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I'm from TN and we are regarded as a low cost state, especially compared to the coasts. We seem to have a lot of threads on the TN forums from people wanting to move from a high cost, prosperous area to middle of nowhere TN.
We just got a thread this morning from someone wanting several acres and a fixer-upper house for $30-$40k within about an hour of a city. It would be hard to find the land for that price in many areas, much less with a home that is habitable.
Lots of people think they can come to these low cost areas, but don't realize the problems (lack of work, poverty, perhaps lacking municipal water/broadband) or just don't care. Many don't have enough money to live comfortable and many are not skilled workers.
Do you think a lot of people move to low COL areas with unrealistic dreams?
I think a lot of people move everywhere with unrealistic expectations. I guess it's part of the human gene to think things will be better elsewhere--sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't, but every idea or thought or dream has to be backed up with research and hard work for it to become a reality.
It is the lure of living in the country. Unfortunately folks do not always realize that "country" is not cheap. It may be inexpensive and sometimes convenient but when it comes to transportation, schools, groceries - inexpensive depends on an individual's point of view.
Don't know about that, but moving to an inexpensive city (like Indianapolis or Phoenix or Salt Lake City) could be a good idea depending on your situation. A lot of expensive places are unreasonably priced, and it seems like what you're buying for your money is terrible traffic.
I think people just don't take the time to educate themselves about the possible new area. Our family has moved several times over the past 9 years and I always made sure to find out what impact the new area would have on our budget -- rent, auto insurance rates, utility rates, look at grocery store ads online, etc. I don't understand how some can just assume that they can afford to live anywhere based on their prior budget/expenses.
I always get a giggle over the folks who want to move to Montana, buy a couple hundred acres, be within an hour of shopping, raise all their own food, not pay any taxes, shoot first - ask later, etc... all for the low - low cost of nothing ("What, there is no homesteading in MT anymore?! But I heard there were thousands of acres not being used...can't I just squat on a few hundred of those?!")
What a shock to find out that we pay taxes and have paved roads here...
I think people just don't take the time to educate themselves about the possible new area. Our family has moved several times over the past 9 years and I always made sure to find out what impact the new area would have on our budget -- rent, auto insurance rates, utility rates, look at grocery store ads online, etc. I don't understand how some can just assume that they can afford to live anywhere based on their prior budget/expenses.
This ^^^^ we do this very thing everytime we think about moving and then decide if that the area is for us . Never ever should you have expectations on anything and you must accomidate yourself to the area not the other way around .
I think that a LOT of people move to an area with the lower cost of living without giving any consideration to the trickle down effect of being in a lower cost of living area.
For example, I bought a home to retire in in TN. It is in a low cost of living area of TN, not in a major city. I took my daughter and her boyfriend there with us so they would know where I was moving to and see the area. I did not expect her boyfriend to decide to go there too, without really looking into it, and how it fits his needs. My daughter's boyfriend is now convinced that TN must be the greatest place on earth since I am moving there and is trying to convince his 2 kids, both just out of high school, no skills, to join him in moving there. They like to lower home prices (compared to CA) and no state taxes. But what they do not consider at all is that WAGES will be lower IF they can even get a job. And TN is not the welfare state that CA is, so there are no as many services that will pay their way in life for them.
The other things I've seen with transplants are moving to escape things like "too many restrictions" and then complaining when the farmer across the road adds manure to the fields or has a noisy rooster in the back yard. Guess what?! It is noisy and smelly in rural areas sometimes.
One of the biggest mistakes older people make is not checking on hospitals. If you have ongoing heart problems that require a specialist, don't move into the middle of the boonies and expect the hospital in the little town 30 miles away to have a Level 1 trauma center! Ain't gonna happen. Either be ready to die or live closer to a larger facility. The UP of Michigan is a prime example. People retire up there, stress their hearts chopping wood (when they haven't done hard physical work in 30 years) and die of heart attacks, often leaving a spouse with little money alone and stranded.
The tax savings weren't worth it.
I'm not putting anyone down who tries moving somewhere with a lower cost of living -- I did -- but I was realistic about what I could handle at my age.
I think that a LOT of people move to an area with the lower cost of living without giving any consideration to the trickle down effect of being in a lower cost of living area.
For example, I bought a home to retire in in TN. It is in a low cost of living area of TN, not in a major city. I took my daughter and her boyfriend there with us so they would know where I was moving to and see the area. I did not expect her boyfriend to decide to go there too, without really looking into it, and how it fits his needs. My daughter's boyfriend is now convinced that TN must be the greatest place on earth since I am moving there and is trying to convince his 2 kids, both just out of high school, no skills, to join him in moving there. They like to lower home prices (compared to CA) and no state taxes. But what they do not consider at all is that WAGES will be lower IF they can even get a job. And TN is not the welfare state that CA is, so there are no as many services that will pay their way in life for them.
I'm not sure if the person on this particular thread needed work on it, but they wanted a house and land for about $30-$40k within an hour of Knoxville. Granted, there are some rural areas that are cheap there, but anything with a house that cheap is going to be a teardown.
It just seems like TN in particular is seeing a lot of people wanting unrealistically cheap property, a reasonable commute to a city, and good schools - you get what you pay for.
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