The family from Ukraine moved to New York and shares its first impressions: expensive, but good

A family from Ukraine moved to Long Beach Island in New York State. After a week's stay, she decided to share her first impressions of life here. This is stated in the video on YouTube channel Zinkevych family.

A family from Ukraine settled in a house on Long Beach - this is an 5-kilometer beach located in the southern part of New York. Among the advantages of life here is the ocean within walking distance and the availability of all necessary infrastructure. Among the minuses are heavy traffic on the roads, insecurity and high food prices.

The family used to live in Chicago, so it compares the standard of living with a new city. Read more about this below.

Product prices

According to the author, food prices are two to three times higher than in Chicago. For example, bell pepper on Long Beach costs $ 1 apiece (in Chicago, the family usually bought half a kilogram for the same money).

But there are pluses: in New York there is no tax on products. When you look at the check, you will see that in the tax column there will be zero.

Transport

There is a Long Beach train station on the island. You can get from here to Manhattan in 40 minutes by train. Not from any part of Brooklyn or Queens in such a time you will reach. Because traffic, because there are a lot of cars.

The only negative is the cost of such a trip. At rush hour, you will get from here for $ 14, and at normal times - for $ 10,50 one way. To save money, you can buy a monthly ticket for $ 300.

It is pleasantly surprising that on the platforms of the railway station there are special cabins for waiting, where you can hide from the cold and rain.

Environmentally friendly

There are special machines at the station for receiving plastic and glass bottles. For one bottle handed over for disposal, you will receive five cents. Earned money can be spent right here in the store, the story says. It is noted that today such an opportunity exists only in a few states of America.

By the way, such machines do not accept bottles of all brands: for example, those brought from Chicago are not suitable.

Garbage handed over to such machines is automatically sorted right there, then sent to the factory for recycling.

Roads and traffic

Among the minuses, one more is unruly riding on the roads. Many do not follow basic rules such as speed limits. Say, in a residential area where you can drive at a speed of 40 km per hour, squeeze 100 km per hour here.

This driving style is also displayed on the price of insurance. If in Chicago the family paid $ 1400 for insurance, then here - $ 4000.

Nobody pays any attention to pedestrians either, the author claims - for them there are not even pedestrian crossings.

Families with children should be especially careful here, because crossing the road is simply unsafe: from around the corner at any moment a car can fly out that does not adhere to speed limits even in a sleeping area.

Another minus is traffic on the roads and toll roads. To travel from the island to the city, you will definitely have to use a toll road. To do this, the pot will require a minimum of 4 hours and $ 100 in order to just drive along the roads.

There are also a lot of paid bridges. One of them can cost $ 15-30. This limits people and makes them spend leisure time on the island to save money.

Of the benefits - the cost of gasoline. It is a little cheaper here than in Chicago. But if you take into account all the above disadvantages, then this plus does not overlap them.

Accomodation

The family home rents them $ 4000 monthly. On the one hand, it is expensive, but understandable: the ocean is a five-minute walk.

Not everyone can afford to buy such a house: prices start at $ 300 thousand. For that kind of money, it will be an old house, requiring repair and substantial investment. In general, average housing prices here range between $ 400-600 and even higher.

On the subject: How is life in the USA: the view of an immigrant

The advantage of living here is that everything is within walking distance. Say, the family reaches the supermarket in 10 minutes, to the railway station - about the same. Bank, pharmacy - everything is nearby. But the main thing is this beautiful ocean.

However, this plus may be a minus. For example, in winter - then life around it may not seem so comfortable due to strong winds.