Goodbye Long Island...Good Riddance! (Albany, Niskayuna: middle-class, apartment, mortgage)

[PhilG]

That's true...Albany is a quaint New England town with some of the benefits of a mid-sized city. Taxes are stupid, and rents/home prices have dramatically increased. I own rental properties, and I would rent a nice 3 bedroom flat in a decent area for $1200+. College rentals are a different animal, of course. Salaries have not increased much, though. It's tough everywhere in New York State...My wife and I are contemplating the Albany suburbs, but I'd rather move back to LI...who knows...

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

This past weekend, I made what may be my next-to final trip to Long Island. Even though I grew up there, and lived there for 31 years, I left in 1988 and moved upstate, which turns out to be the best decision I ever made! My 82-year old father has just sold the house that he bought for $13K in 1959. After spending many a recent weekend down there helping him rid almost 50 years of accumulation, we have finally finished that task, and he'll soon be moving to NJ.

While I gave LI the one-finger salute as I left in 1988, my parent's decision to remain on LI kept me visiting and revisiting. With each time back I became more disillusioned with "The Island". Yes, LI was once like the show 'The Wonder Years', especially when I grew up there with the other baby-boomers of WWII-generation parents. But things just never stay the same. That's called 'progress', I guess.

For dad, it's bittersweet. LI is where he met my mom, married, bought a house and raised four kids. While he was born and raised in Brooklyn, he's called Long Island his home, and has lived in that same house, since 1959. My mom, who passed away 2 years ago, was born in Mineola, and lived her whole life on Long Island. She is buried there in St. Charles cemetary. Sadly, all four of his children no longer reside on LI...some after leaving for college in the 70's and 80's, and never moving back. None of his grandchildren have made LI their home.

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 so feel the same way.. although right now I'm stuck here. But, my family has left and for me there is no reason to hang on and pay the outrageous cost of living here. Unfortunately the market is not so hot and I bought at the wrong time and so I have to stay and wait it out.

But.. when I do leave this island.. and I WILL!! I will look back with a tear in my eye because I'll be leaving behind some fond memories of growing up on LI with my brothers, mom and dad. We had some good times, but it's just not the same. It will be the end of some chapters in my life and i will be the last one left here saying goodbye to our family past. My father has passed away and my mother moved back to Montana where she met my dad who was in the airforce when they met (he was from NY) and my two brothers are in Denver. Neither place is for me or my husband to live, but that leave s the entire U.S open for us (although we're considering PA). Kind of sad that we'll all be scattered.

Good luck nad try to remember how wonderful it was living on LI when you did.. and feel sorry for the rest of us paying ridiculously high taxes that are still trapped here.. LOL

[TristansMommy]

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.

Hey tom.. I'm 33.. and I feel the same way about LI. The cost of living here is such a strain and there is NO end in site with ever rising costs! Guess what.. a lot of us Gen x'rs and y'rs feel the same way. Those that stay stay only to be near their parents... but if they didn't hvae family keeping them here.. they wouldn't stay. WHY live in a place that you constantly have to struggle financially. We're so overtaxed with no relief in site!

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by topflite

I just moved to LI from the Baltimore suburbs. It ain't so bad here. Stop whining about the expenses and get a better job! There is a place to work on every block.

Good Riddance! Have fun in NC with the bugs and the oppresive heat. Have fun finding a baseball team to root for. Oh yeah, you won't have one. Have fun pretending the Tax's won't increase in wherever you are going. Just look around and see all the new folks moving to NC. The local politicians know you have money and they need to boost social services in the coming years... Just look at South Florida 10 years ago. Used to be a bargain.

You don't have to root for the team in the city you live in..LOL ... Move away and you could still be a yankee fan, met fan, ranger fan, islander fan, giants or jets fan!! Taht was a silly comment.

Gee.. don't yu all think we thought of getting BETTER jobs.. too bad there isn't enough hours in the day to make enough money to live in this financially oppressive island..

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

Hey tom.. I'm 33.. and I feel the same way about LI. The cost of living here is such a strain and there is NO end in site with ever rising costs! Guess what.. a lot of us Gen x'rs and y'rs feel the same way. Those that stay stay only to be near their parents... but if they didn't hvae family keeping them here.. they wouldn't stay. WHY live in a place that you constantly have to struggle financially. We're so overtaxed with no relief in site!

You need to read his post to see what I was responding to. It was so overwhelmingly negative. I just feel that at 25 years old, one should have the attitude of "anything is possible", not "everything sucks". I got the impression that he was wallowing in self-pity, without putting his youthful energy to work to try to better his situation.

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by PhilG

That's true...Albany is a quaint New England town with some of the benefits of a mid-sized city. Taxes are stupid, and rents/home prices have dramatically increased. I own rental properties, and I would rent a nice 3 bedroom flat in a decent area for $1200+. College rentals are a different animal, of course. Salaries have not increased much, though. It's tough everywhere in New York State...My wife and I are contemplating the Albany suburbs, but I'd rather move back to LI...who knows...

I had a really hard time finding anything up there that wasn't a BS job, that's why I moved back down. The city itself I'm in love with, as well as the surrounding areas, but the job market is rough. Albany suburbs and LI I don't think there's any comparison....you should come back!

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

You need to read his post to see what I was responding to. It was so overwhelmingly negative. I just feel that at 25 years old, one should have the attitude of "anything is possible", not "everything sucks". I got the impression that he was wallowing in self-pity, without putting his youthful energy to work to try to better his situation.

I see your point.. but better he finds this out at 25 so that he can move somplace where he can actually have a quality of live and time with his children!! Rather than live on the financial edge. He can use that youthfull energy to find the next Long Island of his (and my) generation!!

[NYLATINQT]

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

How about Austin, TX?

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

I see your point.. but better he finds this out at 25 so that he can move somplace where he can actually have a quality of live and time with his children!! Rather than live on the financial edge. He can use that youthfull energy to find the next Long Island of his (and my) generation!!

Or, he (and you) can make the Long Island of your generation.

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

Or, he (and you) can make the Long Island of your generation.

That..I believe willb e far too difficult and a long ways away down the road. For one, the school system needs to be completely revamped and a lot of excess eliminated and SD's combined ... that would NOT happen as the politicians want to keep their friends making money happy. Perhaps a complete economic downfall will end up causing LI to revamp.. by by then I will be gone because I don't want to have to struggle to be here..

It will be an uphill battle to work against a lot of people who seem to complain, but not want the changes neccesary. I'd rather spend my time and energy enjoying my children and my husband.