Long Island

A large island in extreme southeastern New York state. Although the NYC boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn are in fact geographically part of the island, when one speaks of "Long Island", they are generally only referring to Nassau and Suffolk counties. Most of the area was undeveloped or farmland until the 20th century. The end of WW II saw the development of many towns and mass migration from NYC. The vast majority of the citizens are middle class homeowners, though there are a few pockets of poverty here and there. There are also some exceptionally wealthy areas as some of the richest people in America own homes on Long Island. Most of these areas are on the North Shore, the fabled "Gold Coast" of legend and lore...that Fitzgerald romantacized in The Great Gatsby. Most of the southern half of the island is flat, but as one moves north of the Long Island Expressway, the terrain becomes more undulating and hilly, though the highest spot is only 401 feet above sea level near Huntington Station. The climate features cool, wet springs, very warm summers, mild autumns that often last well into November, and moderately cold winters. One can generally expect several snowstorms of greater than four inches from December through March and blizzard conditions do set in from time to time. From an aesthetic perspective, many undeveloped areas do feature scenic beauty, though suburban sprawl seems to be ever encroaching upon them...