Wallet Watch newsletter: Leaving Long Island (and sometimes coming back again)
Median home prices are starkly different between the two. Source: Redfin
Evon Hart left for Phoenix in 2001 in search of a more affordable place to live. She found it; and 25 years later — now a mother, homeowner and yoga teacher — she is moving back to Long Island.
Hart misses New York, and wants to be closer to her mom as she ages. But coming home means paying a monthly rent higher than her current mortgage and facing a housing market that might always be out of reach.
Her choice captures a tension that came up again and again among Long Islanders who left. Relocating can mean a better, more affordable quality of life; but it also might mean leaving friends, family and a place that still feels like home. And, love it or hate it, Long Island seems to be a place that's hard to fully let go of.
While reporting this story, I posted on Facebook seeking the experiences of Long Islanders who have moved away. Nearly 2,000 people responded. Some of the people I spoke with said life became more affordable elsewhere and described thriving careers and businesses. Some said they would never move back. Others still think about it — or, like Hart, are trying to find a way home.
Read more here.
To our readers
While shopping for paint in mid-August, I saw giant skeletons on display in Home Depot. Would you say that's too soon for Halloween decor?
Now, with Labor Day behind us and kids already back in school, it feels safe to say that spooky season has arrived — a harbinger of the long, expensive holiday stretch ahead.
A recent JD Power report found that while one-third of American consumers are considered financially healthy and consumer confidence is on the rise, so are pressures surrounding household expenses. Nearly one-in-eight consumers say concern over rising costs has pushed them to change their daily spending habits.
Readers, how are you planning to budget for holidays? Do you have more immediate concerns, like the price of gas or groceries? Send your personal finance questions to walletwatch@newsday.com and I might respond in a future newsletter.
Have a question you'd like to submit? Confused by a bill? Spotted a price hike? Ask our team and we might answer it in the next edition. Email walletwatch@newsday.com or click here.
Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
