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My husband and I are both working professionals with graduate degrees. I grew up on LI and we just moved out here from the city. Our neighborhood is one that most people consider "great," but we miss the city. We probably would not be here if it wasn't for personal family concerns.
I'm a long time lurker, but first time poster and I've read almost this entire thread, so I wanted to throw in my two cents. My husband and I are 28-year old Newlyweds. We grew up in Farmingdale and have been living the past three years in a low-rent house in Flushing, Queens (his Father's family home that was vacant). It's falling apart and it's borderline unlivable with mold and rot in the walls, leaks everywhere, etc. But it was affordable and convenient for my commute into Manhattan and his commute to Queens. The low rent allowed us to save up enough for a down-payment and student loan pay-off, so we are now debt-free.
We seriously considered leaving NY, but being away from our family and friends was too difficult for me to reconcile with (he was okay with it). As far as our friends - we have one couple that is selling a Condo in Amityville and moving to North Carolina. Another couple is finishing dental and nursing school and will be moving to Florida. But other couples have bought homes in Nassau/Suffolk (possibly more than they could comfortably afford) and are just scraping by.
We are now in the process of shopping for a home in Nassau County and I think we have realistic expectations for what we will end up with. We know we will not be buying a huge house or anything and we are strong believers that a child's success is mostly due to parental influence and upbringing, so we're okay with a sub-par school district, but the property taxes make that very difficult for us to swallow.
We are not planning for this to be our starter home. We'd like it to be our "Forever Home" and we don't plan to move/sell for a long, long time. We had originally been considering Seaford, Massapequa, Bellmore, Merrick and Wantagh, but found that we were scared away by the taxes, as well as the prospect of long term ownership of a home South of Sunrise Highway due to recent weather-related incidents. We don't know if Sandy would ever happen again, but we're not willing to take any chances, nor are we willing to pay the insurance for it.
Our target area at the moment is actually North Hicksville, or any of the aforementioned areas north of Sunrise Highway, as long as they have acceptable taxes for us (which is basically anything less than $10k).
We think we will end up in a modest Cape that requires LOTS of updating and isn't very spacious. We're not afraid of some sweat equity and I'm actually looking forward to putting in that effort and getting to enjoy the changes we make over time. I don't know how many other 28-year-olds share in our way of thinking. We're putting off having kids for about 5 years, which I know some people have opinions about (in terms of my age), but I'd politely tell them to "suck it," as we're doing what's best for us.
I'm excited about becoming a homeowner. I know it will be tons of work, but it's work I'm willing to put in. I know we could probably get bigger and better elsewhere, but we like our jobs a lot and we like our families and friends even more. I think it's just about what's best for you.
You sound reasonable and intelligent and most of all, completely at ease with what you will get and I think that's great. The only thing that worries me for young folks in your position is the never ending cycle of rising property taxes. You say you want under $10K but there's no telling how quickly they will rise, and rise significantly. That is ultimately what drove us off the island at the point that it did....we truly feared never being able to unload the house at the rate taxes were rising, and knew we'd never retire there anyway. School taxes alone on our old house have gone up $2000 since we left almost 3 years ago.
I wish you luck and hope it all works out for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by csteen85
I'm a long time lurker, but first time poster and I've read almost this entire thread, so I wanted to throw in my two cents. My husband and I are 28-year old Newlyweds. We grew up in Farmingdale and have been living the past three years in a low-rent house in Flushing, Queens (his Father's family home that was vacant). It's falling apart and it's borderline unlivable with mold and rot in the walls, leaks everywhere, etc. But it was affordable and convenient for my commute into Manhattan and his commute to Queens. The low rent allowed us to save up enough for a down-payment and student loan pay-off, so we are now debt-free.
We seriously considered leaving NY, but being away from our family and friends was too difficult for me to reconcile with (he was okay with it). As far as our friends - we have one couple that is selling a Condo in Amityville and moving to North Carolina. Another couple is finishing dental and nursing school and will be moving to Florida. But other couples have bought homes in Nassau/Suffolk (possibly more than they could comfortably afford) and are just scraping by.
We are now in the process of shopping for a home in Nassau County and I think we have realistic expectations for what we will end up with. We know we will not be buying a huge house or anything and we are strong believers that a child's success is mostly due to parental influence and upbringing, so we're okay with a sub-par school district, but the property taxes make that very difficult for us to swallow.
We are not planning for this to be our starter home. We'd like it to be our "Forever Home" and we don't plan to move/sell for a long, long time. We had originally been considering Seaford, Massapequa, Bellmore, Merrick and Wantagh, but found that we were scared away by the taxes, as well as the prospect of long term ownership of a home South of Sunrise Highway due to recent weather-related incidents. We don't know if Sandy would ever happen again, but we're not willing to take any chances, nor are we willing to pay the insurance for it.
Our target area at the moment is actually North Hicksville, or any of the aforementioned areas north of Sunrise Highway, as long as they have acceptable taxes for us (which is basically anything less than $10k).
We think we will end up in a modest Cape that requires LOTS of updating and isn't very spacious. We're not afraid of some sweat equity and I'm actually looking forward to putting in that effort and getting to enjoy the changes we make over time. I don't know how many other 28-year-olds share in our way of thinking. We're putting off having kids for about 5 years, which I know some people have opinions about (in terms of my age), but I'd politely tell them to "suck it," as we're doing what's best for us.
I'm excited about becoming a homeowner. I know it will be tons of work, but it's work I'm willing to put in. I know we could probably get bigger and better elsewhere, but we like our jobs a lot and we like our families and friends even more. I think it's just about what's best for you.
I'm excited about becoming a homeowner. I know it will be tons of work, but it's work I'm willing to put in. I know we could probably get bigger and better elsewhere, but we like our jobs a lot and we like our families and friends even more. I think it's just about what's best for you.
Good luck to you, from someone who is/was in the same boat as you are. My wife and I grew up on Long Island and were 28 when we bought a house in Massapequa Park (north of Sunrise) in 2010. Overall it's been great. There are plenty of other young couples buying houses in the area as well. If you're patient and realistic, as you seem to be, you'll find a situation that suits you and your husband.
You sound reasonable and intelligent and most of all, completely at ease with what you will get and I think that's great. The only thing that worries me for young folks in your position is the never ending cycle of rising property taxes. You say you want under $10K but there's no telling how quickly they will rise, and rise significantly. That is ultimately what drove us off the island at the point that it did....we truly feared never being able to unload the house at the rate taxes were rising, and knew we'd never retire there anyway. School taxes alone on our old house have gone up $2000 since we left almost 3 years ago.
I wish you luck and hope it all works out for you.
Thank you - and you're right. The ever-increasing property taxes are a concern for us too, which is why we're after much less house than we can afford. We are leaving room for aggressive retirement savings, aggressive monthly savings (for home improvement and some travel before kids come) and for increasing taxes. Another reason we're starting low with Hicksville taxes. They'll go up - and I know it's supposed to be a reflection of the quality of the school district, but Farmingdale isn't very highly-rated either and we turned out just fine. We're going to do our best and of course, if things change beyond what we can handle, we will do what's best for us in that situation, as well.
Good luck to you, from someone who is/was in the same boat as you are. My wife and I grew up on Long Island and were 28 when we bought a house in Massapequa Park (north of Sunrise) in 2010. Overall it's been great. There are plenty of other young couples buying houses in the area as well. If you're patient and realistic, as you seem to be, you'll find a situation that suits you and your husband.
Thank you! It's so nice to hear from other people who have already done what we're trying to do and are okay.
I have a friend who lives in F'dale and her kids both went on to good schools - one to a highly rated state school (out of state) and the other to private school. You are right about parental guidance.
I guess I am in the minority here, but I just do not feel that educated, hard-working profesionals should have to live in a dilapidated house in a bad school district.
I guess I am in the minority here, but I just do not feel that educated, hard-working profesionals should have to live in a dilapidated house in a bad school district.
I don't think many school districts on LI are "bad" - it gets a little crazy with people not being able to live in Jericho or Great Neck thinking they are lacking in the education department. Even in the worst districts, the problem is the kids who attend it who don't care and don't have any support at home for the value of education.
Actually something interesting happened to me today. I was sitting in an eatery and a couple was talking about overcrowded homes. The woman was saying how she pays ever increasing taxes, yet the neighboring house has rentals with many people living in it, throwing trash everywhere, parking cars on the lawn, and blasting music at all hours. When she spoke up to her neighbors about it, she was labeled a "racist" (sound familiar?). Many on her block, fed up with the high taxes and problems on the street, put their homes up for sale, and guess who bought them? More slumlords! I'm not the type to "butt in" to a conversation but I told her the same thing is happening in Westbury Village. I told her about the loitering and the overcrowded homes. The man said he pays alot of school taxes and they dump lots of kids into the district, but dont own property so dont have to pay school taxes! He said this is why many are leaving and not buying homes here. Now I'm not sure what neighborhood they live in, but it all sounded so familiar. The Town is of no help to them, which also sounds familiar. Here in Westbury Village new condos were built, but what young woman would move into a town with guys loitering around and drinking at night?
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