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- People are nice if you know them / can be nasty if they don't know you (especially while driving)
- Traffic was/is horrible
- Towns that we did like in Suffolk were too far from places of employment
Life in NC has been good. There are certain food staples that I dearly miss on LI (deli's; bakeries, and a "proper" slice of pizza). I also miss the ocean. Most of all, I/we miss family and friends; kids grow up too fast. I do have some fond memories of Long Island and it's people, but it was time to move.
I wonder what other Islanders think of LI, hence my poll, and has anyone moved back?
I've always lived here, I grew up here (Nassau County then and now). I've traveled extensively, both within and outside of the US, and have never come across another place I thought I'd rather live. Yes, it's stupid expensive, it's crowded, etc, etc. But that's something I'm accustomed to. I run a business here, and it's doing very well, and a large part of the reason for the success of the business is because LI is what it is. I know people in the same business all around the country and they don't have the same types of opportunities for their businesses.
I don't ever plan on leaving, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm sure there will be arguments as to why that doesn't make sense but it makes sense for me.
If it weren't for family my DH and I would have moved 5 years ago. That being said we still plan to move, if family wants to join us great if not oh well.
I like LI except for the money raping by civil servants and the fact that nothing is modern because that's where all the money actually goes. It's quite sad. There's a lot of reasons to stay but those are big reasons to go because F that.
Loved growing up on LI. Who didn't, that grew up there in the days when you left your house in the morning and maybe didn't go home till called for dinner? It was classic suburbia. And not unreasonable as far as cost of living. Both my parents worked, but we were the exception, not the rule (I don't have any friends from those days with two college educated parents like I have).
But once i went away to college and met people from other places I realized there might be better places to live. I started to feel like I didn't fit in with the big haired, loud-mouthed, dog eat dog type people that were starting to take over. As an adult, I did not see the value in the housing stock. and once we bought a house, taxes REALLY skyrocketed. That was the death knell, DH had said he couldn't see moving but after awhile he was like "enough is enough".
It's funny, because we've had this conversation with people who are like "I could never leave"...there seems to be this perception that when you move you wake up every day thinking "wow I'm living in....(fill in the blank)". It is really just same **** different place. I don't think about where I live and how it is different from where I grew up. Sure when you first move you might but if you want to assimilate, you will assimilate and you'll get past it. No two places are exactly like, and no place is perfect. For me this area of NC is booming and I think it's getting out of control on many levels and will be curious how it all plays out. Bottom line for me is I feel like I am getting more for my money here than there. Some people truly don't care about that and that's great for them but I am money conscious and don't like feeling ripped off. I feel like we are getting a good value for what we pay as far as schools, police, fire, parks and rec and the things that make day-to-day life enjoyable.
If you move expecting your life to become perfect just because you are in a different location you will be sadly disappointed.
Born and raised in Queens...when I was in my 20s, I was a frequent visitor to LI, but never really lived there. Then my S.O. bought a really cheap home in Mastic a good while back, and I ended up out there with her. We didn't last long and I swore I'd never come back to LI. We sold, took a loss and moved back to Queens together.
Fast forward to about 9 years ago: we had two young'ns....one was getting ready to start kindergarten...we needed a place with good schools. My now wife was once again sipping the LI Kool Aid (in fairness, she worked there, albeit not too far out...New Hyde Park). As someone who for many years frequented nicer parts of Nassau during construction jobs, I thought it seemed perfect (clearly better than Mastic). We moved to an area that boasted great schools.
Not long after we moved in, we realized that there was virtually zero sense of community. All anyone cared about was having a leased BMW or Infiniti in their driveway. These same folks were getting shaken down for their always late lunch and aftercare payments at the school.
Then there's the schools. The teachers go out of their way to tell you what your child can't do instead of proactively trying to correct it. If your child doesn't sit at attention with hands folded and listen intently, he or she must have ADHD and needs to be evaluated. I don't know what the benefit to the district is to have as many kids on IEPs as possible, besides not having to be held accountable for "special needs" students, but we refused to play ball. Our pediatrician even told us when we asked, that our kids would benefit most from new teachers, not psychotropic medication. Much of the work is ridiculous. Papers are sent home with egregious mis-spelt words, and grammatical errors (these are not typos). School events are disorganized, school staff can't even be bothered with simple data entry and never seem to be able to maintain the correct emergency contact info. If a child goes to the nurse and says his tummy hurts, they call you and tell you to leave work and pick him up. Yes, I understand emergencies happen, but a school nurse should be able to tell when Johnny's pulling a fast one so he can skip school. I can't tell you how many times I was forced to take a perfectly healthy child to the doctor for a note because he was able to fool the nurse.
Let's talk politics. Start with Mangano and Venditto. Look at the state of TOB and see where those taxes are in say, 5 years. And what are you getting in return? Hempstead Turnpike is overrun with vacant lots. There is no growth outside of CVS, banks and fast food. Apartments are taboo. Infrastructure is crumbling. Traffic gets worse daily, and the LIRR is a joke. Despite this, NIMBYism is rampant. You find yourself living amongst a bunch of idiots. You can tell they're idiots because not only do they willfully accept all of the above, but they brag about it.
It seemed like we wanted out as soon as we unpacked. We bought at the bottom of the market and it was stagnant for quite awhile, so we couldn't sell. Now with the new tax laws capping at 10K, coupled with losing the personal exemptions, we were done. Thank God the market swung in the right direction.
Living in semi-rural NC (20 miles out of Charlotte), everything is clean, new, and well maintained. EVERYTHING is cheaper here....except registering a car...BUT...car insurance is less than half what it was in NY. I have a 4000 square foot brand new house and a half acre of land in a beautiful community. My taxes are $4000 annually (+ $1000 HOA so really $5000). I have access to 3 pools, a gym, numerous parks and trails, and a state of the art community center. There is plenty of work. The schools are terrific and the people there actually care (they aren't just there for the bloated salary and benefits). There is also virtually zero racism here. If you're here, it's because you're in the same boat as everyone else, which means you have a good job and a nice new house and above all, a clue. Everyone is equal here and all play nice together in the sandbox. Black, white, Latino, Asian, what have you. But what really sets it apart to us is the amount of (very affordable) programs there are for children. Drive around the area - tons of green space...all the county land is well maintained, manicured lawns, landscaped tree beds...you just feel good living here.
Born and raised here, I have family that has moved/ retired down to the Charlotte area (including my parents).
I thought about moving down there as well, but generally like it here. Cost of living is certainly cheaper, but it can be a bit of a trade-off due to salaries (though that can be dependent on the industry)
Born and raised here, I have family that has moved/ retired down to the Charlotte area (including my parents).
I thought about moving down there as well, but generally like it here. Cost of living is certainly cheaper, but it can be a bit of a trade-off due to salaries (though that can be dependent on the industry)
You'd be amazed the salaries here relative to COL...
We took a collective ~$40K paycut, but all that did was put us in a lower tax bracket. Have not felt any squeeze in day to day life at all....in fact, all things considered, it's still an improvement.
I had no choice. I was born here.
It's such a rotten and disgusting place now.
That said, I did enjoy my childhood. It was still ok here until the 80's. Then it all totally went to crap by the 90's.
The poorly planned over development, congestion, rude arrogant obnoxious self cemtered soulless people.
I'd been trying to move away since high school.
The guilt my parents would layer on me about leaving them and such is the only thing that really kept me here. Right up until the end.
I was outta here god knows how many times and in the 11th hour my parents would somehow jedi mind trick me into staying.
Then I got married which through a wrench in the program because then I was getting guilt from 2 sets of parents.
Now that they're all dead maybe we can finally get out of here. And enjoy what time I have left.
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