Goodbye Long Island...Good Riddance! (Hicksville, Florida: rental car, school districts, taxes)

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

Wow...get some money, and send the bill to...all Long Island!

I like it. So, off to practice my falling on demand skills.

Seriously, I've taken at least one pretty serious fall because of poorly maintained sidewalks. The tree roots grow up and lift the slabs, leaving a perfect "toe catcher."

Bravo, Michelle. You're right. This place sucks.

Dedalus,

The post was specifically about the NYS Parks $8 fee. $8 is a good deal when you are getting a day -- arrive early, depart late -- park in a lot, relax at a maintained beach, concessions and restrooms. The $8 helps defray the cost of the expenses associated with operating the location. And yes, liability insurance is a fair part of that. (For the record, my own business pays $40K/year for liability insurance -- that's with a clean, no claims record)

People sue for insanely stupid things -- one friend was sued when a child tripped over a corn plant on his farm! (Hello? You're visiting a farm!) I would bet plenty of klutzes get their flip-flops caught in the boardwalk and tumble. Or slip in the bathrooms because some idiot spilled water all over. $5K here, $6K there -- it's petty, but multiply it by the number of State Parks....

There are plenty of scam artists out there -- maybe you're lucky to have not encountered any.

It's obvious you are unhappy here. Are you making any progress with relocating off the Island?

[Diane Giam]

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

Nashville? It does meet those qualifications, also cheap rent.

Diane-Former Long Islander

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Moving is refreshing when you tie it to another life changing decision (retirement, getting married, getting divorced, new job, etc.). It's that whole new life, adventure, chance to re-invent yourself, starting over, learn new things, meet new people kind of thing that in my opinion is good for you...if you choose your new location wisely.

In my opinion bad moves are made by people who are fleeing some intolerable condition (traffic, taxes, overcrowding, cost of living, etc.) because they tend not to do good research on whether the new place is right for them but focus too much on whether it has the anti-intolerable condition. In other words, just wanting to get off Long Island isn't good enough...the new place should have something to offer you besides escape.

Laura, I did just that. I escaped to NJ. That was a big mistake. What I got was worst. I was there 13 years.LI is much better than NJ
My move now was well planed. My Husband took a new Job after 27 years with his priar employer. He was recruited,so he told them he would only take it if it was in the Nashville office. We relocated with my daughter being a senior in HS, but that worked out well, because then she qualified here for the state Lottery Schlorship for College. Also, College here is cheap. She is in a State University.
We love it here.It is not dead like people think. There is much to do.There is everything you would find in a Mid Sized City. Housing is lower, no state income tax, and the best part, small commutes to work.It was taking my husband 2 hours to get home in NJ. In LI it did vary. First house was 2 or more hours(Mt Sinai), second 1 hour plus (Babylon). NJ was on a Bus that was always stuck in the Holland Tunnel nightly. His commute here is 20 min, and he parks under his building , free.
Diane

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

It's obvious you are unhappy here. Are you making any progress with relocating off the Island?

I'm waiting to hear from a couple of places. There's a place in Jersey where I might be able to stay for a while.

I dream of escaping from this place. I put my finger on it, this morning...that annoying "stink-eye" look I get from certain LI'ers...it's like the expression on a cow's face when you interrupt it in the midst of chewing its cud.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

I'm waiting to hear from a couple of places. There's a place in Jersey where I might be able to stay for a while.

I dream of escaping from this place. I put my finger on it, this morning...that annoying "stink-eye" look I get from certain LI'ers...it's like the expression on a cow's face when you interrupt it in the midst of chewing its cud.

I'll never look at another cud-chewing cow the same way again....lol

Good luck with everything.

[thunder94]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

I'm waiting to hear from a couple of places. There's a place in Jersey where I might be able to stay for a while.

I dream of escaping from this place. I put my finger on it, this morning...that annoying "stink-eye" look I get from certain LI'ers...it's like the expression on a cow's face when you interrupt it in the midst of chewing its cud.

Or when you pull into a gas station or 7 Eleven and get that look like when you ask your dog a question and it kinda tilts it head a little

[TheJickler]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

Every place has it's share of issues...but if anyone thinks that there is a location that has beaches, culture, competitive wages, strong schools, modest taxes, your preferred social life, outlets to major metro areas, no traffic all of the time (even during RUSH hour) they are kidding themselves, it is a mirage. I am not a native long islander but do feel some things get overblown...for example, the traffic. If you would like to live outside of a major metropolitan area with millions of others then there is going to be traffic. I am not sure how this is Long Island's fault. It is a reality of choosing to live in a populus area; but from my experience it is better (or at worst the same) here in a car than in any area of Tucson, LA, San Fran, Seattle, Atlanta, Boston, Miami and the king of all areas I have hated due to traffic: TAMPA. Here the roadways are actually ahead of these other areas because the area did not explode like others and fail to add the necessary highways. At least here you can cut up to another highway or sit on 25...it sucks, but not as much as waiting 45 minutes to make a right hand turn on one of only two major highways in Tampa...god I hate that place...

I hope everyone can find the perfect place for them, but the utopia I noted above does not exist. You talked about being able to park your car and get onto any beach...but you left out the vagrancy that is rampant in those areas..and you can go west, but you can't send your kids to a California public school. And you have concerns about illegal aliens here...go West and you might find our issues mild in comparison. My point being, no place is perfect. But best of luck in finding the one that is perfect for you...that is all we can aspire to.

I could not agree more about the traffic in Tampa. While I can't say I hated it there, the traffic was terrible, especially on 275. I would get out of my job in Tampa, sit on 275 for 45 minutes, and get to my home, also in Tampa, about one hour later. Kinda crazy!

[JEANNE61]

i'm from e.n.y bklyn .. moved to long island in the early 70's to get out ..
moved out of l.i in 95 .. not for any reason other than , i was sick and tired of the 'cold' . .here i am in fla. . and soon will be moving to a small town in tenn . (back to 'cold' again ;(
saw recently on HGTV .. house hunters show .. that a brownstone i n THE WORST NEIGHBORHOOD IN BKLYN .BED. STUY, (WHEN i was there anyway) , is now going for close to a million dollars. . :O
unbelievable !!!
fla also has gone nuts with 'over' developing ...
condos , on every corner that sit empty . /?? i dont' understand that type of thinking .. at least if you're a construction worker. . its job security . .
and if you think you're not making enough as a school teacher . .check out fla salaries. . its a dirty shame ..
just like a typical new yorker, i had to put m y 2 c in . .
as for the people that said that the people are not 'nice' . .or friendly . .well, that is true anywhere.. and it also depends on what kind of neighbor YOU are ..

fair is fair . .
GOD BLESS US EVERYONE .
tiny tim

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by JEANNE61

condos , on every corner that sit empty . /?? i dont' understand that type of thinking .. at least if you're a construction worker. . its job security . .

You see it on LI, also. And, the vacant office space.

Business isn't perpetual motion, there's a crash coming.

In the course of going on numerous job interviews, I've had at least three businesspeople tell me they were relocating off of LI because of high taxes and general unfriendliness to business.

As the tax base erodes further, they'll raise taxes on ordinary people even more. And, as more foreclosures come down, and banks find themselves owning property (something they hate to do) they'll start dropping the price.

And, lots of ordinary people will get screwed over but good. As much as I detest LI, I don't take any pleasure in that.

In the end, it'll work out. They'll toss out a bunch of these fatcat civil servants, the rampant corruption Joe L is always pointing out will start to be noticed in official circles. Maybe, Spitzer will appoint a special prosecutor for the county of Nassau.

Then, some mass transit, high density housing, and industrial development. And this place really turns into something like Queens. I think that's a good thing, all else considered.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

You see it on LI, also. And, the vacant office space.

Business isn't perpetual motion, there's a crash coming.

In the course of going on numerous job interviews, I've had at least three businesspeople tell me they were relocating off of LI because of high taxes and general unfriendliness to business.

As the tax base erodes further, they'll raise taxes on ordinary people even more. And, as more foreclosures come down, and banks find themselves owning property (something they hate to do) they'll start dropping the price.

And, lots of ordinary people will get screwed over but good. As much as I detest LI, I don't take any pleasure in that.

In the end, it'll work out. They'll toss out a bunch of these fatcat civil servants, the rampant corruption Joe L is always pointing out will start to be noticed in official circles. Maybe, Spitzer will appoint a special prosecutor for the county of Nassau.

Then, some mass transit, high density housing, and industrial development. And this place really turns into something like Queens. I think that's a good thing, all else considered.

This may be true, but officially vacanies are areound 11%, not bad, and going down. Rents are stable to slightly up.

Not much vacancy in housing, either compared to other areas... not nearly as much spec building (too expensive).