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I'm a newbie and know nothing about NYC/Long Island in general, so apologies in advance if I offend someone or ask dumb questions.
I'm coming down to long island for an interview and wanted to ask you guys how is the general weather here. Does it snow a lot during every winter compared to say Dayton, OH? The weather in absolute temperature terms looks to be warmer compared to Dayton from what I see. Is that true? Also, how is the commute if one wants to attend evening classes in NYU or Columbia from Hicksville area?
I see that house prices are still going down in Nassau. Is the reason for it high taxes?
If my wife gets a job closer to the city, will it be possible to commute to the city from Hicksville area? If not, suggestions? I will be working in Suffolk county if this opportunity is to my liking, so we need to find a middle ground between the city and Suffolk.
Also, which school districts are decent around Hicksville?
This winter has been on the bad side with many frequent snow storms and I think many of us are feeling it more. Some winters have been quiet mild and barely recall a snow storm.
Commuting to the city would require taking the LIRR to Penn Station, then you would have to take the subway downtown to NYU or uptown to Columbia. Hicksville to the City is probably close to 45 min +/- then the subway ride.
Not sure about the prices in Nassau. I guess it depends on the area and school districts. There is no doubt the property and school taxes are high, but also keep it mind that if you live within NYC (5 boroughs) you have to pay about 3.5% income tax on your income. So depending on your salary(ies) you may actually pay less taxes on Long Island than living in the city.
Middle between City and Suffolk your best bet for school district is Garden City, but pricey houses and taxes. You didnt mention a budget.
Im sure if you do some reading through the posts you will find plenty of arguments for and against school districts.
If it's any help to you, my son used to live in Columbus Ohio and the weather was very similar to LI. Usually the weather they got arrived here about a day later.
I'm a newbie and know nothing about NYC/Long Island in general, so apologies in advance if I offend someone or ask dumb questions.
I'm coming down to long island for an interview and wanted to ask you guys how is the general weather here. Does it snow a lot during every winter compared to say Dayton, OH? The weather in absolute temperature terms looks to be warmer compared to Dayton from what I see. Is that true? Also, how is the commute if one wants to attend evening classes in NYU or Columbia from Hicksville area?
I see that house prices are still going down in Nassau. Is the reason for it high taxes?
If my wife gets a job closer to the city, will it be possible to commute to the city from Hicksville area? If not, suggestions? I will be working in Suffolk county if this opportunity is to my liking, so we need to find a middle ground between the city and Suffolk.
Also, which school districts are decent around Hicksville?
Thanks!
Long Island has all 4 seasons; and both have about equal duration. Seasons are pretty typical: coldy snowy winters, super hot summers, leafy autumns and stereotypical springs.
If you live in Hicksville, you would have to take the LIRR for about 45 minutes into Penn Station-Manhattan then switch to the Subways.
All the school districts near Hicksville have good to excellent performance (for the exception of Westbury school district)... so you have your choices.
Nassau County has high taxes for a variety of reasons. One major reason is to support the super-inflated government-worker salaries and pensions (they tend to make over 6-figures). Part of the reason for this is b/c Long Island has 148 different school systems instead of a few large ones so this increases the taxation burden of education. Historically-speaking, another reason they are high is [was] to limit the numbers of the groups whom they considered to be "undesirable". Suffolk County generally has slightly lower taxes but nothing that drastic.
If your working in Suffolk County then you will probably need a car. I don't know where in Suffolk you'll be working but the major job centers such as Melville, Hauppauge, Bohemia and Brookhaven Lab don't have LIRR stops.
Last edited by MemoryMaker; 02-12-2014 at 03:12 PM..
Thank you. Some really good information here from NYMike722 and MemoryMaker. I really appreciate it!
We do have two cars. We are looking for a budget of 325-350K if we buy a house. Or, we might just rent out our house in Dayton and buy a condo here I'm still undecided. Ofcourse that also depends on whether the position is a match.
How is the commute on the I-495 expressway from Hicksville towards Suffolk county? I'm assuming it should be opposite the traffic flow. Am I right?
Thank you. Some really good information here from NYMike722 and MemoryMaker. I really appreciate it!
We do have two cars. We are looking for a budget of 325-350K if we buy a house. Or, we might just rent out our house in Dayton and buy a condo here I'm still undecided. Ofcourse that also depends on whether the position is a match.
How is the commute on the I-495 expressway from Hicksville towards Suffolk county? I'm assuming it should be opposite the traffic flow. Am I right?
Unlike other parts of the country, the condo stock on LI is extremely limited, usually found in less-desireable areas, and extremely overpriced. I wouldn't bank on "just buying a condo" as a way to keep costs down.
Unlike other parts of the country, the condo stock on LI is extremely limited, usually found in less-desireable areas, and extremely overpriced. I wouldn't bank on "just buying a condo" as a way to keep costs down.
Very accurate, I definitely agree with most of that.
However, I would say that it's completely random coin-toss on what areas have a lot of condo's or not. I wouldn't associate the areas that have condo's w/low desirability since lots of desirable areas like Rockville Centre, Huntington, Babylon, Mineola and Lynbrook have many of them.
Regardless they do tend to be extremely overpriced.
Very accurate, I definitely agree with most of that.
However, I would say that it's completely random coin-toss on what areas have a lot of condo's or not. I wouldn't associate the areas that have condo's w/low desirability since lots of desirable areas like Rockville Centre, Huntington, Babylon, Mineola and Lynbrook have many of them.
Regardless they do tend to be extremely overpriced.
Other than Mineola (and maybe Lynbrook, I don't know anything really about Lynbrook), the condos in all of the areas you listed are in the less-desirable parts of those areas (Huntington in particular), and/or are amazingly overpriced (the new Babylon Village condos are in the $600K range for 3-bdr units, and they don't even have any amenities to speak of).
Point being, condos on LI in desirable communities are for empty-nesters downsizing from homes that have quadrupled or quintupled in value since they were purchased in the 70s/80s, so they can afford the exorbitant prices. They're in no way the "starter homes" OP is likely envisioning.
Thank you. Some really good information here from NYMike722 and MemoryMaker. I really appreciate it!
We do have two cars. We are looking for a budget of 325-350K if we buy a house. Or, we might just rent out our house in Dayton and buy a condo here I'm still undecided. Ofcourse that also depends on whether the position is a match.
How is the commute on the I-495 expressway from Hicksville towards Suffolk county? I'm assuming it should be opposite the traffic flow. Am I right?
You are correct about the traffic flow. As far as housing goes, though, you will get more for your money in Suffolk. You'll just have to weigh house size vs. various commutes and all sorts of other factors.
Where would you be working in Suffolk? It's a geographically large county.
I am another one who has spent quite a bit of time in Columbus, but never made it to Dayton (yet). The weather is basically similar to Long Island. In general, in a more "typical" year, due to the fact that we don't have the lake effect of Columbus and our region is more temperate because of being by the ocean, our summers are slightly less oppressive, winters slightly milder with less snow, and we have a few more sunny days or less of those overcast days with a little sun peeking through that can be common in Columbus. It does seem a bit breezier here because of the water.
Your budget is a little tight for property purchase in Nassau county and you certainly will not find anything as nice as you would in Ohio for that same amount. We don't have anywhere near the amount of duplex/townhouse condo communities that are all over the suburbs throughout Ohio. I think you will find condo (and some townhomes here are co-ops) and any type of rental rather a disappointment by comparison. You have other options besides the 495, but all roads here are much more crowded here than what you will be used to. We also don't have any of those newer suburban areas that have sprung up all over Columbus and Cincinatti the past 20 years. Everything here is older.
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