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The city with the punks driving $900 leases is Elmont and that's not where I went to high school. Try growing up in Copiague/North Amityville or speaking with anyone who did then get back to me with your viewpoints for they would have basis. The storm always looks very different through the eye of a lens.
The relationships I cultivated over my entire life with owners of businesses extends beyond being cordial and warm. When I return, they jump out from behind the counter and give hugs. This is not an exaggeration, so without knowledge of who I am, it's a shame you had to insult me.
This was not a personal attack on you, but you have certainly personalized it. If it makes you feel better about your current situation, then that's ok for I don't have time to fight, much less with those whom I don't know personally. When you can state your viewpoints without staging a personal attack, they have exponentially more merit.
Thank you for the fancy talk (and it actually is a "small" personal attack on me ). I suppose I was confused by your "balanced" comments like - "Did I want to continue living amongst such self-centered people who were struggling to keep up with neighborhoods that no longer resembled those that attracted them?" Or how nice it was to be around "neighbors who gave a sh*t." And your wonderful portrayal of the store clerk who was nice to you in your new location...it seemed to imply that you were never treated that way here...you actually made it seem like a previously rare occurrence in your life on Long Island...maybe your message was not clear, or maybe you should have mentioned the wonderful hugs you receive instead of mentioning how your new friend would think all NYers were insensitive. Ummm, where did I miss the nice comments??
If I misinterpreted, my apologies, but if you go back and read what you wrote, I think you could see where that might be my interpretation. You didn't specify that your opinions were about your particular hometown, it seemed to speak to all of long island. In fact you went on to say we should all leave because of the cancer risk alone...Apologies again if it got personal, but your post is a little disingenuous in that you talk about how you will never knock the area in the beginning and refer to parts of it as "sewers" in the same sentence. Again, it appears the move has been great. I am just tired of posters who have left the area coming back on the boards and implying that those who would maybe consider a move would qualify as more "courageous" than those who stayed. As if you are more enlightened than us who remain here. Again, continued luck to you, the move appears to have worked out well. Colorado does have discussion boards...
Thank you for the fancy talk (and it actually is a "small" personal attack on me ). I suppose I was confused by your "balanced" comments like - "Did I want to continue living amongst such self-centered people who were struggling to keep up with neighborhoods that no longer resembled those that attracted them?" Or how nice it was to be around "neighbors who gave a sh*t." And your wonderful portrayal of the store clerk who was nice to you in your new location...it seemed to imply that you were never treated that way here...you actually made it seem like a previously rare occurrence in your life on Long Island...maybe your message was not clear, or maybe you should have mentioned the wonderful hugs you receive instead of mentioning how your new friend would think all NYers were insensitive. Ummm, where did I miss the nice comments??
If I misinterpreted, my apologies, but if you go back and read what you wrote, I think you could see where that might be my interpretation. You didn't specify that your opinions were about your particular hometown, it seemed to speak to all of long island. In fact you went on to say we should all leave because of the cancer risk alone...Apologies again if it got personal, but your post is a little disingenuous in that you talk about how you will never knock the area in the beginning and refer to parts of it as "sewers" in the same sentence. Again, it appears the move has been great. I am just tired of posters who have left the area coming back on the boards and implying that those who would maybe consider a move would qualify as more "courageous" than those who stayed. As if you are more enlightened than us who remain here. Again, continued luck to you, the move appears to have worked out well. Colorado does have discussion boards...
Let me start out by stating unequivocally that disingenuous I am not! You will not meet a more frank, open and honest person.
In all fairness, I went back and re-read my post to see if I could view it from your perspective. One thing that jumped out at me was the sewers phrase and I should have quoted the user who wrote it. It was tongue-in-cheek. If you go back through the posts, you'll find the original reference and it was a comparison of beaches on LI vs. beaches in Miami. There are more photos of the ocean on my hard drive than any other subject. Boating was a passion for me over the last 15 years.
If you were to visit any of the front-range communities in Colorado, you would experience a level of friendliness that does not exist commonly on Long Island. That is not a dig, but the absolute truth. Everyone who has come to visit said the same thing and one friend who is a city cop commented: "you know what's different here? three things- no one's in a rush, few are walking and talking on their cell phone and they're too freakin polite! And all these people on bikes.. doesn't anybody work during the day!" This was while visiting Boulder's Pearl Street Mall which is like brownstone streets by the Seaport where there is only foot traffic.
There was no reference or comparison with regard to those who stayed vs. those who left being courageous. There are those who wish to leave, but are paralyzed by the unknown. Those who have the courage to try a new locale are to be commended. I stand by this statement. It's extremely difficult to break up with a girlfriend, let alone leave the state with all your belongings only to enter an unknown community. It was eye-opening and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.
There are certain things I will never knock and they were listed. Rather than rehash the things I did knock, let's just say that after weighing the pros and cons, a change was the right decision for my family. Only time will prove this out and I will go the distance and report it frankly. The move will not be without casualties and many things cannot be replaced- nor should they be.
For many, Long Island is exactly the place they want to be and should be. The choice is a personal one and I wish you well in that decision. There are few places in this country where crime is relatively low with greater career opportunities than LI. The population density sees to this almost exclusively and the concentration of wealth is unreal.
Unfortunately, the debt to wealth ratio is core to the issue of : "Did I want to continue living amongst such self-centered people who were struggling to keep up with neighborhoods that no longer resembled those that attracted them?" In order to keep pace with the neighborhoods which have seen their values skyrocket and attract a higher level of wealth, most families need both spouses working at a rather painful pace. I know this first-hand as our neighborhood saw a 100% increase in value over 7 years and with it came exorbitant wealth. Homes were being purcahsed for $600k and knocked down. The replacementmore resembled homes that belonged in Old Westbury but were put on a plot where the edges of the building envelope nearly touched the property lines on both sides. Builders were splitting properties left and right creating two or more homes on a lot that was just right occupied by one home. Those who could afford to purchase such homes were not typical of the neighborhood so people began to leave. This one moron would speed down our street in her new 600 series Mercedes and there over 14 kids on the block at all times. She would literally do 50 on a residential street, so one day I jumped in the car, drove to her house and kindly asked her to stop speeding. The response: "when you pay my f..ing bills, you can tell me how to drive!!". Then her husband came out to ask what was going on and it got heated. The level of consideration for the children was truly unacceptable. Now this is only one bad apple and did not spoil the neighborhood, but I could go on for hours with successively more disappointing stories. There is a certain arrogance level that rose within the neighborhood and as Long Islanders, we just accept it and deal with it. I have not seen this here in Colorado and hope I am old or dead before it arrives.
The emphasis here is on a lifestyle where hiking, biking, camping, climbing or skiing is the topic of discussion rather than what car so and so drives or which club has the most x or k. BTW, drugs are everywhere, so there will be no finger pointing on that topic. That said, just about every weekend for the last year, we have visited the national parks, hiked through many beautiful valleys and mountain trails; saw sights that many will never see like an eagle snatching trout from a stream at Yellowstone; Elk rutting on the front lawn of a house fighting over some thirty females; running into a Bull Moose with his two females and spending twenty minutes watching one another; views that are to die for such as driving to the top of pikes peak; watching the kids play in lakes surrounded by mountains while a gosling swam right up with a trout underneath. This change of lifestyle is primarily why we are here and each week it is reinforced as we discover beauty and a life that we couldn't have imagined while living on Long Island. Compare this to a typical weekend on Long Island and you can see what I;m getting at. And we made pilgrimages to Montauk, Orient, both shores, NYC, etc., continually. There is tremendous beauty on LI.
I wish you the same level of happiness and personal satisfaction.
Last edited by elemental; 11-17-2007 at 12:48 AM..
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" Charleston South Carolina"
(set 7 days ago)
Location: home...finally, home .
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On my retirement board (part of this site) , there is someone in Maine who pays..... are you ready ????? $49.00 for fifteen acres a YEAR. Yes, a year's property tax is only $49.00 !!!! I mean, I know it's cold up there in winter , but Maine has beautiful summers and falls. And, with those savings you could have a winter home in Palm Beach oe something.
On my retirement board (part of this site) , there is someone in Maine who pays..... are you ready ????? $49.00 for fifteen acres a YEAR. Yes, a year's property tax is only $49.00 !!!! I mean, I know it's cold up there in winter , but Maine has beautiful summers and falls. And, with those savings you could have a winter home in Palm Beach oe something.
I lived to the south, in Oakland. In spite of that old joke about Oakland's area code being 9-1-1, it's not that dangerous. I used to live about a mile north of the Oakland Coliseum.
Or there's the third choice of accepting people who aren't perfect Aryan specimens instead of selling out your community for the comfort of being able to drop racial slurs in the backyard. ... If you don't like it check out North Carolina maybe? I hear it's good down there for waxing nostalgic about the lily white romanticized version of your childhood.
Sean, NC is VERY diverse, racially. Not as much culturally, like the NY metro area, but many transplants are shocked to see how integrated the suburbs are here.
The neighborhoods, supermarkets, restaurants, & schools, are all very integrated in the major metro areas that transplants go to.
I have heard of Long Islanders who visit here & are turned off to moving here b/c of the diversity. (Good riddance to them!)
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). I suppose I was confused by your "balanced" comments like - "Did I want to continue living amongst such self-centered people who were struggling to keep up with neighborhoods that no longer resembled those that attracted them?" Or how nice it was to be around "neighbors who gave a sh*t." And your wonderful portrayal of the store clerk who was nice to you in your new location...it seemed to imply that you were never treated that way here...you actually made it seem like a previously rare occurrence in your life on Long Island...maybe your message was not clear, or maybe you should have mentioned the wonderful hugs you receive instead of mentioning how your new friend would think all NYers were insensitive. Ummm, where did I miss the nice comments?? 
I mean, I know it's cold up there in winter , but Maine has beautiful summers and falls. And, with those savings you could have a winter home in Palm Beach oe something.
