Starter Houses on Long Island? (Roosevelt, Nassau: credit, unemployment, private schools)

[LI413]

Originally Posted by NYer

I meant salt water
Candlewood is gorgeous but there are salt water addicts out there, and for them the steep price of Long Island or coastal CT is well worth it.

I used to live in the Danbury area. It is nice and affordable. However, the train is terrible - but people actually commute to the city every day. I used to take the train from Golden's Bridge.

I just wasn't thrilled with living up there. I had enough and decided come back to Long Island. The day I came moved back was the happiest of my life. I don't know if I'll be able to stay here for good, but i'll enjoy it (and the ocean down the block) while i can.

[momix5]

I grew up on Long Island. I lived in Centereach for 3 years. I really honestly did not see anything wrong with it. is it the best no because I grew up in Smithtown. But, Smithtown is no almost totally unobtainable for most. The other thing is that most people that have lived in Smithtown and move out because of whatever reason say that the neighbors are self centered and snobby, in fact my Dad had an oven fire in his house in Smithtown and there were 2 fire trucks, 3 police cars, and an ambulance outside, no one even came over to see if he was okay. My co2 detector went off at my house in Centereach which I rented at the time, and at least 10 of my neighbors showed up to see if I needed help. Amazing? I own my home in Patchogue now and it is okay but honestly I would take Centereach anytime.

[opelske]

To build all these "affordable multifamily" in better areas cost money -- and, more importantly, Long Island was never supposed to be like crowded Queens dumping grounds, which it has become. Now, Long Island has City buses and all the things that one came here to get away from. More crowded every day in the worst areas. Some million dollar houses out East have very low taxes, while other million dollar houses have exhorbitant taxes. Some four acre, two acre parcels have too low or too high-- all a mess, none of it makes any sense. School boards steal millions of dollars every year in tax money, school taxes go up--makes no sense. Give back what they stole and lower the dam school taxes, and the county taxes for that matter -- communities do not care about communities, no community pride! Too busy reading about things in other parts of the world and not paying attention to their own communities and all that goes on. What the young must learn is that you have to sacrifice the Bahama vacations and save, save, save for that first house, as most of us did. Why should we now, after years of saving and sacrificing, have to pay exhorbitant taxes and be forced to move. All these lotteries and other freebies--who pays for that????? Little private orgs and mostly gov't funds that who! Nothing has changed anywhere, learn to save and then buy. If you cannot afford something, go somewhere else. As we did, our parents and our grandparents did. Inflated home prices equal higher taxes (for most who cannot afford), which to me is a sign to move on, so the same house can be 'given' to someone else, who did not earn the down payment, did not earn the fixer up money to rehabilitate, did not EARN it period! This is merely a form of stealing from one to give to another. And, it is not fair to the person who worked and earned everything he/she has today. If taxes were reduced, people could stay in the homes they bought by earning the money.

[sassychk30]

Of Course There Is! Ive Lived On Longisland My Whole Life,lindenhurst Is Ranged Starting At 249.00 And Up And Is Also A Nice Location! You Can Go Out Eastern Long Island And Theres Plenty..... And Theres Also A Saying About Longisland Ny "you Pay For What You Get" Its Better Than Living In A Secluded Area Wheres Its Pitch Black And Nothing To Do!

[Dragonfly11]

It seems a starter home on long island can be found for $350,000 in any town, which in my opinion is too expensive for a small home.
I agree that Long Island is beautiful, & if you have the money it may be worth it to stay or move here, but there are other places just as beautiful. I am in my thirties and I have lived here most of my life. I can see why this area is attractive to someone that has never lived here and would like to live here, but for someone like me who has been here since birth I need a change & I'm honestly getting bored of long island. I have been to every corner and back hundreds of times. There is another part of me that would like to stay, but I have come to realize that there is no opportunity here unless you travel to the city or have connections. It seems that the cost of living is going up and salaries on long island are going down. This is the main reason that most people cannot afford to stay here. Many of my friends, including myself, are college educated and yet we cannot find jobs. We are left with no choice but to temp. This is how companies save money for themselves these days. Then there are companies that have no room for growth. My husband has a steady job of 10yrs, but barely gets raises. He has a college degree too. He is making just a little more than my temp paycheck. The companies in Nassau and Suffolk are just not hiring. They have not been hiring for years now. Once in a while I will get a phone call and go to the interview only to find out that a temp salary is more and unfortunately for us it is all about money right now (since we are saving for a house) so I'm better off temping. I graduated 10 yrs a go with my bachelors degree and I also have my masters (which I used to be proud of, but now regret). It really got me nowhere. For someone that is doing well in his or her career then yes, buying a home on long island might be worth it, but there are a lot of people on long island that are making the same salary as the southern states and are better off moving to a place where the homes are lot more affordable. I could move to a state where the homes are affordable and have my temp salary matched. Someone told me if I move to another state that my salary will go down. Maybe for him, but in my case it cannot go down too much more, so for my husband and I, we are better off leaving and buying a home elsewhere.

[Check123]

There are not many good jobs on Long Island. Any company worth its salt is going to be in NYC.

Long Island is not expensive. It's just expensive for certain people. There are places in the U.S. where a house costs only $100K, yet that too is expensive for certain people.

My friends also went to college; they all own homes and are raising families. Some of them own two homes. College is only as good as the effort you put in after you graduate.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by Check123

There are not many good jobs on Long Island. Any company worth its salt is going to be in NYC.

Long Island is not expensive. It's just expensive for certain people. There are places in the U.S. where a house costs only $100K, yet that too is expensive for certain people.

My friends also went to college; they all own homes and are raising families. Some of them own two homes. College is only as good as the effort you put in after you graduate.

Not sure how people say this. I think at least 75% of LI works on LI. LI is also one of the wealthiest areas in America - tops in a number of areas like retail spend and savings, very high in income as well. Jobs can't be too bad.

[Check123]

L.I. has plenty to offer in the retail and medical fields, but for good paying business positions NYC is the much better choice.

[LINYSoxFan]

Originally Posted by Check123

There are not many good jobs on Long Island. Any company worth its salt is going to be in NYC.

Long Island is not expensive. It's just expensive for certain people. There are places in the U.S. where a house costs only $100K, yet that too is expensive for certain people.

My friends also went to college; they all own homes and are raising families. Some of them own two homes. College is only as good as the effort you put in after you graduate.

Long Island is expensive for "certain" people? IMO Long Island is NOT expensive for "certain" people. From Manhasset to Montauk, people are leaving in near record numbers because they can not afford to live here. I think if there were a poll, you'd find that most people would agree it's not affordable. It's not so much the cost of the home- it's the property taxes and the LIPA bill. I know if I were to start out today, I wouldn't be able to make it here.

For the hell of it, I did a city-to-city comparison from Nassau to Charlotte, NC. My hypothetical salary of $100K/ yr would be roughly 37% less, but the housing would be 59% less, groceries 25%, utilities 39% and even health care comes in lower at 11%. That’s a huge difference in my savings account.

Here's the source if you'd like to check it out for yourself: http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costo...tofliving.html

[Check123]

From 2004 to 2005, there was a net growth of 3,425 people in Nassau County, and a net growth of 15,971 people in Suffolk County.

Long Island is affordable, but not for everyone. Those who succeed get to stay, the rest fall through the cracks.