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What a timely thread for me to come across after finally logging in today after 2 1/2 years absence here! I logged in today(had to retrieve my password - it's been THAT long since I last visited this forum). First thing I did, was change my status from "SC-bound" to "Marooned on Lawn Guyland"
I'm certainly not here because I want to be here. After the crash of `08, I made what was for me, the pragmatic decision to play it safe and stay put. At least you can still get a job here. Of course, you'll probably need a 2nd job if you want to have both a roof over your head *and* eat - that's the "beauty" of Long Island, afterall
We have had our house on the market for a year with intentions of moving to S. Carolina, but the market stinks and we refuse to sell for a desperate price as many in my town seem to be doing lately. We found a charming town about 25 minutes inland from Charleston and fell in love with the area. People were so friendly, traffic was minimal and we could buy a decent ranch on an acre for $125,000. Both of our grown kids are here and we would certainly miss being close to them, but as I say to everyone, there's trains, planes and automobiles .... and Skype. The taxes on our 105 yr. old house have gone from $2300 when we bought it in 1990 to almost $9,000.
Heh, and I'm sitting on an empty home in SC(4 years now, as of last month) while stuck on LI paying rent. Thankfully, the taxes in SC are next to nothing.
I have roots here so moving would be out of the question.
Even without the family ties, I would probably not leave Long Island because its location is just so perfect to everything else I enjoy in life - access to NYC with the peaceful-ness and naturistic (relatively) of the suburbs. Close enough to see Broadway and world-class museums, and close enough to enjoy nature out by the East end.
Also, can't beat the fact that most entertainment here is top notch, even without looking at Manhattan. Below is just an excerpt of the concert calendar for local venues in JUST Long Island..I doubt many places outside LI could boast all these performers within a 20-35 mile radius of one's home:
One thing I've noticed is that people who leave strictly for monetary reasons often end up unhappy. Another poster said this a few months back, and I totally agree: if you could buy the same house elsewhere for the same price on LI, would you still leave? If so, don't leave the island.
The "same house elsewhere for the same price on LI"?!? How about the same house elsewere for 1/10th the price - with correspondingly cheap taxes? Because that's about the difference between LI and an area like the Carolinas. I agree that money isn't everything, but you cannot possibly be happy, or maintain a healthy personal enviroment/relationship when everyday is a struggle just to pay for the roof over your head - and you are forever just one illness or a few missed paychecks away from not being able to pay your mortgage/taxes or rent. It is for exactly this sort of reason, that, absent my winning the Mega-Millions lottery, I can no longer be happy on LI. I feel as if Life is holding a gun to my head(so to speak), and life on a high-speed hamster wheel - running just to keep from falling behind - is no way to live. It's not healthy, physically or emotionally. And for an increasing number of working class LIers here, that is the daily reality of living here.
What keeps me going, is that *eventually*, I will finally be in a position to bid this overrated, overtaxed
and overtrafficated island adieu, and move into my 3bdrm, 1 bath on 1/3 acre "economic bomb-shelter" in SC, which I bought for the price of a used car, and on which the taxes are just $110 a year.
All else being more or less equal, who is going to be happier? The person working 1 1/2-2 *weeks* per month just to keep a roof over their head, or the person working 1 1/2-2 *days* per month for the same basics?
And then there's that proverbial white elephant in the living room that too many continue to ignore at their own peril: We are not in a "recession", we are in a permanent state of economic contraction.
There will BE no "recovery" in our lifetimes. Let that sink in. When a camel named "Depression" finally gets his nose under the tent-flaps of Long Island, well,...it's gonna get ugly. Fast. The illusion of white bread, middle class (debt-based)"wealth" and "prosperity" will evaporate quickly as 2-earner households go to 1-earner, then finally no-earner. The illusion of "equity" will soon dissapate like a chimera as home "values" plummet. As will the illusion of sustainability of $10k a year property tax rates.
With this in mind, I think it would behoove my fellow LIers to at least *consider* acquiring a dirt-cheap-to-keep backup residence to retreat to when it all goes to sh** here.
I agree that money isn't everything, but you cannot possibly be happy, or maintain a healthy personal enviroment/relationship when everyday is a struggle just to pay for the roof over your head - and you are forever just one illness or a few missed paychecks away from not being able to pay your mortgage/taxes or rent. It is for exactly this sort of reason, that, absent my winning the Mega-Millions lottery, I can no longer be happy on LI. I feel as if Life is holding a gun to my head(so to speak), and life on a high-speed hamster wheel - running just to keep from falling behind - is no way to live. It's not healthy, physically or emotionally. And for an increasing number of working class LIers here, that is the daily reality of living here.
This is exactly how I felt living on Long Island and exactly why I left. It was one of the best decisions of my life. My expenses are so much less now (no mortgage at all, low property taxes, low energy costs, low car insurance, etc.). I feel as if a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders and it feels GREAT.
The "same house elsewhere for the same price on LI"?!? How about the same house elsewere for 1/10th the price - with correspondingly cheap taxes? Because that's about the difference between LI and an area like the Carolinas. I agree that money isn't everything, but you cannot possibly be happy, or maintain a healthy personal enviroment/relationship when everyday is a struggle just to pay for the roof over your head - and you are forever just one illness or a few missed paychecks away from not being able to pay your mortgage/taxes or rent. It is for exactly this sort of reason, that, absent my winning the Mega-Millions lottery, I can no longer be happy on LI. I feel as if Life is holding a gun to my head(so to speak), and life on a high-speed hamster wheel - running just to keep from falling behind - is no way to live. It's not healthy, physically or emotionally. And for an increasing number of working class LIers here, that is the daily reality of living here.
If you are that unhappy here, then I wish you well in SC. But not everyone is in struggling to pay for a roof over their head here. I lived in FL for 12 years and hated it more every year, cheaper living isnt the end all be all for everyone. For me personally you couldn't give me a house for free to live in a place like SC. But if it is your paradise then godspeed.
Quote:
And then there's that proverbial white elephant in the living room that too many continue to ignore at their own peril: We are not in a "recession", we are in a permanent state of economic contraction.
There will BE no "recovery" in our lifetimes. Let that sink in. When a camel named "Depression" finally gets his nose under the tent-flaps of Long Island, well,...it's gonna get ugly. Fast. The illusion of white bread, middle class (debt-based)"wealth" and "prosperity" will evaporate quickly as 2-earner households go to 1-earner, then finally no-earner. The illusion of "equity" will soon dissapate like a chimera as home "values" plummet. As will the illusion of sustainability of $10k a year property tax rates.
With this in mind, I think it would behoove my fellow LIers to at least *consider* acquiring a dirt-cheap-to-keep backup residence to retreat to when it all goes to sh** here.
Wow you are going to fit right in down there lol. Are you going to build an end of the world shelter and stockpile some AKs as well?
Seriously though if what you speak of comes to pass living in SC isnt going to help much, nor will living anywhere else for that matter.
Location: Prince Georges County, MD (formerly Long Island, NY)
1,558 posts, read 2,724,431 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
Originally Posted by Escape_From_NY
The "same house elsewhere for the same price on LI"?!? How about the same house elsewere for 1/10th the price - with correspondingly cheap taxes? Because that's about the difference between LI and an area like the Carolinas. I agree that money isn't everything, but you cannot possibly be happy, or maintain a healthy personal enviroment/relationship when everyday is a struggle just to pay for the roof over your head - and you are forever just one illness or a few missed paychecks away from not being able to pay your mortgage/taxes or rent. It is for exactly this sort of reason, that, absent my winning the Mega-Millions lottery, I can no longer be happy on LI. I feel as if Life is holding a gun to my head(so to speak), and life on a high-speed hamster wheel - running just to keep from falling behind - is no way to live. It's not healthy, physically or emotionally. And for an increasing number of working class LIers here, that is the daily reality of living here.
What keeps me going, is that *eventually*, I will finally be in a position to bid this overrated, overtaxed
and overtrafficated island adieu, and move into my 3bdrm, 1 bath on 1/3 acre "economic bomb-shelter" in SC, which I bought for the price of a used car, and on which the taxes are just $110 a year.
All else being more or less equal, who is going to be happier? The person working 1 1/2-2 *weeks* per month just to keep a roof over their head, or the person working 1 1/2-2 *days* per month for the same basics?
And then there's that proverbial white elephant in the living room that too many continue to ignore at their own peril: We are not in a "recession", we are in a permanent state of economic contraction.
There will BE no "recovery" in our lifetimes. Let that sink in. When a camel named "Depression" finally gets his nose under the tent-flaps of Long Island, well,...it's gonna get ugly. Fast. The illusion of white bread, middle class (debt-based)"wealth" and "prosperity" will evaporate quickly as 2-earner households go to 1-earner, then finally no-earner. The illusion of "equity" will soon dissapate like a chimera as home "values" plummet. As will the illusion of sustainability of $10k a year property tax rates.
With this in mind, I think it would behoove my fellow LIers to at least *consider* acquiring a dirt-cheap-to-keep backup residence to retreat to when it all goes to sh** here.
You missed the crux of what I was saying. I, myself, plan on leaving the island at some point (as soon as 18 months), but if you choose somewhere just because it's cheap, and not because you like the place, you WILL end up unhappy. If you choose the wrong place, you can be bored with nothing to do, you can be lonely without friends and family, you can get tired of the weather, etc.
The point is that, even down south, the inexpensive McMansions that people like (which I think are gorgeous, btw), tend to be in far flung, isolated neighborhoods-- some people like that, some people don't. But to uproot just for a house is foolish. The money you save on the house can't buy family, it can't buy friends. Does that mean you shouldn't move? Of course not!! A lot of us just can't afford housing on Long Island-- but at least move somewhere you like.
Again, I'm all for leaving Long Island, but do it for the right reasons. As I said, my reasons for leaving aren't just money, it's QOL (traffic, fast faced atmosphere, political corruption, etc).
You missed the crux of what I was saying. I, myself, plan on leaving the island at some point (as soon as 18 months), but if you choose somewhere just because it's cheap, and not because you like the place, you WILL end up unhappy. If you choose the wrong place, you can be bored with nothing to do, you can be lonely without friends and family, you can get tired of the weather, etc.
The point is that, even down south, the inexpensive McMansions that people like (which I think are gorgeous, btw), tend to be in far flung, isolated neighborhoods-- some people like that, some people don't. But to uproot just for a house is foolish. The money you save on the house can't buy family, it can't buy friends. Does that mean you shouldn't move? Of course not!! A lot of us just can't afford housing on Long Island-- but at least move somewhere you like.
Again, I'm all for leaving Long Island, but do it for the right reasons. As I said, my reasons for leaving aren't just money, it's QOL (traffic, fast faced atmosphere, political corruption, etc).
Now do you get what I was saying?
I've lived in 8 different states. Corruption is rampant in all 8. Out of the 8, I'd only give VA (parts of it at only) a thumbs up.
Everywhere you go something is going to cause you stress....be it poisonous critters, electricity bills, politics, lack of medical facilities, schools, cultural. You just trade one evil for another.
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I'm still here. But NOT by choice.
I logged in today(had to retrieve my password - it's been THAT long since I last visited this forum). First thing I did, was change my status from "SC-bound" to "Marooned on Lawn Guyland"
How about the same house elsewere for 1/10th the price - with correspondingly cheap taxes? Because that's about the difference between LI and an area like the Carolinas. I agree that money isn't everything, but you cannot possibly be happy, or maintain a healthy personal enviroment/relationship when everyday is a struggle just to pay for the roof over your head - and you are forever just one illness or a few missed paychecks away from not being able to pay your mortgage/taxes or rent. It is for exactly this sort of reason, that, absent my winning the Mega-Millions lottery, I can no longer be happy on LI. I feel as if Life is holding a gun to my head(so to speak), and life on a high-speed hamster wheel - running just to keep from falling behind - is no way to live. It's not healthy, physically or emotionally. And for an increasing number of working class LIers here, that is the daily reality of living here.
