My daughter got a summer invite to stay with a friend's aunt on Long Island. The aunt would be with the girls in Manhatten but mentioned that they could bum around on their own to local beaches and shops.

I've never been to Long Island. The girls are 17 year old juniors in high school.

How safe is it for two Ohio 17 year olds to be out bumming Long Island? Great kids but not big city savy.

Long Island is 130 miles long and includes a great variety of communities and environments. It's not like it's a single town that you can generalize about. But it's not particularly urban either. Would you let your daughter bum around in your local suburbs?

Yes, Long Island is a LONG island, with hundreds of communities from Montauk to Queens.

Where on the island, specifically, will these teens be "out bumming"?

And will they be driving?

As mentioned Long Island is huge - and has all sorts of areas.

Are they going to be in the suburbs - and which ones? Some are very upscale (JLo territory with gigantic mansions/estates), most are middle class of some variety and there are a few places that are distinctly dicey. And without a car they really can't get around at all.

If they're further out - 60 miles or more - then they're in summer vacation territory. Lots to see and do, but much of it very expensive - and again, not doable without a car.

And since a 17 year old can;t rent a car - unless the aunt is lending them one - I don;t know WHAT they would do there.

(I grew up on LI - and believe me - to see/do anything you have to have car access. And most of the suburbs are REALLY boring - if you're 17 - unless you have a pack of friends to do things with.)

As for not having big city savvy - if they're 17 and off to college next year - it's about time they developed some.

My friends and I went into the city by ourselves from the time we were 12 for museums, movies, shopping etc (not late at night naturally) - since you CAN get in and out of the city easily by train.

I'm a HS teacher and you should hear the kids when they might have to go to Ohio. They are P-E-T-R-I=F-I-E-D!

Um. Forgot to say I was a tchr. on LI.

Thank you for all the information. Now I know what specfics to inquire about. ie. Where exactly on the island will they be staying.

I agree that I would love to give her that experience of some freedom. but have only ever been to Manhatten myself and needed to have some sense of their safety.

My daughter does drive but that'll certainly be a question to ask.

Thanks for your help and really got a chuckle about NY kids and their feelings about coming to OH!

Teens on LI are not very different from teens in Ohio.

Except Amy Fisher, hopefully

Why would someone be P-E-T-R-I-F-E-D of Ohio?!

Ohio Buckeye fever...scary when witnessed live

KGCDRC, I work with a Buckeye and that is so true!

It is actually Manhattan.

NYC is the 4th safest city with a population over 500,000 and the safest large city in the US.

Guys. Guys. The PETRIFIED thing was a joke. The LI kids should be as UNscared of Ohio as the Ohio kids should be of LI. Why-o-why-o-why-o?