Report: Long Island Cost Of Living 'Alarming'

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Taxes, housing and transportation expenses are the big reasons why a new anti-tax think tank report calls Long Island's cost of living "alarming."

But as WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported, it seems the only ones not shocked by the report are Long Islanders.

"You're just treading water here," one man said. "You really can't get ahead.

"I'm just waiting for my kids to get through college and get off Long Island," he added.

The Reclaim New York report points out that although Long Islanders earn twice the national median income, residents of all income levels still struggle to make ends meet.

"When a Long Island family earning twice the national median income cannot save enough for retirement, college or a family vacation, we have to look at the structure of the system," Reclaim New York Executive Director Brandon Muir said in a news release. "For lower income families, there's an undeniable struggle to make ends meet. With current tax levels and the high cost of living, it is clear policies at every level of government have failed to ensure our communities are affordable."

But there are some who have come to live with and justify the hefty price of life on Long Island.

"You want to live in the greatest city in the world or near it, you're going to pay," a man told Xirinachs.