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.
As an LI native who left came back left again and may return for family reasons it seems that the majority of people on LI are able to make it work, otherwise there would be armegeddon. Many people are tied to high manhattan salaries, high paying pensioned jobs on LI or are intelligent entrepreneurial types and the taxes are not a huge issue. Those that work avg salaried positions on the island are the ones who really struggle. For instance an accounting job in suffolk may pay 45k where in raleigh or tampa it pays the same or more for similar experience, this is the example where on paper its a no brainer to leave but family, friends and your hometown do weigh heavily in staying.
taxes in long island are a double edge sword . on one hand in a recent survey 400,000 long island boomers and millennials said they plan to eventually sell their expensive long island homes and relocate to cheapsville at retirement .
affordability here is the big issue . think about this ,back in the 1970's when we all bought our first homes in Suffolk county those homes were 35k . that was a lot of money for us back then .
well today that 35k house is paid off and taxes are 12k a year . in the scheme of affordability the fact a home was paid off means little . today that mortgage you had that was paid may not even represent your years utility bills .
but taxes are high because values of homes are high . real estate is high because the area is in demand and that is because that is usually where the higher paying jobs are .
so all the locals here who relocate after decades of working here tend to do far better than those locals raised in cheapsville .
the higher wages lead to a life time of higher social security payments and a 600k house that appreciates 3% or so over the years is a whole lot more than a 150k house appreciating 3% . so transplants usually are far wealthier than locals are , thanks to the way things are in the tristate area .
Suffolk County has the fourth highest number of zombie homes in the nation. Conflating my personal situation with the state of the island? For many people, one is a result of the other.
affordability here is the big issue . think about this ,back in the 1970's when we all bought our first homes in Suffolk county those homes were 35k . that was a lot of money for us back then .
Don't forget the high interest rate. I remember my parents 15% mortgage rates. My grandparents was even worse....they had a hard time getting much of a mortgage...they had to pay almost all cash for a small box
yes we got hammered with the rates . but we all refinanced as they came down .but the point remains you have 35k homes that are paid off with tax bills that are 12k a year . so big deal the mortgage is retired . affordability is not helped at all as far as retiring here.
so 400,000 plan to eventually leave long island . but many will leave in great shape thanks to our high valuations and higher pay social security wise . wages in nyc are 3x the national average . that means a lot as far as what you get from ss possibly for more years than you even worked
Yeah, I get it. Common theme. As I stated, I grew up on LI. Born and raised. I'm pretty familiar with the issue and both counties. I also did not generalize all neighborhoods. I said depending on the house or area. I figured plenty of people would say this is just a rant or complaining. It's not. This is a big issue.
10-12k in property taxes on a house that cost anywhere from $200k to $400k, in an average district, that you need to renovate and update, where you maintain everything outside or inside, is way too much. Do you think everyone works in Manhattan for a hedge fund or the like?
From my perspective, it's not that bad. I'm paying over $7k a year in MAINTENANCE /hoa fees for a Queens 1 bedroom coop. Market value is only around $200k fyi. I also have 3.5% NYC taxes taken out of my check. For a family with school age kids, it's not a bad deal for the reasons I stated earlier. Not many better/cheaper alternatives if you must live in the area for family or work reasons.
What's going to be interesting is how fast will LI property rise in the near future. And who says you need to be a hedge fund manager to afford LI taxes? Plenty of different professions for families to make it work.
we retired in queens in bay terrace and not long island because taxes are way way lower . we pay zero taxes on pension and social security income to the city and state so a city tax is far better than long island property taxes .
we retired in queens in bay terrace and not long island because taxes are way way lower . we pay zero taxes on pension and social security income to the city and state so a city tax is far better than long island property taxes .
nyc is far more better for retired folks. I may move back to nyc when I retire. My parents is retired in Queens as well.
Plenty of two bedroom, 1-1.5 bath bungalows (completely redone, for that matter) in Rocky Point and Sound beach for under $250k with taxes under $8k. Miller Place and Rocky Point SDs. Go east.
nyc is far more better for retired folks. I may move back to nyc when I retire. My parents is retired in Queens as well.
yep , we may buy a co-op next year down the block . queens is perfect for us .
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.
