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I agree it's hard to move a 15 year old and if she's a stellar student/athlete her college prospects are probably enhanced by coming from a high school in west Michigan. I wonder if OP would consider a condo - her kids probably don't need a backyard to play in if they are into real sports and if she keeps her house in Michigan then she won't need a basement for storage.
I'm trying to think of ways the family can stay together.
Thanks to you all for your advice. Unfortunately, I don't think that we can afford what we need on LI. definitely a dilemma. Might have to rethink our plan. Is there anyone out there who thinks it is NOT completely crazy to commute to LGA from Katonah, NJ, or CT?
When I worked at Mobil HQ in NYC, more than half of the employees offered a transfer to NYC declined it because of cost and quality of life.
Perhaps the offer isn't a step forward in your life,
Trust us when we tell you, from those who do it or have done it every day, that you cannot commute from those areas and have a reasonable quality of life. You need to look at a map and understand the geography of the area, and then factor in the population. Really, truly, no joke - no where here is trying to hide a great commute from NJ or CT or Westchester from you. No one here is so enamored of LI that they are trying to steer you from other areas. You can ask in the NJ, CT and Westchester forums what they think and I pretty much you'll get the same answers.
Personally if it were me, I'd look for a house on the western side of Garden City, it's not a bad commute to the airport from there, it's a sports crazy town and you can get a pretty nice house for $800K and the entire surrounding area is safe.
Thank you so much for your candor and honesty. I have posted on the NJ and CT threads and they say the same thing as you. I guess I'm just stubborn, and have to give up the idea.
I think the problem for the OP is the serious downgrade in housing she will experience so she wants the nicest place she can find. Nothing wrong with that. Her kids are making a big move at tough ages.
Thank you so much for your candor and honesty. I have posted on the NJ and CT threads and they say the same thing as you. I guess I'm just stubborn, and have to give up the idea.
Don't give up, but a map (or Google Maps) can be deceiving. I can say, with unfortunate experience, that it has taken me 3-4 hours on a bad day to drive from Manhattan to the middle of Suffolk County (60 miles), and that's with a single tunnel. If you have to deal with the Cross Bronx, or two river crossings to NJ, even though it might be only 20 or 30 mi that might mean 2 hours.
I believe you're flying there tomorrow - regardless of your decision, good luck, and let us know how it went!
I agree it's hard to move a 15 year old and if she's a stellar student/athlete her college prospects are probably enhanced by coming from a high school in west Michigan. I wonder if OP would consider a condo - her kids probably don't need a backyard to play in if they are into real sports and if she keeps her house in Michigan then she won't need a basement for storage.
I'm trying to think of ways the family can stay together.
Thanks. Yeah, we have thought of everything. Worst case scenario - hubby quits current company (no office in MI), gets an average job in W. Mich, puts amazing career on hold for 6 years until our kids are in college, THEN he and I move anywhere he wants so he can concentrate on career.
When I worked at Mobil HQ in NYC, more than half of the employees offered a transfer to NYC declined it because of cost and quality of life.
Perhaps the offer isn't a step forward in your life,
Yes, definitely leaning that way. There are way too many 'cons' for a move out east. It comes down to quality of life and that would decline if we move to the NYC area. Hubby would work longer hours, have longer commute, kids would be uprooted, I'd have to find job in my career, it would be a financial disaster. Posting on this thread has really helped me work thru some of these things.
Trust us when we tell you, from those who do it or have done it every day, that you cannot commute from those areas and have a reasonable quality of life. You need to look at a map and understand the geography of the area, and then factor in the population. Really, truly, no joke - no where here is trying to hide a great commute from NJ or CT or Westchester from you. No one here is so enamored of LI that they are trying to steer you from other areas. You can ask in the NJ, CT and Westchester forums what they think and I pretty much you'll get the same answers.
Personally if it were me, I'd look for a house on the western side of Garden City, it's not a bad commute to the airport from there, it's a sports crazy town and you can get a pretty nice house for $800K and the entire surrounding area is safe.
Maybe I should just ask hubby to REALLY push for FL after all!
Maybe I should just ask hubby to REALLY push for FL after all!
As someone who recently did the move from LI to FL who's not originally from LI let me know if you want to move in that direction after you compare and contrast.
Don't give up, but a map (or Google Maps) can be deceiving. I can say, with unfortunate experience, that it has taken me 3-4 hours on a bad day to drive from Manhattan to the middle of Suffolk County (60 miles), and that's with a single tunnel. If you have to deal with the Cross Bronx, or two river crossings to NJ, even though it might be only 20 or 30 mi that might mean 2 hours.
I believe you're flying there tomorrow - regardless of your decision, good luck, and let us know how it went!
Thank you very much! I'll post when I get back.
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