+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."
+1. Cold kills off the mosquitos and keeps out the riffraff as well. Dress appropriately and go play outside.
You know you are getting old when you don't understand slang. I just learned the term "Tweaker"* last week. I'm old.In Everett, WA (just north of Seattle), they even put up a sign welcoming people:
<photo of "Tweakersville">
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.
+1. Cold kills off the mosquitos and keeps out the riffraff as well. Dress appropriately and go play outside.
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.
Yes! Exactly true. I would far rather have our long beautiful winters than long hot, humid summers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The problem, I think, is you don't know if it's Detroit and will continue to drop to basically zero value or if it's other cities (Pittsburgh of 25 years ago) that have been able to bounce back. I think you need a Pulte Homes type buyer to buy the whole town and make a Sun City!
...and inappropriate vehicles (no 4 wheel drive), and inappropriate heavy salting of roads-destroying your vehicles, and inappropriate number of gray sky days, and inappropriate home heating bills....(from a Midwest/up north lifer). Yep, thoughts of sipping hot cocoa sitting by the fire is always a romantic thought-but snowbirding down south is the true answer.A guy I know always says "There is no such thing as inclement weather. There is only inappropriate clothing."
Just returned from a trip to the tip of the "thumb". Loved the area, and daydreamed about moving there....BUT, lack of local "world class" health care concerns me. A cardiac arrest can kill you while you wait to be airlifted to a major city for care. That is a major concern, and trumps low housing prices, privacy, low taxes, etc.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.