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Wrong. I just moved here, and I don't pay $3300 for a house. I pay about $2400 for a decent house in E. Northport. We are making sacrifices to pay our taxes and insurance. I would do it all over again because our past life in Florida sucked, sucked, sucked.
Still, in the short term I'd rather live paycheck to paycheck until I start to get ahead in NY before I live "well off" in some affordable hell-hole like Florida. It's affordable because no one wants to pay for schools. Florida has the third largest treasury in the nation (behind CA. & NY.) and yet its teacher pay ranks in the bottom three. It is a horrible place governed by selfish whites in gated communities.
You get what you pay for. If you want lots of house and are willing to ignore how well your neighbors' children are being educated, then by all means leave. I don't want you voting here.
Well.. there was your mistake.. moving to Florida. Florida is NOT on my list of places to move. I'm considering Lancaster county PA. There are a lot of excellent schools with high ratings there. A lot of transplanted NY'ers as well.
Yes.. our schools are good but there is SO MUCH WASTE in our taxes that it's ridiculous. A majority of your tax money goes to schools.. and where does it all go? Just look at ALL the scandals in the school districts this past year a lone. Every year we VOTE TO INCREASE OUR TAXES!!
Then.. we have so many different municipalities that tax for the same thing. And where does all that money go?
Guess what.. living paycheck to paycheck in NY.. I thought it was short term too.. yeah.. that's a joke. With the taxes constantly increasing, home owners insurance INCREASING because LI is Due for a Hurricane (cause we haven't had one in awhile.. c'mon), car insurance CONSTANTLY increasing becasue as more and more people populate an area more and more accidents occur, etc. etc. You'll soon find that your "short term" paycheck to paycheck you won't see the end of. I don't have many luxuries.. I can't cut corners on car insurance or health insurance.. I can't turn off the heat to cut corners. There is nothing I can "sacrafice" to make my cost of living expenses go down.
BTW.. you are in East Northport and home prices are less expensive in Suffolk than it is in Nassau. But let me ask you this. .you're "sacraficing" but what are you sacraficing. Is it time with your kids? Because to me nothing is worth that sacrafice.
Believe me.. I'm doing research BEFORE I move and making sure where I move to is a place I can be completely happy with. I'll happily sacrafice some of LI perks for more quality time with my hsuband and my kids.
Wrong. I just moved here, and I don't pay $3300 for a house. I pay about $2400 for a decent house in E. Northport. We are making sacrifices to pay our taxes and insurance. I would do it all over again because our past life in Florida sucked, sucked, sucked.
Still, in the short term I'd rather live paycheck to paycheck until I start to get ahead in NY before I live "well off" in some affordable hell-hole like Florida. It's affordable because no one wants to pay for schools. Florida has the third largest treasury in the nation (behind CA. & NY.) and yet its teacher pay ranks in the bottom three. It is a horrible place governed by selfish whites in gated communities.
You get what you pay for. If you want lots of house and are willing to ignore how well your neighbors' children are being educated, then by all means leave. I don't want you voting here.
The problem with your logic is in thinking that you'll get ahead. Right now, today, is the cheapest your cost of living will ever be on Long Island. As I've stated ad nauseum in other posts my non-discretionary spending increased by nearly $1k per month between tax increases, insurance premiums, LIPA/Key Span, Cablevision, gasoline and a myriad list of recurring expenses too long to list, and that was in five years living one town over from you.
Only you know what your families earning potential is. If you're certain that your income will increase enough to allow for breathing room and eventually savings then good for you. Long Island can be a great place to raise a family. But it comes at a steep premium.
I would also challenge your "you get what you pay for" assertion. Paying more for housing does not by itself ensure a better life. But you're entitled to your opinion and your right to defend it. As well, you're someone who is going against the very grain of this thread and who recently came to Long Island; obviously you need to defend the decision.
Long Island really does take a rap, but beware - there are hidden costs in every state. My son just came back from beautiful San Diego - talk about huge houses with no property - and the prices are off the charts. Have to send you kids to private school (at an astronomical cost) or the other alternative was to attend a school where the American flag is removed and replaced with the Mexican flag. And gas prices! Utilities are just as high as here and wages are not as high as here. There is an exodus going on there also - they are escaping to Oregon. As for taxes, try paying $300 - $400 a month for water in AZ, Las Vegas or parts of California. Add it up - close to $4000 a year. So between private school and water costs you are paying what we pay on Long Island for taxes! Every place has its warts. I know so many people who have left for "utopias" and would love to return. Long Island does need work, but I know in my area I am starting to see a lot of young couples pushing baby carriages - - hopefully, we can attract some young people. As for NYC - I have gotten on the LIRR for fourteen years now and would not trade it for the 405 in SoCal or for the circles of VA for all the low taxes in the world! Plus I would take a TREMENDOUS salary cut. Jobs are not easy to find. Gangs and crime are all over. North Carolina is no utopia either - check out the NC thread. LI accent - I laugh at it. People are people. I have been tailgated and come across bad drivers in every state I've travelled.
Long Island really does take a rap, but beware - there are hidden costs in every state. My son just came back from beautiful San Diego - talk about huge houses with no property - and the prices are off the charts. Have to send you kids to private school (at an astronomical cost) or the other alternative was to attend a school where the American flag is removed and replaced with the Mexican flag. And gas prices! Utilities are just as high as here and wages are not as high as here. There is an exodus going on there also - they are escaping to Oregon. As for taxes, try paying $300 - $400 a month for water in AZ, Las Vegas or parts of California. Add it up - close to $4000 a year. So between private school and water costs you are paying what we pay on Long Island for taxes! Every place has its warts. I know so many people who have left for "utopias" and would love to return. Long Island does need work, but I know in my area I am starting to see a lot of young couples pushing baby carriages - - hopefully, we can attract some young people. As for NYC - I have gotten on the LIRR for fourteen years now and would not trade it for the 405 in SoCal or for the circles of VA for all the low taxes in the world! Plus I would take a TREMENDOUS salary cut. Jobs are not easy to find. Gangs and crime are all over. North Carolina is no utopia either - check out the NC thread. LI accent - I laugh at it. People are people. I have been tailgated and come across bad drivers in every state I've travelled.
I hear what you are saying... and of course every place has their advantages and disadvantages. California is a bad example because they do have the same problems as NY. I don't know much about North Carolina, only that a lot of people are moving there.. however, I have been looking in PA and there are some very nice areas with good schools and a lower cost of living. These boards are awesome because they give you insight on both sides of the argument.
To me, the cost of Living on LI isn't just the dollars..it's the time it takes away from family to earn those dollars that is the real problem. I CAN live here, but if I do that I won't be able to send my kids to college because there is no room for savings. Crime is everywhere.. some neighborhoods more than others.. and I will carefully research where I am going to live before I move. I know what I'd be giving up here, so I willb e carefuly considering where I'm going.
For those of us who already own homes, have jobs and families here there are three ways to go if you have to leave Long Island.
1. Sell your home here and use the equity to buy a home cash some place else. If you have no mortgage then you can take the inevitable pay cut. Beware the probable cut in medical benefits and perhaps pension benefits.
2. Get a job in a lower cost of living state, but at your New York salary. I think this choice is pretty impossible for most of us - so go back to option 1.
3. Go for broke. Move to where it is you like and then open a business. Be self supporting. Risky, but perhaps the most rewarding in the long run. If this is to scary go back to option 1.
For those of us who already own homes, have jobs and families here there are three ways to go if you have to leave Long Island.
1. Sell your home here and use the equity to buy a home cash some place else. If you have no mortgage then you can take the inevitable pay cut. Beware the probable cut in medical benefits and perhaps pension benefits.
2. Get a job in a lower cost of living state, but at your New York salary. I think this choice is pretty impossible for most of us - so go back to option 1.
3. Go for broke. Move to where it is you like and then open a business. Be self supporting. Risky, but perhaps the most rewarding in the long run. If this is to scary go back to option 1.
I'm already self employed as is my hsuband.. and our business will totally be tranferable to where we want to go at basically the same income.. so I guess we are working at option 3!!
LI has
1. Great beaches
2. One of the best climates anywhere including an actual change in seasons. Summers are hot but not too bad. We have snow, but not too much.
3. Unlike other parts of the country, Mother Nature is pretty good to us - no earthquakes, floods, tornados (not many) volcanoes, forest fires, etc...43. Easy access to the greatest city in the world.. even with traffic, a visit to NYC is easier then from out of state.
4. The best bagels and pizza around!
I know it sucks here sometimes, but you have to see the good with the bad!
LI has
1. Great beaches
2. One of the best climates anywhere including an actual change in seasons. Summers are hot but not too bad. We have snow, but not too much.
3. Unlike other parts of the country, Mother Nature is pretty good to us - no earthquakes, floods, tornados (not many) volcanoes, forest fires, etc...43. Easy access to the greatest city in the world.. even with traffic, a visit to NYC is easier then from out of state.
4. The best bagels and pizza around!
I know it sucks here sometimes, but you have to see the good with the bad!
Yeah.. those are all the positives.. and some of the things I will miss.. but I can always come back for a visit.. hence I'll be only about 4 or 5 hours away by car..
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Time will tell.
