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Just tossing this into the rink, the CNN COL calculator estimates that $170k in Little Rock translates to about $246k in Nassau County.
Again, it's just an estimation, and there's so many variables.
We looked at NB and it was 25% more COL but for a lot less house, we also checked Syosset and the size of the house (and school district) were closer to what we have but it was now up to 47% higher for housing alone. It's tough to move to the Island from the South.
For the most part it's true, but it depends on your field. In my field, the salaries are the same or higher outside of NY metro. But NYC is pretty much king for most fields.
My job isn't portable. My field is. But it would take quite a bit for me to leave my pension and seniority. We almost moved a few years ago, had a job lined up for about 2/3 what I make here. Figured COL would even that out...was too scared to roll the dice. The company (solar installations in Pa) from what I understand slowed considerably a year and a half ago...I don't regret staying.
I'd probably roll the dice for a buck fifty though.
You mean good neighborhoods surrounded by higher crime/poorer areas such as Rockville Centre, Garden City, Huntington, Brightwaters, etc., etc.? Yeah, we have no bad neighborhoods to worry about here on Long Island. That's why a number of years ago they found a dead body dumped on Meadow St. in Garden City, a block away from Hempstead.
Other than the food, beaches, public schools and proximity to New York City, please mention one thing on Long Island where the quality of life may be better. Traffic, public transportation, cost of living? C'mon, let's hear them. I mean, our electric utility is so bad that everyone's talking about installing their own generators. And even the attractions aren't that great. For what the OP will pay in higher housing prices and property taxes out here, they could have their kids chauffeur-driven to private school in Arkansas.
Oh, and yes, there may be greater employment opportunities for the OP in New York City. But then, he/she will have to use our reliable, comfortable and inexpensive Long Island Rail Road. Oh, joy!
I can tell you have probably never lived anywhere else outside of LI.
I never said that there were no dangerous/poor areas of LI. Also, you are talking about towns; each with their own school districts. I am talking about small developments. A development with $350k+ new decently sized homes could be right next to a trailer park or section 8 housing in many areas of the south. Also most school districts are county-wide in the south so even if there is one relatively safe/affluent town in one area of the county and a poor/dangerous one in another area; they are part of the same school district.
I am not saying LI would definitely be a great place for the OP. I personally wouldn't really want to live there myself as a matter of fact. But everyone has different priorities/circumstances. It appears from your posts and over-zealous bashing that you have probably never actually lived anywhere outside of LI. You might not value things about living there that people who are from somewhere else might find intriguing. It doesn't make you "wrong" or them "right" or vice versa; it just means different strokes for different folks.
One thing to consider is the further east, the more house and property you will get for your money. We don't really have an environment with new subdivisions, gated communities, and HOAs. Three bedroom homes are more the standard than four bedroom homes, certainly in the 400K range except for converted capes.
One complaint that I have heard from people who had moved around the midwest or the south is that they are were used to being part of the majority. They come here and for the first time in their lives, they are the minority. Some places, like Las Vegas, the majority of the residents come from some place else. Other than 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, Long Islanders who say they come from someplace else mean Brooklyn. While many people here are active in their church, it is not as much a center of family life as it is in the south. We also do not have mega-churches. It will be a cultural adjustment for your family. I agree that renting for a while would be a better option. But again, our rentals, are going to be considerably lower in quality than what you would find in other places. I hope that your husband's potential employer offers a generous relocation package.
Also meant to add-you mentioned that you had a real estate background. You can throw that all out the window. Buying and selling real property here is nothing like the rest of the US. We use real estate attorneys here for the transactions, not the brokers. It adds to the closing costs and it tends to take longer here to get to closing.
One thing to consider is the further east, the more house and property you will get for your money. We don't really have an environment with new subdivisions, gated communities, and HOAs. Three bedroom homes are more the standard than four bedroom homes, certainly in the 400K range except for converted capes.
One complaint that I have heard from people who had moved around the midwest or the south is that they are were used to being part of the majority. They come here and for the first time in their lives, they are the minority. Some places, like Las Vegas, the majority of the residents come from some place else. Other than 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, Long Islanders who say they come from someplace else mean Brooklyn. While many people here are active in their church, it is not as much a center of family life as it is in the south. We also do not have mega-churches. It will be a cultural adjustment for your family. I agree that renting for a while would be a better option. But again, our rentals, are going to be considerably lower in quality than what you would find in other places. I hope that your husband's potential employer offers a generous relocation package.
Also meant to add-you mentioned that you had a real estate background. You can throw that all out the window. Buying and selling real property here is nothing like the rest of the US. We use real estate attorneys here for the transactions, not the brokers. It adds to the closing costs and it tends to take longer here to get to closing.
You make some good points that the OP is moving to a "mature" suburb, meaning there is very little empty space left for innovative, high quality housing and the current stock is overpopulated with crappy, outdated and expensive high ranches. And while it's not a hard and fast rule, the further east you go, the worse the school districts tend to be . . . not to mention that some areas of Suffolk are like No Man's Land when it comes to having any sense of community.
I can tell you have probably never lived anywhere else outside of LI.
I never said that there were no dangerous/poor areas of LI. Also, you are talking about towns; each with their own school districts. I am talking about small developments. A development with $350k+ new decently sized homes could be right next to a trailer park or section 8 housing in many areas of the south. Also most school districts are county-wide in the south so even if there is one relatively safe/affluent town in one area of the county and a poor/dangerous one in another area; they are part of the same school district.
I am not saying LI would definitely be a great place for the OP. I personally wouldn't really want to live there myself as a matter of fact. But everyone has different priorities/circumstances. It appears from your posts and over-zealous bashing that you have probably never actually lived anywhere outside of LI. You might not value things about living there that people who are from somewhere else might find intriguing. It doesn't make you "wrong" or them "right" or vice versa; it just means different strokes for different folks.
Although this can be true, in the Charlotte metro there is generally the same phenomenon around school assignments dictating value on property/homes that you see on LI... albeit LI magnifies it exponentially because there's so many districts. Even with county wide school districts it becomes about the cluster assignment within the district - or more specifically the HS that the property is zoned to... In the past some areas bussed kids across the county for the purposes of "diversity" - which has gone away in favor of "neighborhood schools"... which further puts buying a property in line with how you choose a house on LI - the HS it is zoned to. So that $100+/sqft house in the sparkly new development isn't going anywhere if the schools are wrong.
Although this can be true, in the Charlotte metro there is generally the same phenomenon around school assignments dictating value on property/homes that you see on LI... albeit LI magnifies it exponentially because there's so many districts. Even with county wide school districts it becomes about the cluster assignment within the district - or more specifically the HS that the property is zoned to... In the past some areas bussed kids across the county for the purposes of "diversity" - which has gone away in favor of "neighborhood schools"... which further puts buying a property in line with how you choose a house on LI - the HS it is zoned to. So that $100+/sqft house in the sparkly new development isn't going anywhere if the schools are wrong.
Yes, I am familiar with how the schools are in suburban NC. I lived in the Raleigh area for 13 years. All of the south is not like the Charlotte and Raleigh metro areas. They are decidedly more "polished" than many areas of the south. Especially the deep south which is where the OP is coming from. I've been to Northern Louisiana where what you've bolded from my post above is more the rule than the exception. High poverty overall in a county with small pockets of more well off developments.
I also see that you live in the almost exclusively upper middle class suburban Union County outside of Charlotte. Your next-door neighbor Mecklenberg with more than 4x the population really only has two good public high schools in Charlotte itself (Providence and Myers Park; in very exclusive areas of the city) plus the new Hough High school up in the Cornelius/Davidson area. The majority of the rest of the high schools in Charlotte-Mecklenberg are pretty sub-par even though much of the county is nicely built up/clean looking
And again, Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta etc....the "new south metros" are much more well-off than much of the "old/deep south".
Last edited by just_sayin'; 04-10-2013 at 08:41 AM..
Yes, I am familiar with how the schools are in suburban NC. I lived in the Raleigh area for 13 years. All of the south is not like the Charlotte and Raleigh metro areas. They are decidedly more "polished" than many areas of the south. Especially the deep south which is where the OP is coming from. I've been to Northern Louisiana where what you've bolded from my post above is more the rule than the exception. High poverty overall in a county with small pockets of more well off developments.
I also see that you live in the almost exclusively upper middle class suburban Union County outside of Charlotte. Your next-door neighbor Mecklenberg with more than 4x the population really only has two good public high schools in Charlotte itself (Providence and Myers Park; in very exclusive areas of the city) plus the new Hough High school up in the Cornelius/Davidson area. The majority of the rest of the high schools in Charlotte-Mecklenberg are pretty sub-par even though much of the county is nicely built up/clean looking
And again, Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta etc....the "new south metros" are much more well-off than much of the "old/deep south".
All excellent points and well said - I should have considered that you were referring to more the deep South in context to your post. Although for full disclosure (in case someone stumbles on this post who is interested in the metro), I'd add Ardrey Kell in Ballantyne to the Meck HS list, which is relatively new in the big picture so you may not be familiar with it... very popular with the Nassau county crowd.
To what I perceived as your ultimate point, I agree that many LI folks don't realize that other metros have the suburban polish you talk about... and that the deep South isn't indicative of everything across the GW. It takes a long time for generalizations and stereotypes to change.
All excellent points and well said - I should have considered that you were referring to more the deep South in context to your post. Although for full disclosure (in case someone stumbles on this post who is interested in the metro), I'd add Ardrey Kell in Ballantyne to the Meck HS list, which is relatively new in the big picture so you may not be familiar with it... very popular with the Nassau county crowd.
To what I perceived as your ultimate point, I agree that many LI folks don't realize that other metros have the suburban polish you talk about... and that the deep South isn't indicative of everything across the GW. It takes a long time for generalizations and stereotypes to change.
Well, perhaps Long Island keeps its school districts more "pure" than the deep south, but you can't dispute the fact that there are a number of well-off Long Island neighborhoods that are right next door to communities with much higher crime rates. I've already mentioned some. I forgot to mention Locust Valley/Glen Cove and Dix Hills/Wyandanch. The criminals will look for the place that's most convenient to rob and the well-off town next door makes an easy target.
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