By Olivia Moore
Although starting a new job and building your career can be exciting and thrilling, most people quickly tire of it. Instead, that desire gets replaced with that seemingly “eternal” waiting for the promise of retirement. Just thinking about the peace and relief it all brings can be enough for any person to smile. However, the question you need to ask yourself then is whether you want to stay where you are or leave it all behind? So, today we find out just how good or bad the appeal of retiring on Long Island is. Most people find it good enough, but is it really?
The pros and cons of retiring on Long Island
With miles of beautiful beaches, high-quality healthcare and educational opportunities, Long Island is definitely an appealing choice when it comes to relocation. Despite the fact that New York as a state ranks near-bottom on the U.S. retirement list, Long Island retirees somehow manage to keep it afloat. Whether it’s due to quick access to NYC or the diverse economic opportunities, Long Island is definitely a desirable retirement location. But how doable it is all really?
Despite having so much to offer, you can’t forget the sheer expensiveness of living on Long Island. Add to that the need for a warmer Florida-like climate and lower living costs and you have yourself a winner. In fact, according to popular studies, the taxes and cost of living in total ranks Long Island among the highest in the nation. And with so many other appealing destinations, what could possibly compel people to want to retire on Long Island?
- The notion of being away from family and friends
- Having to change healthcare providers
- Organizing a relocation to another place
- Having to adapt to a new neighborhood and environment, etc.
But, when you write all down on a piece of paper, which option actually wins out—retiring on Long Island or trading it for a different city or state?
Retiring away from Long Island—what does it take?
The good side of current potential retirees is that they had a good foundation during their lifetime spent living on Long Island. They had good-paying jobs, acceptable costs of living, and were able to provide a good life for their families. Now, they are able to retire without having to worry about education loans, health coverage or pension funds.
However, what most seniors in Long Island need to face is the absurd cost of continuing to live in Long Island. What was once a prospering paradise has now turned into a imbalanced society with a vast gap between the rich and the poor. That alone easily leads to other benefits that come from leaving Long Island:
- Warmer climate
- New housing and more space
- The option to travel
- Lower costs of living
On the other hand, the only real concern that senior Long Islanders looking to move away have is the cost associated with buying property in another state, relocating to that new location, and the growing costs of healthcare. But even in spite of this, most people are making the choice to leave it all behind and start searching for their patch of paradise.
However, there is also the matter of making their retirement fund last in spite of the coming inflation and market volatility. And then there is also the matter of leaving something to children and grandchildren. And then there are the disadvantages of leaving:
- Having to say goodbye to children and grandchildren
- Going through the notion of relocation
- Adapting to a new environment and lifestyle
The notion of retiring on Long Island
We are currently on a critical checkpoint, where the possibility of secure retirement plans has an expiration date. What was once an environment with good-paying jobs, standard costs of living, health coverage and pension funds, has now been replaced with high taxes and property maintenance expenses. Which is also one of the reasons why more and more young people are leaving Long Island.
Unfortunately, it’s not only the young people—the trend of leaving has been growing for the past 20 years. It is the opinion of many that Long Island has become overcrowded and overly expensive, filled with aggression towards the blue collar class. The only reasons that could push the decision to retire here are:
- Good financial and social standing
- The beaches
- Family relations
- Inability to sell property for a good enough price
Of course, those who do decide to stay can easily enjoy the long-term stability that has been founded on the strong social networks, good schools and community building projects. But whether or not this is enough is a matter of perspective, where the majority is currently on the other side of the coin.
What makes for a good retirement plan?
Planning your retirement isn’t as overwhelming as people might think. There are simple ways to plan and prepare for it without any stress. Although each case is unique, there are five essential components you want to pay attention to when retiring from or on Long Island:
- Lifestyle
- Income
- Risk Tolerance
- Long Term Care
- Help from a Financial Advisor
Once you’ve checked all five of these checkpoints, you are ready to retire. It is then that people are faced with the challenge of choosing between Long Island and another destination to spend out the rest of their days.
What is the end verdict?
Looking at the current domestic and global trends, people won’t need to worry about where to retire, given the fact that the number of Americans older than 65 has doubled. The rising issue is that there won’t enough young people working to cover the expenses of Social Security long-term. So, Long Islanders need to be aware of the coming storm that is slowly bringing back inflation and the loss of purchasing power.
However, as things currently stand, the notion of retiring on Long Island has definitely seen better days and has lost most of its juice. Unless there are stronger reasons for doing so, staying on Long Island is no longer as appealing as it once was. So, tread carefully when deciding whether or not you wish to remain here to enjoy the years of rest you have prepared for so long.
Having spent the last couple of years working for Verrazano Moving and Storage Staten Island, Olivia Moore has seen her fair share of people relocating, both locally and across state lines. That is what gives her the knowledge necessary to tap into the social and financial issues that make people want to leave their homes.
