Is this still a place to settle down?

Someone once told me that to make it on Long Island, you need two incomes. Truer words have never been spoken.

I recently moved in with my girlfriend, Morgan, an office manager who rents a small two-bedroom home in Suffolk County. Unlike most places on Long Island, the rent is affordable, and it’s spacious enough that two people in their late 20s can live comfortably.

However, like scores of other Long Island millennials who want to start a family in the near future, we continue to search for a home where we can set down roots. Ideally, we’d like to purchase a single-family home with three bedrooms and low to moderate taxes in a good school district in Suffolk County. But on Long Island, it’s always easier said than done.

I’ve spent my entire life on Long Island. I grew up in Middle Island and attended Longwood High School before graduating from Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism. My extended family also lives on Long Island, and a majority of my friends still live in the metropolitan area. Needless to say, I have some deep Long Island roots, ones that I’m not eager to break.

Although Morgan is from Vermont, she, too, has developed strong ties to the region, and both of us would prefer to stay on Long Island as we settle into our careers. But some days, after hours of searching online for homes in the $400,000 range, it seems Long Island doesn’t love us as much as we love it.

It’s discouraging to know that finding a home in Nassau or Suffolk remains just out of reach, especially when homes in up-and-coming cities and towns are more readily available in places like the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest. From larger homes to lower property taxes, the siren song of affordable homes outside the tristate area is a difficult one to ignore.

But why does it have to be this way? Why can’t homes for budding young professionals like us, and recent college graduates, be more than a pipe dream? Although the problem seems straightforward, the solution, like most things, is more complicated than it initially appears.

One could argue that encouraging young couples to settle down on Long Island is overall a good thing, but not all residents agree. Many Long Islanders and their elected officials oppose the creation of affordable or even workforce housing because they feel that the quality of people who would be attracted to buy and rent the homes or apartments would somehow diminish the quality of life, and therefore the values of their homes.

This sentiment, supported by outdated development rules and draconian zoning ordinances, is often voiced seemingly without consideration that millennials at the start of their careers — like Morgan and me — simply cannot afford to live on Long Island. Add to this the seemingly unending supply of affordable condos and two-bedroom homes for those 55 and older, and it’s easy to understand why many young prospective home buyers just leave Long Island.

I wish I could say that we have found a great place within our price range and are nearly ready to move in. The fact is, we aren’t even close to finding something that would fit our most basic needs.

Long Island is our first choice to buy a home, start a family and eventually retire. Unfortunately, we may be forced to look elsewhere if something doesn’t change soon.

 Michael Cusanelli is the digital production manager for Newsday’s Opinion department.