Real estate perfect storm headed to Mass (Boston, Andover: renting, house)

[BostonMike7]

My plan is to retire somewhere different. As much as I love MA, I've lived here all my life. I make good income, and have saved (and still am) aggressively for retirement so hopefully I can retire early and move somewhere low-cost.

Sell all my properties, buy a nice place in a semi-rural area with relaxed, laid-back laws and just play golf all day.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by ladyalicemore

I live in FL and would like to come back to New England and esp. Mass, but I hope a real estate collapse is not the cause.
Sigh. Gosh, how I miss Mass.

May I ask what you miss?

[edsox15]

Originally Posted by johngolf

We retired to SC from MA and we sit here collecting our monthly Comm. of Ma kiss. Some of you know what the kiss is......LOL

Is SC South Carolina?

Might want to use a little of that Mass retirement money to buy a boat.

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by edsox15

Is SC South Carolina?

Might want to use a little of that Mass retirement money to buy a boat.

Very few issues where I live. Only personal inconvenience is my golf club got flooded.

The main problem has been dams that were built for real estate development purposes as in have a house on a lake are letting go and causing a rippling effect. Problem is those dams collapsing have taken out some of the roads and a bridge or two and some water/sewage pipes. Do to no frost line here, water and sewage pipes are only buried a few feet in the ground thus most any road collapse takes them out.

Some of those HOA's are going to be for a big surprise come time to repair their dams and they have to pay for it.

[Steephill2]

Originally Posted by johngolf

Very few issues where I live. Only personal inconvenience is my golf club got flooded.

The main problem has been dams that were built for real estate development purposes as in have a house on a lake are letting go and causing a rippling effect. Problem is those dams collapsing have taken out some of the roads and a bridge or two and some water/sewage pipes. Do to no frost line here, water and sewage pipes are only buried a few feet in the ground thus most any road collapse takes them out.

Some of those HOA's are going to be for a big surprise come time to repair their dams and they have to pay for it.

Seems like there is a 100 year storm every other year now. If one inch of rain equals 13 inches of snow, then it would have been like 18 feet of snow in a 17 hour span. I hope we dont ever get that here, but MA is also on the coast with the added bonus of colder climate and additional snow threat.

I guess the other question is, If last winter is the new norm, would any of us consider moving? I'd be 50/50.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Steephill2

I guess the other question is, If last winter is the new norm, would any of us consider moving? I'd be 50/50.

Not me.

As much as that storm sucked, I enjoy that type of weather. I have a career that allows me to work from home those days, and my G/F is a teacher. When I hear 2 feet of snow is coming, I kinda look forward to it.


Of course, that's now when i'm 30 and can work a snowblower with ease. When i'm 70 with bad joints and aches...i'm going to Arizona.

[ladyalicemore]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

May I ask what you miss?

I miss my family members in Mass and nearby Maine and Rhode Island. I miss the accent. I miss the bleak landscape, I really do. I see pictures of cheap houses in my hometown, Stoughton, and my heart aches at the slant of light in the back yards.

I like the vehemence of people in Mass, and overall the politics seem more sensible to me than FL politics, which are simply off the wall (to me).

Florida has almost too much vitality going on: I won't use poison or trap them unless they get really bad, so I live with roof rats. They stay up there, usually on the quiet, but I can see the evidence where they get in--the garage.

I saw a land-crab the size of a dinner plate in my kitchen eating the catfood one morning. Put him in a paper bag and placed him outside, whereupon he decided he liked the place and lived in the yard for quite a while. I would see him going clackety-clackety sideways in the lawn. He was often to be seen resting his exoskeleton under a certain bush near the patio. He seemed to like people. My late-great cat Jay Gatsby, who hated all other animals, liked him and never growled when he would spot him as he traveled around the house looking out the windows. I named the crab Harvey.

I saw a reticulated python (they are becoming common in Boca Raton) in my backyard and had a racer snake in my house who came in on the bottom of a UPS parcel--this was a baby racer. I got him outside wrapped in on of my cat's blankets. Fire ants in the lawn. Roach communities in unsuspected places.

Really, the Mass. winter is NOT what I miss but at least it is a period of dormancy for critters and bugs.

I miss Fall most, then the Spring. If I could afford it I would keep my FL house and come down here in winter, but I will need to sell it before I can move.

If I have to stay, there is a lot I really like about South Fl. It too is naturally beautiful despite having a harsh climate (harsh as to heat, not cold). But FL belongs to transient people (where I live) and there is almost no community spirit. The public discourse is dull. Things that should change never do.

The diversity is terrific, and that I would miss, but down here the different groups coexist (certainly in Boca) peaceably--but they seldom truly interact.

Maybe we all just miss what we used to have and don't anymore--I realize that could be part of it.

[Whatsnext75]

'When I hear 2 feet of snow is coming, I kinda look forward to it. '

That's a fairly good point that when two feet of snow is predicted Boston does pretty much make plans to shut down and people can work from home etc. However, the next day most people are typically expected to trek back into the office and it isn't necessarily much easier that next day. The snow isnt just bad commuter wise on the day that it snows. Maybe you have the type of job where you can work from home whenever you'd like though. I recall i worked from home two days in a row last year and I felt some angst/guilt over it. I'm starting to feel like i need to get over that, but then my co workers say things like, well there's value of being in the office, you're seen, you're there, people like people who are there. All i know is that if we get 2 feet of snow, i wont be in the office and screw anyone who thinks that makes me look bad.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by ladyalicemore

I miss my family members in Mass and nearby Maine and Rhode Island. I miss the accent. I miss the bleak landscape, I really do. I see pictures of cheap houses in my hometown, Stoughton, and my heart aches at the slant of light in the back yards.

I like the vehemence of people in Mass, and overall the politics seem more sensible to me than FL politics, which are simply off the wall (to me).

Florida has almost too much vitality going on: I won't use poison or trap them unless they get really bad, so I live with roof rats. They stay up there, usually on the quiet, but I can see the evidence where they get in--the garage.

I saw a land-crab the size of a dinner plate in my kitchen eating the catfood one morning. Put him in a paper bag and placed him outside, whereupon he decided he liked the place and lived in the yard for quite a while. I would see him going clackety-clackety sideways in the lawn. He was often to be seen resting his exoskeleton under a certain bush near the patio. He seemed to like people. My late-great cat Jay Gatsby, who hated all other animals, liked him and never growled when he would spot him as he traveled around the house looking out the windows. I named the crab Harvey.

I saw a reticulated python (they are becoming common in Boca Raton) in my backyard and had a racer snake in my house who came in on the bottom of a UPS parcel--this was a baby racer. I got him outside wrapped in on of my cat's blankets. Fire ants in the lawn. Roach communities in unsuspected places.

Really, the Mass. winter is NOT what I miss but at least it is a period of dormancy for critters and bugs.

I miss Fall most, then the Spring. If I could afford it I would keep my FL house and come down here in winter, but I will need to sell it before I can move.

If I have to stay, there is a lot I really like about South Fl. It too is naturally beautiful despite having a harsh climate (harsh as to heat, not cold). But FL belongs to transient people (where I live) and there is almost no community spirit. The public discourse is dull. Things that should change never do.

The diversity is terrific, and that I would miss, but down here the different groups coexist (certainly in Boca) peaceably--but they seldom truly interact.

Maybe we all just miss what we used to have and don't anymore--I realize that could be part of it.

Sincere advice--come and rent a cottage during colder months--North Shore, South Shore, CC, or wherever your fancy takes you. It doesn't have to be for a very long time, but try to spend at least couple of weeks, or even few months during the winter here, especially if you can work from home.

There are plenty of smaller older cottages where owners make killing during the summer, and are happy to have someone around in the winter time. Those places can be found very cheap--agreement is rarely for longer than couple of months anyway. Do not sell your home, rent it out before you are sure that what you are aching for still exists, and it is still found in MA. Good luck.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

That's a fairly good point that when two feet of snow is predicted Boston does pretty much make plans to shut down and people can work from home etc. However, the next day most people are typically expected to trek back into the office and it isn't necessarily much easier that next day. The snow isnt just bad commuter wise on the day that it snows. Maybe you have the type of job where you can work from home whenever you'd like though. I recall i worked from home two days in a row last year and I felt some angst/guilt over it. I'm starting to feel like i need to get over that, but then my co workers say things like, well there's value of being in the office, you're seen, you're there, people like people who are there. All i know is that if we get 2 feet of snow, i wont be in the office and screw anyone who thinks that makes me look bad.

I agree that me having a job where I can work from home does make it easier and release a lot of stress. I'm salaried and make my own hours, so if the next AM I wanted to wait til 10AM to head in to give time for the roads to clear, I have that option. I also have a vehicle that drives extremely well in the snow. So i'm fortunately in the sense that major snowstorms (and even some of the pesky minor ones) don't affect my income/job that much.