Homeowner's Insurance in general is an unsustainable proposition going forward. It's already an awful market and it's not going to get any better.
Wealth Shift
- Thread starter 2forISU
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I'd live in the PNW if that area wasn't so damn expensive. I can deal with summer temps, but every year I hate winter a little bit more. I've been in Arizona many times and between the 120 degree summer temps and the water issues....no thanks.
We did Arizona for 5 years after retirement. Moved back to Ames and now do a couple of months in the SW. Summers were really unbearable to me and we missed Iowa State athletics. Also, old people basically ***** about everything and we finally said enough.
My comeback line to "but it's a dry heat" .... so is cremation.
Really need to layer up in the PNW. When I've been the temp/sun/rain can fluctuate a lot. Beautiful area.
Thing about it is Washington has no income tax. Oregon no sales tax. Moderate weather keeps the energy bills much cheaper year round for me. And my salary is much higher. All relative to your situation of course.
You don't think weather plays a factor? I have numerous colleagues that left NYC and Jersey and they all mention the better weather. It plays a part, but there is handful of other factors, too.
We will never 100% buy in to our living situation. We've tried and we keep thinking about leaving.
The weather plays a big part in this. We waste 4 - 5 months of the year dealing with awful weather.
But at least our taxes are high. Moving to the south seems logical
Come out to Colorado if you like low humidity without the desert heat 
You don't think weather plays a factor? I have numerous colleagues that left NYC and Jersey and they all mention the better weather. It plays a part, but there is handful of other factors, too.
I moved from Chicago to LA for equal parts better weather and very specific job type which I did find.
Is the southeast actually really "great" weather???
IMHO great weather is most of the west coast and the central mountain region like northern Utah, most of Colorado, northern CA. PNW can be great weather if you don't mind rain/clouds, it's rarely painfully hot or cold. Basically places where you'd actually want to sit outside and eat a meal all year round.
Hot and humid with hurricanes doesn't sound like "great" weather to me even if we ignore climate change. Desert living also doesn't seem like great weather to me.
Cost of living in socal is ridiculous but my energy bills are practically nothing. No need for AC/heat 9 months a year. Tiny bit of heat one month, some years none. Moderate AC in only July/August, sometimes Sept.
House never got above 73 all of June never running AC once. This week will be first "hot" week of the year with a few days around high of 90.
I've had this conversation a few times recently. We just haven't had a lot of tornado warnings around where I live the last few years. I agree, it seems like 10-15 years ago you would be in the basement a few times a year.
Don't forget 2x housing costs. Love those!Come out to Colorado if you like low humidity without the desert heat
That would help. Its bad here in AZ, but CO is worse.
I'm hopeful the struggles VRBOs are supposedly having will reopen some of that supply.
Some areas are worse than others, but it's honestly getting to be a nationwide issue.
I started out renting here to avoid the hassle of buying. I toured some apartments and was still getting emails a month later saying they had units available. Obviously the renters market is different than buying, but that seems to indicate supply and demand aren't as out of whack as they were even a few years ago.
Seems the high interest rates are keeping a lid on prices, at least for now.
Lot of people moving to the Carolina's, decent summer weather, and little to no snow. Our oldest son lives right outside of Columbia, two years ago he and his wife purchased a 3-bedroom house, in a nice older neighborhood, great backyard with lots of mature trees, and he paid less than $250,000. You are a couple of hours from the ocean to the east, or a couple hours from the mountains to the West. Lots of history around Charlestown area up to Columbus. I would say getting around Columbus is a lot like driving in Des Moines traffic.
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Beats the hell out of Dallas where our youngest son lives.
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Beats the hell out of Dallas where our youngest son lives.
We're the kind of people that would love to live elsewhere but will likely never leave Iowa because it's what we've always known and my entire career has been in insurance technology - which is abundant here.
Ideally, somewhere West would be ideal. Thought about Arizona, but the trend in politics is revolting (just personal opinion, not "caving" this thread), same with some other areas. California is amazing to visit but too expensive to live in. Colorado is nice, but I have vertigo driving near cliffs so that's a hard pass.
On the other side, North Carolina is a pretty centrist, moderate place with some big attractors. Several tech companie opening places there, Apple broke ground on a massive campus for instance.
Ideally, somewhere West would be ideal. Thought about Arizona, but the trend in politics is revolting (just personal opinion, not "caving" this thread), same with some other areas. California is amazing to visit but too expensive to live in. Colorado is nice, but I have vertigo driving near cliffs so that's a hard pass.
On the other side, North Carolina is a pretty centrist, moderate place with some big attractors. Several tech companie opening places there, Apple broke ground on a massive campus for instance.
North Carolina is the place I have targeted right now for retirement. It was Florida, but man it's hot and humid. North Carolina seems to have similar summers with pretty mild winters in comparison. I have Elizabethtown as the approximate location (small town, not right up on the coast or next to a big city, but easy driving distance to both).
There may be new desert states by the time you retire. Hold tight.