Are you ready to make a big move and enjoy your surroundings say in Long Island or NYC?
If you live in New York currently or are thinking of moving across the country you might be asking if it is worth it to buy a home on Long Island or move to NYC.
Do you dream of walking around Times Square, standing at a concrete bus boarding island waiting to transport you to work, jogging in Central Park South, spending time on Queens Boulevard, Brooklyn Boulevard, Manhattan College Parkway, or eating at a great place in Downtown Manhattan, visiting Staten Island, Times Plaza, meeting up with friends and family in the Brooklyn community or the North Brooklyn area or just about anything that has to do with the Big Apple?
Do you want your kids to start off the 2021-2022 school year in New York or Long Island? Do you want to get involved in public meetings, attend school board meetings on school safety, get involved in school safety projects, help with traffic safety improvements, and get more space for cyclists?
Keep reading.
Not So Big
New York isn’t a large state —it’s estimated to be just a little more than 300 square miles— but there are hundreds of neighborhoods filled with bike paths, bike lanes, and bike routes as well as hundreds of dedicated spaces scattered throughout five different boroughs.
You'll see everything from walkers to many bike paths, hundreds of bus routes and neighborhood bicycle routes, and conventional bike lanes, and there is always some kind of traffic improvements going on be it Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, or wherever.
However, if you prefer going back to your apartment in New York City or settling in with the kids in a suburban home on Long Island after a day of sightseeing, or spending time in Central Park, Times Square, Staten Island, Queens Plaza North, in the Brooklyn community, it all depends on you and what you want.
Don’t choose an area based on things you've heard from others about where you think you should live; take time to get to know the boroughs and neighborhoods, decide on your priorities, and the best place will find you.
Going to a public meeting or two while active can bring you up to speed as to what's going on in that community.
Here's some help to give you more information and to decide what is best for you Long Island or NYC.
Long Island Digs
Spanning four counties, Long Island makes up part of New York City‘s harbor and the southern border of Long Island Sound.
It's home to one of the oldest commuter railroads in America, Long Island Iced Tea, and the Belmont Stakes; yes Long Island is a nice place to call home.
Long Island aka “Strong Island” to residents, is the 1,400 square mile island jutting from the coast of New York City. This “long” island is 120 miles long and only 23 miles across at its widest point, it’s the largest island connected to the contiguous United States.
However, with an estimated population of 7.64 million people, LI makes up over one-third of New York State’s population.
Also, living on Long Island doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be living in one city. Although Long Island City does exist, it’s only one of the many towns among Long Island‘s four counties. Kings County covers the Brooklyn area, while Queens County covers Queens, so although they’re both boroughs of New York City, they’re located on Long Island.
Also, Nassau County and Suffolk County take up a majority of Long Island, with each containing smaller villages and towns rather than busy city blocks—including the popular New York vacation spot, The Hamptons, in the south fork of Suffolk County. So, whether you’re looking for big-city living or a small-town vibe, you can get it all when you move to Long Island!
Meetings Galore
If you're into public meetings and if you do move here you can attend the following: Brooklyn Community Board, Brooklyn Community Board 1, Brooklyn Community Board 2, Brooklyn Community Board 10, Brooklyn Community Board 17, Brooklyn Community Board 18, Brooklyn Community Board 4, Neighborhood Loading Zone Brooklyn, Brooklyn Community Board 2 Transportation Committee, Queens Community Board, Queens Community Board, Queens Community Board 2, Queens Community Board 3, Queens Community Board 5, Queens Community Board 6, Queens Community Board 12, Queens Community Board 13, and Queens Community Board 14.
And if that's not enough and you reside in the Bronx on Long Island, these meetings are also ready for your involvement: Bronx Community Board, Bronx Community Board 2, Bronx Community Board 5, Bronx Community Board 7, Bronx Community Board 8, Bronx Community Board 11 Transportation Committee, Bronx Community Board 12 Transportation Committee.
Living on Long Island Is Worth the Cost
Long Island is home to some of the wealthiest zip codes in New York, with some even beating out New York City zip codes. But that doesn’t mean New York families or singles and young professionals can’t find an affordable home.
With 13 towns and 95 different villages, anyone can find housing on Long Island within their budget.
Find a Job
Over one million professionals live on Long Island and commute to New York for work, but there are plenty of great job opportunities in major industries in the area as well as in North Brooklyn, and Queens, like healthcare and social assistance, professional and business services, or manufacturing.
Travel
With so many Long Islanders commuting to the Big Apple, there are plenty of great public transit options for getting on and off the island. The most popular option among Long Island commuters is the busiest railroad in North America, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), with an average of 385,400 professionals riding their 735 trains daily.
However, if you’re driving, you can use one of the many bridges or tunnels that connect Long Island to the mainland to get to Rockaway Beach or Beach Park to spend a day.
If you’re working and living on Long Island, bus lines like the Nassau Inter-County Express and Suffolk County Transit provide convenient transportation throughout most of the area.
Fly out from Long Island MacArthur Airport, LaGuardia Airport, or one of the busiest airports in the U.S., JFK International Airport to any place in the world.
If you just want to hop in the car and ride around there's Queens Blvd, the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, plenty of North Brooklyn open streets, Queens Midtown Expressway, Beach 108th St., Beach 9th Street, Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Bronx Boulevard, and Manhattan College Parkway to explore.
You can also pull out the bike and enjoy many bike paths, bike lanes, and conventional bike lanes and make bike connections with friends, ride to Staten Island, Central Park South and so much more.
As with any place you move Long Island has its pros and cons. If you want to have a bit more space than a cramped 200-square-foot apartment in New York City, but don’t want to be too far away from everything it has to offer, then it might be a great choice.
Plus, Long Island has plenty of amenities with the bonus of beautiful beaches, hiking trails, places for bike connections, great schools with plenty of school safety, as well as the option to get involved in school safety projects for your kids.
Of course, it’s not without its downsides as you’ll have to cope with incredibly high property and sales taxes. The cost of living is also higher than in New York City itself.
Moving to NYC
According to Zillow, the median price for a home in New York City is currently around $674,000 — a significant jump over the $200,000 you’d need to buy a home elsewhere in the United States.
If you have enough money stashed away for a down payment (and all of the associated costs of buying a home in NYC, like property taxes, closing costs, common charges, etc.), you may be lucky enough to be able to buy a place, but for most people, homeownership is not a real possibility. According to the latest NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey, only 32 percent of New Yorkers are homeowners.
Source: ny.curbed.com
Meanwhile, the median sale price for a Manhattan apartment in the first quarter of this year was $1.19 million. It's not much better in the rental market as the median rent in Manhattan in the first quarter was $3,700 a month.
New York City is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, and it is often listed as the most expensive market in the United States. It is known for its strong tenants' union and difficult eviction process, too.
Many residents find themselves involved in their communities and attend various board meetings including Manhattan Community Board, Manhattan Community Board 1, Manhattan Community Board 3, Manhattan Community Board 5, Manhattan Community Board 3 Transportation Committee, and Manhattan Community Board 6.
A Good Choice
What then makes NYC real estate investment attractive and why do so many invest in NYC real estate market?
There are radical differences between over-priced and over-built luxury areas and relatively affordable neighborhoods where people compete for apartments and homes.
And there are neighborhoods where people want to live and pay a premium to do so because they want the amenities ranging from bike lanes to conventional bike lanes, access to bus routes, dedicated space, the opportunity to go to Times Square, Staten Island, take a day to explore the Bronx, Queens, Times Plaza, Downtown Manhattan, and Central Park South among all the other places NYC is known for.
Most homebuyers who use a mortgage loan to finance their purchase will need to put down a certain percentage of the sale price. Low-interest rates can give a small boost to your buying power since a smaller portion of your monthly payment will be put toward interest.
This can mean being able to afford a little bit more house than you might in a higher rate environment. If you looking to buy a home, you should also consider a tipping point. Nationally, the median tipping point is around two years but in New York, it’s 5.8 years. The higher a home is priced, the longer you’ll need to stay in it to invest pay off relative to renting.
Strong job growth is another factor for investing in NYC real estate. New York City has been the driving force behind employment gains in New York State. Job growth in the city has outpaced the State (and the nation) every year since the end of the recession. New York City has become less dependent on the securities industry for economic growth.
Things are improving now but it will take a long time to recover from the economic and pandemic crisis.
Source: noradarealestate.com
Regardless of the recent crisis, real estate is still a good, long-term investment. Ten years ago, real estate was still valued much higher than it was. And if you have tenants paying your mortgage, it makes the investment that much more profitable.
As with any real estate investment, the more you know about the location, the better off you’ll be.
That is why it is no surprise that despite being an expensive real estate market, a lot of people want to buy in NYC. There are abundant opportunities & neighborhoods to choose from when investing in New York City.
Before you begin, it is important to have a well-thought-out plan in place and decide if Long Island is better for you and your family or if NYC is.