Husband getting job in LI - Ronkonkoma - where to live? (New York: sale, apartments)

[txpaintny]

My husband is going to accept a position in Ronkonkoma. Where do we live? We are from Texas and neither of us have ever been to New York anywhere. I'm completely excited about going to Long Island. We are from Austin and the cost of living is very cheap. We are used to paying about 1200 a month mortgage (we just leased it so we are packed and ready to move). He will be making close to 90K a year. Is it possible to live near Ronkonkoma and let me stay home with our two very young children? Any information you guys can share would be great. We want as cheap as we can get and stay safe and be near public transportation if possible (we have two cars but might sell one of them before we come). Our boys are 16 months and 3 and 1/2 years. Oh, we want to rent a house/apartment first before we consider buying because we don't know anything about the area at all.

[rocafeller05]

Well for starters you will be moving from one of the cheapest metro areas to one of the most expensive. IMO you would be able to stay at home with the kids if you rent. I dont think you would be able to buy with a $90 k income.
Some nice areas around Ronkonkoma are: Sayville, Oakdale, Blue Point, Bayport, Bohemia. Best thing to do is come check the area's out for yourself. Everyone has their own wants, needs and likes.
Good luck!

[KellyFG]

Most of the areas surrounding Ronkonkoma(except Central Islip) would all make good places to try out. There are plenty of garden apartments in the area as well as private apartment & house rentals. I think you'll be paying more than your mortgage to rent a two bedroom place here.
Holbrook Apartments for Rent with Ratings & Reviews by Holbrook Renters at ApartmentRatings.com

[dman72]

At that salary, without any down payment coming from sale of another home, you will be renting. You might be able to buy a one bedroom condo.

A decent 2 bedroom will be at least $1500, probably closer to $1600 a month.

My wife and I make over $140,000 combined, and we own a 2 bedroom condo in Ronkonkoma and have a young son. We both had to go back to work after being off for 6 months when he was born. $90K is a good salary, but it's probably equivalent to $50K in Austin because of how out of control housing prices are here.

[Walter Greenspan]

txpaintny, welcome to Lawn Guyland!

... where you'll meet a whole lot of very nice people and come face-to-face with a very interesting, some say, "very confusing", geography, and where the majority of places with a "Ronkonkoma, NY 11779" mailing address are not in the Hamlet of Ronkonkoma (a not very unusual situation on LI).


For those who may not be familiar with Ronkonkoma:

Ronkonkoma is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeast part of the Town of Islip, in the west part of Suffolk County, along the Islip/Smithtown and the Islip/Brookhaven town lines.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Ronkonkoma in the Town of Islip is bordered on the north by Lake Ronkonkoma, the Hamlet of Lake Ronkonkoma in the Towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven (the Islip/Smithtown and the Islip/Brookhaven town lines); on the east by the Hamlet of Holbrook; on the south by the Hamlet of Bohemia; and, on the west by the Village of the Islandia and the Hamlet of Hauppauge.





Ronkonkoma is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the hamlet: places that have a "Ronkonkoma, NY 11779" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Ronkonkoma are in the Hamlet of Lake Ronkonkoma in the Towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven and in the Hamlet of Bohemia; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Ronkonkoma with a "Central Islip, NY 11722" and a "Holbrook, NY 11741" mailing address.


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[alexei27]

Welcome!

I came "this close" to moving to League City (near Houston) before moving to LI. from what I remember about my TX searches...Housing costs...and probably utilities will be the biggest sticker shock for you. I understand TX has relatively high property taxes (not as much as here, but close). The other thing to remember is NY takes out state tax which TX does not. You'll do much better renting at least at first. Ronkonkoma is right near MacArthur airport and also has a very large train station.

I have a 2 and 3 year old and are about 15-20 min northeast of Ronkonkoma...so if you ever are looking for kid-friendly places let me know...we have done a lot of trial and error :-)

[momix5]

I find it hard to believe that at 90,000 a year they could not afford anything near Ronkonkoma.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by momix5

I find it hard to believe that at 90,000 a year they could not afford anything near Ronkonkoma.

A house? Maybe a bargain basement starter home and then living on Mac and Cheese.

My wife and I make well above that, and I have $0 debt other than mortgage. The maximum I would buy a house for and be able to save and live a decent life style is around 420K, once you factor in 7K in taxes, oil prices, day care, etc.

[momix5]

what is wrong with a starter home?

[dman72]

Originally Posted by momix5

what is wrong with a starter home?

Nothing. Somebody moving from Austin might not be too pleased. I've done a lot of looking in Texas on websites, especially Austin and San Antonio. They will be in for a massive shock coming here and seeing what they can get for under $350. You can get similar houses in the Austin area for $150..with more land.