Reason to watch: This one's about you and your future (How's that for a compelling reason?), asking why young people are leaving the Island in droves, and how this demographic drain will ultimately impact Suffolk and Nassau counties.

What it's about: Why did the population between the ages of 25 to 34 decline 35 percent on Long Island from 1990 to 2006? Therein lies a grim story about cost-of-living, culture, taxes and other factors that have put the squeeze on young people and squeezed them right out of Suffolk and Nassau, perhaps never to return. Reasons will be explored via that trusty TV tool - the town meeting. These were taped at Hofstra and moderated by Newsday columnist Joye Brown and former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin. Tonight's edition is starkly, and accurately, titled "The Crisis," followed by "Solutions" (tomorrow) and "Hope for the Future" (Thursday). The show is hosted by Laura Savini, WLIW's vice president of marketing and communications.

Many LI leaders are present and accounted for here (only the first half-hour was available for preview), including Nancy Rauch Douzinas, president of the Rauch Foundation; Paul Pontieri Jr., mayor of Patchogue; Matt Crosson, Long Island Association president (and co-host of Ch. 21's "Crosson and Welles"); Wayne Hall, mayor of Hempstead, and many others. Crosson, speaking tonight, sets the table with this thought: "Long Island is losing young people at the same time the baby boomer [retirement] tsunami is beginning, [and] we will be in serious trouble. ... The Island's economy depends on the availability of young people in the workforce, and if we don't have that, the cost of living goes even higher, and [business] growth will be virtually impossible."

The consequence of this vicious cycle is a decline in housing prices.

Bottom line: Ch. 21's important series is strongest on clarifying the problem, though viewers will have to judge for themselves on whether "Solutions" (tomorrow) meets the same standard. Tonight's "town hall" is crisp and intelligent, but one senses that the ways to fix this are complicated, intractable and enormously difficult. Nevertheless, anyone who pays a steep tax dollar here or wants to buy (or sell) a house on Long Island will feel this series' relevance sharply and deeply.

Leaving Long Island tonight through Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW/21.

Looking South : Long Islanders Get The Scoop On The Sunny SouthEast

INDIVIDUALS AND COUPLES, young professionals, potential investors and soon-to-be retirees gathered at the Huntington Hilton Hotel in Long Island, N.Y., in September to get a taste of what the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida have to offer in the way of relocation opportunities, vacation homes and investment properties.

As they prepared for another cold, dreary and snow-filled winter, The Southeast Real Estate Expo gave Long Islanders the chance to find out firsthand what the sunny Southeast is all about.

Several South Carolina and North Carolina realtors, builders and developers were on hand to explain to Expo attendees why the South is a great place to live–or at least to own property. Right alongside these enterprising businesspeople was Media Services, publisher of Carolina Homes & Interiors, Coastal Condo Living.com and Coastal Million Dollar Homes.com. Each person who walked through the door was given a copy of the magazines and many signed up to receive future issues.

“We know and love the world of Southern living and culture, so we were thrilled to share it with those who would like to call it their home as well,” Media Services Publisher Bill Macchio commented. “And attending the Expo and having our magazines serve as the official program gave us the opportunity to support our regional builders, realtors and developers who advertise in our various publications and on our Web sites.”

As Long Islanders found out, the Southeast offers a comfortable climate, an extensive coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, low cost-of-living and an easy, laid-back approach to life. What more could a frozen-to-the-bone, overtaxed contestant in a frenzied northern rat race ask for?

In addition to real estate professionals, builders and developers, the two-day Southeast Real Estate Expo showcased a wide range of products and services, including investment brokers, time share and vacation resorts, active adult communities and retirement planners.

Many vendors took the opportunity to attend the Expo because they realized that those who took the time to attend are sincerely interested in making the effort to move south.

Bradley Bennett, owner and broker-in-charge of Oceanfront Guru Real Estate Sales & Development in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was a vendor at the Expo and was told by one attendee that “The Carolinas give you a quality of life that people want for themselves and their loved ones.” He points out that people who make the move from Long Island to the Carolinas really aren’t moving that far away from their friends and families.

“They’re still relatively close and can visit regularly. It’s only a day’s drive away,” he comments.

Rick Barto, a Long Island resident for more than half a century, attended the Expo because he is seriously considering leaving New York. Soon.

“I’m interested in the mountain region of North Carolina,” he says. “There is a lot of diversity and good medical facilities. Basically you’re in the middle of nowhere but close enough to everything you might need.”

JP Commisso, director of the Southeast Real Estate Expo, explains: “It’s expensive to live in New York in your retirement years. The average cost of a home in New York is $400,000, while a similar home in South Carolina would be half the price and half the taxes.”

Commisso, a native New Yorker, was raised in the real estate business and understands why his fellow northerners are looking south. He has hosted similar shows previously and plans to produce more in the future in other parts of the North and Midwest, including Chicago, Boston, Michigan, Ohio and other cities in New York. At each show attendees will receive copies of Media Services publications.

He points out that one of the major benefits for those who attend the Expo is that they get to talk face-to-face with vendors about schools, amenities, neighborhoods and taxes.

“And if the consumer moves to the Carolinas, he will use the services of the people who were at the Expo because they already have a relationship,” he adds. Renting a booth gave Michele Ronsisvalle, broker/owner of Majestic Builders & Real Estate in East Central Florida, the opportunity to sing the praises of the Southeast to the Long Islanders. “Central Florida is a paradise. besides the beautiful beaches, we have magnificent attractions such as the Kennedy Space Center,” she says.

Regardless of how far south Long Islanders are looking, the benefits of attending the Southeast Real Estate Expo are exceptional. From gathering valuable information to talking firsthand with people who know the Southeast, the list is as long as, well, Long Island.