The Long Island Housing Market: Exodous Off the Island

There has been a lot of talk about the Long Island housing market. So many people are obsessed with it, no wonder it just keeps getting bigger. (Insert you own interpretation of that joke here!) I happened to be one of the lucky ones. I got in early and have traded up frequently over the last six years. If you were lucky enough to have entered the market in the late nineties and kept trading up over time then you probably have no real problem with the housing prices. The taxes are another matter altogether, but we'll get to that later.

Without getting into all the dirty details I went from a Condo in Holtsville to a Colonial in Mt. Sinai in six years, making money on every purchase, which enabled me to put a large enough down payment on the next. Over that time, my family income increased, so that helped as well. Now, my wife and I have our dream house in a dream town.

I always tell my wife that I will not move again unless we could get a house on the water. Not by the water or within a walking distance to the water but actually on the water. Since that fictional house costs twice as much as my current home, I don't think we'll be moving anytime soon.

My friends all complain. They all complain. I rarely meet someone who doesn't complain about housing prices, taxes and energy costs on Long Island. Heck, I complain all the time. Difference is that when I complain it's because I desperately want to make it work on Long Island while most of my friends complain because they can't wait until they can get off.

And where do they all go? O.K. everybody together now, "North Carolina!" That's right. Almost every one of my friends, or their friends or anyone I talk to who wants to get off the Island is moving to North Carolina.

My friend Brian and I grew up in the same small development. Through the years we kept in touch as we went to school, married, had kids, developed careers. He found his way in construction and I did so in the publishing world. With all his knowledge of construction and all the business to go around in the industry in the past few years he never bought a house on Long Island. He came close, but he never jumped.

He would complain all the time that the prices were too high, all the while I was buying my first home and then my second and then my third. I implored him to jump in every time I bought and sold because the end of the bubble was nowhere in sight at the time. And every time he said it was too expensive and he'd wait.

Just like many guys these days, my friend Brian is a huge NASCAR fan. This led him to look to North Carolina as a place to settle down and finally buy a home. He got a great little house down there and probably for half the price I paid. It's in a town that is right outside of Charlotte, a short drive to the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the zip code has been labeled "up and coming" in North Carolina.

Brian's story is much like most people on Long Island. Despite the fact that he makes a very good income and grew up here, he became so disgusted with the traffic and prices that he chose to escape to another part of the country where the perception is that his wife can stay home with the kids, his taxes and mortgage will be much lower for a similar home on Long Island and the people are more friendly and relaxed.

That may be true to an extent. The prices are lower but the salaries are too. The people are more relaxed but the transposed New Yorkers are becoming more common and they bring their New York "attitudes" with them. And even though his wife can stay home, it is not as easy as he thought it would be. But in the end he is happy with the life he chose there in North Carolina.

Me? I'm staying put, at least for now. I can't imagine going anywhere else just yet. I don't love the racing scene that much and I can't stand year-round heat. The southern states are beautiful and I travel often to Florida, Louisiana and the Carolinas. I love the deserts of the Southwestern United States and I have this burning desire to rent an RV and travel the country just visiting all the sites.

But I love the Northeastern autumns. I love the change of seasons. The chance of snow in winter and the fresh breezes of Spring when you finally can push open the windows and let some air through the screens.

Yeah, I might retire somewhere else in 30 years or so but I love the beaches, the waterways, the parks and the people on Long Island too much. I feel more at home here than anywhere else, especially North Carolina. Besides, I have this burning desire to be close to New York City at all times and even imagine when I can afford a little pied à terre for my wife and I when the kids get a little older.