Goodbye Long Island...Good Riddance! (Albany, Schenectady: foreclosures, rental, high crime)

[ClarkStreetKid]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

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

Tom, If that was possible I'd still be living there but Long Island has a lot of inertia carrying it along. Since my LI is long gone I found a place that reminds me at least a little of the place my parents raised me.

[TexasRR]

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.

It's sad, that so many good places have to 'go to hell'.

Good luck to you.

[Dedalus]

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.

Twenty five percent of Long Island jobs used to be in the manufacturing sector.

Now, it's seven percent.

There's vacant land everywhere. Construct some affordable housing?

Oh NO! Not in MY neighborhood.

Three overlapping layers of government, all with political stalagmites pulling down huge salaries...all related to somebody. Fire some of them, streamline, bring the taxes down?

Never!

Yes, shame on him...wallowing in self pity...what's for a young person not to like, here on wonderful Long Island.

[ihatelongisland]

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.

Yes anything is possible. Which is why I am considering leaving this place. I feel this place weighs me down somehow. Restricting and and constricting my breathing. Moving away IS a positive thing. I never said everything sucks. Just long island

[PhilG]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

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!

Oh I plan to!! The problem for me is I'm a teacher - a relatively new one - and my salary will not allow me to live on LI unless it's in a dumpy apartment somewhere. I have a nine month old daughter, and it's very important to my wife and me that my wife stay home and raise her and (God-willing) the rest of our kids. I'm 28 and at the beginning of the pay scale. On LI, I would likely see a $10k increase in pay which would still be a far cray from what is necessary to maintain our very working-middle-class standard of living. I thought about changing careers, but I don't know what else I can do. I can definitely get something that will lead to much higher pay, but I can't start out at entry-level again now that I have a daughter and stay-at-home wife. The staying home part is non-negotiable, so I'm not sure what to do. I have other skills, of course, and I'm a type-A entrepreneurial sort of guy. Any suggestions would be helpful! In fact, I have enough real estate investments that would pay out several hundred thousand dollars, so I would easily be able to afford a nice downpayment. The problem is I would still have a $300k mortgage and $10k-$12k in taxes! Anyone have a job for me that starts at $125k per year?

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by PhilG

Oh I plan to!! The problem for me is I'm a teacher - a relatively new one - and my salary will not allow me to live on LI unless it's in a dumpy apartment somewhere. I have a nine month old daughter, and it's very important to my wife and me that my wife stay home and raise her and (God-willing) the rest of our kids. I'm 28 and at the beginning of the pay scale. On LI, I would likely see a $10k increase in pay which would still be a far cray from what is necessary to maintain our very working-middle-class standard of living. I thought about changing careers, but I don't know what else I can do. I can definitely get something that will lead to much higher pay, but I can't start out at entry-level again now that I have a daughter and stay-at-home wife. The staying home part is non-negotiable, so I'm not sure what to do. I have other skills, of course, and I'm a type-A entrepreneurial sort of guy. Any suggestions would be helpful! In fact, I have enough real estate investments that would pay out several hundred thousand dollars, so I would easily be able to afford a nice downpayment. The problem is I would still have a $300k mortgage and $10k-$12k in taxes! Anyone have a job for me that starts at $125k per year?

Good for you, first of all - being a teacher. It's a praiseworthy profession.

Unless you plan on reinventing yourself as a plastic surgeon specializing in liposuction, I don't know what else you could do either. My work is centered around industrial pollution control, and where's there's no industry, I have no work. There's lots of people in the same boat.

Perhaps, the locals could outsource your job to India, they have all kinds of people there who'll work for 12K/annum, and it would be just as good having kids interact with an image on a video screen from half a world away, huh?

Sorry, I don't wish to make light of your predicament...I think the locals could use a little more liposuction.

On the contents of their cranial cavities.

[PhilG]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

Good for you, first of all - being a teacher. It's a praiseworthy profession.

Unless you plan on reinventing yourself as a plastic surgeon specializing in liposuction, I don't know what else you could do either. My work is centered around industrial pollution control, and where's there's no industry, I have no work. There's lots of people in the same boat.

Perhaps, the locals could outsource your job to India, they have all kinds of people there who'll work for 12K/annum, and it would be just as good having kids interact with an image on a video screen from half a world away, huh?

Sorry, I don't wish to make light of your predicament...I think the locals could use a little more liposuction.

On the contents of their cranial cavities.

Seriously! Almost all of my family is still there, but they've either purchased their homes many, many years ago, or they purchased them just a few years before the recent boom. My cousin is in his late 30s and bought a home for a little under $250k just before the boom. I am 10 yeasr younger, so when it came time for me to do the same, similar houses were $550k. Incomes, however, did not more than double in that time period. Therein lies the problem. Starting teachers in Nassau County can earn in the high 40s to the low 50s. That's about 10k more than the Albany area. I've thought about school adminisration - a hands-down six-figure salaried career - but I'm not sure if I want to take that path.

The funny thing is that we pay much more in taxes in the Capital Region than homeowners pay in Nassay County. For example, my colleague owns a lovely home in Niskayuna (top-notch schools) that is worth roughly $250-$275k. His total taxes are about $8k. My parents own a home on the south shore of LI worth about $600k. Their taxes are roughly $9k. Who knows...

I'm 28, so reinventing myself is not out of the question. Besides, my band might still make it

[Dedalus]

There's always MDMA manufacture.

That's a joke. Not that I don't know how, I just don't do stuff like that.

Lots of under and unemployed people in my line of work get drawn into that stuff, it's enough to make one weep, the waste of talent.

[PhilG]

Moderator cut: deleted post

I have no student loan debt. I agree that education is overrated - at least formalized education. Learning in knowledge, of course, is priceless. College isn't necessary, and many of the public schools in the NYS Ed Dept are a joke. I know so many teachers that start in their earl 20s, then after about two years just sit back and wait to retire. There are, naturally, the idealists that pour themselves out for their students and for the future generation. Colleges are a business - that's for sure. My Master's degree is a joke. I often wanted to stop by the Bursar's office and say, "here's the $15k to cover the rest of the credits I need to graduate. Just take it and give me the degree and let's not waste each others' time."

Now we're in a totally different discussion, though. Regarding Long Island, I just miss the culture, my family, NYC, the beaches, the unique towns, and home. I know there are crappy things to deal with, but aren't there problems in every community? Don't get me started on the garbage going on just up the river in Albany...

I may just go into administration and be one of your kids' high school principal just so I can afford the mortgage on a small cape somewhere.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by PhilG

I have no student loan debt. I agree that education is overrated - at least formalized education. Learning in knowledge, of course, is priceless. College isn't necessary, and many of the public schools in the NYS Ed Dept are a joke. I know so many teachers that start in their earl 20s, then after about two years just sit back and wait to retire. There are, naturally, the idealists that pour themselves out for their students and for the future generation. Colleges are a business - that's for sure. My Master's degree is a joke. I often wanted to stop by the Bursar's office and say, "here's the $15k to cover the rest of the credits I need to graduate. Just take it and give me the degree and let's not waste each others' time."

Now we're in a totally different discussion, though. Regarding Long Island, I just miss the culture, my family, NYC, the beaches, the unique towns, and home. I know there are crappy things to deal with, but aren't there problems in every community? Don't get me started on the garbage going on just up the river in Albany...

I may just go into administration and be one of your kids' high school principal just so I can afford the mortgage on a small cape somewhere.

I hear you brother...thank you for all that you do.

C