Moving you from NYC to Long Island
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Experienced in moving you from NYC to Long Island
Experienced in moving you from NYC to Long Island
Long Island is a popular destination for many New Yorkers to set up home. For starters, the space and the proximity to Manhattan make it ideal for a relocation. And, with the Gatsby-era Gold Coast mansions, the wine glass-worthy bounty of locally-grown produce, year-round recreation, you’re going to “LI”ke it here. Living the Island life can be a pleasant change of pace.
No matter the borough you currently hail from, Piece of Cake Moving & Storage can help you transition from the hustle and bustle of NYC to your new abode in Long Island. We can do it all: from packing, custom crating, storage and unpacking. We are highly experienced in navigating Long Island traffic, parking and local moving requirements — settling you into your new home faster.
Our top moving tips when moving to Long Island
Depending on where you actually rehome in Long Island, you may still be a resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City! Almost 200 square miles are dedicated to Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties in the western side, the rest of the 1,400 total sq. mi. are associated with Suffolk and Nassau counties.
The bustling beachfronts and seasonal tourism (looking at you, Hamptons) significantly bolsters visitors and the LI economy for parts of the year, though the island boasts about 7 million residents year-round. To those who are uninitiated to Long Island life, there’s quite a bit to know. Here’s a few tidbits to get you acquainted:
- Skis, Bays, and Beaches: If sand between your toes sounds like heaven, you’re in luck. Your new place of residence has about 1,600 miles of shoreline. From the salty shores of Jamaica Bay, to Peconic Bay’s harbor, to Fire Island and three other barrier beaches, you’ll be close to slathering on the sunscreen and grabbing your favorite summer read to relax in the sun with little delay. And to illuminate the situation, the island has a serious collection of lighthouses. One of them, commissioned by Congress under President George Washington, is the oldest in the state of New York. And, Suffolk County claims the most lighthouses in all of the counties in the US. Enjoying the Island year-round is a real treat; there are cold-weather recreational opportunities such as cross-country skiing and ice-skating rinks in a number of villages across the island. To celebrate the colder off-season, visitors and residents alike can enjoy Winterfest, a 7-week series of cultural and family-friendly events for the whole crew.
- Historical homes: While NYC certainly boasts its fair share of storied sites, Long Island has quite a few of its own. You can wax poetic at the birthplace of famed poet, Walt Whitman, in his home in Huntington where he was born in 1819. Considered the “Summer White House” for several years during his presidency, you can salute Teddy Roosevelt’s Queen Anne-style home, Sagamore Hill, in Nassau County’s Oyster Bay. Then there’s the sparkle and splendor of the North Shore: The Gold Coast mansions. Around 1,200 mansions were erected between the 1890s and the 1930s to house some of the most moneyed folks in the entire country at the time. Only a portion of those grand structures remain but you can still take a tour of the last of the Island’s Gatsby-era decadence. For those whose cinematic senses steer closer to the horror section may be aware that the Amityville Horror house is also located in LI. That said, looks may be deceiving: the original address, 112 Ocean Avenue, was changed to ward off the rubberneckers.
- Eats and Treats: North fork, South fork, dinner fork — what isn’t there to eat in Long Island? You won’t go hungry with your options. With a marriage of a maritime climate and glacial soil, Suffolk County is ripe with agricultural abundance. You’ll find many farm stands, pumpkin patches, and pick-your-own produce opportunities to check out for yourself or to bring visitors along to enjoy. For the amateur sommeliers out there, there are around 2,000 acres of grapevines and 30 or so wineries to sip to your (responsible) heart’s content. And, if you’re seeking to sample a local favorite, look no further than the Long Island egg sandwich. A favorite of many a NY deli, you’ll spend your mornings selecting just the right variables to add to your Kaiser roll, such as: cheese, breakfast meat, hot sauce/no sauce, and egg to get your day started. Whichever combination you choose, this culinary creation seems to be popular with the locals. While you’re transitioning to local status, you may also want to make sure you pronounce it “soda” (not “pop”) and “hero” (not “hoagie”) when ordering off a menu.
- Getting around: Plenty of Long Islanders choose to get from point A to point B in cars, and that’s a potential rub. While navigating about 23 miles of land among the millions of residents, you may be in for a bit of a traffic jam at the busiest parts of the day. That said, LI is pretty connected with 9 bridges and 13 tunnels, so you don’t have to give up the city experience due to distance. If motoring around in that fashion doesn’t move you though, you might consider public transportation. Having experience in NYC, you may already be familiar with the Long Island Railroad (LIRR). This train system, North America’s busiest commuter railroad, can take you throughout the Island and into Queens. The exact fare for your rides will depend on your starting point and destination. That said, there are ways to make your regular trips more economical such as purchasing multi-day or month-long passes for regular commuters. For weekend trips within the NYC boroughs, you can also take advantage of the CityTicket: charging just $4.50 for travel on Saturdays and Sundays. Taking flight out of town is never too far away by plane with JFK and LaGuardia airports just a hop, skip, and jump away.
- Cost of Long Island Dwelling: Living in what may be referred to as the suburbs of NYC will give you more space, but that space (house or apartment) may be just as expensive. Compared to sharing a square mile with about 27,000 city dwellers, you’ll reduce that to about 4,700 folks in Nassau County. Purchasing a place to live is quite expensive, with houses averaging between $400,000 to $500,000 — the national average is about half that price. Higher than average property taxes that hover around 2%, due to the higher property value, will add to that housing price tag. If you choose to rent however, you’ll pay around $2k a month for a 2 bedroom in these Long Island counties, which is about the same as it’s metropolitan counterparts. Living in either Nassau or Suffolk County will be above the national average for cost of living in general, with Nassau taking a slight lead.
Photo credits: Mark Jenney, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Moving Tips and FAQs
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