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More needs to be done with taxes. Newsday had an article last year I believe comparing how the school districts are run in nothern virginia (specifically Fairfax County) which is similar in size and income wise (a little higher actually) than Nassau and the school districts are very good and taxes are a bit lower.
Overall though you tend to get what you pay for We have a handful of districts which aren't good, but overall the quality of the schools on Long Island is far better than the vast majority of the country. As another poster mentioned earlier its amazing what people in Florida think a good school is.
Also quite a few things are relative, the taxes and cost of living is higher on LI than anywhere else, but the salaries generally are as well (the median income in Nassau is the 6th highest in the country)
Well, in the sense that highly paid teachers and police (among other things) are something you "get". Salaries in the NYC area are among the highest in the US for these fields. levels of services are variable, but do tend to be lower in some respects. Watch the shock LIers get when they move to those low-tax jurisdictions and learn why the taxes are low.
When did you live in a southern state and what services did you find lacking?
Not all southern states are the same, so making broad statements about what services you receive or don't receive in the south could really only be answered from someone who has lived in both the north and south to compare imo.
I think most people on LI feel they must have the best schools, teachers, garbage men, police, mail carriers etc. because they are paying such high taxes.
IMO high price doesn't always equal the best.
Wanna Know what I get for my property taxes of $10k/year?
Here's what I get:
1. Income Tax Savings of $6,000/year because I don't have to pay 4% city taxes on HH income of $150k living in NYC.
2. $1,000/year Savings on my car insurance
3. A neighborhood much quieter and more beautiful than anything I'll find in Queens, a quick commute to work, a better educational system for my child, access to awesome healthcare, terrific restaurants, recreation and shopping.
Now you tell me it makes more sense to live in Queens where property taxes are$3k. I dont think so.
When did you live in a southern state and what services did you find lacking?
Not all southern states are the same, so making broad statements about what services you receive or don't receive in the south could really only be answered from someone who has lived in both the north and south to compare imo.
I think most people on LI feel they must have the best schools, teachers, garbage men, police, mail carriers etc. because they are paying such high taxes.
IMO high price doesn't always equal the best.
No, it doesn't always equal best.
My sister lived in Louisiana for 4 years, and I have friends/relatives in Georgia, Florida, and Texas. I've lived outside the NY area for the past 4 years, however, I was outside the US, so it wouldn't be a very easy or valid comparison.
I'm trying to avoid blanket comparisons of North vs. South because let's face it, the South is a big area and there's enormous variation even within it. But overall, the reason the South has lower taxes is because Southerners expect/want less from their local governments. They don't have teachers making $85K a year, they don't have (or have very little) public transportation, they don't have 2 tier local government everywhere, and in many areas HOAs provide services (security, leisure...) that we expect towns/counties to provide. You could say that we don't need all these things either, but as long as we have them, we're going to pay the taxes to provide them.
(BTW, NoVA isn't even really south these days, so using Fairfax as a comparison isn't very good.)
Why are the roads (along the LIE, Northern State and Southern State) shrewn with garbage or are full of weeds and overgrown grass?
Why do many neighborhoods (from what I have seen in Suffolk) have torn up roads and potholes that take months if ever to repair? (my parents neighborhood in Mt. Sinai for instance)
Why do county owned properties surrounding shopping centers have overgrown weeds so bad they grow into the curb?
Why does LI still have some terrible schools with teachers still being paid 85,000 or more a year? (I would think they would all be great)
Why does LI still have high crime areas if the police are paid so well?
For the taxes Long Islanders pay in comparision to most of the country you should be living in Utopia.
Nothing will ever change on LI if people continue to think they are getting some kind of value on LI that no one else outside of LI gets (tax wise).
No area is perfect be it North or South, but if I was paying such a high price to live in a area somestimes 4x the taxes, I would want as close to perfection as I could get.
I don't think people think we're getting ultimate value for money. However, compared to genuinely "low tax" jurisdictions, we are getting more and consequently paying for it.
If we were comparing LI to somewhere like Chicago's North Shore or parts of suburban Boston, that would be an interesting and valid comparison because these are areas known for high quality services and schools (and not low-cost areas either). However, what we tend to get is people coming in from the South, which is an entirely different thing (oh, and they always compare the few top districts in those states with all of LI... places like Alpharetta and Cary are the exception, not the rule.)
Not all LI teachers make $85K. Far from it. That's what you get with 15 years experience, if not more (IIRC, topping 100K takes 30 years and a doctorate, though most districts don't publish salary schedules, so I can't confirm this). Long Island teachers are well paid compared to those in other areas, but in many of the underperforming districts, you don't get the top teachers either. And think about it: these are professionals with masters degrees living in one of the most expensive parts of the US, and yet we expect them to accept less than what many posters on this forum would consider to be an acceptable middle class salary.
The trouble on LI is not the perception of value for money. It is the refusal of Long Islanders to consider any kind of change.
[quote=slynn41072;4713451]With the high taxes on LI :
Why are the roads (along the LIE, Northern State and Southern State) shrewn with garbage or are full of weeds and overgrown grass?
Why do many neighborhoods (from what I have seen in Suffolk) have torn up roads and potholes that take months if ever to repair? (my parents neighborhood in Mt. Sinai for instance)
Why do county owned properties surrounding shopping centers have overgrown weeds so bad they grow into the curb?
Why does LI still have some terrible schools with teachers still being paid 85,000 or more a year? (I would think they would all be great)
Why does LI still have high crime areas if the police are paid so well?
For the taxes Long Islanders pay in comparision to most of the country you should be living in Utopia.
Nothing will ever change on LI if people continue to think they are getting some kind of value on LI that no one else outside of LI gets (tax wise).
No area is perfect be it North or South, but if I was paying such a high price to live in a area somestimes 4x the taxes, I would want as close to perfection as I could get.
Just my opinion.[/quotear ]
Few things. First off in regards to the roads, are the roads on LI perfect? No, however try comparing them to much of the rest of the country.
As far as crime goes, Long Island has been named the safest region in the country by the FBI. Even the so called high crime areas on LI, are really only considered high crime when compared to other areas on Li because the crime rates are so low there. Compared to other parts of the country the crime in these areas really aren't that bad at all.
As far as schools go, the vast majority of the schools on LI are great and far better than schools in the rest of the country. Only a handful schools on LI aren't good and that is heavily due to the fact your dealing with poorer and lower income neighborhoods. Many of the schools on Li which aren't considered aren't that good are really only thought of that way because they are being compared to other LI schools, and they would still be better than most schools in the rest of the country.
Why are the roads (along the LIE, Northern State and Southern State) shrewn with garbage or are full of weeds and overgrown grass?
Why do many neighborhoods (from what I have seen in Suffolk) have torn up roads and potholes that take months if ever to repair? (my parents neighborhood in Mt. Sinai for instance)
Why do county owned properties surrounding shopping centers have overgrown weeds so bad they grow into the curb?
Why does LI still have some terrible schools with teachers still being paid 85,000 or more a year? (I would think they would all be great)
Why does LI still have high crime areas if the police are paid so well?
For the taxes Long Islanders pay in comparision to most of the country you should be living in Utopia.
Nothing will ever change on LI if people continue to think they are getting some kind of value on LI that no one else outside of LI gets (tax wise).
No area is perfect be it North or South, but if I was paying such a high price to live in a area somestimes 4x the taxes, I would want as close to perfection as I could get.
Just my opinion.[/quotear ]
Few things. First off in regards to the roads, are the roads on LI perfect? No, however try comparing them to much of the rest of the country.
As far as crime goes, Long Island has been named the safest region in the country by the FBI. Even the so called high crime areas on LI, are really only considered high crime when compared to other areas on Li because the crime rates are so low there. Compared to other parts of the country the crime in these areas really aren't that bad at all.
As far as schools go, the vast majority of the schools on LI are great and far better than schools in the rest of the country. Only a handful schools on LI aren't good and that is heavily due to the fact your dealing with poorer and lower income neighborhoods. Many of the schools on Li which aren't considered aren't that good are really only thought of that way because they are being compared to other LI schools, and they would still be better than most schools in the rest of the country.
Not comparing the roads to other parts of the country, just want to know why they are terrible on LI with such high taxes? Low taxes and crappy roads make more sense if that is the case in other parts of the country.
So what you are saying is that some people may pay high taxes on LI, but still have terrible schools, too bad for those people.
Can you please post the article where it says that LI is the safest area to live in the Country by the FBI? I really am interested.
Last edited by slynn41072; 08-03-2008 at 04:04 PM..
Reason: spelling
Couldn't find a more direct link to the FBI, but this data seems to back up what the poster had claimed.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that is only for a large metropolitan areas compared to other large metropolitan areas. They also have lists for medium areas and small areas. It does not say LI is safest area in the whole country, only safer compared to similar population.
Also if you scroll down it was based on 2002 statistics.
I would really like current info if possible stating LI is the safest place to live per the FBI if possible.
Last edited by Yac; 09-07-2018 at 04:56 AM..
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