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Old 09-06-2006, 05:10 PM
 
2 posts, read 9,802 times
Reputation: 10

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I started out making a great salary compared to all my friends but after too many years working for a real Scrooge I haven't kept up the pace. I've made 76k for 5 years now and I'm just starting to face the fact that you can't live a life without sacrifice and expect to get anywhere unless your name is Hilton (as in "Paris" and "hotel"!) I like all the perks my job has to offer (not in Manhattan, flex-time, relaxed dress code etc) so instead of changing jobs I am changing my lifestyle a bit. Instead of travelling I am saving. Instead of buying the most extravagant presents for my nieces I am saving. Instead of eating at fancy restaurants I am saving (and eating at nick's dreaded Cheesecake Factory! - b.t.w. why is he so freaked out about how much shopping people do?). In a year I have managed to save enough for a downpayment on a $200,000 condo. This is the new starter home. I chose to go to NY's "new" suburb of Orange County because I can get more - MUCH more - than on LI or in NYC (2-bedroom, 1 + 1/2 bath, fireplace, garage, central air, washer, dryer, dishwasher, patio, community pool and fitness canter, lo taxes and lo common charge). And it takes about the same time to take the bus to my Queens job from there as it does to drive from LI. My point is - you CAN buy something if you have a good credit rating and a bit of savings and are willing to work your way up to the better homes in better locations. There is no denying we are being priced out of the housing market our parents enjoyed - but that is a combination of #1 the growth of the NY area in the past 1/2 century, #2 the fact that greed rules all business now not just Wall St and #3 the real estate market has been booming. You're probably mostly younger than me and I can tell you the boom of the 80's was really depressing for buyers in this area too - but then came a small bust and housing prices came down considerably so it is not irreversible.

Last edited by joannabee; 09-06-2006 at 06:15 PM..
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Old 09-06-2006, 07:49 PM
 
991 posts, read 4,617,303 times
Reputation: 315
Hi, there are some very affordable areas with good school districts, I am trying to sell my house for under 350,000 due to a job transfer. I am in pat/med schools, which two of our schhols are schools of distinction. I am moving due to job relocation! my email is momix5@verizon.net, good luck!
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Old 09-06-2006, 09:04 PM
 
42 posts, read 139,038 times
Reputation: 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by headendtech View Post
Hello All Im The Father Of 2 Small Girls And Want Them To Grow Up Here(smithtown)i Thought Of Moving To Flordia And Starting A New Life But Something In Me Says It Was The Wrong Move,true I Could Sell My House Here For A Nice Profit And Buy One There Outright But I Have To Think About My Girls Future......i Was Very Confused About It And I Think Its Just Best To Stay Here And Hopefully Make It!!what Do You Think....
I would say, stay right where you are, especially with small children. The education is not up to par in Florida as the Northeast, as stated in an earlier post.

Best of Luck to all of you!

And remember, wherever you go - there you are!
You take it ALL with you.
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:19 PM
 
70 posts, read 85,000 times
Reputation: 23
Cool Money isn't everything

My fiance and I got chased out of NY by the high cost of living back in 2000. We moved down to PA, and things were great, financially, for the first few years.

Now we're married, and have 2 small kids. The people in SE PA are mostly hillbillies. Nasty, anti-social, and ignorant. If anyone thinks LI'ers have issues, lol, they're downright hospitable compared to these people. The food is horrible, you can't even buy something to cook yourself. The drivers are the worst I have seen out of the 15 states I have been to. Tailgating 6 inches from a bumper in pouring rain is the norm. We've been rear ended 5 times in 6 years. The edumacation, well, just talk to some of the graduates. I could deal with all that if housing prices did not go absolutely crazy, even more so than LI when you compare to average salary. I would have to spend $350k, and $4500 in taxes to get something decent around here. We need a bigger place, but no way in hell I would pay that much to live here. Considering the average salary around here is in the high 40's, I have no idea how people are pulling it off outside of inheritance or equity from another house.

We want to come home!

Thankfully, the housing market up there is about to come crashing down. My relatives are telling me that For Sale signs are as common as mailboxes. Supply and demand will take a huge toll eventually. The question remains, what will happen to the taxes? They used housing values to justify throwing another thousand on the bill, year after year. What is going to happen when the prices go through the basement?

So I've been thinking about it quite a bit. Luckily, I work remotely so I can live pretty much anywhere near an airport. Yeah yeah, I know, move to the the middle of nowhere and save money. It's not worth it. Why live somewhere else besides LI if you end up dreading a trip to WalMart because you have to endure the mental anguish that can only come from dealing with those who have a family tree like a telephone pole? Just having to say "No Mustard" at McDonalds is enough to drive me crazy alone. I can't get a bagel that doesnt resemble bubble-yum, can't get Italian food anywhere, yuk. Oh yeah, I had to try more than 10 chinese places before I found one I could stomach. They can't even do that right down here.

I'm still torn though. I want my kids to have a better school district, but what good is that if we're in a tent! I only make mid 70's, but I looked at it and it only looks like an additional $1200 a month for us to get into something in LI, with a 30yr. We could do better than that if we took an interest only fixed rate, and just used our tax refunds and salary bonuses once a year for principle. Anybody here move back to LI recently? I am trying to figure out what factors I am missing in this decision.

Inflated house prices - CHECK!
Ridiculous taxes to support fat-cat corrupt politicians - CHECK!
Family is local - CHECK!
2.5% Increase in state income tax - CHECK!
Car insurance is the same - CHECK!
Salary is the same, but open to larger raises in NY - CHECK!
Schools are better in LI - CHECK!
Better food - CHECK!
Nicer people - CHECK!
Yankee games on cable - CHECK!
Electric is CHEAPER - CHECK!
Gas prices are slightly higher - CHECK!
Beaches are local - CHECK!
No mustard on McDonalds - CHECK!


What financial factors am I not considering? Bueller? Anyone?
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Old 10-05-2006, 09:02 AM
 
991 posts, read 4,617,303 times
Reputation: 315
Patchogue and Medford are nice also and affordable.
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Old 10-05-2006, 12:29 PM
 
20 posts, read 164,711 times
Reputation: 53
My husband and I are house hunting and I just saw a house in Shirley for $248,000 with taxes of $3,800. This was a nice 4 bed 2 bath.(check out the STAR programs and do a search for first time home owners for lower taxes) The schools are very good and it's a nice neighborhood! So, Nick, no offense but don't be too hard on Long Island. Oh, and I guess I'm not like most Long Islanders that shop, shop, shop all weekend. Most Long Islanders I know anyway spend the weekend with family...and I personally like to cook, going out to dinner maybe a few times a week. Well, good luck to everyone!
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Old 10-05-2006, 03:31 PM
 
9,525 posts, read 30,465,926 times
Reputation: 6435
Wow such a heated debate!

Here's my perspective.

Born and raised in the Huntington Area (East Northport), attended Northport High, moved to San Diego CA in 1995. Fast forward to 2005 and the wife and I were ready to buy our first home. Toss-up between staying in San Diego and moving to the NYC area. Home prices in my hometown are almost exactly the same as what I paid in SD. Visited LI/NYC looking at properties a bunch of times but eventually bought in San Diego. Why?

- You can't get a decent job on LI, you have to work in the City. My job is 15 minutes away from my job in SD
- You can buy a 500k house in San Diego and be 15 minutes from everything. You buy a 500k house on LI and you are 90 minutes from work on the LIRR.
- CA has prop 13 which keeps you from getting killed on taxes (but also means ****ty schools)

LI has always been for rich people, that's why all the young people I grew up with moved to Florida or North Carolina or Upstate. A lot of people, especially the professionals, are in NYC, especially Brooklyn. Most have left Long Island for good.

I also know a lot of ex-LI'ers who moved to NY or FL and absolutely hated it. A lot of them are back on LI renting or living with their parents.

LI is a great place and the rich will continue to push out the middle class. Accept that now and start planning the next steps of your life and you will be happier for it. As much as people complain LI is the place to be if you can afford it. If I didn't have to schlep into NYC every day to pay a mortgage I would be there too.
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Old 10-05-2006, 06:39 PM
 
480 posts, read 2,828,792 times
Reputation: 178
One way train time, one hour, eight minutes from Ronkonkoma to NYC, Penn Station. Add time for driving, walking, etc... 1 hour 40 minutes. Not that difficult. An old neighbor has been doing it for 35 years. Never heard him whine once. Much less time if you live in Nassau County.
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Old 10-05-2006, 07:01 PM
 
9,525 posts, read 30,465,926 times
Reputation: 6435
Quote:
Originally Posted by Check123 View Post
One way train time, one hour, eight minutes from Ronkonkoma to NYC, Penn Station. Add time for driving, walking, etc... 1 hour 40 minutes. Not that difficult. An old neighbor has been doing it for 35 years. Never heard him whine once. Much less time if you live in Nassau County.
I timed it. From my door to Northport station to Wall Street, 90 minutes to 1:45. That's nearly 3 hours of commute time on top of a typical 10 hour software engineer's day. I'd have to catch a 6AM train and would be getting home after 8PM. And if the train is late, or the weather is bad, or there's a subway problem...
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Old 10-05-2006, 07:01 PM
 
7,922 posts, read 9,146,005 times
Reputation: 9313
With a true starter home, you should be able to do it. (Not a 5 bedroom 3 bath house in pristine condition as I see many new couples want, then whine that they can't afford to live here!) I have 2 small kids, have a 3 bath 1 bed house in a good district, taxes are 6 grand a year, and neighbor sold his house 6 months ago for $385,000. Basically, you're going against builders who are now finally realizing they can't pay this for a house, gut it, and get their money back.
I'd stay away from interest only loans as the principle gets tacked onto the end of the mortgage, thereby grossly inflating the overall price of the mortgage.

Last edited by NSHL10; 10-05-2006 at 07:03 PM.. Reason: spelling
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