Mid-Week

short+sassy

Not much to report for the day-to-day in my world right now.

On the medium term, my H and I are still obsessed with figuring out the best way to plan our permanent escape from NOLA.  But there are so many big, moving pieces.  Which isn't helped by the majorly shifting macro-economics in real estate and interest rates that is going on right now.

And perhaps the biggest question.  Where do we go?  I wish there was a clear and obvious answer.  Everything else would fall into place more easily if we knew that.

Sometimes I just want to chuck it all.  Sell all our real estate (massive capital gains hit).  Quit my job.  Just move somewhere away from high insurance and high crime.  And then figure out jobs, buying a house, and where to invest in real estate again later.  But that would be foolish and not planning for the long term.  So here we are.

I dunno.  We need to narrow it down and then take a trip to at least visit and get a vibe for the places we are thinking about.

VarunaTT

Going to get my allergy shot and then taking my mother for her booster.  Have some work to do on the convention that I'll work on at her house.  Otherwise, SSDD, nothing big to report.

ETA:  For those of you who like F1 podcasts, Red Flags is hysterical and the last 2 episodes had me laughing so hard, co-workers were asking what I was listening to. I couldn't really share, b/c it was pretty damn adult, but I loved it.

CharmedPam

That’s a tough one @short+sassy, I’m not sure there is a good answer for that because the way our economy is.  At least for a few more years. 

Good luck with that booster @VarunaTT, I keep on meaning to schedule mine.

SSDD for me too. I still have a swollen eyelid and the ointment I picked up didn’t do a whole lot.  I did put pink eyeshadow on my good lid to balance it out.  So now, you only see puffiness if you look closely.

climbingsingle

S&S - we've had the same talks about moving out of NY state. Sell the house, move somewhere further south (NC, SC, GA). But his youngest is only 14 so we still have a few more years here. 

The sun is actually out today!! It's been cloudy and raining since Saturday. 

Not much going on today. Researching places for us to check out when we're away next week. Obviously the hiking trips I had planned will not be happening, but I'm sure we'll find other things to do. 

short+sassy

What coincidental timing after we were just talking about this last week.  My work just e-mailed me my invite for the 5-10-15 year anniversary luncheon.  It's a couple weeks from now.  I'll report back on what special swag I receive as a gift, lol.

CharmedPam

short+sassy said:

What coincidental timing after we were just talking about this last week.  My work just e-mailed me my invite for the 5-10-15 year anniversary luncheon.  It's a couple weeks from now.  I'll report back on what special swag I receive as a gift, lol.

Woohoo, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a diamond rolex watch

MyNameIsNot

It feels like it's been a full week already. I thought we might be the only people who managed to never get covid, but H and I both tested positive over the weekend. I'm pretty annoyed about it because I'm 90% sure that I was exposed when I went into the office last week. Blah. 

Nothing much else going on. It's perfect fall weather and I'm loving it. We have groceries, but I might eat the cost to have instacart deliver stuff to make a pot of chili or something else fall-like. 

short+sassy

climbingsingle said:

S&S - we've had the same talks about moving out of NY state. Sell the house, move somewhere further south (NC, SC, GA). But his youngest is only 14 so we still have a few more years here. 

The sun is actually out today!! It's been cloudy and raining since Saturday. 

Not much going on today. Researching places for us to check out when we're away next week. Obviously the hiking trips I had planned will not be happening, but I'm sure we'll find other things to do. 

If you don't mind my asking, what are your all's reasons for wanting to leave?

NC and SC are on the table for us also.  I've been surprised to find that, for STRs, the coastal Carolinas only have a very short season.  The summer and that's it.  I feel like there's decent weather there all year, hence why it's on our list, but I guess people primarily only travel there in the summer.

Raleigh-Durham and Charleston might be exceptions but, sheesh, they're too HCOL for my tastes.  I'm starting to look at inner NC.  I've heard there are good STR opportunities there for most of the year, with all the mountains and outdoorsy fun.

Savannah, GA specifically is on my list.  But not so much the rest of GA.  Nothing wrong with it.  It's just not somewhere I especially want to live and the real estate opportunities are decent, but not as good as a lot of other places.  Unfortunately, Savannah is a long shot.  Too small to have a lot of employment opportunities and most of the house prices don't justify the STR potential income.

short+sassy

MyNameIsNot said:

It feels like it's been a full week already. I thought we might be the only people who managed to never get covid, but H and I both tested positive over the weekend. I'm pretty annoyed about it because I'm 90% sure that I was exposed when I went into the office last week. Blah. 

Nothing much else going on. It's perfect fall weather and I'm loving it. We have groceries, but I might eat the cost to have instacart deliver stuff to make a pot of chili or something else fall-like. 

My H still hasn't contracted COVID, unless he did and was asymptomatic.

I hope you all are at least feeling well. 

MNNEBride

@MyNameIsNot - sorry to hear of positive Covid tests at your house.  DH & I have avoided it as well.  But I'm traveling for work in about a week and concerned I might bring it home.  Will likely wear a mask on the flight.  I have my 3rd booster on the 22nd.

Our house is built on a slab so our floors are cold year round.  I do love tossing the towels in the dryer before a shower to warm them up!

We are going to dinner tonight with friends who are in town for medical visits.  We haven't seen them in about a year so will be good to catch up.  

MissKittyDanger

So BK is basically on the sleep version of recovery.
M took her for an after work walk, and she managed to cough up some crap - which M was very panicked briefly because it was not easy {coughing so hard she was red/purple kind} but it really seemed after that she's hit the proper recoup.

She's home today - and since home today, we're keeping her home tomorrow because short week - and M said she's been fairly lethargic. I suggested another walk later today because it's so nice out and we get so few nice days left.
I'm just really glad she cough up some of that stuff.

Not much else. Trying to figure out groceries, gymnastics and baking this weekend. Plus it's Thanksgiving here so we've got 2 dinners to attend.

ei34

Sending healthy vibes @MyNameIsNot @VarunaTT and @CharmedPam!
@short+sassy I know you've mentioned Nola not being forever...love that when you uproot it'll be a place that you can continue landlord-ing.  Would you ever consider a return to the west coast?

Ugh...just read that creep Brad Pitt hired the same PR/crisis expert that mega-creep Johnny Depp and gross-ass Harvey Weinstein hired.   I want to vomit

climbingsingle

short+sassy said:

climbingsingle said:

S&S - we've had the same talks about moving out of NY state. Sell the house, move somewhere further south (NC, SC, GA). But his youngest is only 14 so we still have a few more years here. 

The sun is actually out today!! It's been cloudy and raining since Saturday. 

Not much going on today. Researching places for us to check out when we're away next week. Obviously the hiking trips I had planned will not be happening, but I'm sure we'll find other things to do. 

If you don't mind my asking, what are your all's reasons for wanting to leave?

NC and SC are on the table for us also.  I've been surprised to find that, for STRs, the coastal Carolinas only have a very short season.  The summer and that's it.  I feel like there's decent weather there all year, hence why it's on our list, but I guess people primarily only travel there in the summer.

Raleigh-Durham and Charleston might be exceptions but, sheesh, they're too HCOL for my tastes.  I'm starting to look at inner NC.  I've heard there are good STR opportunities there for most of the year, with all the mountains and outdoorsy fun.

Savannah, GA specifically is on my list.  But not so much the rest of GA.  Nothing wrong with it.  It's just not somewhere I especially want to live and the real estate opportunities are decent, but not as good as a lot of other places.  Unfortunately, Savannah is a long shot.  Too small to have a lot of employment opportunities and most of the house prices don't justify the STR potential income.

Well for one thing, it's just so freaking expensive in NY. We're upstate (N's wife moved up here after they split, so he moved up to be near the kids) and it's really just not for us. There's no sense of community at all. Everything is so far away. It's nice to have so much land, but how much do we really use? Going back downstate closer to where we grew up - it's so overbuilt and crowded now. Same thing I dealt with living in NJ. So much freaking traffic. 

We both want to live near the water, which is much more affordable down south than in the tri-state area. And the warmer season here in NY is obviously much shorter. 

Ideally, I'd love to move out the country to an island but I don't really see that happening..haha. 

climbingsingle

ei34 said:

Ugh...just read that creep Brad Pitt hired the same PR/crisis expert that mega-creep Johnny Depp and gross-ass Harvey Weinstein hired.   I want to vomit

This really grosses me out so much. 

charlotte989875

I could not wake up this morning. Like just could not get myself up. I think all the stress of the last 2 weeks are getting to me. Just trying to make it though the rest of the week. 

short+sassy

climbingsingle said:

short+sassy said:

climbingsingle said:

S&S - we've had the same talks about moving out of NY state. Sell the house, move somewhere further south (NC, SC, GA). But his youngest is only 14 so we still have a few more years here. 

The sun is actually out today!! It's been cloudy and raining since Saturday. 

Not much going on today. Researching places for us to check out when we're away next week. Obviously the hiking trips I had planned will not be happening, but I'm sure we'll find other things to do. 

If you don't mind my asking, what are your all's reasons for wanting to leave?

NC and SC are on the table for us also.  I've been surprised to find that, for STRs, the coastal Carolinas only have a very short season.  The summer and that's it.  I feel like there's decent weather there all year, hence why it's on our list, but I guess people primarily only travel there in the summer.

Raleigh-Durham and Charleston might be exceptions but, sheesh, they're too HCOL for my tastes.  I'm starting to look at inner NC.  I've heard there are good STR opportunities there for most of the year, with all the mountains and outdoorsy fun.

Savannah, GA specifically is on my list.  But not so much the rest of GA.  Nothing wrong with it.  It's just not somewhere I especially want to live and the real estate opportunities are decent, but not as good as a lot of other places.  Unfortunately, Savannah is a long shot.  Too small to have a lot of employment opportunities and most of the house prices don't justify the STR potential income.

Well for one thing, it's just so freaking expensive in NY. We're upstate (N's wife moved up here after they split, so he moved up to be near the kids) and it's really just not for us. There's no sense of community at all. Everything is so far away. It's nice to have so much land, but how much do we really use? Going back downstate closer to where we grew up - it's so overbuilt and crowded now. Same thing I dealt with living in NJ. So much freaking traffic. 

We both want to live near the water, which is much more affordable down south than in the tri-state area. And the warmer season here in NY is obviously much shorter. 

Ideally, I'd love to move out the country to an island but I don't really see that happening..haha. 

In my perfect pipe dream world, I'd want an apartment in NYC and a beach house somewhere for the summer.

But all of that assumes independent wealth and no longer needing to work!  At least not working anywhere tied to where I am living.

This would be further out in the future, but moving to another country isn't out of the question for us either.  The US dollar goes further in a lot of places.  I've already scoped out the Intercontinental Hotel in Panama City, Panama.  It's part hotel, but also has apartments in it.

The apartments are nicely furnished.  But it's the views that are unreal!  It's a skyscraper right on the water.  From (probably) starting at the 8th floor, it's a 180-degree view of the ocean and it's almost floor to ceiling windows.  If I'm remembering correctly, 2-bedrooms are around $1800-$2200/month.  Parking space included.  24/7 security for the building.  Restaurants/coffee shops in the hotel.  Residents can order room service and also use the hotel's amenities.  Like the rooftop terrace and the hotel pools.

Definitely not the cheapest out-of-country choice!  But that's a good deal for luxury living.

short+sassy

ei34 said:

Sending healthy vibes @MyNameIsNot @VarunaTT and @CharmedPam!
@short+sassy I know you've mentioned Nola not being forever...love that when you uproot it'll be a place that you can continue landlord-ing.  Would you ever consider a return to the west coast?

Ugh...just read that creep Brad Pitt hired the same PR/crisis expert that mega-creep Johnny Depp and gross-ass Harvey Weinstein hired.   I want to vomit

No, we aren't looking at the West Coast at all.  Checking out the STR market in Tucson, but that's about as close as we would get.

HCOL drove me away all those years ago and it's still keeping me away.  But even if money was no object, I don't think I'd go back.  It's a great place to live and I'm glad I grew up there.  But I'd rather experience another new part of the country.

My H is originally from Portland, OR.  But HCOL there.  So is Seattle.  Plus the Northwest is drizzly, gray places.

It rains a lot in NOLA also, but it's a lot in short bursts.  And the sun is often still shining while it happens.  I still think that's a weird phenomenon.  

ILoveBeachMusic

@short+sassy the weather overall in the Carolinas is nice but it does get cold in the winter which is why STR on the coast is only profitable during the summer - unless you are in a golfing area because golfers will golf as long as there isn't snow on the ground and super cold! We rented a place a few years ago end of Feb -beginning of March outside of Charleston. It was pretty chilly. Bike riding was great but walks on the beach were windy. I still want to live down in the Carolinas because the weather beats Indy any day! For vacations though, we limit it to April - October. I grew up and went to college in the Raleigh-Durham area. I would go back there in a skinny minute if H would leave Indy. Housing is expensive but I don't get the feeling from my friends there that COL is any higher than here.

short+sassy

ILoveBeachMusic said:

@short+sassy the weather overall in the Carolinas is nice but it does get cold in the winter which is why STR on the coast is only profitable during the summer - unless you are in a golfing area because golfers will golf as long as there isn't snow on the ground and super cold! We rented a place a few years ago end of Feb -beginning of March outside of Charleston. It was pretty chilly. Bike riding was great but walks on the beach were windy. I still want to live down in the Carolinas because the weather beats Indy any day! For vacations though, we limit it to April - October. I grew up and went to college in the Raleigh-Durham area. I would go back there in a skinny minute if H would leave Indy. Housing is expensive but I don't get the feeling from my friends there that COL is any higher than here.

That's interesting!  I'll need to look more into it then.  That Raleigh-Durham is high-priced is "noise from the water cooler" in real estate investing forums, but I hadn't looked at it myself.

Indy and Atlanta used to be the "darlings" of RE investors about 5-10 years ago.  Cheap home prices that would rent out decently, so good ROI.  Especially for out-of-state investors in HCOL areas, like CA.  But as home prices started going up and rent increases weren't rising at the same pace, the gap widened and the ROI became less appealing.  It's still better than most for those cities, but not the crazy deals it used to be.

But STRs and LTRs are quite different and so is the financial analysis.  The kinds of properties I'll be looking at for an STR...4-5 bedroom SFH in a prime spot...is light years away from what I look for in an LTR property.  For those, I look for multi-families in good but modest areas.

short+sassy

I also meant to add that one of the hard facts my H and I have come to terms with is that moving out of NOLA will almost certainly mean colder winters.  We don't want to go to the coasts (HCOL and high insurance).  We don't want to stay in the southernmost part of the US (for the most part) because of less opportunity.

So what does that leave us?  Colder winters.  We're still planning to avoid the most northern parts of the US because we need to ease into it, lol.  But I'm hoping the trade-off for wherever we end up is more pleasant summers.