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.
Save now, you're wedding should cost about 50k.... mine cost me 28k and im married 20 yrs now, no way you're getting what i had for 28k now, thats a wedding in a park like what you see on a redneck vacation.
Then you'll get ripped off on a starter home like someone else said for 300k to 500k when they should be 180k to 220k... Then your life will be WORK, pay bills, and work... thats the life to look forward to staying here.
Lavish weddings benefit no one but the wedding industry. If the parents wish to pay, more power to them. If you had that $28K in your pocket 20 years ago, as opposed to the caterer's, et. al., where would you be today?
Weddings can be had on the cheap. City Hall, a restaurant dinner, and you are done. The people who blow $50K on a wedding are the morons who want to impress strangers, or need to invite friends/relatives out of state or the country who barely know their fiance's name. My own wedding was significantly less than $50K (and all of it was done here in Nassau, with a reception hall in Great Neck) and we still managed to have a great day with pictures and videos that last a lifetime.
We did this.
I think we spent ~700$ after everything was all said and done... and we are just as married as the people who spend 50k.
As a lifelong Long Islander, I would advise the OP not to buy here. Long Island has no future. It is a dead suburb. Governments and school districts are ticking time bombs of overblown salary and pension obligations. There is no public transportation, so just wait and see what Long Island life is like when gas hits $7-$8 per gallon, which it inevitably will. And there is so much political corruption and such a lack of visionary thinking on the part of government officials that there is no one to lead us out of this mess.
My advice to the OP would be for him and his girlfriend to rent for now, look for jobs in Manhattan and eventually settle there. Yes, Manhattan living is expensive, but -- unlike Long Island -- it will always be a place where people want to work or live. If you invest in Manhattan real estate, you will always get your money out. You can't say the same for Long Island, with its uncertain future.
I'm 24 years old, I rent an apartment in Lindenhurst, and work in Brooklyn. Since starting this job, I made about 41K per a year before taxes but I got a nice raise to about 50K a year. Additionally, my GF just found a much better job on the island that's full time and makes around low 40's. She just moved in with me because we found it's cheaper for us both.
But I don't want to rent forever - I kind of want to get started in owning equity earlier than later and on Long Island, much of it just seems out of reach. The best options for me are living in a co-op as there are some very affordable areas, but keep in mind, my commute on the LIRR is about an hour each way and with the way each station gets filled up in parking, it's very important to be close to a station. Other than that, everything just seems too expensive.
Aside from the ridiculous property taxes (my parents pay 13000 a year! - that's more than what I pay for rent in a year), you also have rising home owner insurance costs, higher CoL, traffic jams all over, rising LIRR fares, whatever....how do most people do it here?
at the same time, I'm stuck here anyway because NYC still is one of the best places for any industry and job prospects.
It's pretty sad that my main goal one day - to own a modest home in a decent neighborhood, get married, have 2-3 kids, a dog, and a yard - seems so out of reach.
I think that your strategy is quite sound, but you need to be patient. In spite of what some of the other posters say, buying a coop/condo (if you can't afford a house) is a better long term financial strategy than renting. It's unrealistic to expect to be able to buy your dream house in your dream neighborhood as a young first time buyer. When I was roughly your age I also wanted to buy a house on Long Island but I couldn't afford it. So I bought a condo. I saved money, built up equity, and eventually bought a house (I actually sold the condo for a loss, but I had tax write offs which took away some of the sting). I ended up paying off that house and trading up to my present house, which I paid cash for. It is cheaper for me live live in my house than to rent some dumpy apartment in my area, and I was able to retire as soon as I was eligible because I didn't have a huge mortgage payment. I was able to do these things because I lived within my means (e.g. I didn't spend $50K on my wedding). I made a decent salary when I was working, but some of my coworkers (who made the same salary) always seemed to be broke.
I don't know what your price range is, but there are coops/condos that are within easy walking distance of LIRR stations (and main street shopping areas for that matter). Some of the posters are suggesting that you leave this area altogether. It is true that you will get more for your money in some other areas, but you stated that this is not an option. Just know that in an expensive area like Long Island/NYC it will take you longer to reach your housing goals, but there is no reason to assume that they are "impossible."
Has nothing to do with career choice, it's simple economics. Do well somewhere else and you'll have more to show for it.
Besides I love burritos (rice and beans).
It may be true that some people "may do well somewhere else" and might "have more to show for it." It is certainly true that there are going to be some people who cannot make it in the the uber-competitive environment that is the NYC metro area and and will be miserable and resentful living here.
It is also true that there are still plenty of people who live on Long Island who are very successful (both emotionally and financially). It isn't hard to see. There are plenty of very happy and very successful people living here. It's one of the reasons everything is so expensive - because there are plenty of the people can pay premium prices for homes and afford the high CoL.
To the OP, I agree with rocafeller05's sentiments. Keep on doing what you are doing, and don't let malcontents (who will most likely be unhappy no matter where they live )discourage you. You sound like your on the right path. If you want to stay on LI, you can do it. It's a challenge, but IMO, challenge brings out the best in people. I have a son a few years older than you that was able to recently purchase a starter home in Centerport. Both he and his wife very very happy there and have quite a bit to "show" for themselves.
I agree that it's nice when people start thinking early on about their finances and the future, but I think buying a home in one's mid-20s is really premature.
Not supposed to. He's not old enough and lemme guess since he's reliant on his gf for income cosign right ?
No the fact is he can't afford to own yet like he already stated in the OP. Well salary doesn't match what he wants looks like it. Moreover in todays world, I wouldn't cosign anything period.
as others have said, don't get bogged down by a condo, cooperative apartment, or "starter house". Keep yourself nimble and bank as much cash as you can. Many folks are thriving here and putting down roots. However, you really need to take a realistic look at how much you'll likely be earning over the next 10-15 years. If you're not going to hit a certain number, it very well make sense to get the hell out of here.
Dont get scared from the few posters on here that have made career choices that have left them eating beans and rice for dinner daily.
Yeah, if you both aren't doing better than 90k you'll be eating beans and rice...
Remember something the advice you're getting are from people YOU do not know, you have no idea what they call life..
Many people on this island believe life is owning a home, slaving to the home and having nice grass, while others believe hanging out in a parking lot with there car parked beside them is awesome, and recreational people seem to enjoy losing there rides to unjust laws and becoming criminals, and having their bikes, atv's, trucks impounded.
Making 70k now is great, then you get a house, a car or 2, some kids, and that 70k will be great somewhere else, but here that 70k better get to double that... or you're idea of life isn't what mine is.
My idea of life is pursuing the things that make you happy, for many people here this island has nothing for us, other than eating and shopping...and the majority have been sucked into thinking that is what life is all about eating, shopping and look at that lawn...
No recreational activities other than walking thru, and without your dogs if you have them, no riding bikes or motorized vehicles, and gun activities for sport are also now in trouble so you can remove any sport shooting you do now in a few months you show up to a range with anything this asinine state deemed illegal and you'll be in jail criminal.
PAY ATTENTION to this state and it's politics, you do not want to be here they don't want you to have any life.. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness Find a state that Truly understands this statement that is in our Deceleration of Independence, don't stay and contribute to the scum that take it all away from you and then trample on our constitutional rights...
You and your gf are young to do anything anywhere, be smart. But right now you're showing that you aren't, thinking about owning a home and nothing else being taken from you...but you want to stay in a place that strips you of your rights and your worry is owning a home...
.
Yeah, if you both aren't doing better than 90k you'll be eating beans and rice...
Remember something the advice you're getting are from people YOU do not know, you have no idea what they call life..
Many people on this island believe life is owning a home, slaving to the home and having nice grass, while others believe hanging out in a parking lot with there car parked beside them is awesome, and recreational people seem to enjoy losing there rides to unjust laws and becoming criminals, and having their bikes, atv's, trucks impounded.
Making 70k now is great, then you get a house, a car or 2, some kids, and that 70k will be great somewhere else, but here that 70k better get to double that... or you're idea of life isn't what mine is.
My idea of life is pursuing the things that make you happy, for many people here this island has nothing for us, other than eating and shopping...and the majority have been sucked into thinking that is what life is all about eating, shopping and look at that lawn...
No recreational activities other than walking thru, and without your dogs if you have them, no riding bikes or motorized vehicles, and gun activities for sport are also now in trouble so you can remove any sport shooting you do now in a few months you show up to a range with anything this asinine state deemed illegal and you'll be in jail criminal.
PAY ATTENTION to this state and it's politics, you do not want to be here they don't want you to have any life.. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness
Find a state that Truly understands this statement that is in our Deceleration of Independence, don't stay and contribute to the scum that take it all away from you and then trample on our constitutional rights...
You and your gf are young to do anything anywhere, be smart. But right now you're showing that you aren't, thinking about owning a home and nothing else being taken from you...but you want to stay in a place that strips you of your rights and your worry is owning a home...
.
.
Interesting. I had no idea you were such a motorized vehicle/gun enthusiast. You should post about your love of these things more often.
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.
?
