Why do people seem happier in Westchester than Long Island? (New York: middle-class, buy)

[Jarot]

This is just something that's seriously made me think. I barely see people ever complaining in Westchester related forums, comment areas, etc. On the other hand, people on Long Island complain all the time. They hate it. Yet taxes in Westchester are definitely higher.

What's your secret? Am I just wrong? Westchester taxes are exponentially higher, yet it seems like it's a better quality of life. Are your electricity bills cheaper? Better amenities? The fact that you're not trapped on an island with all the exits congested and tolled? I'm serious, this isn't meant to be a joke thread, because in a few years after marriage I want to entertain the idea of moving to Westchester (with much convincing of course), it just seems a lot better, but the taxes are ridiculous and we sadly can't currently afford them.

[NOLA101]

Maybe C-D just has more grumpy forumers on the LI thread?

LI is one of the most expensive and desirable places in the U.S. I doubt it's grumpier than your average place.

[ANM1982]

Live on Long Island for 30 years, moved to Westchester two years ago. My taxes are on par for what I would have paid on Long Island for a similarly sized property ($12,000, but STAR knocks that down even further for us)

- The biggest thing I like: I'm not landlocked, which does lead to better traffic (for the most part). It still only takes me 90 minutes to get back to where I grew up on LI, yet I can also go to New Jersey, upstate, Connecticut, and NYC with ease.

- Despite some of Metro-North's recent difficulties, I find it much more reliable that the LIRR. Also, I have easy access to two different Amtrak lines.

- There isn't as much urban sprawl. If I need to go shopping at a major big box store, I have to travel 20 to 30 minutes in each direction.

[ponytrekker]

Negatives: Harder to get to the beach.
Positives: Everything else.

[STEVEN 1]

Both places are equally filled with pretentious jerks but as a whole Long Island just isn't pretty and Westchester, at least the Northern part is very scenic and has a more country feel to it which is what I like.

Long Island is just there, it has no Bear Mountain overlook, it has no Army football games at West Point, its basically a bunch of folks that drive European cars with argyle sweaters tied around their necks, they have bagels but so does every grocery store in the United States.

New York has 2 sides, lala land which includes Manhattan, Southern Westchester, and Long Island, then theres the real New York, the pretty New York, the New York I know and love and that can be found in Northern Westchester and Putnam Counties.

[BD1978]

I agree that in general Long Island is considered to be a desirable place to live and has some lovely towns. I think that ANM nailed it by citing traffic/congestion and commuting issues as big reasons why Westchester is in some ways a better choice for many people.

I would also add that - although it is anecdotal - the perception among many of my peers (mid to upper 30's) is that Long Island is in decline as a desirable place to live whereas Westchester is not. I know several couples where one spouse is from LI and still has family there, yet they chose to live in Westchester because they thought it was overall nicer/less congested and a better investment reputation-wise going forward. (Full disclosure, my wife grew up on LI and her parents still live there, but we viewed Westchester as a far more desirable place to live.) And again it's anecdotal, but I don't know a single couple where the opposite situation was true (Westchester roots but settled in LI).

Look, the truth is that Nassau has some great places to live with great schools. But its population density is at least twice that of Westchester's and it's very flat and unattractive compared to Westchester. Combine that with the perception that Metro North and Grand Central are a far nicer commute than the awful Penn Station/LIRR, and I think that explains a lot of the discontent on the LI forums.

[mfenimore]

LI overall is more crowded/congested than Westchester. I think of more strip malls, less wooded areas, ect. LIRR is definitely less reliable than Metro North. There are nice areas of LI don't get me wrong but overall definitely a lot more traffic, less small town feels like you get in a lot of the Westchester towns. I just find Westchester prettier overall than LI too.And yes you are completely landlocked with only 3 true options to get off island(LIE, So State and GCP) which are notorious for traffic.
In No Westchester you can often avoid rare traffic by travelling on backroads just as well.

They both have high taxes so the marginal difference may not be much when looking at the trade off on quality of life.

I grew up in Queens and most people migrated to LI, I am one of the few who moved to Westchester and am so glad I did.

[bg7]

I get the general impression that on LI there seems to be a lot of people who are hella peed off with their neighbors for some reason. As a qualifier: this opinion is entirely based on the C-D message boards.

[ruhkus]

My assumption (though not backed by statistics at the moment) is that there are more middle-class people on Long Island, than Westchester. The rich in both areas likely don't complain much if at all on these forums, but those that actually have some struggles financially to get by will likely complain on a forum such as this, and I assumed LI had more of these people.

[babysladkaya]

Westchester is considered to be a more prestigious place to live, many execs I know chose to live in the upscale town in Westchester rather than buy in upscale towns on LI, not sure what it is, I think that Westchester is considered to be more waspy while LI is more of an ethnic mix.