Long Island is an island located to the east of Manhattan, stretching in the northeasterly direction. It is home to four counties, of which two --
Brooklyn and Queens -- are Boroughs of New York City. In political and cultural contexts, however, the name "
Long Island" refers to the portion of the island occupied by the remaining two counties: Nassau and Suffolk.
One of
America's most vivid examples of urban sprawl,
Long Island was mostly rural until the late 1940's, at which time developers began radically transforming its landscape into what became an endless sea of cookie-
cutter housing and strip malls. It is characterized by overcrowding, insane transportation costs and
high property taxes. Although it is socioeconomically diverse, and serene rural scenery can still be found there by those who look very hard, it is a quintessential American suburb in that it combines the worst of the
urban and rural worlds: all the crowding and expense of living in the city with none of the cultural sophistication or tolerance; all the dullness of the country, with none of the bucolic charm.
Long Islanders are known for their distinctive accent, which is best described as exceedingly nasal and guttural. For example "
long" is pronounced "lawn'", "coffee" is "cawffy", and someone whose name is Mark would actually be called "Mawk".