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Long Island is well known for many reasons but is most noted as the birthplace of suburbia. Long Island was the place - and William Levitt was the man with a vision. The vision was to enable service men returning from World War II in the 1940s to establish their families in a country-like atmosphere of homes set apart from the hustle and bustle, crime and crowds represented by life in the Big City.
Homes in Levittown were simply but solidly built and affordably priced. The area was established as a place where the American Dream of home ownership would become a reality and inspired other developers who eventually created all of Long Island from woods and wetlands into one giant suburbia.
From these early beginnings in the late 1940s, Long Island has grown into 125 miles of vibrant communities, ideal for living and vacationing.
To the north lie the quiet waters of Long Island Sound and its wonderful beaches, and to the south is the Atlantic Ocean, luring swimmers, sun bathers, boaters and Long Island fishermen alike.
Although there have been increasing employment opportunities on Long Island, most residents earn their living in nearby Manhattan just east of the Big Apple.
Long Island is comprised of the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, with the county seats being Mineola (Nassau) and Riverhead (Suffolk). The population of some 2.7 million residents is almost equally divided between the two counties.
Long Island's amenities are many: fine dining, cultural events, museums, live theatre, middle and upper class communities and the like. A number of Long Island communities rank among the most upscale in the United States. Among them are Cold Spring Harbor and Lloyd Harbor in Suffolk County and in Nassau County, Garden City, Great Neck and Manhasset.
For more information about Long Island check out Brookhaven National Laboratories Living on Long Island writeup.
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