Areas of Depressed Property Values - Opportunities?

[tps7742]

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Originally Posted by GravitySucks I live in Upstate NY and am surprised on the comments of drug use related to depressed property values in this thread. I doubt if the drug problems here are greater than booming cities like Seattle or Portland. In fact I remember working in Seattle in the mid 80s and being surprised on the homeless problem and the clearly stoned people sleeping on the streets, all before the current opiate 'crisis'.

I understand your comments on this subject. I hear these allot but chose to ignore them most of the time. Don't get me wrong the rural areas have their problems like the cities but it appears to be exaggerated ny some people IMO. I have had a weekend property in rural Tx for 17 years that I am now retired at but have "never" had anything stolen. That being said it still could occur. When living in the Houston area for 34 years plus you had to keep everything locked up tight even though we lived in nice areas with low crime statistics.

[Which Roger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Even if the initial home price is relatively inexpensive, you still have terrible winter weather

One person's terrible winter weather is another person's ideal weather. If you're a winter sports enthusiast, the Upper Midwest offers ample opportunities for reverse snow birding. Lots of snowmobilers, skiers, snow shoers, fat bikers, etc head north in the winter and live on the cheap.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Which Roger One person's terrible winter weather is another person's ideal weather. If you're a winter sports enthusiast, the Upper Midwest offers ample opportunities for reverse snow birding. Lots of snowmobilers, skiers, snow shoers, fat bikers, etc head north in the winter and live on the cheap.

+1. Cold kills off the mosquitos and keeps out the riffraff as well. Dress appropriately and go play outside.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 During the last 8 years or so when I was working oil & gas projects in ND, I believe I had been on every paved (and many unpaved) road in the state. <snip> You definitely do not want to be there in the winter.

When I was looking for a place to move to after retirement I looked at the Census Bureau's web site to find the state with the lowest population per square mile. At the time (2001) that state was ND.

Then I looked at climate data on NOAA's web site and found there was a reason for that.

Since I hate cold weather suffice it to say I immediately dismissed ND from any further consideration.

[Starsky]

Areas don't necessarily have to be depressed to provide a more affordable lifestyle. It depends a lot on where you are starting from. There are many places where we could live much more affordably without sacrificing the quality of the community, though we'd have to give up our beautiful coastline.

On the other hand, I'm sure there are many depressed communities that are becoming revived by people just like the OP who are looking to create something different for themselves. Interestingly enough... This Rust Belt town is rebounding thanks to refugees | PBS NewsHour

[braumeister]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 +1. Cold kills off the mosquitos and keeps out the riffraff as well. Dress appropriately and go play outside.

A guy I know always says "There is no such thing as inclement weather. There is only inappropriate clothing."

[JoeWras]

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Originally Posted by Fermion In Everett, WA (just north of Seattle), they even put up a sign welcoming people: <photo of "Tweakersville">

You know you are getting old when you don't understand slang. I just learned the term "Tweaker"* last week. I'm old.

* - And no, not the meaning of someone who is fiddling with their car, or boat, or machine, or computer to tweak a final setting. That's not the meaning here.

[GravitySucks]

Areas of Depressed Property Values - Opportunities?

Areas don't necessarily have to be depressed to provide a more affordable lifestyle. It depends a lot on where you are starting from. There are many places where we could live much more affordably without sacrificing the quality of the community, though we'd have to give up our beautiful coastline.





On the other hand, I'm sure there are many depressed communities that are becoming revived by people just like the OP who are looking to create something different for themselves. Interestingly enough... [url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-refugee-resettlement-became-a-revival-strategy-for-this-struggling-town/]This Rust Belt town is rebounding thanks to refugees | PBS NewsHour

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1923770

I went to SUNY Utica in the early 80's. It was god awful. Went to a concert there last month and while it's still got a long way to go it was nice to see some pride in fixing up the crappy houses and the new tea houses and halal restaurants.

Areas of Depressed Property Values - Opportunities?







A guy I know always says "There is no such thing as inclement weather. There is only inappropriate clothing."

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1923798
That's my saying too!

[Breedlove]

There are nice rustbelt areas and not so nice rustbelt areas . Originally from Ohio , when I was a child things were so nice . Now you look and so much just ruin.
I had to laugh when I was reading my hometown newspaper on the net three guys died of a drug overdose in the county jail.

Small towns have charm but also there is no competition for most services and people seem to make their own civic rules. This happens in Ohio a lot and people get taken advantage of . Also speaking of Ohio the southeastern corner of the state is the most racially charged area in the US.
I would not move back to Ohio for love nor money.

[gcgang]

3402 Brentwood Dr, Flint, MI 48503 - realtor.com®

Here's a nice house on the street I grew up on, $49,500. Just don't drink the water.

[CaptTom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcgang 3402 Brentwood Dr, Flint, MI 48503 - realtor.com® Here's a nice house on the street I grew up on, $49,500. Just don't drink the water.

Wow, and there are lots more in the same price range. I guess that's the sort of thing I had in mind, although I admit I know nothing about Flint (except that whole water thing.)

"Move in ready?" The pictures looked like it was still very much occupied. And I don't think I could live with that decor. I'm not actually very picky, but even I have my limits!

I doubt I'll be pulling up stakes anytime soon, but still it's interesting to see what's out there.

[meierlde]

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Originally Posted by CaptTom Wow, and there are lots more in the same price range. I guess that's the sort of thing I had in mind, although I admit I know nothing about Flint (except that whole water thing.) "Move in ready?" The pictures looked like it was still very much occupied. And I don't think I could live with that decor. I'm not actually very picky, but even I have my limits! I doubt I'll be pulling up stakes anytime soon, but still it's interesting to see what's out there.

Flint is primarily affected long term by the drastic downsizing of GM's workforce in the city. It was the place Buicks and Chevys where made.
This quote from Wikipedia summarizes the situation :" The city sank into a deep economic depression after GM significantly downsized its workforce in the area from a 1978 high of 80,000 to under 8,000 by 2010". As a result the cities population was cut in half. In many respects Flint is just a smaller version of Detroit in terms of its economy.

[Bamaman]

Where I really like to live is about 45 miles outside city of 1 million people. That's close enough to have great healthcare, often universities and the culture a large city affords. And it is also nice to have a good feed milk closeby.

[Music Lover]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 +1. Cold kills off the mosquitos and keeps out the riffraff as well. Dress appropriately and go play outside.

Technology has made winter very bearable...warm and light clothing, command start, heated car seats, central heating, basically anything you want can be delivered, and so on.

It's not for everyone, but in exchange for an hour a month of shoveling snow, you have no insects and no yard work for 6 months.

[Marita40]

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It's not for everyone, but in exchange for an hour a month of shoveling snow, you have no insects and no yard work for 6 months.

Yes! Exactly true. I would far rather have our long beautiful winters than long hot, humid summers.

[RAE]

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Originally Posted by street Some will disagree but I wouldn't live any where but a small town/rural USA. I can't agree more with the post above. If you want to fit in you get involved with the people. All small town people want is that you accept them also and you will have friends for life. You can live cheap but rich in a area that you don't have to worry about the thing that metro areas have. The other thing the outdoors is right out the door. I personally can't stand being caged up and swallowed by a city. I was born in a rural setting by a country Doc. and will die in a small town rural setting.

Yep, I completely agree. In the town I live in (small town, Upper Midwest) you can buy a very nice house in town, on a decent-sized lot, for $50,000 (and taxes are not high). If you want a few acres, you can buy something very nice just out of town for about $80,000 or so. The people are friendly here, and nearby recreation opportunities are numerous. But the winters are pretty long, and of course we don't have the cultural and other amenities big cities offer - so if those things would be a problem for you, then you wouldn't like it here.

[Clone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marita40 Yes! Exactly true. I would far rather have our long beautiful winters than long hot, humid summers.

If it is really cold, you can always put more clothes on.

When it is so hot and humid, you can only take off a certain amount of clothes before people start to stare, point, and laugh!

[Bamaman]

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Originally Posted by RAE Yep, I completely agree. In the town I live in (small town, Upper Midwest) you can buy a very nice house in town, on a decent-sized lot, for $50,000 (and taxes are not high). If you want a few acres, you can buy something very nice just out of town for about $80,000 or so. The people are friendly here, and nearby recreation opportunities are numerous. But the winters are pretty long, and of course we don't have the cultural and other amenities big cities offer - so if those things would be a problem for you, then you wouldn't like it here.

My first wife and I lived in the Midwest our first three years out of college. Coming from two large cities in the Deep South, I found the lifestyle just so much different. It was corn as far as the eye could see.

It snowed the day before Christmas and it never got above freezing for a month. We couldn't see our office building for the snow banks piled up. It was an exercise that affirmed our belief that Cabin Fever/depression is real.

I later worked all over the country. That morning in Jamestown, ND when my rental car keys got locked inside the vehicle at -33 degrees F. was tough. The only locksmith for 50 miles was across the street at a school and got me in the car. With houses every 25 miles and a general lack of cellphones off the interstate highways, I understand why population is sparce.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Which Roger One person's terrible winter weather is another person's ideal weather. If you're a winter sports enthusiast, the Upper Midwest offers ample opportunities for reverse snow birding. Lots of snowmobilers, skiers, snow shoers, fat bikers, etc head north in the winter and live on the cheap.

Now that I'm of real retirement age, the last thing I choose to see in Winter is snow. If I want to see snow, you'll find me at South Lake Tahoe on the slopes.

What's nice about the Deep South is that we seldom wear heavy coats in Winter--just a few days. And it's shorts and t shirts in transition months of Fall and Spring.

What I don't like about Winter is not finding any desirable place to go on vacation. We've been to the deep Caribbean so many times we don't care to go there. It's too cold to go north anywhere. Southern California and San Francisco have nice weather, but there again we've been there 15 times and the new has worn off. We seldom go anywhere November to April.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman My first wife and I lived in the Midwest our first three years out of college. Coming from two large cities in the Deep South, I found the lifestyle just so much different. It was corn as far as the eye could see. It snowed the day before Christmas and it never got above freezing for a month. We couldn't see our office building for the snow banks piled up. It was an exercise that affirmed our belief that Cabin Fever/depression is real. I later worked all over the country. That morning in Jamestown, ND when my rental car keys got locked inside the vehicle at -33 degrees F. was tough. The only locksmith for 50 miles was across the street at a school and got me in the car. With houses every 25 miles and a general lack of cellphones off the interstate highways, I understand why population is sparce.

I make a distinction between the cold and the gray. I have lived in northern Ohio and the winters are truly miserable simply because it is so dark for so long. In Colorado the winters are often colder than in Ohio (it is not uncommon for me to be out hunting between 0 and 20F), but it is bright. Makes all the difference in the world.