Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Started as sarcasm and moved on to facts. Sarcasm based on frustration. "Love it or leave it." I've heard that drivel of a line anytime someone wants to shirk the ugliness of actually changing and making improvements. Frankly the schools aren't "good enough." We pay $24k per student. It's insane. Utah pays $8000 per student. They rank 17th in SAT scores, we rank 40th. Yes there are demographic reasons for that, but none that explain triple the cost. I like Long Island, that doesn't mean it isn't systemically broken and in decline. The fear we all feel as parents living paycheck to paycheck is REAL.
"Love it or leave it" and "we'd move to Canada?!" Who's the myopic one?
Sigh.
Please, PLEASE re-read the original post of this thread. Again, I was asking why LI'ers STAY here. Your response to that:
Quote:
Originally Posted by mongoose65
I enjoy getting together with the other kindergarden parents and kids to barbeque and find out who is moving where and when and how much of a beating they will take on their house just to get out. The ones staying all say "I have 14 years in on my pension, I can't go anywhere." The others say "I have no pension and with these taxes and expenses, I'll never be able to retire here." Nice people, all working hard. Very hard to get ahead. The only benefit is that "hey, it's friggin New York" (sort of) and most of us are Brooklyn/Queens people who like "being from NY." We are all in agreement that LI is in economic decline with little political will to right the ship.
You seem to be putting up a fine defense in favor of leaving. Either that, or you are truly myopic by definition. What are YOU doing to change and make improvements, besides whining your myopic drivel on a message board?
Utah may spend less and have better SAT scores, hell, they may be the best schools in the country. Guess I should pack my bags and head to Utah...huh.
By the way...I would move to Canada in a heartbeat IF I DIDN'T have school age kids. There's this thing called responsibility that overrules our sense of adventure. LI affords me the best combination of amenities for my family: great jobs, affordable (for me, largely due to the aforementioned job) housing, quality education, entertainment, culture, social and athletic programs, tolerable crime rate, and to top it all off, familiarity make LI a safe bet for us raising a family. There may be better schools in Utah, cheaper homes in NC, better gun laws in Texas, et al, but when you weigh it all out, this place makes the most sense to me.
I had a Seinfeld Seltzer moment once, but in New England.
My accent is a combo Bronx/South Shore/Albany...bear that in mind.
Walk into the shop looking for egg cream ingredients. See chocolate syrup (not Ubet's though), whole milk, straws. Place my items at the register and the clerk asks me if I found everything alright. I said, "The only thing I couldn't find is seltzer," as I pointed to the back refrigerator case.
He looked surprised and acknowledged that it is usually in the area I indicated. I followed him over to a display and he said, "We have it -- do you prefer spicy or mild?"
I laughed and asked, "Is my accent really that bad? I was looking for seltzER. We just had a Seinfeld moment!"
The clerk had a good sense of humor and was a Seinfeld fan. I left seltzerless and the clerk learned how to make a good egg cream.
lol,
That kind of stuff happens to my wife all the time down here. My wife is black with a strong British accent which some old southerners have a hard time picking up. Sometimes she asks for something and is in shock when they bring her the totally wrong item. Sometimes I even have to play the role of translator, imagine that two people speaking the same language and they can't understand each other. Add in my thick NY/Italian accent and sometimes it becomes a comedy routine
Why on God's green earth would you be debating what seltzer water is with a McDonald's worker for 20 minutes
BTW it's called soda water down here maybe that could of avoided that 20 minute explanation.....
Well considering the many years I spent in the Air force and travelling all over the states, I knew what to expect. I tried calling it seltzer, club soda, and carbonated water. I even explained to the worker that it is the button next to the sprite/7up. But I guess that's a southern thing, a lack of a proper vocabulary and understanding. You didn't understand that 20 minutes was an exaggeration. I guess they're rubbing off on you. I'll explain what exaggeration means at another time for you if you forgot.
Well considering the many years I spent in the Air force and travelling all over the states, I knew what to expect. I tried calling it seltzer, club soda, and carbonated water. I even explained to the worker that it is the button next to the sprite/7up. But I guess that's a southern thing, a lack of a proper vocabulary and understanding. You didn't understand that 20 minutes was an exaggeration. I'll explain what exaggeration means at another time for you.
I told you it's called soda water
You said 20 minutes not me, I was just going by what was typed.
It's spelled traveling not travelling......ok mister vocabulary
You said 20 minutes not me, I was just going by what was typed.
It's spelled traveling not travelling......ok mister vocabulary
I guess a person with common sense would have known that 20 minutes was an exaggeration. As for your question about my spelling, both are proper and used. Do a little research.
Don't be such an arrogant SOB. Love it or hate it has no bearing on leaving. It's "afford it", "like it but not much value", "hate the town, like the county", "schools are ok but a ripoff"...lots of other REAL, TANGIBLE issues." You asked an open question. If you don't like the answers, too bad. My answer stands. "I enjoy (ok LOVE) getting together with the parents to barbeque and find out who's going where and how much they must sacrifice to leave." I bbq'd for a dozen families yesterday who I really enjoy getting together with. We've all been acquainted since daycare up through kindergarden with our kids. ALL used a significant piece of the day to *****, moan, vent, kvetch, head scratch about the state of our community and the costs. You want to wear rose colored glasses, goody for you. 3 of those families are leaving THIS YEAR (Parkland, FL, Lancaster, PA, Charlotte, NC). They are THE tax base in my town, they are the American dream of western nassau. They would all PREFER to stay but it makes little economic sense and they don't feel financially secure anymore. They've reached financial critical mass. I am more involved than I care to brag about on here. My job saves a district money and my volunteer time kept our taxes down while passing the budget. I want more, I want better. I give a s*it and think this place is an outdated mess. Costs up, services down, layers of sickly useless govt hacks.
Here, I'll make you happy...
I LOVE da bagels and da beach...duh...oh and no tornadoes. Sheesh.
We stay here because we're stuck on a financial treadmill and can't leave. My wife is a tough sell, hates change, but even she is starting to lean towards leaving. That in itself is a sad indicator. She LOVES Nassau County (and NYC). Hates everywhere else (Jersey, Suffolk, Florida). I don't get it, but that's her thing.
Good job!!
So you love LI for people's incessant whining about it, and you enjoy the positive reps you get here. Interesting.
So you love LI for people's incessant whining about it, and you enjoy the positive reps you get here. Interesting.
You are a fascinating specimen.
Remember it was sarcasm?! Lighten up, Francis. I promise to tone down the rhetoric..
I re-read your original post. You get the negatives all right. How do YOU think they balance against the positives? Not just for you, but for most people making between $75 and $150k per year with elementary aged children. Tell me the benefits. You laid out as many negatives as I did. The positives are thin to me. I lived in Austin and Boston (pre-family) and I found each of those places, while somewhat expensive, to be much more user friendly than LI.
I'm not trying to just be a negative nelly. I want the best and I'm here, working, doing what you do. I just feel cheated.
What do I post when Kate Murray and pathetic crew gets elected again?! I wish I had your sense of non-chalance. I really do. I'm just more high-strung. I also pay $11k taxes on a Levitt cape. It breeds contempt!
You asked about why people "LOVE IT" and then you defend it as "makes the most sense for me." Hardly a romantic endorsement.
You make a valid point in defense of staying...FOR YOU! It makes the most sense ...TO YOU! It has the best combination of status quo, security and mediocrity that you require. You have a job. OK, I get it. I respect that and I agree. It's safe, functional, adequate, nice, acceptable. It's also exceedingly bureaucratic, expensive, arrogant and in a downward economic spiral. Love it or hate it has no bearing on leaving. Just becuase you wouldn't go to Utah doesn't mean it might not make tremendous sense for others and the schools ARE better (which sickens me ,one, because of what I pay and two, my general NY elitism that says no friggin way should those schools be performing better than ours...lol)! You asked an open question. If you don't like the answers, too bad. My answer stands. "I enjoy (ok LOVE) getting together with the parents to barbeque and find out who's going where and how much they must sacrifice to leave." I bbq'd for a dozen families yesterday who I really enjoy getting together with. We've all been acquainted since daycare up through kindergarden with our kids. ALL used a significant piece of the day to *****, moan, vent, kvetch, head scratch about the state of our community and the costs. Plotting strategies of how to swing summer camp or daycare; how to navigate the new school hours next fall without getting hammered for off day child care (which we thought we were finished with). You want to wear rose colored glasses, goody for you. 3 of those families are leaving THIS YEAR (Parkland, FL, Lancaster, PA, Charlotte, NC). They are THE tax base in my town, they are the American dream of western nassau. They would all PREFER to stay but it makes little economic sense and they don't feel financially secure anymore. They've reached financial critical mass. They are not "adventurers." They did the math and are choosing to overcome their fear and seek something better for THEIR families. They LOVE it AND they are LEAVING it. That's my point. I am more involved than I care to brag about on here. My job saves a district money (and jobs) and my volunteer time kept our taxes down while passing the budget. I want more, I want better. I give a s*it and think this place is an outdated mess. Costs up, services down, layers of sickly useless govt hacks.
Here, I'll make you happy...
I LOVE da bagels and da beach...duh...oh and no tornadoes. Sheesh.
We stay here because we're stuck on a financial treadmill and can't leave (yet). My wife is a tough sell, hates change, but even she is starting to lean towards leaving. That in itself is a sad indicator. She LOVES Nassau County (and NYC). Hates everywhere else (Jersey, Suffolk, Florida). I don't get it, but that's her thing.
Oddly, my "drivel" got alot of positive reps...and really, that's what I love about LI.
Nothing quite like responding to a post before someone edits it.
AAAAAAAGAIN, please RE-READ the original post in this thread. Don't put too much stock in the "love" part.
[quote=mongoose65;19385251]Remember it was sarcasm?! Lighten up, Francis. I promise to tone down the rhetoric..
I re-read your original post. You get the negatives all right. How do YOU think they balance against the positives? Not just for you, but for most people making between $75 and $150k per year with elementary aged children. Tell me the benefits. You laid out as many negatives as I did. The positives are thin to me. I lived in Austin and Boston (pre-family) and I found each of those places, while somewhat expensive, to be much more user friendly than LI.
I'm not trying to just be a negative nelly. I want the best and I'm here, working, doing what you do. I just feel cheated.
What do I post when Kate Murray and pathetic crew gets elected again?! I wish I had your sense of non-chalance. I really do. I'm just more high-strung. I also pay $11k taxes on a Levitt cape. It breeds contempt![/quote]
Nothing quite like responding to a post before someone edits it.
AAAAAAAGAIN, please RE-READ the original post in this thread. Don't put too much stock in the "love" part.
PS I love LI!!!!!!!!!
Fair enough..I was editing that post, didn't intend to post the first one. I actually removed the SOB line! lol
I love NY, but Long Island is pi**ing me off!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
there's the door ------------>
maybe that could of avoided that 20 minute explanation.....
