Brain Drain on Long Island - vent

It seems to me there is a huge problem with the brain drain on Long Island. Young couples are leaving left and right cause they cannot afford homes.

I wonder what is going to happen at the workplace. Baby boomers are retiring and there won't be a generation to back fill.

I have known quite a few young couples who left LI... from this site actually.

the problem IMO is not so much for companies, since all the jobs are going to SE Asia now anyway

the problem is that no one cares. I don't see anyone building more Townhome complexes or affordable housing. all I see is more 3500 sq foot homes being built which are selling for $700K +++ and $12K a YEAR IN TAXES

I think the major issue is the lack of affordable housing. Here you CAN find a 400k starter home (if you are lucky) but its just that a starter home, probably built 60 years ago, with 2 bedrooms, and lots of work.

That same amount of money in VA, NC, TX, PA, SC etc can go alot further. You could build your own home. And its not like the jobs are scarce there either.

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Posted by riniko

I think the major issue is the lack of affordable housing. Here you CAN find a 400k starter home (if you are lucky) but its just that a starter home, probably built 60 years ago, with 2 bedrooms, and lots of work.

That same amount of money in VA, NC, TX, PA, SC etc can go alot further. You could build your own home. And its not like the jobs are scarce there either.

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$200K in TX or GA will buy you a $700K house on LI.

it's sickening!

and too add to this conversation, the cheapier houses that are out there, there are too many people trying to get 1 house. I remember when i was looking and we saw a house in 250,000 in North Babylon and the first day alone, at least 20 offers but in, over 50 people saw the place. It was a zoo.

I would leave LI but affraid of the work situation. We ened up with a Co-Op hoping the market is fair for us in the next 3-5 years

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Posted by MCDO15

and too add to this conversation, the cheapier houses that are out there, there are too many people trying to get 1 house. I remember when i was looking and we saw a house in 250,000 in North Babylon and the first day alone, at least 20 offers but in, over 50 people saw the place. It was a zoo.

I would leave LI but affraid of the work situation. We ened up with a Co-Op hoping the market is fair for us in the next 3-5 years

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I love NY, just not sure I love it enough to spend $400K on a fixer upper with $8K a year in taxes!

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Posted by dleeny
I love NY, just not sure I love it enough to spend $400K on a fixer upper with $8K a year in taxes!

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Amen to that!

We left and we're *not* coming back. Even just with apartments everywhere else is more affordable, and for nicer apts.

Let's compare:
We lived in an ILLEGAL (ARRRGGGGHHH) apartment in East Meadow that didn't have a bath tub, had a bedroom, office/den, reasonably large kitchen, and living room. We paid $1150/month two years ago, cable and utilities included.

We currently live in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a W/D in unit, dishwasher in the kitchen, LR, DR, in a gated community with a seasonal pool and 24/7 fitness center, for $827/month. Our Utilities/cable are not included, but they add up to about $150/month and we've got digital cable/high speed.

And when we are ready to buy a house, we've got a MUCH better shot of it than we would on LI.

EDT: And DH got a 30% raise to move down here. I'm making roughly 40% more than I made on LI, for a job with less responsibility.

Do I miss some things about NY/CT? Yeah, I do. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

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Posted by dleeny

I love NY, just not sure I love it enough to spend $400K on a fixer upper with $8K a year in taxes!

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SO true...and the reason why my DH and I decided to leave. It doesn't make sense here since a co-op far into Suffolk is all we could have afforded. The housing market may get better, but it'll never be truly affordable. So we decided to leave...yes, we have to start over elsewhere, but we get to own a home and luckily for me my entire family will be close by.

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Posted by riniko

I think the major issue is the lack of affordable housing. Here you CAN find a 400k starter home (if you are lucky) but its just that a starter home, probably built 60 years ago, with 2 bedrooms, and lots of work.

That same amount of money in VA, NC, TX, PA, SC etc can go alot further. You could build your own home. And its not like the jobs are scarce there either.

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It depends where in VA...we live in Northern VA and it's basically the same as LI. Houses like ours (3 bedrooms)on our block and not that big are selling for $600-$700K....It's insane... DH bought the house for a third of that prices 5 years ago. The good thing about this area is there are a lot more options, condos, townhomes to buy and/or rent than LI. I feel bad for my friends on LI who can't afford to buy...one has two kids in a two bedroom apartment, it's definitely hard.

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Posted by PrincessRose

We left and we're *not* coming back. Even just with apartments everywhere else is more affordable, and for nicer apts.

Let's compare:
We lived in an ILLEGAL (ARRRGGGGHHH) apartment in East Meadow that didn't have a bath tub, had a bedroom, office/den, reasonably large kitchen, and living room. We paid $1150/month two years ago, cable and utilities included.

We currently live in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a W/D in unit, dishwasher in the kitchen, LR, DR, in a gated community with a seasonal pool and 24/7 fitness center, for $827/month. Our Utilities/cable are not included, but they add up to about $150/month and we've got digital cable/high speed.

And when we are ready to buy a house, we've got a MUCH better shot of it than we would on LI.

EDT: And DH got a 30% raise to move down here. I'm making roughly 40% more than I made on LI, for a job with less responsibility.

Do I miss some things about NY/CT? Yeah, I do. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

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WOW!!! Sign me up!!! All I can say is - I'M COMIN TO JOIN YA!!!!!

VA is getting just as bad. I live in the middle of nowhere.

No - really. We have a Wal-mart and a supermarket and a few other stores - those are about 5 miles from us. And then the closest decent shopping area is 40 minutes away... while the closest big shopping area is 1 hour 20 minutes away... There are very few businesses... and they are building new homes starting at $400k. Mind you, they are new and they are fairly large (not huge, but a good size).

But 400k?!?!? There's nothing here! Up near DC it's as bad as LI.

But it looks like DH and I will be moving up to the anyways because there are no internships for him in this area.

here is a CNN article on this exact topic

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Posted by Katherine121

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Posted by PrincessRose

We left and we're *not* coming back. Even just with apartments everywhere else is more affordable, and for nicer apts.

Let's compare:
We lived in an ILLEGAL (ARRRGGGGHHH) apartment in East Meadow that didn't have a bath tub, had a bedroom, office/den, reasonably large kitchen, and living room. We paid $1150/month two years ago, cable and utilities included.

We currently live in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a W/D in unit, dishwasher in the kitchen, LR, DR, in a gated community with a seasonal pool and 24/7 fitness center, for $827/month. Our Utilities/cable are not included, but they add up to about $150/month and we've got digital cable/high speed.

And when we are ready to buy a house, we've got a MUCH better shot of it than we would on LI.

EDT: And DH got a 30% raise to move down here. I'm making roughly 40% more than I made on LI, for a job with less responsibility.

Do I miss some things about NY/CT? Yeah, I do. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

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WOW!!! Sign me up!!! All I can say is - I'M COMIN TO JOIN YA!!!!!

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Well, we have a second bedroom!

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Posted by dleeny

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Posted by riniko

I think the major issue is the lack of affordable housing. Here you CAN find a 400k starter home (if you are lucky) but its just that a starter home, probably built 60 years ago, with 2 bedrooms, and lots of work.

That same amount of money in VA, NC, TX, PA, SC etc can go alot further. You could build your own home. And its not like the jobs are scarce there either.

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$200K in TX or GA will buy you a $700K house on LI.

it's sickening!

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Same with NC where I live. I am planning on buying a nice big house for 150K