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Long Island is very nice. It's beautiful in many important ways that aren't readily available elsewhere. However you will be assuming a significant financial burden to enjoy what it has to offer. And that burden will begin growing quickly and steadily. If you're willing to make the sacrifice to live here you can make it but it will never be easy.
That's the most accurate, straight to the point quote that really sums it all up that I have seen on this forum.
My family and I may be relocating to Long Island (Medford area) and after seeing the home prices I was wondering how much money you need to live there. We are a family of 4, 2 young kids, any advice would help.
Honestly.. to get by in even a middle income neighborhood, like Levittown, you need a salary of atleast $80K between the two of you and even then it will be super tight. If you have younger children needing daycare and your wife or husband only makes between $40 - 30K a year, be prepared to have half the salary go to daycare.. if you have one kid it can be upwards of $400/week depending.. although there are soem for less.. and that's for 1 child!!
If you make over $100K a year you could live reasonably comfortable and not tightly in a middle neighborhood in Nassau County.
To live relatively stress free, in a nice area, drive two new cars, and still enjoy amenities such as vacations, new clothes, entertaining and eating out, I would say you need to have a household income of at least $200,000. That does not put you in a top area, nor does it give you carte blanche to spend freely, but it offers a comfortable lifestyle, I would say, for a family of four.
It sounds like my family is in the same boat as you are. Here is our situation.
Bought a home in Sound Beach...275K
current mortgage payment 2600....but will drop to 2300 after the ridiculous 8900/yr tax bill gets grieved.
Other costs
Oil - 150/mo
Elec - 120/month (budget plan)
Cable/Phone/Net - 100/mo (triple play)
cell phone - 110/month
car payment $500/mo
auto ins - 100/mo for 2 cars (an absolute steal from Geico)
food - 100/wk (this may be less if I really think about it)
So...that approx 3900 a month....and I am sure I am forgetting some small monthly expenses. My salary is right around 96K...after taxes is about 4800 a month.
So with a family of 4...we are doing ok on 96K a year. I also think a key factor is that everyone's spending habits are different....and from what I have been told...the cost of heating your home is highly variable.
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What about my fiance and I...we're looking to buy a place pretty soon and make just over 100k together. I'm 23 and he's 26. In about 10 years we'll be making about 130k or so, I think.
150k a year? what the hell do you people do with your money.. blow it all on hookers and coke? You can comfortably get by on under 70k a year on long island if you dont have more than one brand new car, a house under 500k and don't spend ridiculously. I know plenty of families of 4+ that get by on under 50k.
WOW, We are a family of 5, and it's really tough here!! I can not imagine that a family of 4 could possibly "stay ahead" on UNDER 50K/year. That seems impossible!
What about my fiance and I...we're looking to buy a place pretty soon and make just over 100k together. I'm 23 and he's 26. In about 10 years we'll be making about 130k or so, I think.
More than likely you will be making a little more than that in 10 years. In our age groups (I'm 25) we are either in or just coming out of entry level jobs, so as we break further away from the entry level jobs into more experienced position, the increase in wages will probably slightly outpace the increase in wages from the average worker from a % standpoint (which is about 3%)
Anyway, one key factor would be how much do you have to put down and when are you looking to start a family?? With your combined incomes its probably doable, but how much you have to put down and if your looking to start a family soon or wait a few years is the real determining factor on if you can do it or not and what you could get.
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smash255
More than likely you will be making a little more than that in 10 years. In our age groups (I'm 25) we are either in or just coming out of entry level jobs, so as we break further away from the entry level jobs into more experienced position, the increase in wages will probably slightly outpace the increase in wages from the average worker from a % standpoint (which is about 3%)
Anyway, one key factor would be how much do you have to put down and when are you looking to start a family?? With your combined incomes its probably doable, but how much you have to put down and if your looking to start a family soon or wait a few years is the real determining factor on if you can do it or not and what you could get.
We don't plan on having our first kid until I'm 30, which is 7 years from now.
Watch out that your expenses don't out pace your earnings as happens so often around that stage of life. Also kids have a funny way of showing up unplanned.
I live in western Nassau County. Taxes on my little 50x100 plot with a modest cape style house are over 6,000 a year. We have 2 kids at home but have raised 3 kids here. You need 130,000 to 150,000 a year to raise a family here. Now is the time to buy however, houses are low and getting lower. Still expensive though. My house is considered a starter and they're selling for low $400,000's in my area. I'd never move here though, crime is getting worse and worse, gangs in the schools, congestion is ridiculous.I'm getting out as soon as I retire.
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WOW, We are a family of 5, and it's really tough here!! I can not imagine that a family of 4 could possibly "stay ahead" on UNDER 50K/year. That seems impossible!
