Starter Houses on Long Island? (Huntington, Shirley: sale, real estate, crime rate)

[fopt65]

But, that's assumming that you will be making your same $73,000 living in your new area outside NY. If you are looking into the Poconos or other areas for your 2 hour commute, consider the cost of commuting added to your mortgage.
Believe me, I can understand your frustration. I have been considering leaving LI (originally from Queens), but after putting pen to paper and researching areas thoroughly, I have realized that most people EVERYWHERE are having the same complaints about unaffordibility/taxes/insurance. For someone making 8 bucks an hour in the sticks somewhere, 150,000 on a house is insane.

[NYSinger]

Yeah, I have looked at Shirley, Rocky Point and Ridge...Shirley is not such a good area and the other two towns are OK. Manorville is another possibility but it is growing. I think DH and I will save for a while. I would like to remain close to NYC as I am a NYSinger. Maybe I will start looking in the New Jersey and Connecticut area. Really, I cannot believe what I could get for 350k here: a shack!

[Glen NY]

fopt, I don't think moving further away from NYC and commuting is any better. If I were to continue to work in NYC I would never move further. I am 12 miles form the city border and 30 miles to midtown. It can frequently take me 2 hours if I am crazy enough to drive to Manhattan. I have friends who travel 70-80 miles oneway to work and their homes are valued at 375-500K. They are up in Orange and Putnam counties. Bare in mind they have move to the lowest affordable areas they could find. NYC is a great place and the suburbs provide great nieghborhoods and schools, but it is crowded, congested and expensive. I am not negative just being realistic.
Also, you cannot tell me that the higher NY salaries make up for the home cost. In cities like Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse a young couple could still buy a small starter home for 80K in A fair to decent neighborhood. A combine salary of 35K would cover that. Yet all the people I know in those areas are making equivalent salaries. Those figures coming from a nurse in Rochester at 70k a year, a cop inAlbany Making 100k, 2 insurance investigators in Buffalo at 65k, but their homes are not $600,000.

[I'minformed2]

That is true. LOL. I'm actually from Rochester. Upstate is very affordable, especially compaired to NYC. 80k won't get you a great house, but you can get a 2-3 bedroom house in a suburb like Greece or Irondequoit, built probably in the 40's or 50's, that will need a little work. The difference is most obviouse when in Rochester and other upstate cities 200k buys you a beautiul large new home with excellent schools.... and doesn't get you much of anything in the NYC metro.

[NYFLTN]

former Long Islander, first why Long Island, very expensive now, but try Ronkonkoma, Patchogue, Lake Ronkokoma, West Sayville, blue point

Good Luck

[NickL28]

Why Long Island is right when there is a huge country west of the Hudson & south of the Raritan River in NJ that does quite well for itself and where you can survive quite well on a combined income of $125,000 or a single income of $75,000 a year.
Maybe if you left the island for something other than shopping at 'The Outlets' you would see it.

And salaries on Long Island are pathetic with the price of homes & property taxes the way they are. You also have to factor in a commute to NYC which can easily cost $200 or more per month with LIRR & Subway.

There really isn't much culture either. Life revolves around shopping at the malls and eating at The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang or Fridays is considered a night out.

[NYer]

Originally Posted by NickL28

There really isn't much culture either. Life revolves around shopping at the malls and eating at The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang or Fridays is considered a night out.

Huntington has a nice museum, lots of historical sites, an independent theater, aan independent bookstore that gets all the major writers on book signing tours, lovely beaches & nature trails, and much more. There ar many Zagats rated restaurants, by the way. There are lots of things to do, if one just go to chain restaurants & shop that is due to one's own lack of imagination.
the commute is about an hour to midtown, much longer to go downtown, of course.
It is nice here if you can afford it.

[Glen NY]

I will have to agree with NYer that there is plenty of culture and plenty of dining. I don't frequent chain restaurants and don't need to, there is plenty of great food right here on Long Island. You will wait for a long time at good restaurants almost every time on weekends, we usually make reservations days in advance.
As for a 1 hour commute to NY from Hunington, don't think so. A 1 hour train ride yes. So if you live at the Hunington train station and planned on attending an event in penn Station you could plan an hour. Chances are, you leave your house 15 minuted before the train is scheduled to depart(not necessarily the time that you want to go) and then be prepared to take a cab or a subway to your next destination, add 30 minutes to an hour. Round trip train ride about $13.00, Subway $2.00 each way, cab figure $8.00 minimum. If you drive, the tolls are $4.50 each way, 9 bucks every time you go into NY, not including gas and tons of traffic, rarely can you make it from Huntington to midtown in an hour, maybe the middle of the night. My commute is my second highest bill next to my mortgage and taxes and I add 3 -4 hours every day into my schedule for commutation.

[NYer]

Originally Posted by Glen NY

I will have to agree with NYer that there is plenty of culture and plenty of dining. I don't frequent chain restaurants and don't need to, there is plenty of great food right here on Long Island. You will wait for a long time at good restaurants almost every time on weekends, we usually make reservations days in advance.
As for a 1 hour commute to NY from Hunington, don't think so. A 1 hour train ride yes. So if you live at the Hunington train station and planned on attending an event in penn Station you could plan an hour. Chances are, you leave your house 15 minuted before the train is scheduled to depart(not necessarily the time that you want to go) and then be prepared to take a cab or a subway to your next destination, add 30 minutes to an hour. Round trip train ride about $13.00, Subway $2.00 each way, cab figure $8.00 minimum. If you drive, the tolls are $4.50 each way, 9 bucks every time you go into NY, not including gas and tons of traffic, rarely can you make it from Huntington to midtown in an hour, maybe the middle of the night. My commute is my second highest bill next to my mortgage and taxes and I add 3 -4 hours every day into my schedule for commutation.

We live 7 minutes from the station, notice I know the EXACT # !!!!

I did say it was farther to get downtown.

I agree with you, that is a big part of why we are moving to North carolina. My husband is there already and does not miss his 3+ hours a day of commuting, or paying for it!!

[mmdj43]

Originally Posted by NYer

We live 7 minutes from the station, notice I know the EXACT # !!!!

I did say it was farther to get downtown.

I agree with you, that is a big part of why we are moving to North carolina. My husband is there already and does not miss his 3+ hours a day of commuting, or paying for it!!

Hey what a coincidence. We're moving to NC as well. What area?