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I DON"T GET IT!!!!! How can Long Island be paradise!?!?!/! Sure if you make $200,000 a year you can afford a house mabye.... but then what about being broke all the time, and the traffic all day? I mean were next to NYC the dirtiest place on the planet and the most congested. I just can't believe that you people would move back to MILLIONAIRE VILLE????? Should I really think twice about moving to Arizona? I can't afford **** over here except for a basement apartment with 2 windows. I hate ****'n long island and feel as soon as i leave I'll live a much longer less stressed life.
This is my biggest issue with this "beaten to death" thread and topic...When somebody claims that Long Island has changed for the worse, or is in decline, please simply share where you actually lived on long island and what were the changes. Somebody who grew up in south shore nassau county might have little in common with somebody who currently resides in Rocky Point, geographically speaking. One person's view of a decline (while accurate potentially) may have little to do with another long islander who lives 40 miles away. I think these blanket statements do little to allow for an informed discussion. Of course the same should be said for those discussing other states, etc.
I was born in Fort Lee NJ then moved with my parents to Ocean Lea in Oceanside. Houses were in 1983 or so, like $86,000 and now there $650,000.... is that a LARGE ENOUGH CHANGE FOR YOU!/!/!!?!? What about taxes used to be a grand or 2 now there $8,500 to $15,000 for your basic house. What about your mortgage used to be $1500 a month and now its $4,000. I mean how can you live in this ****'n place!?!?! its about $5000 a month in mortgage and property taxes, food and gas is another $700 a month so your almost at like $6000, for one month stay, then you have to do that every month so it comes to around $50,000 a year just to live basic with nothing. I MEAN HOW CAN ONE AFFORD THIS UNLESS YOUR MARRIED AND ARE DOCTORS OR SOMETHING, if your not ur stuggling and if you have KIDS THEN YOUR DIEING, unless your rich. And most of us weren't book smart enough to become a doctor or lawyer, but I"m sure dam good as lanscape design and exterminating, but then again, it isn't a doctor or lawyer. Then what happens when you have kids!?!?!?!!?! THEN YOUR REALLY ****"ED ON LONG ISLAND. I make about $600 a week thats about $2400 a month, and I can't afford a new pair of sneakers let along my rent/cellphone/insane car insurance/and then what happens when I get a ticket once in a while for some bull****, cause the police around here are such money hungry rats on wheels, they don't see life like we do on the most expensive place in the world. I JUST WISH TO GOD MY PARENTS BROUGHT ME UP SOMEWHERE LIVABLE... Now that I"m outta my house and have a good job, the feeling of living in a basement has robbed my self confidence and taken all pride from oneself. I FEEL LIKE A HOmeleSS BUMB JUST WITH A COUPLE DOLLARS IN MY POCKET AND A CAVE TO CALL HOME..... WERE CAN I GO!?!?!! I ASK GOD ALL THE TIME WERE I CAN LIVE THE AMERICAN "PROMISE," WERE I CAN HAVE A sMALL BACKYARD WITH A GARDEN AND BE HAPPY.... WHY DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN SUCH FINANCIAL TOURTURE IN A LAND WERE making thousands a month is NOTHING!!!!
We live in St Augustine which is North Florida, about 45 minutes away from Jacksonville. The area is growing, lots of young families and such. The weather here is very nice most of the year, the summer is hot everywhere, but in the fall/winter/spring our weather is the best!! The taxes/homes/electric rates etc. are all much lower than on LI. Like I said, the only thing we miss is our families/friends, but they are all so stressed from working full time and trying to raise a family, that we would barely see them anyway. Instead, they visit for a week and we spend lots of time with them. Good luck! Your home is where you make it anyway!!
I was born in Fort Lee NJ then moved with my parents to Ocean Lea in Oceanside. Houses were in 1983 or so, like $86,000 and now there $650,000.... is that a LARGE ENOUGH CHANGE FOR YOU!/!/!!?!? What about taxes used to be a grand or 2 now there $8,500 to $15,000 for your basic house. What about your mortgage used to be $1500 a month and now its $4,000. I mean how can you live in this ****'n place!?!?! its about $5000 a month in mortgage and property taxes, food and gas is another $700 a month so your almost at like $6000, for one month stay, then you have to do that every month so it comes to around $50,000 a year just to live basic with nothing. I MEAN HOW CAN ONE AFFORD THIS UNLESS YOUR MARRIED AND ARE DOCTORS OR SOMETHING, if your not ur stuggling and if you have KIDS THEN YOUR DIEING, unless your rich. And most of us weren't book smart enough to become a doctor or lawyer, but I"m sure dam good as lanscape design and exterminating, but then again, it isn't a doctor or lawyer. Then what happens when you have kids!?!?!?!!?! THEN YOUR REALLY ****"ED ON LONG ISLAND. I make about $600 a week thats about $2400 a month, and I can't afford a new pair of sneakers let along my rent/cellphone/insane car insurance/and then what happens when I get a ticket once in a while for some bull****, cause the police around here are such money hungry rats on wheels, they don't see life like we do on the most expensive place in the world. I JUST WISH TO GOD MY PARENTS BROUGHT ME UP SOMEWHERE LIVABLE... Now that I"m outta my house and have a good job, the feeling of living in a basement has robbed my self confidence and taken all pride from oneself. I FEEL LIKE A HOmeleSS BUMB JUST WITH A COUPLE DOLLARS IN MY POCKET AND A CAVE TO CALL HOME..... WERE CAN I GO!?!?!! I ASK GOD ALL THE TIME WERE I CAN LIVE THE AMERICAN "PROMISE," WERE I CAN HAVE A sMALL BACKYARD WITH A GARDEN AND BE HAPPY.... WHY DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN SUCH FINANCIAL TOURTURE IN A LAND WERE making thousands a month is NOTHING!!!!
Hey, I understand where you're coming from completely. I felt the exact same way that you did when I moved from NY to Charlotte. I wanted a better way of life, I wanted to have some money in my pocket, I wanted less traffic. But the reality of it is, it's just the times we are in now. Well of course you can get a GREAT house down in the south for much less money than you can in NY, however have you seen the job market in let's just say Charlotte right now? Now granted the job market is hurting everywhere, however in NY if you want to find work, theres Manhattan, LI, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens, Hell even westchester as well. Where I now live there's just Charlotte...That's IT for work. Now the good thing is it's cheaper to live down here, but there are job cuts left and right, wachovia just laid off 11,000 jobs, US Airways also cut 1,700 jobs, and I was one of them. Now although I found work, it was very hard. I'm not trying to scare people away from moving to the south, I understand everybodies frustration in NY, but the south is really full of strip malls, and the crime down here is unbelievable, I've lived in NY my entire life, and I myself have had a gun pointed in my face down here, i've had a friend murdered at his job, and my other friend robbed at gun point. Now i'm not saying that there's no crime in NY, but I haven't had that happen to myself or any of my family members in NY. The way of life in the south is very different, and while a lot of people love it, because they come down with the intentions of escaping the "rat race" in NY, while this may work for some, it may not work for all, I myself am facing the hardships of it. My family is moving down to Charlotte very soon actually, and i'm very happy for them, however, although I will miss them very much in NY, I feel NY is where I need to be. Granted the job market may be tough, but myself personally, I'd rather live in a 2 bedroom basement with two windows, than to deal with half of the intolerance i've dealt with down here. I'm tired of all the yankee jokes, and all of the racism i've seen.
You seem to have a grasp on the real values. In NY your kids can get jobs in the area and settle because there is a ton of work. Family/friends are close, there is more culture/diversity...so you sacrifice house size and pay more property tax, but is a McMansion on 4 acres in downtown-less Cookiecutterville, GA really necessary? NO!!
In general people are losing sight of the simple days, when people did not need much to please themselves, everyone lived in rowhomes or apartments back in Brooklyn or the Bronx and were together all the time, having block parties, etc. Money was short for many, but happiness was not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nirvana6992
Hey, I understand where you're coming from completely. I felt the exact same way that you did when I moved from NY to Charlotte. I wanted a better way of life, I wanted to have some money in my pocket, I wanted less traffic. But the reality of it is, it's just the times we are in now. Well of course you can get a GREAT house down in the south for much less money than you can in NY, however have you seen the job market in let's just say Charlotte right now? Now granted the job market is hurting everywhere, however in NY if you want to find work, theres Manhattan, LI, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens, Hell even westchester as well. Where I now live there's just Charlotte...That's IT for work. Now the good thing is it's cheaper to live down here, but there are job cuts left and right, wachovia just laid off 11,000 jobs, US Airways also cut 1,700 jobs, and I was one of them. Now although I found work, it was very hard. I'm not trying to scare people away from moving to the south, I understand everybodies frustration in NY, but the south is really full of strip malls, and the crime down here is unbelievable, I've lived in NY my entire life, and I myself have had a gun pointed in my face down here, i've had a friend murdered at his job, and my other friend robbed at gun point. Now i'm not saying that there's no crime in NY, but I haven't had that happen to myself or any of my family members in NY. The way of life in the south is very different, and while a lot of people love it, because they come down with the intentions of escaping the "rat race" in NY, while this may work for some, it may not work for all, I myself am facing the hardships of it. My family is moving down to Charlotte very soon actually, and i'm very happy for them, however, although I will miss them very much in NY, I feel NY is where I need to be. Granted the job market may be tough, but myself personally, I'd rather live in a 2 bedroom basement with two windows, than to deal with half of the intolerance i've dealt with down here. I'm tired of all the yankee jokes, and all of the racism i've seen.
[quote=DITC;5172798]You seem to have a grasp on the real values. In NY your kids can get jobs in the area and settle because there is a ton of work. Family/friends are close, there is more culture/diversity...so you sacrifice house size and pay more property tax, but is a McMansion on 4 acres in downtown-less Cookiecutterville, GA really necessary? NO!!
In general people are losing sight of the simple days, when people did not need much to please themselves, everyone lived in rowhomes or apartments back in Brooklyn or the Bronx and were together all the time, having block parties, etc. Money was short for many, but happiness was not.[/quote]
Amen! I would rather be broke and happy then rich and miserable...my lawyer father is a testiment to that statement. Miserable and not so healthy because of all the stress...all the money he made cant fix that, driving nice cars and living in million dollar houses doesnt fix it either.
I moved down here to Central FL, just outside Orlando in 87. This year alone I've been back to LI 5 times!!! Can't afford to live there & raise a family but before the fuel prices went up I was able to fly into Islip for $150 R/T. It was perfect!!! I miss LI terribly, the people, the food, the beaches then just 3 hrs away, the mountains. Here its so friggin HOT 6 months outta the year, my kids don't go outside & play. But it is cheaper. My mortgage is $900/mo & that includes taxes & insurance! I couldn't even get a studio apt for that on LI. My friends still live in LI & so do some family so I always have a place to come "home" to. My parents are down here & elderly..so I woudn't go anywhere now anyway but my times coming and when the kids are grown I'm northbound for good. Don't know about LI because of the expense but close enough to make it one day drive.
some of the most miserable people I have ever met are living in Greenwich CT with millions of dollars. You can see it in their eyes, they have NOTHING to live for, so they just look for the next milestone to provide temporary satisfaction to hold them over.
[quote=minesbroken;5174507]
Quote:
Originally Posted by DITC
You seem to have a grasp on the real values. In NY your kids can get jobs in the area and settle because there is a ton of work. Family/friends are close, there is more culture/diversity...so you sacrifice house size and pay more property tax, but is a McMansion on 4 acres in downtown-less Cookiecutterville, GA really necessary? NO!!
In general people are losing sight of the simple days, when people did not need much to please themselves, everyone lived in rowhomes or apartments back in Brooklyn or the Bronx and were together all the time, having block parties, etc. Money was short for many, but happiness was not.[/quote]
Amen! I would rather be broke and happy then rich and miserable...my lawyer father is a testiment to that statement. Miserable and not so healthy because of all the stress...all the money he made cant fix that, driving nice cars and living in million dollar houses doesnt fix it either.
Hey, I understand where you're coming from completely. I felt the exact same way that you did when I moved from NY to Charlotte. I wanted a better way of life, I wanted to have some money in my pocket, I wanted less traffic. But the reality of it is, it's just the times we are in now. Well of course you can get a GREAT house down in the south for much less money than you can in NY, however have you seen the job market in let's just say Charlotte right now? Now granted the job market is hurting everywhere, however in NY if you want to find work, theres Manhattan, LI, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens, Hell even westchester as well. Where I now live there's just Charlotte...That's IT for work. Now the good thing is it's cheaper to live down here, but there are job cuts left and right, wachovia just laid off 11,000 jobs, US Airways also cut 1,700 jobs, and I was one of them. Now although I found work, it was very hard. I'm not trying to scare people away from moving to the south, I understand everybodies frustration in NY, but the south is really full of strip malls, and the crime down here is unbelievable, I've lived in NY my entire life, and I myself have had a gun pointed in my face down here, i've had a friend murdered at his job, and my other friend robbed at gun point. Now i'm not saying that there's no crime in NY, but I haven't had that happen to myself or any of my family members in NY. The way of life in the south is very different, and while a lot of people love it, because they come down with the intentions of escaping the "rat race" in NY, while this may work for some, it may not work for all, I myself am facing the hardships of it. My family is moving down to Charlotte very soon actually, and i'm very happy for them, however, although I will miss them very much in NY, I feel NY is where I need to be. Granted the job market may be tough, but myself personally, I'd rather live in a 2 bedroom basement with two windows, than to deal with half of the intolerance i've dealt with down here. I'm tired of all the yankee jokes, and all of the racism i've seen.
Long island is far from paradise, but for those that don't get it, the South is cheaper because (generally speaking), jobs pay less. So while you may get a nice house for less money, at the end of the day, you'll probably end up with the same amount of money in your pocket. And that's just the financial picture. It is a different culture. It's hard to explain unless you live it. I am trying to make the most of where I'm at right now but it's been 4yrs since I left NY and still not getting used to this. Does that mean I think there is something wrong with the south? of course not. For millions of people, it's great. It's just not for me and the problem is that many NYers just think about the financial equation and don't take into consideration the emotional and mental turmoil that you may endure living in a place that doesn't feel like home. And for others, it may be a new found paradise. To each his own. the way I see it, if you are unhappy on Long Island, you can always move elsewhere and give it a try. I just know that I am certainly not alone when it comes to the huge number of people that have left Long Island (and NJ, and NYC) only to turn right back around. The grass is not always greener. That's all I'm saying.
So like Nirvana6992, I think I could learn to deal with the fact that NY is expensive and apts are small. But all of the positives outweigh those negatives.
p.s. Aside from the lower pay, down South states are "right to work" states. If you don't know what that means, be thankful. It's different working down here where you can get fired for no reason and managers are constantly micro-managing and if you get fired, too bad, no unemployment for you and forget about your "rights." FL is notorious for taking advantage of their workers. It's no coincidence that "right to work" states generally have lower wages that "union" or "blue" states. http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm
Last edited by NYLATINQT; 09-09-2008 at 01:46 PM..
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