View Full Version : Where do you want to live?
iris lilies
10-5-17, 3:01pm
As requested, here is a thread about places to live. Where we want to live, where we actually live, and why.
More to follow from me...
We actually live in Michigan. OUr kids moved to Maine and have been asking us to follow. While we like it a lot, it seems to be in a housing bubble right now with prices flying upward and inventory going down.
I am also tempted by Virginia, over near the water, which is about six hour drive from my elderly parents in Va. That seems close enough to get out there to help,but still an area I like.
My husband likes mountains and I like ocean, so that is one problem.
I currently live in central Massachusetts. I'm adjacent to a state park (with one lot between, but no houses on my side of the road). On a dirt road. I like this location because so many of the activities I like to do are literally outside my door (bike riding, hiking..)
I'm here because I had lived for 10 years (8 longer than planned) in a condo that had been overpriced, so no one could resell and so it became mostly rental units in a town where residents don't typically take care of their things. I'd had enough of noise, both on the other side of the wall as well as outside where people would run their cars for 20 minutes early in the morning. I wanted a little house on a larger property so I wouldn't have to deal with people in such close proximity.
My dream location (ie when retired so I don't have to think about long commutes to a job) is in coastal Maine. I like being near the ocean, and I imagine Maine folks to have more simple living types than the Boston and suburbs area. I recognize that some of the simple living may be necessity and not choice. I don't need much in terms of "culture", I like being outside and having simple pursuits. Winters I'd like to RV it for a few months, likely the Carolinas or South Florida (family there).
I really enjoy visiting different parts but love where I live right now - southern Ontario has a wonderful 4-season climate; great gardening opportunities; access to convenient amenities, Lake Erie, Shaw and Stratford festivals; travel from Toronto is easy; fantastic food production and down-to-earth people that I have come to know and love.
Ultralight
10-5-17, 5:15pm
This is a cool thread!
Enjoying it so far. :)
dado potato
10-5-17, 5:48pm
Speaking as a baby boomer who is reading McFaddens' book Aging Together, "the search for a good community" is not just a matter of finding a salubrious geographic location, but also tapping into communal engagement and connecting with people who can be friends. The next time I move, I hope it will be into something like cohousing, or something that approaches Dr. Martin Luther King's ideals of the Beloved Community.
Teacher Terry
10-5-17, 5:53pm
I have lived in WI, KS, TX, Upstate NY and now NV. I love northern Nevada. It has a mild 4 seasons climate and since I have been here 20 years I have lots of friends, etc. WE did move into town and downsize 5 years ago and it is nice to live in a walkable neighborhood. We are also about 45 min's to the mountains. So we will not be moving.
I absolutely LOVE it here on the Seattle Eastside, and it would feel like ripping off a limb to leave here, but most of my friends and family live in Oregon, and as I'm getting older...Ideally, they'd all just move up here, but practically speaking, that's a no-go.
I've been revisiting my old condo complex lately. I found a nice updated 2br 2bath unit a few weeks ago. If I weren't so risk-averse, I would have just made a down payment and started scrambling to get this house sold.
1967
Massachusetts is home but it would be nice to be in a town with a municipal utility.
I found both Toronto and South Florida congested and overpriced. I remember a little about Charlottesville and its racist climate and was not surprised by its recent violence. It"s important to me to live in a progressive area.
That is really tempting and cute. Is it calling you to come home?
I absolutely LOVE it here on the Seattle Eastside, and it would feel like ripping off a limb to leave here, but most of my friends and family live in Oregon, and as I'm getting older...Ideally, they'd all just move up here, but practically speaking, that's a no-go.
I've been revisiting my old condo complex lately. I found a nice updated 2br 2bath unit a few weeks ago. If I weren't so risk-averse, I would have just made a down payment and started scrambling to get this house sold.
1967
Ultralight
10-5-17, 6:54pm
Pipe dreamin' place I would live: Tel Aviv!
Somewhat realistic place I would live? Florida or the Left Coast, probably up in the PNW.
The thing about where I live now -- Columbus, OH -- is that it is just a solid place to live. The economy is good. While the winters are cold they are not nightmares most of the time. Housing is still reasonably affordable compared to other major cities. There is a fair amount of bike lanes and the people are mostly nice folks here, though rather provincial. I have a stable job here, my sister and her family is here. I could go on and on -- nice metro parks!
But ultimately, I don't want to live out my days here.
Ultralight
10-5-17, 6:55pm
It"s important to me to live in a progressive area.
Amen!
Ultralight
10-5-17, 7:01pm
The next time I move, I hope it will be into something like cohousing...
This is a cool idea, and in my opinion, when done well, it can be another form of social security.
It is evasive and elusive though. Here in ColumbOhio I was part of, and in some senses a leader, in an group that was trying to put together a co-housing, cooperative living community. We met for a year, watch documentaries, had guests speak about there time on communes, and we checked out big houses in neighborhoods, old hotels, old apartments, etc.
What I came to realize is this:
1. It usually takes some cash! And the more complicated your dream, the more cash you need.
2. Most people come in with some wild-eyed pipe dreams about 10 families buying a city block and turning it into an ecovillage. This, in my experience, goes nowhere.
3. The other issue is that everyone is very finicky about their living space, so finicky that no one wants to live with them and they don't wanna live with no one either. All this despite their desire for communal living.
What I kept advocating for was something realistic and doable on a budget.
We find a big house, rent it, then live together with a mission statement and some reasonable ground rules. And we make a focus of the whole thing saving money and being there for each other for support.
Again: Went nowhere but Nowheresville.
That is really tempting and cute. Is it calling you to come home?
Not really--though it holds up well, and Beaverton has grown into--I read somewhere--the most diverse city in Oregon, which makes it an attractive place to settle. It's more the people who are calling...:welcome:
I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...
Ultralight
10-5-17, 7:52pm
I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...
Some places actually have greener grass. ;)
I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...
Thinking about getting back together with my posse feels really good. And then I think about leaving here, and the lackluster landscape I will be inhabiting, and I'm overtaken by a sinking feeling...
gimmethesimplelife
10-5-17, 8:33pm
If money were no object, and the legal paperwork were easy to get, I'd say my two choices would be Santiago, Chile, and Montevideo, Uruguay. Without going into a laundry list of complaints against the US - I will spare all by simply stating that these two places offer a lot of what I am looking for - and I like the easy access Santiago has to the mountains. Rob
Ultralight
10-5-17, 8:35pm
Montevideo, Uruguay.
Dude! Yes! Uruguay is very high on my list of places to visit!
gimmethesimplelife
10-5-17, 8:37pm
Dude! Yes! Uruguay is very high on my list of places to visit!Just curious....what works for you about Uruguay? (I'm sure at this point we all know what works for me about Uruguay so I'll skip such) Rob
Ultralight
10-5-17, 8:42pm
Just curious....what works for you about Uruguay? (I'm sure at this point we all know what works for me about Uruguay so I'll skip such) Rob
Consistently nice weather. Beaches galore. Safety. It ain't too touristy. The pace of life is reportedly way laid back. Pepe Mujica (the former and most celebrated president) is a practitioner of voluntary simplicity. They really have their values in order in ways that I admire -- renewable energy, healthcare, and enjoying life.
And I am sure I could do some fishing too.
My son's best friend's family was deported back to Uruguay. The friend said the country is not doing well and once she was old enough she made her way back to North America, as have her two older siblings. And she did not face the language and cultural barriers most Americans would. The grass is greener indeed.
San Onofre Guy
10-5-17, 8:59pm
We downsized to a condo in Pasadena. Grocery store across the street, light rail one block away that will take us along with other lines to the major areas in Los Angeles. I like rural, but that would get boring to me after a while. I love variety and getting around without a car
We moved to SW Florida three years ago. We looked at many places and this looked the best. It is hot in the summer, but we just take vacations then. We thought about doing the snowbird thing, but it looked like to much trouble to me.
I absolutely LOVE it here on the Seattle Eastside, and it would feel like ripping off a limb to leave here, but most of my friends and family live in Oregon, and as I'm getting older...Ideally, they'd all just move up here, but practically speaking, that's a no-go.
I've been revisiting my old condo complex lately. I found a nice updated 2br 2bath unit a few weeks ago. If I weren't so risk-averse, I would have just made a down payment and started scrambling to get this house sold.
1967
I lived in Kirkland/Redmond for 42 years . !4 of them was in Bridle Trails . I had a cute 1900 sq ft house with a small barn on one acre. DH and I moved to Chehalis in 2003 . I just was up there a bit ago to ride with my friend who still lives in Bridle Trails. I nearly needed a GPS to find my way around. I was shocked to see how many of the horse properties have been subdivided. My house and three others next to it was bought last year and was bull dozed to make way for a housing development . I looked up on Zillow and was shocked for what the developer paid for it.... 1 million... I should have stayed there
iris lilies
10-5-17, 9:45pm
DH and I are at a decision point for change. We have lost two sets of friends here in our neighborhood and soon we will lose two more. Our neighborhood organization is barely functional because no one volunteers anymore, the computer crowd only knows how to type things on a keyboard, Apparently. I am tired of constant race politics in this town. Oddly, crime doesn't bother me much, and it is hard for me to know if crime is up here or if there's just a lot of noise about it. The murder rate going up here doesnt affect me much.
It would be hard for me to give up a city or even a town of size. I won't live in the country, I will not drive every time I want to go someplace.
I don't like warm weather places. I want four seasons (and I was horrified by the traffic in Florida when I visited there. ) We don't need mountains or oceans, and honestly, we are flatlanders. We like agricultural potential. Mountains and oceans are pretty, but we can visit them on vacation.
I wrestled with buying a second house in tiny Hermann, MO and decided against it, it would be just too much work and would be hard on our marriage. Hermann is very German, neat and tidy. no protestors, no riots! Haha. But most importantly it has the civic organizations I require: garden club, historical society, library, festival committees. We could easily throw ourselves into these volunteer efforts and keep busy. But it still isnt big enough to live there full time, not enough cultural things and I would have to drive too far to get to St. Louis for activities of my garden club.
So, we have to decide if we will stay here or move. We had better start cultivating new friendships if we are going to stay. While we know a lot of people, we arent terrifically close to them. And if we stay I will have to buckle down and work for our neighborhood organization in a bigger way. i have been on the Board several times but that was decades ago.
I lived in Kirkland/Redmond for 42 years . !4 of them was in Bridle Trails . I had a cute 1900 sq ft house with a small barn on one acre. DH and I moved to Chehalis in 2003 . I just was up there a bit ago to ride with my friend who still lives in Bridle Trails. I nearly needed a GPS to find my way around. I was shocked to see how many of the horse properties have been subdivided. My house and three others next to it was bought last year and was bull dozed to make way for a housing development . I looked up on Zillow and was shocked for what the developer paid for it.... 1 million... I should have stayed there
Yeah--a million dollars sure doesn't buy what it used to. :help: Bridle Trails is/was lovely. Really, I'd be hard-pressed to find an area on the Eastside that isn't outstanding. But I'm biased.
I'm pretty happy where I live now, on one of the larger islands in the San Juan Islands, which are right on the US/Canada border on the West Coast.
~22 years ago, my wife and I intentionally sought out a community to raise our daughter in. We had a complex spreadsheet looking at a variety of parameters. Important to us were a temperate climate; access to oceans, forest, and mountains; a community of involved people; low crime rate; isolation from cities/crowds but with the possibility of accessing them within a few hours' travel; local agriculture and food production; and a dozen other things.
We spent a few years investigating places - top contenders were areas in the Pacific NW, parts of California near Monterey, Montana, Colorado, Hawaii, and overseas.
We arrived here to spend a month investigating carefully the dozens of habitable islands in the county, but the day after we arrived, the ferry from the mainland crashed into the ferry dock, disabling it for a month or more, so we were sort of stuck. Watching how the community reacted to this disaster - the near-elimination of their lifeline to the mainland - quite impressed us. We bought a house here during this time, with the intent of moving here with a year or so afterwards. In reality, we moved back in just 2 months later.
We haven't regretted the decision. There are some significant problems here, as there are in any community, and the community has changed over the ~20 years we have been here - and not always for the better.
Recently we have been casting our eyes towards the Nordic nations, or just across the border to the Gulf Islands in Canada or Victoria/Vancouver BC, as some of our parameters have changed. Further-off contenders are the Channel Islands, but I have to do more on-the-ground investigation there. I would love to live in Iceland or Norway, or Canada.
catherine
10-6-17, 12:01am
As many of you know, the Green Mountain State is calling my name! Specifically, I love Burlington. It's so walkable, vibrant, lots of community, the Intervale (a huge community farming network--it was profiled in The Omnivore's Dilemma), sunsets on Lake Champlain, great restaurants, airport just 15 minutes from the center of town with sleepy TSA agents who are just WAITING for someone to come through to give them something to do, lots of things to do outside like hiking, biking on the city bike path, and thanks to Bernie, it has a beautiful city waterfront park.
Plus three of my kids live there. Who could ask for anything more?
If not Burlington, Southern Vermont is also beautiful.
ToomuchStuff
10-6-17, 12:41am
I think one would certainly have had to travel more then I have, to make any kind of informed decision. I remember saying something to Sparta about the traveling bug, as we really didn't when I was a kid. (one trip to Iowa, gave my allergies and asthma such fits, I changed the trip)
Other then jaunts into KS and AR, I haven't even been to most of this state, let alone others.
A friend asked me the other day, how long have I lived, where I live. I told him and his jaw dropped, as it was my age. I've been to other area's of the metro, and know even in the good area's, bad things happen and a lot of times people have no idea what is going on around them. So I may very well, just end up back here, if I did travel, out of comfort.
goldensmom
10-6-17, 6:26am
I try to think of living somewhere else. I traveled a lot when I was younger but settled in to a generational farm operation and now it is hard to even think of moving. Periodically I ask my husband where he would like to live someday when he retires and he always says ‘right here’. My choice would be the mountains of North Carolina.
Ultralight
10-6-17, 7:52am
Yesterday, at work, I ran into someone from another department. She is about 28. She has been working for OSU for about 5 years -- really nice gal.
Anyway, we started talking in the hallway, then on the elevator ride, etc. on our way back to our areas of work (which are next to each other).
I asked her: "So are you doing life without parole here?"
She said: "No... no way. I love the ocean and beaches too much! I want to move to somewhere near the ocean."
But she also told me she grew up two hours from Columbus in a small city and that she went to college in a small town about an hour from Columbus.
My point was that she hasn't left yet. Then I got the distinct feeling that despite her love for oceans and beaches and her expressed desire to leave Ohio she never would. She is a lifer.
I think that some folks have something in their personality to just up-and-leave and try some place new -- very new. And others are like alligators. They never leave their swamp.
Now, I think there are good things to be said for both the leavers and the stayers. But I am curious about the stayers who exist in a perpetual state of wanting to be leavers.
I think that some folks have something in their personality to just up-and-leave and try some place new -- very new. And others are like alligators. They never leave their swamp.
Now, I think there are good things to be said for both the leavers and the stayers. But I am curious about the stayers who exist in a perpetual state of wanting to be leavers.
Interesting point. My ancestors go back 300 years to the founding of the town in CT that I grew up in. My brother still lives there and will never leave. Lived there every day of his life except for the few years he was in the Air Force.
I've lived here in the same house in NJ for 32 years (doesn't seem possible). Yes, the muck of the swamp has a grip on my ankles, but I have faith that I'll be able to pull free and fly away. I sometimes get warm fuzzy feelings thinking about living in CT again, but I would rather be near my kids. Of course, my kids could always cut loose and leave Vermont, but I know that one of them is probably now a lifer. He just loves his life up there, his wife was born and raised there, and he is of the temperament to not rock the boat. My DD will probably get itchy feet.
My #2 choice would be to move back to the Connecticut shoreline. I may have thought I was a bit more adventurous, but I know myself well enough now that I will never leave the Northeast.
I've lived in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, and am currently in a small city in southeast Wisconsin. When I've reached the point where jobs are not an issue, we will most likely move to a small city in northeast or western Wisconsin. I like four seasons. Even winter serves a purpose: it keeps out the riffraff and maybe also gives you more time to slow down and reflect. I like the culture here too. I think you see less of the desperate status anxiety here than you do in other parts of the country. Few people seem interested in keeping anywhere weird or or funky or faux-bohemian. Outside a few enclaves in Madison and Milwaukee, people tend not to wear their politics on their sleeves. I like that.
One of the nice things about Wisconsin is that there's a lot of variation in the terrain. You can see bluffs, forest, great and small lakes, rivers, green rolling hills, prairie and farmland in the same weekend car trip. There are village squares on the New England pattern, repurposed industrial and port cities, quiet college towns and farming communities. There are at least a dozen places here I wouldn't mind living in. I tried to interest my wife in building an underground or earth berm house in the side of a hill with a terrific view, but she "refused to live like a badger". Ideally, we'd like a small house in one of the cities with a cabin or cottage within a couple of hours drive. That's probably still within financial reach here.
And don't get me started on the cheese.
iris lilies
10-6-17, 9:43am
I've lived in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, and am currently in a small city in southeast Wisconsin. When I've reached the point where jobs are not an issue, we will most likely move to a small city in northeast or western Wisconsin. I like four seasons. Even winter serves a purpose: it keeps out the riffraff and maybe also gives you more time to slow down and reflect. I like the culture here too. I think you see less of the desperate status anxiety here than you do in other parts of the country. Few people seem interested in keeping anywhere weird or or funky or faux-bohemian. Outside a few enclaves in Madison and Milwaukee, people tend not to wear their politics on their sleeves. I like that.
One of the nice things about Wisconsin is that there's a lot of variation in the terrain. You can see bluffs, forest, great and small lakes, rivers, green rolling hills, prairie and farmland in the same weekend car trip. There are village squares on the New England pattern, repurposed industrial and port cities, quiet college towns and farming communities. There are at least a dozen places here I wouldn't mind living in. I tried to interest my wife in building an underground or earth berm house in the side of a hill with a terrific view, but she "refused to live like a badger". Ideally, we'd like a small house in one of the cities with a cabin or cottage within a couple of hours drive. That's probably still within financial reach here.
And don't get me started on the cheese.
I like many things about Northern midwest states, but I have said : we arent moving back to snow land ever again! Still, it has attraction. New Hampshire is very attractive even though I have not been there. The winters, though....Two of our friends will be moving there, independantly.
I love Iowa City and know there are other college towns of 50,000+ that we would probably like and there are always scads of cultural things taking place in college towns. But any student protesting, and probably student centered culture, might bug me too much.
There are so many things I like about Missouri, my adopted state. Due to the Mississippi river it has several very old settlements and they are interesting. It just has a richer and varied history than my home state of Iowa, and even the topography is. Ore interesting with The Ozarks and mighty Mississippi.
SteveinMN
10-6-17, 10:17am
I am curious about the stayers who exist in a perpetual state of wanting to be leavers.
I think we all know people who stay where they are despite a (sometimes very public) longing to be elsewhere. Sometimes the pull is provided by a lack of finances, sometimes by familial obligations (caring for an elderly parent, etc.). But many (most?) times I believe it's that it's far easier to express the interest than it is to plan the logistics of a big move and to find a new place to live, miss family and old friends, work at making new friends, learn which radio and TV stations have the programming you like, investigate new grocery and hardware stores, etc. It takes emotional energy and that sometimes can be in short supply.
I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and am happy to be here.
Winters can be tough -- whenever I think of living elsewhere it's usually in the middle of a long gray February -- but, as LDAHL mentioned, it keeps the riff-raff out. :) Enjoying four seasons is important; it really would warp time for me if the only weather change were that a few months were more rainy than others. I also don't do so well in heat and humidity. 90-degree days here typically can be counted on the fingers of two hands. The snow is measured in feet (usually 4-5 feet a winter) but we dress for it and have the tools we need (snowplows, snowblowers, winter tires, etc.) to manage it better than places further south.
I like it here. I like the seasons. I like having the benefits of an urban area without enduring the extremely high density of larger metro areas. I like that urban Minnesota is quite progressive (though the rest of the state is not quite so progressive). I like living somewhere with a growing economy. I can identify with the largely-Nordic/German cast to the demographics here. Though taxes are relatively high here, I do see what they're buying (something I did not see in my native New York). Though some Minnesotans are quite xenophobic about some of the newest ethnic groups moving here, I am proud that many Minnesotans were concerned enough about the welfare of groups like the Hmong and eastern Africans (Somalians, Eritreans, etc.) to have done the work to offer those groups refuge here and to help them get established.
Interestingly, most people I know here have iived here their entire lives. Even those who leave for university or a job promotion aim to come back. Sometimes living someplace one's entire life implies an insularity. Indeed, I find that the Minnesotans who complain the loudest about life in Minnesota typically have not lived anywhere else to provide a comparison (good or bad). But I think it speaks well of life here that folks can move elsewhere, sometimes for decades, and want to come back.
If I lived somewhere else? Seattle has always been tempting, but I think that entire area is becoming a victim of its own success, with a growth rate that has outstripped the ability of infrastructure to keep up. Portland, maybe, though I've only been there a time or two and I see some of the Seattle experience there. What I've seen and heard about Sweden and Norway interests me, but not seriously enough to even consider a move. What would be more likely would be moving to a smaller city with a good-sized university there, like Duluth, Rochester (MN), or Ames, Iowa. A little less of what I like about the Twin Cities but probably still enough.
Some long-time friends of DW's (now my friends as well) have long talked about co-housing. I notice the requirements changing from when the topic first came up a decade ago. A third- or fourth-ring suburb was the ideal choice for the "compound" before; now I hear that proximity to mass transit is a requirement because, well, we're all getting older and who wants to get stuck in some outer-ring suburb because driving is difficult in the ice and the dark? The general plan has been to have rooms for each couple off a common kitchen/dining/living area, but discussion gets bogged down by the fact that some of us will be able to get there sooner than others but the financial arrangements would have to come early. A cooperative form of housing seems to be the best approach, though that leaves the issue of what happens when one couple sells -- who moves in? The idea is co-housing with these folks, not just co-housing in general. As Ultralight mentioned, it's tough to arrange the details.
My roots in this country go back to New England and Virginia. I've lived or visited several of the places where I later found I had ancestors, such as Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, and the Cherokee Nation of North Carolina. I have loved them all and felt recognition of the place at some cellular level. I think if the kids were not in the equation, I would live in Bennington, Vermont,and summer down in Southern Coastal Georgia, where I was born.
But those grandchildren--Ireally, really want to be in their lives. They are such a blessing.
ETA: oh , if I couldalso live outside of this country,then Yorkshire or Lucerne.
I like the area I live in. I like my little cabin in the woods, I like my access to the lakes within minutes. I'd probably be more interested in staying here if I had more friends (people tend to move in and out of this area).
I wouldn't mind moving home to the farm (5 hours north of me). My brother and I will inherit it but I doubt he'd move back from OR, he'd come home for spring and fall hunts.
If I could pick anywhere and had an unlimited budget....outside of Santa Fe. I look forward to going out there 1 to 2 times a year and haven't had my fill yet. I lived there in '85 and have wanted to return since.
it's far easier to express the interest than it is to plan the logistics of a big move and to find a new place to live
I cannot emphasize especially to older folks how difficult a big move is. Looking back on ours, I am amazed we got through it at all. The remembrance of culling stuff, leaving our house 0f 15+ years for the last time, driving 800 miles with two cats in a cage in the back of the car, all of it...makes me shudder now. And as mentioned, the practical aspects of finding everything again takes a toll. Recently, I read a book about the various families who left Missouri to travel west during the great expansion back in the 1800s. Traveling for weeks in wagons full of their stuff and enduring all the hardships along the way. There must be something in our DNA that propels us to continue searching for a better place. I do know there is another chapter in our future but I don't want to ponder it just yet.
ApatheticNoMore
10-6-17, 10:47am
I plan to stay pretty much, the only thing that says otherwise is not buying property, and maybe I'll do that (but trust me no other decision I could possibly make has the power to ruin my finances and make my otherwise financially stable and financially quite safe existence the complete opposite than committing to buying property here - plus make life more difficult in other ways as well ... but I think A LOT more about making that crazy commitment than I do about leaving). But even though I doubt I make such a high income as to make it really a no brainer rather than a risky affair, I do wonder if I should just looking at pulling that trigger, now maybe that is a question for a financial planner.
This is a cool idea, and in my opinion, when done well, it can be another form of social security.
It is evasive and elusive though. Here in ColumbOhio I was part of, and in some senses a leader, in an group that was trying to put together a co-housing, cooperative living community. We met for a year, watch documentaries, had guests speak about there time on communes, and we checked out big houses in neighborhoods, old hotels, old apartments, etc.
What I came to realize is this:
1. It usually takes some cash! And the more complicated your dream, the more cash you need.
2. Most people come in with some wild-eyed pipe dreams about 10 families buying a city block and turning it into an ecovillage. This, in my experience, goes nowhere.
3. The other issue is that everyone is very finicky about their living space, so finicky that no one wants to live with them and they don't wanna live with no one either. All this despite their desire for communal living.
What I kept advocating for was something realistic and doable on a budget.
We find a big house, rent it, then live together with a mission statement and some reasonable ground rules. And we make a focus of the whole thing saving money and being there for each other for support.
Again: Went nowhere but Nowheresville.
Ultralight,
reminds me of a true story of an older cranky bachelor engineer. Years ago he worked for the same Megacorp that I just retired from and I didn't know him, so this is second-hand.
He owned a house in a cul-de-sac in a decent neighborhood. When the house next door came up for sale, he bought it and rented to a family he liked. Then proceeded to do the same with the remaining 5 houses in the cul-de-sac, so he owns all of the property and the only people who live around him are those he hand-selected. Closest thing to an intentional housing situation that I'd heard about that was actually successful ;)
If money was flowing freely, I would choose something like Carmel Valley, La Jolla, Old Town San Diego, Up Country Maui, NYC or Paris. I think if I could find someplace cheaper with really nice weather I would be tempted (no humidity, not too hot, not too much snow) to leave the SF Bay Area. Oh, yeah it has to be diverse. That's a must. But so far, I haven't found it.
I really think that in retirement it would be nice to move somewhere else and leave this place for someone who needs it and can make use of the amenities it offers (good school half a block a way, plenty of jobs, etc). A young family. But I don't know where we would go.
Teacher Terry
10-6-17, 12:42pm
Co-housing seems like a nightmare to me. It would be like having kids again except I would not be in charge:~)
ApatheticNoMore
10-6-17, 12:54pm
people feel leary of buying property with anyone but their spouses (and why they trust them I'll never know, I'm of the trust no one but yourself with your finances opinion). Renting a big house could certainly work though. In the best case the buying a cohouse with others would be like buying a condo, you might not like the neighbors but that's the deal and plenty of people take that on anyway. At the worse much worse because at least you haven't taken out a mortgage with your condo neighbors, you only owe for your unit. But renting could work ...
Co-housing seems like a nightmare to me. It would be like having kids again except I would not be in charge:~)
Amen to that, a thousand times. I suppose I could see a cooperative neighborhood, on my more tolerant days...
Co-housing seems like a nightmare to me. It would be like having kids again except I would not be in charge:~)
In the late 1980s, some friends of mine and I tried to develop a co-housing community in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. The basic idea was a cluster of small houses/cabins, each fully functional with bathrooms/kitchen/whatnot, and a collection of shared facilities: larger communal kitchen/dining space, a workshop, storage buildings, entertainment facilities, and so on.
We had the funding to accomplish it, but the county's land use/zoning/building codes at the time would not allow this style of community to be constructed. Pity - it would have been much lighter impact on the land than what ended up going in there.
awakenedsoul
10-6-17, 5:26pm
I really like Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. My friend's family owns a house on the Russian River, and I would love to live there. I was talking to a realtor today, and she was telling me that in certain counties of California, if you are 55 or older, you can move in state once and qualify to pay the same amount of property taxes. If that applied, I would move to a small, older home in Healdsburg, Cazadero, or that area. I've been researching it.
I like my cottage here very much, but the hot summers really get to me. I love all of the other seasons. My father says that wherever you move, you take your attitude with you. I think that's true. I know of many people who have left this part of Los Angeles, and then have moved back because they weren't happy in their new locations. I think we get pretty spoiled in California.
My current location is very convenient. I'm close to everything I need. I love my garden and home, and have some nice neighbors. I go to a few knitting groups a week, can hop on a train, or go see a show once or twice a year. I like working from home on my blog and Etsy shop.
It's hard to say. You never know how you will feel until you get there. I can live VERY inexpensively here. I am apprehensive to risk that security. Time will tell. I love hearing from the people who have made the move, and how they feel about it. I think I'd also like to stay here and travel, take a couple of trips a year. I loved Vienna, Santa Fe, Carmel, and Sedona. Maybe someday...
Idaho. Central. Mountains. Lakes. Rivers. White water. "Big" city and small town rural. Skiing with lots of snow and 4 truly varied seasons. Rivers with lots of heat and sun. we'll be keeping both our home and cabin for the long haul. No moving for us.
If I did move and money were no object? Boulder. CO. Same bang for the buck we have here at 4x the cost!
See a theme? :cool:
Now I do love to visit: Kauai, Sante Fe, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Western MA, Portland OR, Big Sur, Phoenix (Oct-April) .....need I say more? Couldn't move to any of those permanently.
My heart and soul belong to the mountains of the northwest!
There are so many things I like about Missouri, my adopted state.
Recently I was poking around the internet looking for future vacation ideas and saw several recommendations for Kansas City in the underappreciated/undervisited type categories.
Recently I was poking around the internet looking for future vacation ideas and saw several recommendations for Kansas City in the underappreciated/undervisited type categories.
Indeed. I like that KC (MO; there really is very little to see in KC, KS) is not one of those places where you can't get a feel for the place in less than a week or two. Kansas City has some fine gardens, a great art museum, very good barbeque (I'm sure others who live elsewhere will challenge that :)), the history of the Missouri River, isn't hard to get around (aside from rush hours). I have relatives who live in the area and visiting KC and its environs always is a pleasure, with something new to see each time.
iris lilies
10-7-17, 11:29pm
Indeed. I like that KC (MO; there really is very little to see in KC, KS) is not one of those places where you can't get a feel for the place in less than a week or two. Kansas City has some fine gardens, a great art museum, very good barbeque (I'm sure others who live elsewhere will challenge that :)), the history of the Missouri River, isn't hard to get around (aside from rush hours). I have relatives who live in the area and visiting KC and its environs always is a pleasure, with something new to see each time.
I was just in KC recently. We stayed in the neighborhood of The Plaza and
I visited the nelson Atkins Art Museum. KC is decent.
Teacher Terry
10-8-17, 12:42pm
When I lived in Wichita I would drive to KC and my sister would fly up from Chicago. KS Missouri has so much to do and I could easily live there too.
it really would warp time for me if the only weather change were that a few months were more rainy than others.
You have no idea how true this statement is. When I lived in NYC I could keep track of when things happened because of the seasons. Now that we're in san francisco I can barely remember how many years we've lived here, much less how long ago any particular event happened. Especially with all the drought years where summer and winter were basically indistinguishable. Fortunately facebook is forever reminding me "Share your memory from 2 years ago" or whatever.
As for where I'd want to live. Western Sonoma County. Possibly the Russian River area, or somewhere further north, west of the 101. It's gorgeous. The weather is awesome. It's progressive. It's close enough to san francisco that we could visit occasionally. There's lots to do. We have plenty of friends who like to go to Sonoma for the day or weekend, so we'd have no trouble keeping them in our lives. There are plenty of other places I have visited that I like. But the idea of moving halfway across the country, or further, holds less and less appeal the older I get.
SO thinks Palm Springs would also be nice. We've been there a number of times on vacation and have enjoyed a lot about it. And there are lots of geriatric gay people there so we'd likely fit right in. I'm dubious about the weather in the summer, though. I keep telling SO we need to plan a trip there for Independence Day weekend before we add it to the short list of possible retirement locations.
San Onofre Guy
10-8-17, 2:02pm
Palm Springs can make one age more quickly. We love it, but as a permanent address I don't think so. If you love golf and tennis and travel a lot I could understand. It is a bit remote and one can get cabin fever there. We have thought about buying a one bedroom condo near downtown during the next real estate downturn and stay there during the week and coming to town (Pasadena) on the weekends.
Williamsmith
10-8-17, 4:05pm
When I was young and with a strong back it was a remote homestead in Alaska or possibly Canada or Montana.....the swift downstream current of life, a wife and family made that simply a dream pondered on a winters day infront of a wood stove or fireplace. I’ve incorporated elements of self sufficiency in my places of living but a limited pension and an even more limited investment savings account determine I stay right where I am. And this is where I want to live, for now.
Teacher Terry
10-8-17, 4:07pm
Alaska is beautiful but I could not imagine living in such a harsh climate year round and being isolated.
Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver. Love the mountains, climate, and greenery.
Palm Springs can make one age more quickly. We love it, but as a permanent address I don't think so. If you love golf and tennis and travel a lot I could understand. It is a bit remote and one can get cabin fever there. We have thought about buying a one bedroom condo near downtown during the next real estate downturn and stay there during the week and coming to town (Pasadena) on the weekends.
I can certainly agree with your comment. Twenty years ago i had a coworker who was probably 50 (my age now) who moved from suburban boston to florida. He worked remotely and was actually more convenient to atlanta and miami, the two places he traveled most for work, and his wife was a nurse who could find work anywhere. What they discovered was that there was a big lifestyle difference between them and the mostly retired, 60+ crowd of people who were their new neighbors.
I personally think sonoma is a better choice for us, since the population is more varried in age and lifestyle, but who knows. Ten years from now, when we're actually ready to move, we may be more ready for the 'retired' lifestyle of palm springs.
I like where I am very much, it is expensive but it has my kids and everything I want to do in life here. I am also close enough to my parents in case they need me for anything.
And I would LOVE co-housing. I met some lovely people with a co-housing development very close to where I work, I was invited to dinner and actually knew some of the families from my school. A unit came up for sale but I didn't even look at it, it would have been out of my range at almost any price anyway. But I still love the idea of having my own space and shared space with consistent people. The friend who owns in the co-housing community offers the community space for day-long retreats with our Buddhist teacher. It is a very nice and comfortable space for that.
As for where I'd want to live. Western Sonoma County. Possibly the Russian River area, or somewhere further north, west of the 101. It's gorgeous. The weather is awesome. It's progressive. It's close enough to san francisco that we could visit occasionally. There's lots to do. We have plenty of friends who like to go to Sonoma for the day or weekend, so we'd have no trouble keeping them in our lives. There are plenty of other places I have visited that I like. But the idea of moving halfway across the country, or further, holds less and less appeal the older I get.
Are you talking about the area I just drove through last week? Sacramento to SFO along Rt. 80? It was really beautiful--But that was more to the east. I was dying to take a detour to Muir Woods, but I had a plane to catch. SOMEday I'll get to Muir Woods.
Alaska is beautiful but I could not imagine living in such a harsh climate year round and being isolated.
Parts of Alaska might surprise you. Juneau actually has a rain forest. It's not steamy-hot, but the temperatures are -- umm -- temperate enough to support that kind of biological development. Kind of like Minnesota on steroids.
I'll grant that that may not be to everyone's taste, and it still is harder to get people and goods and all into and out of all of Alaska. But it's not all Igloo City year-round. :)
Are you talking about the area I just drove through last week? Sacramento to SFO along Rt. 80? It was really beautiful--But that was more to the east. I was dying to take a detour to Muir Woods, but I had a plane to catch. SOMEday I'll get to Muir Woods.
No, quite a bit west of there. Not nearly as hot and more hills and trees. Although I woke up to this news. :-( So far everyone I know up there is ok, but this is pretty frightening.
http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/2-big-wildfires-prompt-evacuations-in-Napa-County-12262945.php#
Parts of Alaska might surprise you. Juneau actually has a rain forest. It's not steamy-hot, but the temperatures are -- umm -- temperate enough to support that kind of biological development. Kind of like Minnesota on steroids.
I'll grant that that may not be to everyone's taste, and it still is harder to get people and goods and all into and out of all of Alaska. But it's not all Igloo City year-round. :)
I lived near the Matanuska Valley which is just north of Anchorage for 3 years in the 70's. It was filled with Minnesotan's and Michiganders who turned it into one of the most fertile farmland areas in the country.
I've been water skiing in the Bering Sea during the summer and sweltered in the sometimes 90* heat near Fairbanks as the Japanese currents bring warm air in from the Pacific. It's funny to see what others think of Alaska.
Teacher Terry
10-9-17, 1:43pm
I went to Alaska during Sept and my Mom was there in July and both times it was cold so I just assumed it was cold there all the time.
We always used to say Alaska has 4 seasons. June, July, August and winter. The water in the swimming lake rarely got above 50. The summer usually had above 70 degrees for a couple of weeks. Lately it has almost hit 90 in Anchorage. Unusual. Ice on the roads from about Sept. to April. May was melting time. When we were there this year in May, there were piles of snow in parking lots. The Samoan Church used holes in their pile to hold coolers of food for potlucks.
When we were there this year in May, there were piles of snow in parking lots. The Samoan Church used holes in their pile to hold coolers of food for potlucks.At Elmendorf AFB, outside Anchorage, clearing snow from the runways resulted in mountains of snow over the winter and at least a little left over through the summer.
frugal-one
10-9-17, 4:47pm
Alaska is beautiful but I could not imagine living in such a harsh climate year round and being isolated.
Recently visited Alaska and found that it did not live up to the hype. Expected it to be majestic (like Glacier). Granted there were a few places but it didn't measure up to the raves IMO. Would never live there or even visit again for that matter.
Unusual. Ice on the roads from about Sept. to April. May was melting time. When we were there this year in May, there were piles of snow in parking lots.
Hey, wait, that sounds like where I live! :D
Recently visited Alaska and found that it did not live up to the hype. Expected it to be majestic (like Glacier). Granted there were a few places but it didn't measure up to the raves IMO. Would never live there or even visit again for that matter.
When I looked at my parents' trip photos of Alaska vs the tourist brochures I decided it was not worth the cost to visit there.
In thinking about this more and if I could afford it, I would follow the weather and have two homes as so many people do. A summer place and someplace warm for the winter. Especially as the snow has started flying today. I have relatives and friends with multiple homes and it seems like a lot to keep up with. My brother has two homes so both have to be furnished, maintained and watched over when not in use. Duplicates of everything at each house. Getting furniture to and making repairs on his mountain house is a major endeavor. I have enough issues keeping up with one house.
Having multiple homes really seems like the opposite of simple living. At least for my definition of living simply.
Simplemind
10-9-17, 9:22pm
We lived in Wrangle for a time back in the 60's. The big entertainment was drinking and watching bears at the dump. There were no paved roads and by the time we got back on a freeway in Oregon I was no longer used to traveling that fast in a car. It reminded me a lot of Northern Exposure except we didn't have a doctor. One made the rounds and when he was coming in people would line up around the block to be seen.
I like my current arrangement. I split my time between Chicago and Atlanta. In the spring/summer/fall I spend most of my time in Chicago. In the winter more in Atlanta. But Atlanta does have a winter so it's all four seasons.
ApatheticNoMore
10-9-17, 9:34pm
Having multiple homes really seems like the opposite of simple living. At least for my definition of living simply.
its everyone's money making scheme these days. Which strikes one as odd when their only scheme is to work, put money in retirement funds, and maybe if somehow able to afford it have a place of their own to live in pretty much, but ... to some extent I'm not sure middle class people even believe in those things anymore, everyone has a side hustle .. no one just has a career, or just has a career and saves and buys a home, everyone is trying to get into the landlord business as well.
its everyone's money making scheme these days. Which strikes one as odd when their only scheme is to work, put money in retirement funds, and maybe if somehow able to afford it have a place of their own to live in pretty much, but ... to some extent I'm not sure middle class people even believe in those things anymore, everyone has a side hustle .. no one just has a career, or just has a career and saves and buys a home, everyone is trying to get into the landlord business as well.
That does seem to be true, at least here. From what I've heard from multiple sources "vacation" homes in the areas surrounding the bay area are being scooped up by people who can't afford to buy a home within the bay area. The goal is to rent them out enough via airbnb and the like to cover the cash flow, use them personally on occasion, and build up equity. All the while living in a rental property in San Francisco or the immediate surrounding areas. We've contemplated doing exactly this but ultimately decided to instead plow our savings money into other investments with the plan of purchasing a home with cash in some location cheaper than the bay area when we're ready to retire.
Having multiple homes really seems like the opposite of simple living. At least for my definition of living simply.
Having 2 small 'doable' homes is simple for us. Our mountain retreat has minimal contents and just enough furnishing to be comfortable. It's just under 2.5h away. It was paid off before we were 50. We love having it there waiting for us. When we retire we will be able to go back and forth freely depending on what weather we want and what mood we are in.
Having multiple homes really seems like the opposite of simple living. At least for my definition of living simply.
It's terrible, and I'd never do it on purpose! One house is almost more than I can deal with, and the past year I've been stuck with inherited homes we're in the middle of selling, and it is a royal pain.
iris lilies
10-10-17, 1:35pm
I wonder how big the air bnb market really is. Does the availa ility of cheap accomodatins cause people to travel more? Ore are they just taking business away from motels, hotels, inss? Probably it is a combinationof both, but I woildnt give anyone a mortgage based on their fantasy of air bnb income.
It's terrible, and I'd never do it on purpose! One house is almost more than I can deal with, and the past year I've been stuck with inherited homes we're in the middle of selling, and it is a royal pain.
I think it makes a big difference if it's by choice....we have 2 by choice. Both small. Both simple. Both low prop tax and insurance cost. We love our mountain retreat. It's like a different world there.
SteveinMN
10-10-17, 10:37pm
I wonder how big the air bnb market really is. Does the availa ility of cheap accomodatins cause people to travel more? Ore are they just taking business away from motels, hotels, inss?
I think the travel market is fungible. There is a market for Airbnb, just as there's a market for Spirit Airlines. But it's not a strong market and I don't know anyone who is listed on Airbnb (or VRBO or others) who is making enough money at that to make it their vocation. I also don't know anyone who actually made money flipping houses. Buying a house to run as an Airbnb strikes me much the same way -- the early people in will make some money, the others will me-too themselves till they regret it.
I think the travel market is fungible. There is a market for Airbnb, just as there's a market for Spirit Airlines. But it's not a strong market and I don't know anyone who is listed on Airbnb (or VRBO or others) who is making enough money at that to make it their vocation. I also don't know anyone who actually made money flipping houses. Buying a house to run as an Airbnb strikes me much the same way -- the early people in will make some money, the others will me-too themselves till they regret it.
I have a running argument with my wife about going into houseflippery to make money and "exercise creativity". I rank it up there with day trading and internet poker as a business model. HGTV and DIY have a lot to answer for.
sweetana3
10-11-17, 11:03am
I think the most intelligent way of making money in housing is to carefully buy, renovate and sell the primary residence. You have to watch the IRS rules carefully but a significant amount of gain can be tax free. The downsides are living in a perpetual building site and moving your own home every two or so years.
But a young couple with some experience in renovation or ability to learn can earn some additional income. I think this is what our neighbors are doing but I wish they would take better care of what they have while living there.
iris lilies
10-11-17, 11:34am
I think the travel market is fungible. There is a market for Airbnb, just as there's a market for Spirit Airlines. But it's not a strong market and I don't know anyone who is listed on Airbnb (or VRBO or others) who is making enough money at that to make it their vocation. I also don't know anyone who actually made money flipping houses. Buying a house to run as an Airbnb strikes me much the same way -- the early people in will make some money, the others will me-too themselves till they regret it.
My friend and I stayed in a cute old 2 bedroom house in a nice area of Kansas City. From my extensive market research (haha) this house sells for about $200,000. The owner rents it out via Air bnb for $150 a night. He bought it recently, did some renovation, hires a cleaning lady. It was rented the night before we stayed there and was rented out the night of the day we left, so it looks as though it is
Based on this snapshot of facts it looks like this house owner would make money. But that $150 a night seems high to me, that is what full out Bed and Breakfast Inns charge. My friend rented this house because it accepted dogs and it has a fenced in yard (which the dogs managed to overcome, gate blew open, drama ensused, but dogs were caught and contained.)
My friend likes to send lots of communications, so I will bet she sent around 8 emails asking for information. That right there puts me off Air bnb. I like my financial instruments, they do not ask me annoying questions.
SteveinMN
10-11-17, 1:47pm
But that $150 a night seems high to me, that is what full out Bed and Breakfast Inns charge. My friend rented this house because it accepted dogs and it has a fenced in yard (which the dogs managed to overcome, gate blew open, drama ensused, but dogs were caught and contained.)
Containment mishap aside (I hope that was remedied for the next dog owners), this "host" is offering something unusual -- enclosed accommodation for dogs. He can charge more for that right up front. It also creates certain expenses for him that non-dog-hosting owners do not have. So that rental will cost more.
And I doubt that house is rented every night. A friend of mine rents a lake cabin which usually is booked solid each summer. In the winter, though? Crickets (and mice and spiders). It's rarely booked. So he's collecting his weekly for maybe 25 weeks of the year and that has to cover all 52 weeks including the weeks he and his family are there and the weeks of no occupancy. Admittedly, non-occupied time often is cheaper (thermostat can go way down, no one is throwing away silverware). But, still,...
My friend has to be at the cabin pretty much every (occupied) weekend to clean and prepare for the next guests. He has to guess whether the folks who want to stay will be abusive of the cabin or the neighborhood (mess, late loud parties, etc.). He has to tend to the Internet listing and answer those emails. No idea what he makes on a per-hour basis with that cabin, but I don't think it would be worthwhile to me (not simple at all). But it seems to work for him.
Teacher Terry
10-11-17, 2:09pm
I had a friend that he and his wife bought a run down house, moved in, fixed it up and after 2 years would sell. They did this over and over again for years and made a ton of $. I would not want to do that but it was worth it to them.
catherine
10-11-17, 2:18pm
On the subject of two homes,
I remember once at a weekend women's seminar I attended we were going around the room talking about our "stressors." A woman who just looked like she was the most affluent among us (I was in the crapper at the time, so it surely wasn't I) said that her biggest source of anxiety was remembering which of her three homes didn't have a corkscrew, or a coffee maker, or whatever. Managing those homes was so stressful, and I totally believe it, even though that particular problem seemed very remote to me..
Yet, I am still thinking of going at least short term with the home in NJ / lake house in VT approach. It crossed my mind to do airb&b, but I'm not sure I have the temperament for it. I can barely make my own bed, never mind making sure my guests have everything they need in ship-shape order. I just don't think that's me. I'd rather form a corporation among my family members who would like a "share" in a lake house and recoup money that way. But that's fraught with land mines also. My DH was raised in the summer by several uncles and aunties in little bungalow off of Rockaway Beach in NY. They had purchased the vacation home when they emigrated from Scotland.
The matriarch of the family was asked how she was going to settle the house among the family when she died, and she said she didn't need to bother. She said "A___ will do the right thing." Right. "A___ basically commandeered the house and no one else got a share. Plus, after dealing with my BIL next door, I am more than convinced not to succumb to the potential benefits of splitting the cost of a home.
I still have it in my "wee pea brain" as DH would say to purchase those two properties in VT in the islands if they are still available in the spring. I could totally airBnB the tiny one, because if I'm there anyway, it wouldn't be much of a bother, even if I don't have the temperament. It's less than 400 square feet.
It was interesting reading the profile of an air bnb investor on Mr Money Mustache's blog. There were a number of people who felt it was very detrimental to their hoods. I know one person who has some and she is reverting to monthly rentals. Said that short term rental biz was a huge headache even though she made more money. Daily cleaning, insurance, upset neighbors, licensing - she had a long list.
iris lilies
10-11-17, 7:05pm
At last night's neighborhood meeting I mentioned to one old timer couple that we were thinking of moving. The male member said they were considerig it, too. That made my stomach sink. I feel very guilty for thinking of jumping this ship but the fact that they are considering it too is shocking and also validating. They have been here 40 years and raised children here back in the day when few children were here.
iris lilies
10-11-17, 7:07pm
It was interesting reading the profile of an air bnb investor on Mr Money Mustache's blog. There were a number of people who felt it was very detrimental to their hoods. I know one person who has some and she is reverting to monthly rentals. Said that short term rental biz was a huge headache even though she made more money. Daily cleaning, insurance, upset neighbors, licensing - she had a long list.
On thing I KNEW I would NOT do if we bought a house in tiny Hermann, MO was rent it out via Air bnb. . Not only would that be a Pain in my ass, it would not bring value to the neighborhood. Rooming houses, been there, done that here in this neighborhood.
I feel very guilty for thinking of jumping this ship
One comes to realize what they loved about a place has changed in fundamental ways and that moving on is a likely plan of action.
ApatheticNoMore
10-12-17, 12:24am
if one loved a place, however if one loved the people there hmm, unless they had also all moved on, to a different town, a different state, or beyond this life in some cases.
ToomuchStuff
10-12-17, 9:27am
I have a running argument with my wife about going into houseflippery to make money and "exercise creativity". I rank it up there with day trading and internet poker as a business model. HGTV and DIY have a lot to answer for.
:laff:
This made me laugh and think of the name Dave Del Dotto and all those late night flip house commercials, selling books and "systems". One tends to make money on the buy, so you have to be smart. If you could do that often enough and easy enough, you wouldn't be marketing books, aka making money that way.
Heck, there was a radio commercial for some family that "as seen on HGTV", did this stuff. Nothing was ever mentioned about how much HGTV paid them, if any of the material was paid for by the show or sponsers, etc. It was all take this wall down, put in granite counter tops, do this, etc. It is easy to make money, if you get to spend other peoples money and keep profit. I heard the commercial and looked them up and just shook my head.
catherine
10-12-17, 9:28am
Once again, I get a post on Facebook that matches a topic of current discussion.
Just seen on FB: Airbnb rigged with hidden cameras.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/airbnb-rigged-with-hidden-cameras-could-be-hundreds-of-victims-police-say/ar-AAtgEcE?ocid=ob-fb-enus-280
SteveinMN
10-12-17, 10:23am
At last night's neighborhood meeting I mentioned to one old timer couple that we were thinking of moving. The male member said they were considerig it, too.
Everything has a season. You have mentioned in other posts that you and a core of other people have worked hard to build your neighborhood into what it is now. Today it's something different than it was (even if it's way better now). It's also been a long time and none of us are who we were 40 years ago. I can see that you and this neighbor are at a different stage of thinking about staying.
Teacher Terry
10-12-17, 12:24pm
IL, I would be exhausted with all the crime, needing to have a close relationship with the neighborhood cop to stay safe, etc. Is is that or is it that many of your friends have moved?
iris lilies
10-12-17, 1:00pm
IL, I would be exhausted with all the crime, needing to have a close relationship with the neighborhood cop to stay safe, etc. Is is that or is it that many of your friends have moved?
Friends have moved. Also, coddling the criminals now seems to be the standard.
The guy who has been here 40 years and is thinking of leaving is utterly disgusted at the policies of the new procescuting attorney. He was our neighborhood's point person for identifying charged criminals, tracing them through the criminal justice system, organizing our neighborhood to get them behind bars and/or an order of protection to keep them out of our neighborhood. He can no longer do that because the prosecutor has closed all avenues to information. The cops are no longer issung timely and targeted crime stats.
In my view criminals are gonna create crime, that is their m.o., nothing new about that.
The new thing is apologetics from our elected officials, explains ng and protecting the criminals. Our mayor is useless, coddling the rioters. My state representative is out there daily protesting against police. The police chief and prosecutng attorney close off information, one reason being protecting the confidentiality of the perps.
[Ok, I edited my swearing. Dont report me!]
Teacher Terry
10-12-17, 2:14pm
I can see why you would want to move. Sounds too stressful.
iris lilies
10-12-17, 2:30pm
I can see why you would want to move. Sounds too stressful.
The new people are clueless. Either they post ponderous lectures on Nextdoor about our need to understand the criminal element and their world view or the new people stand helplessly and cry "someone must do something! " when the gunshots and Thievery invade our neighborhood.
Stepping up to volunteer with our neighborhood association? Doesnt occur to them.
Teacher Terry
10-12-17, 3:39pm
Exactly because they don't want to have to do any actual work. Gun shots would do it for me. I would be gone.
Exactly because they don't want to have to do any actual work. Gun shots would do it for me. I would be gone.
Likewise; I'd gladly sacrifice the convenience of city life for personal safety. I can find convenience--even walkability, if not architecture--in a well-chosen suburb.
SteveinMN
10-13-17, 9:30am
Either they post ponderous lectures on Nextdoor about our need to understand the criminal element and their world view or the new people stand helplessly and cry "someone must do something! " when the gunshots and Thievery invade our neighborhood.
Stepping up to volunteer with our neighborhood association? Doesnt occur to them.
Far easier to post a screed than to actually work to effect the change they say they want to see.
As for NextDoor, after a few run-ins with people like that, I deleted my account. I think I know what the site founders were hoping to create. But -- around here anyway -- they largely ended up with a junior version of craigslist and a bunch of Ned Flanders post-alikes. :(
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.