Goodbye Long Island...Good Riddance! (New York, Albany: house, rental, jobs)

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

At 25, I wish you were more optomistic. Sometimes, we need to look within ourselves instead of at our surroundings in order to find happiness.

You beat me to it Tom. Its all within us to be happy.

I can however understand why some people would like to get off LI...myself included at times. I've been here over 45 years and before that I was growing up in the projects of the boros....which btw I LOVED! Taking that into account....maybe its not about looking for the land of Milk N' Honey elsewhere.

More times than not its in your own back yard...to a degree.

The projects...at the time (50's & 60's) were loaded with kids and things to do. No need to call a friend to come out and play..it was more about going out and choosing which one of the hundreds of kids already out there I wanted to play with that day.
And this was while my parents were looking for that land of milk and honey only to move to N.Valley Stream and wake up the next morning to find swastikas drawn on the street in front of our house that still had boxes on the front lawn from unpacking the moving van. Who knew the neighbors were Jew haters. Its all relative. In the projects it was about diversity and getting along with everyone...at least it was back then..

IMO one should steer clear from generalizing in everything you do...keep away from blanket statements b/c you're doing yourself and all those around you a disservice.

For me as a builder/carp in Home Improvements and my older daughter living in San Francisco (the land of milk and honey..lol) we chose to look to find a chunk of earth I could continue to do what I've been doing in Carmel Valley, Monterey,ca. Move to a gorgous weathy neighborhood where I could buy another hunk O junk Moderator cut: advertisingand restore it and sell it witrhin a few years of the purchase. I say "wealthy neighborhood" b/c thats where I can make money fixing up delapidated homes. Wrecks that no one else wants to deal with...I love challanges!

We went scouting properties this summer and the costs there are more than they are here in CSH if you can believe that..whewwwwww. That wasn't the issue really...not if I could sell this crib here on LI for close to what we want (ugh...i know, i know). Prices are coming down here but they are there too so its all relative right? Hmmmm...not so sure.

Anyway...while I was out there I stood up top one of the magnificent mountains and thought to myself was this where I really wanted to be...aside from the beautiful mountains and perfect weather. How were the people there. Does the word snotty pop out of the dictionary when you look up Monterey?
Is it too far from supply houses to keep me comfortable.
Is rt.1, the main drag so crowded with cars you wanna go back to the LIE during rush hour?
Hmmmm...doesn't sound really that bad,,,,does it..LOLOLOL
Prices are through the roof there though...for sure. Wayyyyyyy beyond my means even with flipping houses we live in as I work on em'.

So then we thought about the Asheville area in N.Carolina. Gorgous mtns there too. House were ridiculously cheap there. Nice quality houses too...problem is...that means I could never make ANY money doing flips there.
I don't have any idea how they build new houses so cheap there!! Great place for youngin's starting out...or retirees. For me...I'm caught in the middle with what I do for work (home renovations).

So back here on LI...back on the rock...lol...it is real purty...close to NYC...great concerts and beaches and skiing is only a few hours away...just went to see Farm Aid at Randalls Island a few weeks ago with Willie and Neil and Mellonhead etc etc...LI sure has its pluses.
You can earn more money here but the cost of things is more.

So maybe a good idea for a new thread might be..."How Relative Is It, Does it Weigh Out"?
OK...good idea...bye : )
Be well
andy

[nancy thereader]

Buffalo is freezing cold but otherwise it's pretty awesome.

Buffalo is awesome??? I don't think I have ever heard that before. Could you tell us what makes it that way?

[nucemgd]

Buffalo can get cold but you're not made out of precious china are you??

Some Positives - very affordable housing, great restaurants, close to Toronto, proximity to great lakes, decent airport, excellent health care, nice golf courses, close to Lake Chautauqua, Duffs chicken wings, University at Buffalo

Negatives - geographically flat, previous manufacturing economy struggling to transition, yes...you will get hammered once a winter by a hell of a snowstorm but it's kinda neat, transit road is a traffic nightmare

I'm sure there are more but off the top of my head not bad

[tastyorange]

Live on Long Island (Elmont and Long Beach) for my whole life...43 years.
For the most part, most people here don't even know their neighbors.
There are some friendly people... but not enough.
Everyone is in their damn SUV, blowing stop signs while on their damn cel phones while the $100K a year police chat in the parking lot... but I guess that's a lot of places.
The only reason I stay here is my family is here AND the beaches. NY city isn't as fun as it used to be... everything is being razed for generic, hipster-filled condos.

I was in Asbury Park/Ocean Grove for a few days this summer and the people there actually stop for you instead of try to run you over as they do here in Long Beach.
In San Diego, where my Uncle lives... you can chat with almost anyone walking down the street. Here, I don't even know who my new neighbors are because they won't even look at me. Growing up years ago on Long Island... it seemed friendlier.
Everything seems to be about money and showing off now.

I don't think I will still live on Long Island in the future.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by tastyorange

I don't think I will still live on Long Island in the future.

'Specially Elmont...echhhhhhhhhh. I went to High School there, Elmont Memorial. Lived in N.Valley Stream but all my friends were in Elmont when I was a kid. I'm 56 now.
I can tell you one thing for sure...Elmont was one of the worst places I can think of....of al the places I EVER lived!! Went past there a year or two ago just to remind myself how horrible my life "used to be"...lol. Couldn't belive that Elmont hadn't changed one iota...hardly at all anyway.

I have quite a few friends buried in that cementary on Elmont Rd....and they didn't just recently die either...they died when we were kids...and not just long hairs from back then...some pretty straight looking and acting kids.

Sure hope its improved since I was a kid.
Good luck dude!!
BE well
andy

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by ihatelongisland

I hate this damn place. I want to move out so badly. Only 25, so i can pretty much pack my bags and leave whenever I want. Just need a nice, quiet place. With nice people, good bars(with good wings!), good looking women.... and a job

Any ideas? heh

Riverdale or Queens.

As I've said umpteen times, I hate this place too. It might be a good place for someone who wants a yard and a garden and a dog. For a young single person, it's about as exciting as Siberia.

For a not so young single person (I'm 48) it is almost equally dull.

[Blessed1USA]

So, "close the book", "turn the page", or apply whatever eupherism you can think of, to explain the end of a typical 1960's Long Island family. Most likely, and hopefully not soon, I will be back one more time...but I know it won't be for a happy occasion.

Good-bye, Long Island. It was nice while it lasted.

I'm a little choked up, jfkIII. I can relate, I'm leaving too. I'm 35 & lived here all my life but San Diego is calling me. I don't think I'll be coming back, but it's all God's will.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by Blessed1USA

So, "close the book", "turn the page", or apply whatever eupherism you can think of, to explain the end of a typical 1960's Long Island family. Most likely, and hopefully not soon, I will be back one more time...but I know it won't be for a happy occasion.

Good-bye, Long Island. It was nice while it lasted.

I'm a little choked up, jfkIII. I can relate, I'm leaving too. I'm 35 & lived here all my life but San Diego is calling me. I don't think I'll be coming back, but it's all God's will.

San Diego

OMG are you effing nuts.

Out of the frying pan and into oncoming traffic on the 405.

Everytime I come back from SoCal I think Long Island is the best value on the planet.

Bring cash.

Its gonna hurt.

C

[PhilG]

Wow...I moved upstate (Albany) for college 10 years ago, moved back to LI for a year, then moved back upstate for grad school. I stayed upstate because I married someone from this area and we chose to stay near her parents instead of mine. Anyway, I visit LI often, and my wife loves it and I miss it very much. I grew up in Farmingdale, and when I visit it seems pretty much the same except for housing prices. 'Good' and 'bad' exists in every community - including the Albany area. It's growing dramatically here, but there are major problems here, too. Who knows what the answer is - I just miss home. My wife and I would move back, but only if our budget allowed it. I think a major problem isn't the house prices, but the 'culture of want' that exists in and just outside NYC.

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by PhilG

Wow...I moved upstate (Albany) for college 10 years ago, moved back to LI for a year, then moved back upstate for grad school. I stayed upstate because I married someone from this area and we chose to stay near her parents instead of mine. Anyway, I visit LI often, and my wife loves it and I miss it very much. I grew up in Farmingdale, and when I visit it seems pretty much the same except for housing prices. 'Good' and 'bad' exists in every community - including the Albany area. It's growing dramatically here, but there are major problems here, too. Who knows what the answer is - I just miss home. My wife and I would move back, but only if our budget allowed it. I think a major problem isn't the house prices, but the 'culture of want' that exists in and just outside NYC.

I moved back to LI from Albany about a year ago....I'd move back up in a second, but I do love it here too. Both are great and totally different worlds. Albany has been cleaned up a lot the last few years, even the college areas. My old house in Pine Hills looked gorgeous last time I was there, a few years ago I was paying ~$700 a month for the entire 4 story house...imagine that on LI??? Later on I had an apt in Center Square, that was my favorite...certainly nothing like that on LI either!