Getting really annoyed

[chconnol]

It's a familiar story.

An area that's underdeveloped begins to get settled and developed for housing at a fairly aggressive rate (this is LI and much of the NYC metro area post WWII).

For awhile (maybe 20 - 30 years) it is a pleasant and fairly affordable place to live. (Long Island in the 50's through the 70's).

Then the rot sets in. Overpopulation, overbuilding, original homeowners leaving..etc. It happens slowly at first and then the pace picks up. Along with it, the property taxes increase. (Long Island in the mid 80's saw this occurring).

Eventually the area has two parts to it: those that are still desirable and very expensive (most of Nassau County's north shore, parts of the south shore parts of Suffolk). The other extreme are trashy, formerly working/middle class neighborhoods that could not hold these stable classes due to the high price (examples are East Meadow, Baldwin, Freeport, Levittown).

In effect, LI is experiencing what New York City and other urban centers experienced in the late 60s and 70s: the flight of the white middle class out of the area and replaced by lower income classes without the means to maintain these areas. And when these areas deteriorate to a certain degree, they lose their appeal (basically they are not nice anymore) than there is little or no desire to maintain them at all.

This is the future of Long Island.

I grew up there in the 70s and it was a different place. In the 80s I began to notice that every empty lot of open space was built on by either tacky townhomes or overly large ugly homes or strip malls (with a video store and a tanning salon, very 80s).

What is happening now (and I don't see anyone else noticing this or documenting it) is that the trend that occurred post WWII where the inner cities emptied (slowly) of the white middle class to the 'burbs is reversing to a degree.

The inner cities are experiencing gentrification and where do you think the former inhabitants are going? They are going out to the suburbs. And Long Island is particularly well suited for this because there are no tolls to pay.

The problem for the middle class (of any race now) is that there is no place for them in the new "fabulously" gentrified NYC. And many don't want or can't stay in LI. Off to North Carolina, Florida, etc.

It will 20 or 30 years before the full and terrible effects of this is fully realized by everyone. And because it will take so long, it is easy for people to dismiss what I'm saying. I'm not trying to be negative but this is the trend that has existed for years in "urban" settings and it is simply the same thing going on here.

Of course I understand that the issue here is vastly more complex and interrelated to other things like economics and transportation. I'm just simplifying. I just think it's a shame that such a nice area like LI is basically falling apart.

My parents moved to Nassau County in 1956. The stories they told me about what it used to look like are astonishing. They said the south shore of LI from Rockville Centre to the county line was one post card town after another separated by woods, farms and open land. Rockville Centre and Freeport were the "busy" towns and the most prosperous. My Mom told me once that she'd never been past the Meadowbrook Parkway after Freeport and that some people called it a no man's land (this was right after the war). They rented a house for the summer in Seaford(!!) and they said it felt like they were in another world. Long Island in the 50s was like a quaint New England area. My parents said they felt lucky and priveledged to be living there.

I've seen the future of LI and ain't pretty.

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

The taxes on my house in St. James is approaching $20K.

But like the old saying goes: You made your bed, now sleep in it.

The fact that the idiots that vote in the tax and spend politicians are the ones to blame. When you vote for these school budgets that are nothing more than a blank check for the school districts to spend as much as possible, what do you expect?

I find it amazing that the HS scores are higher here in my city in Colorado, yet my taxes are only $650 on 30 acres with a 2000sqft house.

But thats Colorado's standards for eduction, not NY's. Check it out, big difference between the two.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

The taxes on my house in St. James is approaching $20K.

But like the old saying goes: You made your bed, now sleep in it.

The fact that the idiots that vote in the tax and spend politicians are the ones to blame. When you vote for these school budgets that are nothing more than a blank check for the school districts to spend as much as possible, what do you expect?

I find it amazing that the HS scores are higher here in my city in Colorado, yet my taxes are only $650 on 30 acres with a 2000sqft house.

You failed to mention that you are NOT thrilled with your home in Colorado and that you're looking into moving back east to NH. From your other postings, you're looking for a very rural area and in NH and VT, that translates into poor schools and low property values. I have family in NH and am fairly familiar with VT, too.

You're taxes are cheap in CO, and apparently so is your home there:

motoracer51

Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
43 posts, read 10,223 times
Reputation: 25



Quote:
Originally Posted by mosrto
We been looking for homes & When we find something we like, it's a manufactered/prefab model. I've been checking websites but the eyes start spinning after a while. It would help if someone who actually lives in these could give us an honest opinion of them. Also do these homes have a good appreciation value----Thanks

We're living in Colorado, thinking about making the moveto NH in the next few months.

We have a manufactured home here. I'm a contractor here, and bought this place mainly for the land and the view, and the house was "free".

The only thing I do like about the house is the energy efficiency!! Our bills are drastically less than our neighbors who have stick built homes.

The list of things I don't like are long and varied. Constant settling, cracking, etc of the floors and walls. Cheap, garbage is used throughout the house for cabinets, doors, fixtures, etc.

Roof shingles blow of in winds of 40mph. Exterior siding is garbage, expanding and shrinking with humidity fluctuations.

Creaky floors. Doors that don't close due to the settling.

Any other questions, feel free to ask, but like you again, I'm in the market to buy a house, and when you see a manufactured house, don't walk - run away!!

[Transpl]

Be careful on leaning on politicians to back the working class. With income in the NYC burbs generally higher than elsewhere, If you and your spouse each make 50K you may be the one paying for the middle class relief rather than receiving the benefit.

For example, a family making 100K is not eligible for a PMI tax deduction. 100K in North Dakota gets the same treatment as 100K in NY by the IRS.


Consumer Action :: Private mortgage insurance (PMI) tax deduction