MarketWatch: Where can I move with cheap houses and fast internet?

[Ben]

I tried to tell you that you were looking  wrong time zone. 

The same thing is starting here in Pahrump, of all places! It has just gotten worse since they finished the 4 lane road from here to Las Vegas. All of the Californians who were used to a 2-3 hour commute think nothing of an hour to get into Vegas for work. Housing is another reason, here you can still find a house and maybe won't get into  bidding war for it. If it isn't the Californians moving in it is just people escaping from Las Vegas and they are nearly as bad.

bob

You're gonna hold that over me for the rest of our lives, aren't you?  

Like I said, I still love it here, but have learned that some things I was afraid of regarding someplace like the Panhandle, like too much snow for an old guy, were nothing to be afraid of. I'm really starting to respect that advice some people give about renting someplace for a year to really learn about it. If anything, it doesn't snow enough for me here, and I would not at all mind Bonners Ferry level snow. Also, as mentioned, medical would be just about as easy to get to up there versus living near Boise.

Oh well.  I still like it here, and if the subdivisions do head out this way, by that time, because of age, I might not mind downsizing to an acre or two and moving farther into the boonies. I'm still pretty safe for now since I'm still in an "undesirable" location for the hipsters. If they commute to Boise, they want to do it from a couple of other directions.

[MillCreek]

One thing to consider: I'm afraid we might be looking at another housing bubble, just a decade and a half from the last one.
 
There is going to be some major crazy when the Covid stuff starts to go back toward normal. I suspect that more than a few of the folks who have been "working from home" may continue to do that, or... some of their employers may realize that they really weren't all that necessary in the first place...

In the local news media, fora and FB pages, I have been following with interest the conniptions over Seattle dot.com (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc.) over when and to what degree people are going to be called back to the office. At first, everyone was going to WFH forever, then there was going to be a hybrid model, and now some of the big companies are talking about bringing everyone back to the office.  It looks as if there is going to be pushback over knowledge workers returning to the office full time. I wonder how that will play out.  I think it may come down to everyone in the office 3 or so days per week.

[Ben]

In the local news media, fora and FB pages, I have been following with interest the conniptions over Seattle dot.com (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc.) over when and to what degree people are going to be called back to the office. At first, everyone was going to WFH forever, then there was going to be a hybrid model, and now some of the big companies are talking about bringing everyone back to the office.  It looks as if there is going to be pushback over knowledge workers returning to the office full time. I wonder how that will play out.  I think it may come down to everyone in the office 3 or so days per week.

That's going to be very interesting and I think change the current real estate dynamic in a lot of places. I think a lot of these people assumed they would be teleworking for life. If you have to do something like three days a week in person, that's going to change the dynamic on where a lot of these people move.

I suppose if you're one of the Google millionaire employees, you could still live much farther away as long as you were close to an airport that did direct flights to Seattle or SanFran or wherever. Boulder or Boise or Austin could still be viable places to live and to fly in to the office from for the three days. If you're making the low six figures or less, you probably want to live a lot closer to work.

I also saw that besides people now looking for large homes again for both family and office space, builders were going back to building McMansions with large office spaces, etc. geared to fulltime teleworkers. That might change as well.

[BobR]

One thing to consider: I'm afraid we might be looking at another housing bubble, just a decade and a half from the last one.
 
There is going to be some major crazy when the Covid stuff starts to go back toward normal. I suspect that more than a few of the folks who have been "working from home" may continue to do that, or... some of their employers may realize that they really weren't all that necessary in the first place...

Along with a housing bubble I am thinking just a general collapse of creditors all around. How many people have used their state unemployment and added incentives to stay at home to purchase many things on credit. My daughter is right there with them, she decided that being out of work and getting "free" money was a good time to buy a new car. Well, pretty soon the piper is going to want his money and unless she can find a job she won't have anything to pay with. I have a feeling it is going to be pretty widespread and reasonably ugly in about 6-12 months.

bob

[K Frame]

"And all homes in the area are in bidding wars. I was talking to my realtor the other day and she said no homes are selling for asking price"

Yeah, pretty much the same here in Washington, DC, metro.

I bought my crapshack townhouse in 1993 for $154,900. Three years ago it was appraised at $400,000, and that's under tare value for other homes because the interior is pretty dated at this point.

A house with the identical footprint as mine on the next court over just sold for...

$605,000.

For a crapshack townhouse.

I'm gobsmacked. I just hope it keeps up for the next few years until I'm ready to retire.

[zahc]

Along with a housing bubble I am thinking just a general collapse of creditors all around. How many people have used their state unemployment and added incentives to stay at home to purchase many things on credit. My daughter is right there with them, she decided that being out of work and getting "free" money was a good time to buy a new car. Well, pretty soon the piper is going to want his money and unless she can find a job she won't have anything to pay with. I have a feeling it is going to be pretty widespread and reasonably ugly in about 6-12 months.

bob

True, but also everyone is hiring like crazy. From fast food to truck drivers to engineers. And bottom-rung wages are going up.

I don't think it's a bubble, because prices are not going to come down. This is inflation happening; it's like how the water recedes a bit right before the big wave knocks you over. Those rising asset prices (houses and stocks) are the approaching wave.

[Ben]

I don't think it's a bubble, because prices are not going to come down. This is inflation happening; it's like how the water recedes a bit right before the big wave knocks you over. Those rising asset prices (houses and stocks) are the approaching wave.

That too. I'm hearing and reading that many of the "experts" connected to the White House are doing the "all is well" thing about this being very temporary inflation before all the good things start happening thanks to a new administration.

I think it's going to be something more than "temporary" inflation. I'm actually wondering if we won't be heading to high interest rates again. It has to happen at some point.  I was disappointed in both Obama and Trump artificially holding interest at such low levels. At some point, ya gotta pay the piper. I think it would have been better to moderate interest rates rather than depress them as much as they did.

[MillCreek]

^^^What I wouldn't give for a safe retirement financial instrument paying a decent rate.  Savings, money market funds, CDs...... I say let the interest rates go up. 

[Nick1911]

Tangentially related, with respect to the inflation that's already happening: Goodman HVAC equipment at a local wholesaler took a 7% price increase in march.  As of June 1, it took an 8% increase.  15.5% cost increase in three months.

I'm not so much speculating about upcoming inflation, I'm starting to see it hit.

[charby]

^^^What I wouldn't give for a safe retirement financial instrument paying a decent rate.  Savings, money market funds, CDs...... I say let the interest rates go up.

6% CD rates and 8-10% mortgage rates would be nice.

[Ben]

^^^What I wouldn't give for a safe retirement financial instrument paying a decent rate.  Savings, money market funds, CDs...... I say let the interest rates go up.

I'm with you there. I have complained about that a lot here over the years. At some point, people get too old to do the stock market, and a safe 5% or so can get you through the last years of your life without the market stress.

[BobR]

^^^What I wouldn't give for a safe retirement financial instrument paying a decent rate.  Savings, money market funds, CDs...... I say let the interest rates go up.

I don't know how long it would take but a lot of my TSP is in government securities (low interest right now) but with inflation the chance of those interest rates will going up are a given. This  stock market can't last forever although it has been sailing along a lot longer than I thought it would.

bob

[Bogie]

Well, I just bought a gallon of decent hot sauce for under $20...
 
And I see people in my hipster neighborhood who have been "working from home" actually realizing that they're not going to get to sit in their back yards (which they spent the past year working on, to fung shui them perfectly, all day long, and will have to go back to work. I think we're also going to see the "muscle car" bubble have a problem - Lots of folks spent the past year in their garages with their project cars.

[Ben]

I don't know how long it would take but a lot of my TSP is in government securities (low interest right now) but with inflation the chance of those interest rates will going up are a given. This  stock market can't last forever although it has been sailing along a lot longer than I thought it would.

bob

I note that the G fund only has a 10 year average of 2.04%, but a lifetime (started in 1987) average of 4.82%. It just shows how artificially depressed the rates have been for the last >10 years. I couldn't find a chart that displayed annual rates for the 24 years 1987-2011.

The 4.8% average is a very acceptable return for a very conservative fund. Only making ~2% over the last ten years though, definitely means dipping into your principle over that time to keep up with inflation.

[Perd Hapley]

Once again folks are talking about towns in a greater metro area, why don't they talk about towns further out?

Probably because most of us have little experience with such places. Don't the vast majority of Americans live in the major metro centers, or nearby to same? Perhaps that's also true of APS. It's just statistics, I imagine.

And I see people in my hipster neighborhood who have been "working from home" actually realizing that they're not going to get to sit in their back yards...

Well, not until October, anyway. St Louis summers...

[Bogie]

Meh, it's been pretty decent so far... But the damn fools will be out wearing their tour de france costumes, riding through stop signs and lights, all through the summer...

[JTHunter]

MechAge -that picture of Seattle you posted is interesting, esp. as it show how close Seattle is to that ticking time bomb in the background.
I had been thinking of a move to Wyoming but a news story the other day may put that idea out my plans.  It seems that Bill Gates and his "green power" company, TerraPower, are planning to build an "experimental" nuclear reactor using molten sodium as a coolant in Wyoming.  And in an active seismic zone (Yellowstone) on top of that !  NO THANKS !!

[charby]

Probably because most of us have little experience with such places. Don't the vast majority of Americans live in the major metro centers, or nearby to same? Perhaps that's also true of APS. It's just statistics, I imagine.

You'd think that more conservative thinking folks wouldn't want to live in metro areas, I would of figured that the majority of the folks on here were living in smaller cities/towns and rural areas.

Yes, I believe you are right on that the largest percentage of Americans live in metro areas. See that all the time when people try to end the electoral college.

[WLJ]

You'd think that more conservative thinking folks wouldn't want to live in metro areas, I would of figured that the majority of the folks on here were living in smaller cities/towns and rural areas.

No good Indian restaurants outside of the cities

[charby]

No good Indian restaurants outside of the cities

Yeah, I've never seen one in a town smaller than 70k, unless its a suburb in a metro area.

This place is in a small town in the middle of Nowheresville, IA. Amazing cuisine.

https://www.scheras.com/

[BobR]

Yeah, I've never seen one in a town smaller than 70k, unless its a suburb in a metro area.

This place is in a small town in the middle of Nowheresville, IA. Amazing cuisine.

https://www.scheras.com/

Pahrump has one, it's called the Pump House. Weird name but it is the best Indian place in town,

bob

[Nick1911]

No good Indian restaurants outside of the cities

One of the things I appreciated about the UK, Indian food was everywhere.

[Ben]

You'd think that more conservative thinking folks wouldn't want to live in metro areas, I would of figured that the majority of the folks on here were living in smaller cities/towns and rural areas.

I think it's often not that they don't want to, but that they can't, due to work or familial obligations. I moved as soon as I could, even though I would have like to do so ten or more years earlier. I think that even goes for many liberal people. Lots of folks would like to get out of the big metro areas, but may have obligations that make it difficult.

[K Frame]

"You'd think that more conservative thinking folks wouldn't want to live in metro areas, I would of figured that the majority of the folks on here were living in smaller cities/towns and rural areas."

Given what I do, and for whom I do it, my only options are living in metro DC or another, and relatively limited, slate of metro areas, or commuting my ass off for hours a day.

When I retire I'll be out of here and someplace rural and conservative.