“So when are you moving here?”
I’ve been asked that question nearly every day since taking this job.
There’s no easy answer. I live in Nassau County. My commute is an hour and 15 minutes each way — that’s two and a half hours a day in my car, flipping between radio stations that play both kinds of music: country and western (hat tip to “The Blues Brothers”).
I’m not complaining. It’s still less time than it took me taking the LIRR the other way into Manhattan for my previous job. Like the hospital worker commuting from Patchogue or the teacher driving in from Medford, I make it work — and make it to work.
My situation isn’t unique. It’s the same story for so many who labor out here but can’t afford to live here.
The median home price in Southold Town is nearing $1 million, according to Zillow. Even in relatively more affordable Riverhead, it’s around $600,000.
Anyone without a nest egg is up Goose Creek. That’s why housing has dominated every conversation I’ve had with Southold Town Board candidates who’ve stopped by our Mattituck office ahead of next month’s elections — every single one. Democrat or Republican, North Forker or Fishers Islander — they all get it.
They talk about the “missing middle,” that vanishing class of working people. They warn that we’re selling ourselves out to the wealthiest voices, turning the North Fork into Disneyland. They see the pressure coming and know the town has to be ready.
On Fishers Island, the numbers are stark: 550 year-round residents are down to 230. So much year-round housing has shifted to seasonal use.
Even those who emphasize property rights acknowledge the tension between wanting your dream home and preserving what makes this place special.
The proposed fixes vary — cottage-style developments, prohousing designations, stricter short-term rental laws, streamlined zoning processes. They talk about using a “mixed box of tools.”
But for all the ideas, there are few immediate solutions. Zoning changes take time. Infrastructure costs money. Meanwhile, every season that passes, more houses flip from year-round to seasonal — and more workers join me on the LIE parking lot.
Talk is cheap. Houses aren’t. Nearly 75% of workers here are employed by small businesses. When those workers can’t afford to live here, what happens to those businesses? To our schools? To this place?
So when someone asks, “When are you moving here?” I usually bite my tongue and say, “Working on it.”
But what I’m really thinking is: Will there be a North Fork left to move to — or should I buy some Mickey Mouse ears?