Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

For those that have moved off LI or out of NY, do you regret it? Would you mind sharing your reasoning and why the pros ended up outweighing the cons with your decision? And do you still have family on LI, do you still see them as much as you'd like?

TIA!

EDITED: Where did you move to?

Message edited 7/9/2015 8:19:53 AM.

Re: Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

I was young when my DH and I moved out of NY, we were only 22. I left all of our friends and family and I won't lie, it was hard and at the time, I kind of regretted leaving. I wasn't able to get home for every holiday and I had to miss things like birthdays, BBQ's, and even funerals. But I think despite that it was still a good experience having left.

We ended up coming back to the island because of our friends and family and in the 14 years that we've been back I feel like so many things have changed that I would be okay leaving again and I don't think it would be as sad this time around. I have found that as we've gotten older (we're both 40 now) and have a family of our own our lives have become more about our little family than anything else. Also, now that my friends and family have all gotten older and have had families of their own everyone is naturally more busy and it's become hard to see everyone like we once did. I feel like my life now is so much more about my DH and the kids than ever and it sometimes feels like we're on our own despite having friends and family all over the island, there just isn't time anymore to get together with everyone like we once did. Life is just crazy now.

All that being said, if the opportunity every arose for us to leave the island again DH and I wouldn't hesitate. We'd come back and visit as often as we could and ultimately, I don't even think we'd be seeing friends/family any less than we do now. If moving meant an even better quality of life for us than we have now, we'd consider moving OOS again (for good) without hesitation. It's a tough decision, but after having done it I understand what we'd be in for and being older (and hopefully wiser ) I feel like we'd be okay and do fine if we ever left again.

Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

Thank you Hofstra26! Where did you move to, if you don't mind me asking? Was it far?

Re: Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

Posted by Hofstra26

I was young when my DH and I moved out of NY, we were only 22. I left all of our friends and family and I won't lie, it was hard and at the time, I kind of regretted leaving. I wasn't able to get home for every holiday and I had to miss things like birthdays, BBQ's, and even funerals. But I think despite that it was still a good experience having left.

We ended up coming back to the island because of our friends and family and in the 14 years that we've been back I feel like so many things have changed that I would be okay leaving again and I don't think it would be as sad this time around. I have found that as we've gotten older (we're both 40 now) and have a family of our own our lives have become more about our little family than anything else. Also, now that my friends and family have all gotten older and have had families of their own everyone is naturally more busy and it's become hard to see everyone like we once did. I feel like my life now is so much more about my DH and the kids than ever and it sometimes feels like we're on our own despite having friends and family all over the island, there just isn't time anymore to get together with everyone like we once did. Life is just crazy now.

All that being said, if the opportunity every arose for us to leave the island again DH and I wouldn't hesitate. We'd come back and visit as often as we could and ultimately, I don't even think we'd be seeing friends/family any less than we do now. If moving meant an even better quality of life for us than we have now, we'd consider moving OOS again (for good) without hesitation. It's a tough decision, but after having done it I understand what we'd be in for and being older (and hopefully wiser ) I feel like we'd be okay and do fine if we ever left again.

Re: Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

First I moved to City Island in the Bronx when I started graduate school. Then DH and I moved to White Plains a couple of years ago. I would never move back to LI. I am still close to my family in Queens and Nassau county and I see them just as much as I did before I moved- I love my neighborhood. I feel there is less traffic here than on LI. We pay taxes equalivant to Nassau county taxes yet I feel that the city of White Plains does a better job of maintaining the areas. Snow is removed promptly, streets are cleaned- the public works offers free fire wood, mulch, and soil.
There are lots of community events.
My Dh's business is located in the Bronx so we decided that due to his company's demands he could not go back and forth over the bridge a couple of times a day. We are really happy with our choice.

Re: Those that moved off LI or even out of NY

We moved to Putnam County 10 years ago. DH teaches in Westchester and I was teaching in the Bronx. We loved our Queens neighborhood but could not afford a house, and while we could have afforded LI we just didn't want to do it. Also we wanted to stop commuting over a bridge.

At that time I was also feeling like I wanted a break from the traffic and the noise. Putnam is only marginally cheaper than LI- our taxes are about $3-$4k less than a comparable LI house and I think electric is a little less but otherwise prices are about the same. But there is so much less traffic.

The other things I like are-
-easy travel to NYC, I have two Metro North stations close by, 5 minutes and 10 minutes
-lots of nature- tons of hiking trails very close by, DD and I are even able to go after school. If we were into fishing there are also lots of close places for that too.
-necessities- grocery, drugstore, restaurants- are not as close as they were on LI but are still not far.
-close to White Plains, which I like, as well as other historic/cultural sites in N. Westchester and Dutchess.
-good schools
-small town life in general, everyone seems to know everyone else which I like and there is a nice feeling of community, also there is less of the keeping-up mentality that I felt was too prevalent on LI.