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.
Yes, friends and family are very important... but since they don't pay my property taxes, I leave. Life is more sane and enjoyable when you don't start each day with a huge liability hanging over your head. It makes for better relationships with friends and family.
Now on vacations, my family visits from LI. At least once during their stay, the usual comment is along the lines of "wow, I can understand why you moved here..."
I'm glad you're content, though. Seems like lot's of LIers are not.
To me, life is more enjoyable when I'm near my family, and not in the middle of nowhere, where I know nobody. We all have different values.
I do not expect everyone to share the same values as me, that is fine. But it was very clear from the context of my post that I was looking for a suggestion as to where in the future I can live in either Long Island or NYC. It was completely rude, and uncalled for to suggest Dallas, which is not part of Long Island or NYC. That did not answer my question. If you were in my situation, maybe you would choose to move to Dallas. But that did not answer my question.
Although I may be the only person on this board with a private sector non-unionized job on Long Island, I'm obviously not the only person on the island in that situation.
Thank you!! Glad somebody understands me!!! Maybe you can give a serious answer to what areas on Long Island or in NYC would work for someone like me?
What's your budget for a home? For taxes? You keep saying "someone like me" and then saying that you can't afford places like Smithtown - that's fine, but what can you afford? If you can swing up to $8K or $9K a year in taxes, one possible answer for you is the Sachem school district - it's literally the average school district on LI, it's huge so there are decent resources if your future kids end up at either end of the "special needs" spectrum (either very high- or very low-functioning), you're in the center of the island so you likely won't be more than 45 minutes from your LI-based job, and their taxes are (relatively) low for the size of the house/property available (you can also find 3 bedroom condos in the Sachem district with taxes in the $3K-$4K/year range). Is it the same as raising your kids in the Smithtown or Three Village districts or the like? Of course not, but it's not a bad option on a budget.
You could also go east, depending on where your job is located and how far you're willing to drive each way - Shoreham-Wading River is a solid school district with relatively inexpensive homes and low(er) taxes. There's also Manorville (just avoid Manorville in the William Floyd district - there's a tiny slice of it that's zoned for Floyd). Longwood isn't a particularly well-rated school district, but growing up I knew lots of kids who went there, and for the money, it's not bad - good special ed services if you need that type of thing, and big enough to support a pretty robust set of extracurriculars and AP/honors courses. Houses in Coram and other areas zoned for Longwood can be had right now for around $250K with taxes in the $7-$10K range, which is about as low as it goes on LI while still being in a relatively "middle class" type of area. If you don't mind going north, you have Rocky Point and Sound Beach as well - both solid areas with decent school districts and low taxes.
Frankly, if you can't afford at least $7-$8K a year in taxes, you're generally going to face a real challenge trying to buy in a decent school district on LI.
What's your budget for a home? For taxes? You keep saying "someone like me" and then saying that you can't afford places like Smithtown - that's fine, but what can you afford? If you can swing up to $8K or $9K a year in taxes, one possible answer for you is the Sachem school district - it's literally the average school district on LI, it's huge so there are decent resources if your future kids end up at either end of the "special needs" spectrum (either very high- or very low-functioning), you're in the center of the island so you likely won't be more than 45 minutes from your LI-based job, and their taxes are (relatively) low for the size of the house/property available (you can also find 3 bedroom condos in the Sachem district with taxes in the $3K-$4K/year range). Is it the same as raising your kids in the Smithtown or Three Village districts or the like? Of course not, but it's not a bad option on a budget.
You could also go east, depending on where your job is located and how far you're willing to drive each way - Shoreham-Wading River is a solid school district with relatively inexpensive homes and low(er) taxes. There's also Manorville (just avoid Manorville in the William Floyd district - there's a tiny slice of it that's zoned for Floyd). Longwood isn't a particularly well-rated school district, but growing up I knew lots of kids who went there, and for the money, it's not bad - good special ed services if you need that type of thing, and big enough to support a pretty robust set of extracurriculars and AP/honors courses. Houses in Coram and other areas zoned for Longwood can be had right now for around $250K with taxes in the $7-$10K range, which is about as low as it goes on LI while still being in a relatively "middle class" type of area. If you don't mind going north, you have Rocky Point and Sound Beach as well - both solid areas with decent school districts and low taxes.
Frankly, if you can't afford at least $7-$8K a year in taxes, you're generally going to face a real challenge trying to buy in a decent school district on LI.
Your suggestions are good as long as I am able to keep my job on Long Island. If I lose this job, I will probably have to commute to the city, and the areas you describe would be a brutal commute for me, to be honest. I've done the math, and I would almost literally have no time to do anything besides work, commute, and sleep.
I can't give an exact dollar amount, since by the time I have a second kid (have none yet), I have no way of knowing what my salary will be, if I'll still have my job, etc.
Your suggestions are good as long as I am able to keep my job on Long Island. If I lose this job, I will probably have to commute to the city, and the areas you describe would be a brutal commute for me, to be honest. I've done the math, and I would almost literally have no time to do anything besides work, commute, and sleep.
I can't give an exact dollar amount, since by the time I have a second kid (have none yet), I have no way of knowing what my salary will be, if I'll still have my job, etc.
Your concerns are those of any private sector employee on LI these days. You have a target on your back and there are lot's of economic forces taking aim. Private business on LI has shrunken to alarmingly low levels.
And you right about having to commute into NYC, no matter how you slice it, the commute from LI (or CT or NJ) is not going to be fun. But lot's of folks do it... what's wrong with hitting the sack at 10 PM every night so you can rise at 5:30 AM?
I don't know what you do for a living but maybe you can swing some work-from-home time, the best compromise I came up with while living on LI and commuting into the city. At least your kids will be able to know you while they're growing up... once you have kids.
Your concerns are those of any private sector employee on LI these days. You have a target on your back and there are lot's of economic forces taking aim. Private business on LI has shrunken to alarmingly low levels.
And you right about having to commute into NYC, no matter how you slice it, the commute from LI (or CT or NJ) is not going to be fun. But lot's of folks do it... what's wrong with hitting the sack at 10 PM every night so you can rise at 5:30 AM?
I don't know what you do for a living but maybe you can swing some work-from-home time, the best compromise I came up with while living on LI and commuting into the city. At least your kids will be able to know you while they're growing up... once you have kids.
Honestly, I would not be able to do the commute from Ronkonkoma or Smithtown to the city. I don't care how many people do it. Honestly, if I had to work in the city, I would have to either move to the South Bronx if that was the only area with a reasonable commute that I could afford to live in, or (as much as I do not want to), relocate and abandon the rest of my family. There is no point in living near extended family if I had no time for even my wife and kids.
Honestly, I would not be able to do the commute from Ronkonkoma or Smithtown to the city. I don't care how many people do it. Honestly, if I had to work in the city, I would have to either move to the South Bronx if that was the only area with a reasonable commute that I could afford to live in, or (as much as I do not want to), relocate and abandon the rest of my family. There is no point in living near extended family if I had no time for even my wife and kids.
Seriously? Did you not grasp that this was precisely the point EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. who has suggested relocation to you has been trying to make?
You kicked off a ten-page thread whining about how no one cares about family values but you, as a reaction to advice you were given about relocation, and now you're saying that you'd do exactly what everyone you're complaining about suggested if the situation called for it?
Honestly, I would not be able to do the commute from Ronkonkoma or Smithtown to the city. I don't care how many people do it. Honestly, if I had to work in the city, I would have to either move to the South Bronx if that was the only area with a reasonable commute that I could afford to live in, or (as much as I do not want to), relocate and abandon the rest of my family. There is no point in living near extended family if I had no time for even my wife and kids.
I think we've had this discussion before... by relo'g to a place with a 'better' commute, you're not abandoning your family, you're making yourself more available for quality time with loved ones and friends. When I did the 4 hour LIRR commute, I was toast by Friday and sleep-walking through the weekend. It is surely no way to live.
I think we've had this discussion before... by relo'g to a place with a 'better' commute, you're not abandoning your family, you're making yourself more available for quality time with loved ones and friends. When I did the 4 hour LIRR commute, I was toast by Friday and sleep-walking through the weekend. It is surely no way to live.
Are you sure you're not a little depressed?
Just remember though... If you love the work you do it's not work. I love what I do so for me this is playtime. For me this is the way to live. You have to make optimal use of your time. I work my butt off M-Sat and use Sunday for family and friends but I wouldn't change it for anything.
Just remember though... If you love the work you do it's not work. I love what I do so for me this is playtime. For me this is the way to live. You have to make optimal use of your time. I work my butt off M-Sat and use Sunday for family and friends but I wouldn't change it for anything.
Well that's what counts, isn't it? I generally enjoy my job, but it comes with lots of scut work and a lack of autonomy. I guess you can think of it as a love/hate relationship.
Even with great income and some limited job satisfaction, the 4 hours of commute time left me feeling like a visitor at home with my family. It was also hard to feel like you belonged to the community, because I was never there!
The only respite in situations like that, love what you do and stay in the moment. Come up with an exit plan, which kind of means you can't spend everything you earn. I think that's a foreign concept on LI as well. Then, get out... if that's what you want. And for me that is/was.
Seriously? Did you not grasp that this was precisely the point EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. who has suggested relocation to you has been trying to make?
You kicked off a ten-page thread whining about how no one cares about family values but you, as a reaction to advice you were given about relocation, and now you're saying that you'd do exactly what everyone you're complaining about suggested if the situation called for it?
And you have a degree from MIT? Wow. Just. Wow.
As long as I am able to keep my current job, I won't need to commute to the city, so no need to relocate elsewhere, and proximity to the city isn't that big a deal.
If I lose my job on Long Island, and am unable to find another job on Long Island, I will then have to make a difficult decision: do I commute to the city from Ronkonkoma or even further out and have no time for anything but working, sleeping, and commuting; do I move to a ghetto area like the South Bronx where I can have a short commute to the city, but would be a dangerous setting for my family; do I stretch to afford a more expensive area near the city, even if it means being completely broke; do I relocate elsewhere, even though it means being away from everyone that I know (and won't even have any professional contacts). It's a hard decision, and one I hope I never have to make, and I won't ever have to make if I don't lose this job, or if I can find another job on LI, even if it's at a small company that pays poorly.
Honestly, with my medical issues, I do not think the commute from Ronkonkoma or Smithtown to NYC would be possible for me to do long term. To be honest, I have a very hard time beleiving that absolutely no housing on LI or NYC at all would meet my needs. Yes, I realize that there is not a lot of housing that would meet my needs, and it may take some luck to find it (such as, someone who lives on the "good" side of a border with a bad school district, but with the "bad" mailing address who bought their house cheap many decades ago passes away, and their next of kin just wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible). It might be more expensive than I would be comfortable with, or it may be in an area more ghetto than I would have liked (but better than Central Islip or the South Bronx), or it may be a longer commute to the city than I would have liked (but closer than Smithtown or Ronkonkoma). Or maybe the job that I could find on Long Island might pay less than I want or require longer hours than I want, but would still be preferable to commuting to NYC or leaving everyone I know behind.
As much as you guys want to shoot me down, I find it hard to beleive that the situation is as hopeless as you want me to think. Maybe by the time I need a house with 3 bedrooms and/or lose my job on LI the housing market will crash again, and there will be prime real estate in Nassau County, Queens, Brooklyn, or even Manhattan that I could afford. I'm not giving up, as much as you people want me to.
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.
