Retiring to an Economically Depressed Area

[kyounge1956]

I have no idea.

I noticed that the lot is only 0.09 acres. Some might say that's not much bigger than a postage stamp. Also I wonder if it has access to city water and sewage.

It's about 40 x 100 (=0.092 acres), which is a pretty ordinary size for an in-town lot. There are plenty of lots in Seattle that are 30 x 100 or even 25 x 100.

 

[W2R]

I thought this was in a small town? Sometimes one of the advantages of living in a small town is cheaper land than in a big city, and larger lots. Oh well. Guess not in this area.

 

[kyounge1956]

Anything that cheap doubtless has a back story.

so suspicious! Is that your big city cynicism showing a little there?

Perhaps former Meth house? (snip)
Nwsteve

Naaah, nothing so scandalous.

(snip) Also I wonder if it has access to city water and sewage.

It says right in the listing that it's on city sewer.

You can always call the town building department and ask.

Or just look it up on the County Assessor's website. I would have supposed it's on city water, too, but it doesn't say so, and I can't get the Geo-data mapping tool to load on my dial-up connection or I could probably find out. The assessor's listing says it's owned by the "William M Hale Trust", and the assessed value is well above the asking price. My guess is, it's an estate sale and the heirs want to sell it fast so they can divvy up the dollars.

 

[kyounge1956]

I thought this was in a small town? Sometimes one of the advantages of living in a small town is cheaper land than in a big city, and larger lots. Oh well. Guess not in this area.

Well, it's under 20,000 people. I call that a small town. Land is cheaper. You'd pay much more than $45K in Seattle for a small in-town lot with an 80-year old house on it. There may be bigger lots in other parts of town and I'm sure acreage both large and small is available on the edges of town and the unincorporated areas of the county. For example, there's this one, nearly an acre of vacant land with electricity, water, and sewer in the (paved) street, on a hilltop with a river view, for $15K (it's a steal! larger and costs less than the other search results). But looking at 1218 Lafayette on Google maps (terrain view) it doesn't look to me as if it's high enough to be safe from flooding, even though in the photo it looks like it's on a slope. Just by eyeball, the river is only 500 feet away as the crow flies (or as the water rises ). That might also partly explain the low price.

 

[DblDoc]

You're right, I don't suppose I would want to be somewhere it would take an ambulance half an hour to get to. By googling a little, I found the Aberdeen Fire Dep't annual report. Their average EMS response time in the City of Aberdeen is 4.5 minutes. I also found a news story about the rescue of a swimmer at Ocean Shores where the responders arrived within two minutes!

I've no idea of the capabilities of the local hospital. I would guess that for any kind of major medical stuff (e.g. heart surgery or joint replacement), you probably have to go to Seattle even today, which is about what I would expect in a county with a population of under 75,000 people. Off duty EMS staff do a considerable amount of work transporting people to hospitals in Seattle, Tacoma or Olympia. My HMO's nearest clinic is in Olympia so I will have to travel for checkups and eyeglasses anyway. Maybe if Ocean Shores becomes an in-state retirement Mecca, they will open a branch there. But I think Sequim has probably beaten them to the punch on that one.

You have given me something to think about.

I work a locums job in the ED at GHCH. It is a relatively new, moderate sized community hospital capable of managing most medical, general surgical and orthopedic problems. Complicated medical problems will result in transfers to Olympia or Seattle. For instance there is no inpatient dialysis available at GHCH. Serious trauma cases get stabilized there and transferred to Harborview. For heart attacks we give TPA and then transfer to a facility in Olympia or Seattle that has a cath lab. The bottom line is if I was a reasonably healthy retiree I wouldn't be too concerned about access to care.

In terms of living there it is very depressed economically and this was true before the recession hit and worse now. Every other store front in the downtown area is empty or boarded up. Two of the remaining major employers shut down in the last year leaving the hospital as the largest single employer in the county. I would anticipate housing prices to decline further as unemployment rises...

DD

 

[kyounge1956]

I work a locums job in the ED at GHCH. It is a relatively new, moderate sized community hospital capable of managing most medical, general surgical and orthopedic problems. Complicated medical problems will result in transfers to Olympia or Seattle. For instance there is no inpatient dialysis available at GHCH. Serious trauma cases get stabilized there and transferred to Harborview. For heart attacks we give TPA and then transfer to a facility in Olympia or Seattle that has a cath lab. The bottom line is if I was a reasonably healthy retiree I wouldn't be too concerned about access to care.(snip)
DD

thanks for that very relevant info, double doc. Can you tell me anything about Willapa Harbor Hospital in South Bend?

 

[DblDoc]

thanks for that very relevant info, double doc. Can you tell me anything about Willapa Harbor Hospital in South Bend?

I am not familiar with that facility.

DD

 

[Keim]

Washington State U is in the SE corner of the state, in Pullman. Good weather but this is really a small place dominated by the school. Only other thing around to my eye at least is wheat fields. U. of Idaho is only 20 or so miles to the east as I remember, in Moscow.

Actually Moscow is only about 6-8 miles away from Pullman. And it is a heckuva nice little town. Lots of outdoor activities, mild climate (with 4 seasons), decent shopping (with a larger metro area 70 miles away), nice restaurants, generally good economy...

Anyone thinking of relocating should check this resource out:

Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more

It has great data, and interesting forums on each state.

 

[Brat]

In another forum I frequent there was a comment about Aberdeen's RE. They also said that depression, suicide, is a problem in the area due to the amount of unemployment.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

In another forum I frequent there was a comment about Aberdeen's RE. They also said that depression, suicide, is a problem in the area due to the amount of unemployment.

And the rain. Kurt Cobain came from there, IIRC.

 

[DblDoc]

In another forum I frequent there was a comment about Aberdeen's RE. They also said that depression, suicide, is a problem in the area due to the amount of unemployment.

Not to mention severe problems with alcohol and substance abuse.

DD

 

[Brat]

Which are highly correlated with depression.

If I were looking for a retirement community the cost of a house (within limits) would not be my primary criteria. I think overall value is the most important.