and I have a really good blend of both here in PA. On the other side, this opportunity is not coming back around, and my girls are young enough to do it now without taking them away from friends, etc. Eventually, I feel I could create the same balance in NY. The area still scares the hell out of me. One of those things. I love some areas but may not be able to afford them, and dislike other areas and they may be where I end up for a couple of years before building up the position to buy something else.
I will let you all know tomorrow what the decision is!
I think you can find what you're looking for on the island, but you might have to compromise on commute times. I would consider Greenlawn, Commack, Dix Hills, maybe out towards Fort Solonga/Centerport for a nice house on a decent plot(1/2acre +) for $600-700K. From Huntington, I used to commute to Westchester every day to be at work at 7am. We would leave around 5:45 and be in White Plains in roughly an hour. From Huntington to Whitestone at that time in the morning you could do it in 35-40min roughly. Coming back is a different story, I'd say almost an hour if you left at 4pm. For the most part, all the school districts in the area(northwest suffolk/northeast nassau) are top notch so I would focus primarily on the house you'd like.
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; we all have different tolerances with regard to what we're willing to "put up with".
