Scary climate change reports means big changes for us

southernbelle0915

It sounds like you already follow the current real estate market really closely. I would say that if you're looking ahead as far as climate change stuff, I've seen some maps out there that show things like "best places to live in 100 years". Stuff like that. Maybe use a few of those maps and choose a city with a decent ROI and diverse job market within it. 

I'm just sorry you feel like you need to uproot from a place where you thought you'd live out your days. I imagine it's exciting and fresh, but uncertain and nostalgic. 

Your reasons for leaving are realistic though.

MissKittyDanger

WinstonsGirl said:

ernursej said:

Canada ....

But super Brrr...  We were at -17C this past weekend.   

Where I live gets cold, but we just hit the minus digits today.

short+sassy

@kimmiinthemitten, thanks for all the info about Detroit!  Legit cool people and a foodie culture are speaking my language, lol.  Whether we go in the Detroit direction or not, I'm really glad to hear how much the city is improving.  From an outsider who admittedly doesn't know much about it, it seemed like it had been in such a stagnant or declining place for the last few decades, though I did realize things have been improving over the last few years.  I just wasn't sure of the extent.  The one-trick pony is also a concern.  Thanks for the Amazon mention.  I hadn't thought of that but, whatever area they move to, will have a major positive boom.  I'll keep my eye more closely on that.

@missJeanLouise, thanks for the mention of Omaha.  I'll keep an eye on that city also.  I did a quick look.  It seems to have decent real estate opportunities, though not as lucrative as other places.  But that's just a look at this specific moment in time.

@mrsconn23, I did a quick look at Indy also.  Wow.  It looks awesome for ROI.  I wish I had an unlimited checkbook to snatch up some of the properties I saw, lol.

@kimmiinthemitten and @southernbelle0915, you both make a good point on the mention of "excitement".  Although living NOLA in the next few years isn't necessarily something we would normally be planning to do, it isn't all bad.  There is also some excitement to experience a different part of the country.  Not only that but, we started our RE investing in NOLA because that is where we live.  There is a great ROI here, but not as good as other places.  So that is another opportunity with transplanting elsewhere.  More bang for the buck, so to speak, lol.

In the last 24 hours, I have learned so much more about U.S. Geography, lol.  Some of the cities on my short list are actually not that far from each other.  I had not realized. Indy is within two hours of Cincinnati.  Detroit is within two hours of Cleveland.  Generally speaking, a two-hour circle of where we are based is an easy amount of distance to look at new potential properties.  Maybe even manage some of them ourselves.

That's also one of my "pros" for areas like upstate NY/NJ/New England.  Those are denser population centers and we can cover a lot of different areas from a base of operations.  The biggest cities may not be the best ROI, but medium cities can be.  And for fun and entertainment.  We'd be a relatively short distance for long weekends in awesome cities, like Boston and NYC, as well as beautiful areas like NH/Vermont/Conn., etc. 

short+sassy

MissKittyDanger said:

WinstonsGirl said:

ernursej said:

Canada ....

But super Brrr...  We were at -17C this past weekend.   

Where I live gets cold, but we just hit the minus digits today.

While I realize minus digits in Celsius are much better (relatively speaking) than minus digits in Farenheit, I think I need to put a kibosh on any minus digits, lol.

@ernursej, I don't think Canada would have us, lol!

MissKittyDanger

short+sassy said:

MissKittyDanger said:

WinstonsGirl said:

ernursej said:

Canada ....

But super Brrr...  We were at -17C this past weekend.   

Where I live gets cold, but we just hit the minus digits today.

While I realize minus digits in Celsius are much better (relatively speaking) than minus digits in Farenheit, I think I need to put a kibosh on any minus digits, lol.

@ernursej, I don't think Canada would have us, lol!

For reference, it's 36*F today
It has to be -18*C for it to be -1*F {which happens, I'm near a valley}

ILoveBeachMusic

Yes Indy is a good place for real estate. Amazon has a distribution center here and there is talk about expansion. It is also close to Louisville and Chicago. It gets cold here but not as cold as other places where some of y'all are from (but cold for this transplanted southerner).

GBCK

alright, my 2c, not being from your target areas...

An almost-sister moved to Rochester a few years ago, from MI.  She and the sibling in Grand Rapids, MI held years long 'see who gets more snow' bets--so it's definitely cold; it's one of the few parts of the country besides MI that understands 'lake effect'.
It's a bit 'artsy', from the MI perspective, rather like Ann Arbor, and has some awesome museums (both a sci center AND the strong museum of play) and a strong feminist background (susan .  And a good community college.
It' also got hit hard by Kodak's closure, and it has a lot of out of work people trying to get footing--it's been improving, don't get me wrong, but we talked about it while we were out there this summer, and sis said it was definitely a concern there, and definitely something they're still trying to climb back from.

Detroit...MI is a lot more than detroit, not that Detroit isn't awesome but, there's a lot else here.
But it's COLD.  ANd, again, 'lake effect' (which is less Detroit than the west side of the state, but, still).  Detroit is awesome in lots of ways--although there are a lot of other parts of the state too.  Grand Rapids is Beer City, the Lansing area is a bit "mayberry' sometimes, but, with much bias, I like it a lot.  Flint..Flint is Detroit with worse PR.
But worth exploring, it's all an area I think is coming back (again, said w/ bias)

short+sassy

GBCK said:

alright, my 2c, not being from your target areas...

An almost-sister moved to Rochester a few years ago, from MI.  She and the sibling in Grand Rapids, MI held years long 'see who gets more snow' bets--so it's definitely cold; it's one of the few parts of the country besides MI that understands 'lake effect'.
It's a bit 'artsy', from the MI perspective, rather like Ann Arbor, and has some awesome museums (both a sci center AND the strong museum of play) and a strong feminist background (susan .  And a good community college.
It' also got hit hard by Kodak's closure, and it has a lot of out of work people trying to get footing--it's been improving, don't get me wrong, but we talked about it while we were out there this summer, and sis said it was definitely a concern there, and definitely something they're still trying to climb back from.

Detroit...MI is a lot more than detroit, not that Detroit isn't awesome but, there's a lot else here.
But it's COLD.  ANd, again, 'lake effect' (which is less Detroit than the west side of the state, but, still).  Detroit is awesome in lots of ways--although there are a lot of other parts of the state too.  Grand Rapids is Beer City, the Lansing area is a bit "mayberry' sometimes, but, with much bias, I like it a lot.  Flint..Flint is Detroit with worse PR.
But worth exploring, it's all an area I think is coming back (again, said w/ bias)

Thanks!  That is good info!  Especially that the stability of Rochester's economy is something to be watching.

I have been doing my LoopNet searches to look at an entire state.  That way, I'll also see suburbs that might have good ROI's and/or nearby smaller/medium sized cities.  I also never thought about how many lakeside properties there must be in MI, until I was looking at a map while thinking about RE.  OMG, you're surrounded!  It's water everywhere, lol.

Not necessarily to invest in.  But for my personal home...hmmm.  Might be nice to at least have pretty scenery after having to sell the house I love.  Though I realize it is super windy and therefore super cold, by large bodies of water. 

GBCK

well, lots of inland lakes let you avoid some of that wind stuff.  But the big coastlines are prettier.  Keeping in mind that lake property has very VERY small lots and, a lot of tiny HOA type issues. 
The lake properties tend to have huge houses on a tiny lot right next to a tiny lot that has 3 trailers on it--so lots of co-habitating across the spectrum..

Even if you live in the middle of the state, you're only a few hours from a good beach and some good wilderness.
The U.P. is it's own, very different world though.  WOrth exploring, I don't wanna live there.

There's also the tricky stuff that people forget about not being able to drive to another state without a LONG drive or a boat ride (and, no, no one does the boat rides.  I think I have once and only because my family was weird and we were visiting family on one of the weird tiny islands)

We do have some good museums too.  A very car-culture thing--so lousy public transportation.  INteresting city mouse meets country mouse throughout the state

*Barbie*

If you're considering going as far north as Detroit, look into Pittsburgh. They have worked hard at rebuilding from the "steel town" image, and are turning into a tech hub. Google is there, and I hear they are on Amazon's short list. Housing prices and property taxes have been increasing in the last 5-10 years, but they're still relatively low COL. I would say this is a better bet than South Jersey (OMG, taxes and car insurance premiums) or Philly where housing prices are much higher. You can still get standalone houses in nice neighborhoods for well under $150K. I did a quick check of my parents' neighborhood, which is in a suburb with a good school district (6mi from Downtown) and the 3 houses for sale on their block are cape cods around 1300sqft, and $105-115K. 

short+sassy

*Barbie* said:

If you're considering going as far north as Detroit, look into Pittsburgh. They have worked hard at rebuilding from the "steel town" image, and are turning into a tech hub. Google is there, and I hear they are on Amazon's short list. Housing prices and property taxes have been increasing in the last 5-10 years, but they're still relatively low COL. I would say this is a better bet than South Jersey (OMG, taxes and car insurance premiums) or Philly where housing prices are much higher. You can still get standalone houses in nice neighborhoods for well under $150K. I did a quick check of my parents' neighborhood, which is in a suburb with a good school district (6mi from Downtown) and the 3 houses for sale on their block are cape cods around 1300sqft, and $105-115K. 

Good point and thanks for the suggestion!  Pittsburgh was in a tough place for a long time with the decline of the steel industry.  But they've been successful in attracting other industries and turning themselves around over the last couple decades or so.  I'll take a look at that area.

charlotte989875

*Barbie* said:

If you're considering going as far north as Detroit, look into Pittsburgh. They have worked hard at rebuilding from the "steel town" image, and are turning into a tech hub. Google is there, and I hear they are on Amazon's short list. Housing prices and property taxes have been increasing in the last 5-10 years, but they're still relatively low COL. I would say this is a better bet than South Jersey (OMG, taxes and car insurance premiums) or Philly where housing prices are much higher. You can still get standalone houses in nice neighborhoods for well under $150K. I did a quick check of my parents' neighborhood, which is in a suburb with a good school district (6mi from Downtown) and the 3 houses for sale on their block are cape cods around 1300sqft, and $105-115K. 

I'll second Pittsburgh. We're there a lot and there's so much happening downtown and with a number of businesses moving back and expanding. If we didn't move back to Buffalo we would have gone to Pittsburgh. 

*Barbie*

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

MissKittyDanger

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

Sounds like an opportunity too good to be true

short+sassy

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

That sounds like it would have been sweet!  Sorry to hear it didn't pan out.

Per your suggestion, I took a look at Pittsburgh over the weekend.  It was eye opening!  I couldn't believe how cheap some of the properties were.  Not just cheap, but were cute and in great condition.  Could have been in bad neighborhoods.  It didn't look like it, but that doesn't always mean anything.

I didn't see many apartment complexes for sale there.  But it was just one look at a specific point in time.  I'll keep my eye on it.

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

MissKittyDanger

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

That sounds like it would have been sweet!  Sorry to hear it didn't pan out.

Per your suggestion, I took a look at Pittsburgh over the weekend.  It was eye opening!  I couldn't believe how cheap some of the properties were.  Not just cheap, but were cute and in great condition.  Could have been in bad neighborhoods.  It didn't look like it, but that doesn't always mean anything.

I didn't see many apartment complexes for sale there.  But it was just one look at a specific point in time.  I'll keep my eye on it.

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

I have heard yes.

*Barbie*

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

That sounds like it would have been sweet!  Sorry to hear it didn't pan out.

Per your suggestion, I took a look at Pittsburgh over the weekend.  It was eye opening!  I couldn't believe how cheap some of the properties were.  Not just cheap, but were cute and in great condition.  Could have been in bad neighborhoods.  It didn't look like it, but that doesn't always mean anything.

I didn't see many apartment complexes for sale there.  But it was just one look at a specific point in time.  I'll keep my eye on it.

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

SITB

You may not find a lot of apartment complexes, but you will find a lot of duplexes/triplexes, especially in some of the city neighborhoods. 

People from Pittsburgh (Yinzers) would tell you that proximity to Cleveland is not a selling point. 

*Barbie*

charlotte989875

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

It is about 2.5 hours from Buffalo, too....

short+sassy

charlotte989875 said:

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

It is about 2.5 hours from Buffalo, too....

I'm seeing okay, but not great ROIs for RE in Buffalo.  But it is on my bucket list to try Buffalo wings in their namesake city .

I was disappointed Rochester wasn't closer.  Another city with good deals.  4 hours is too far to invest in a house or two, etc.  But a small apartment complex with a PM, sure.

I was surprised how wide PA is.  I thought Pittsburgh would be close enough to NYC, Philly, etc. to be a hop, skip, and a jump for long weekend trips.  How mistaken I was, lol.  6+ hours to NYC.  That's a flight!  Not a drive, lol.  Then again, it's probably a short and cheap flight.  And who wants to deal with a car in NYC anyway.

cupcait927

short+sassy said:

charlotte989875 said:

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

It is about 2.5 hours from Buffalo, too....

I'm seeing okay, but not great ROIs for RE in Buffalo.  But it is on my bucket list to try Buffalo wings in their namesake city .

I was disappointed Rochester wasn't closer.  Another city with good deals.  4 hours is too far to invest in a house or two, etc.  But a small apartment complex with a PM, sure.

I was surprised how wide PA is.  I thought Pittsburgh would be close enough to NYC, Philly, etc. to be a hop, skip, and a jump for long weekend trips.  How mistaken I was, lol.  6+ hours to NYC.  That's a flight!  Not a drive, lol.  Then again, it's probably a short and cheap flight.  And who wants to deal with a car in NYC anyway.

It is a four hour drive, however I will say that it's a quick and painless four hours. H and I actually went to Cleveland last summer for a Yankees/Indians game and was surprised at how quickly the time flew by. It's pretty much a straight shot down I-90 from Rochester to Cleveland. Plus we have buffalo wings AND garbage plates (we're famous for inventing the garbage plates).

CharmedPam

cupcait927 said:

It is a four hour drive, however I will say that it's a quick and painless four hours. H and I actually went to Cleveland last summer for a Yankees/Indians game and was surprised at how quickly the time flew by. It's pretty much a straight shot down I-90 from Rochester to Cleveland. Plus we have buffalo wings AND garbage plates (we're famous for inventing the garbage plates).

I don't know what that is......? Or do I?

short+sassy

cupcait927 said:

short+sassy said:

charlotte989875 said:

short+sassy said:

*Barbie* said:

I'd move back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat if we had a good opportunity. DK was contacted by a recruiter for a C-level position at one of the big medical companies about a year and a half ago, but it didn't pan out. The starting salary range was more than the two of us make, combined, so even if I had to quit my job, it would have been well worth the risk.  

And two hours from Cleveland.  Just like Detroit, but from the opposite direction.  Is Cleveland just magically near everywhere, lol?

It is about 2.5 hours from Buffalo, too....

I'm seeing okay, but not great ROIs for RE in Buffalo.  But it is on my bucket list to try Buffalo wings in their namesake city .

I was disappointed Rochester wasn't closer.  Another city with good deals.  4 hours is too far to invest in a house or two, etc.  But a small apartment complex with a PM, sure.

I was surprised how wide PA is.  I thought Pittsburgh would be close enough to NYC, Philly, etc. to be a hop, skip, and a jump for long weekend trips.  How mistaken I was, lol.  6+ hours to NYC.  That's a flight!  Not a drive, lol.  Then again, it's probably a short and cheap flight.  And who wants to deal with a car in NYC anyway.

It is a four hour drive, however I will say that it's a quick and painless four hours. H and I actually went to Cleveland last summer for a Yankees/Indians game and was surprised at how quickly the time flew by. It's pretty much a straight shot down I-90 from Rochester to Cleveland. Plus we have buffalo wings AND garbage plates (we're famous for inventing the garbage plates).

I may have been confusing in jumbling the cities.  I meant Pittsburgh is 4 hours from Rochester and 2 hours from Cleveland.  All 3 of those cities appear to have good ROI for RE.  2 hours from my "base of operation" is great for houses/duplexes/etc.  But 4 hours is too far for anything but an apartment complex with a PM.  At least for me.

It's good to hear the Rochester-->Cleveland run is usually an easy 4 hours.  But 4 hours is still 4 hours, lol.

I just had to google "garbage plate", lol.  I had not heard of this concoction.  It looks dangerous!  One of those meals you know you should never eat, but there is so much carby-fatty-meaty deliciousness that it can't be helped.  

CharmedPam

short+sassy said:

I just had to google "garbage plate", lol.  I had not heard of this concoction.  It looks dangerous!  One of those meals you know you should never eat, but there is so much carby-fatty-meaty deliciousness that it can't be helped.  

Oh.  Yeah.  Google.  Why didn't I think of that?  ditto to @short+sassy, I probably shouldn't have that.  But I WILL. 

*Barbie*

Pittsburgh to Philly is about a 300 mile drive, most of which is on the PA Turnpike. It would be akin to Baton Rouge to Houston, but with mountains instead of swamps. It's about a 5-6 hour drive, depending on how much you stop. We did it fairly often when we were living in Philly to visit my family in Pittsburgh. Flights used to be dirt cheap - first time I was ever on a plane was PIT to PHL, visiting DK during a school break. It was like $80 round trip on Southwest, 45 minutes in the air. Family visits were mostly drives so we could take the dog(s) too. We'd generally go over a long weekend since it is a little bit longer drive, although DK once did the round trip in ~36 hours to surprise me - basically drove in on Saturday, stayed over, drove home Sunday. I didn't know he was coming, and when he showed up at my work with flowers, I nearly tackled him. Insanely sweet. 

You'd be looking at 2-3 hours to Cleveland, ~4 to Buffalo, ~5 to DC, and ~6 to PHL or ~7 to NYC (north NJ and NYC metro area traffic is hell). 

cupcait927

This is a garbage plate. Home fries, mac salad, topped with your choice of meat (usually hot dog or hamburgers), onions and slathered in a meat hot sauce, usually served with bread and butter on the side. It's the best drunk food you've ever eaten. 

charlotte989875

cupcait927 said:

This is a garbage plate. Home fries, mac salad, topped with your choice of meat (usually hot dog or hamburgers), onions and slathered in a meat hot sauce, usually served with bread and butter on the side. It's the best drunk food you've ever eaten. 

Yes! Although I love the places where you can swap Mac salad for Mac and cheese. I used to spend a lot of time in the Roc. 

cupcait927

@charlotte989875 I'm glad someone else here knows about garbage plates! And yes to the swapping for mac and cheese. 

MissKittyDanger

cupcait927 said:

This is a garbage plate. Home fries, mac salad, topped with your choice of meat (usually hot dog or hamburgers), onions and slathered in a meat hot sauce, usually served with bread and butter on the side. It's the best drunk food you've ever eaten. 

I was about to say this sounds/looks like drunk food

The photo looks gross, but it sounds good. I'd prob do hot dogs & mac & cheese.

short+sassy

Meat sauce on top of hot dogs or hamburgers.  I just love it, lol.  Someday I will have the opportunity to try a garbage plate.

FYI, I know you all aren't near NYC, but I can't help it.  In my head, I keep hearing the word "garbage" in garbage plate pronounced GAH-bage.  Like in a NJ/NYC accent, lol.