Five years after Superstorm Sandy, communities like Lindenhurst's Venetian Shores and many others on Long Island's South Shore are still rebuilding.

Keith Daniels' home is now nearly 5 feet higher than it was before the storm. The effects of the storm continue to weigh heavily on his mind and his checkbook.

"I took a $47,000 loan, so that's on me," he says. "I'm having nightmares I didn't go high enough, because if you look down the block, [another home is] way up there. But NY Rising only paid for 4 feet."

Dennis Lesser lives on Grenada Parkway, a roadway that has seen routine flooding problems. Lesser, however, says the drainage on his block has improved and that his home is almost complete. 

"We have front siding to put on the front of the house, we have interior floors to put in," he says. "Money is getting tight now for everyone because we're all dipping into savings to finish."

John Cole says he put all of his retirement money into rebuilding his home on Atlantic Street.

"I had to do it. I had no choice," he says.

Robert Bontempi used to live on Venetian Boulevard, but his former property is now a vacant lot.

"Am I happy? Somewhat, but I would have been happier staying in my house," he says.

Residents who decided to stay in the community say the water can either be their best friend or their worst nightmare. They say it's all about creating wiggle room and that there still isn't that much of it.