help! forest fires have stolen my dream retirement in the US

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by startleu

i think most working class people are very unhappy with the influx of new people into their homes right now. between towering greed, gentrification and climate migration everyone feels displaced.
NYC used to be a city of neighborhoods: you could go from Italy to Columbia,Greece to Eastern Europe, China, England, Puerto Rico, Ghana, Jamaica, Norway within a few miles.
and these were intergenerational neighborhoods: your grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, all lived in the same 10 block radius.
most of those neighborhoods have been smashed by realtors and billionaires. i lived most of my life in manhattan. nobody i know lives there now, unless they have 5 room mates or one of the rare remaining rent stabilized apartments, which means they're old and when they die the rent will shoot up from $700 to at least $2800 before their bodies are cold.
it's the same everywhere.
we could fight it BUT WE DON'T.
instead we just ***** at each other while The Greedy pull the land out from under us.
so, NM cut it out. we're all in the same fight.

Nobody is "pulling land out from under you"...........you don't own it/you are a renter!

You shouldn't have rent stabilized anything, its America let the free market determine the rates.

If you owned your land, your attitude would be 100% the opposite!

[Okey Dokie]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

I do hope she comes back and updates us on her final decision.

She appears to have become “not a member.”

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Nobody is "pulling land out from under you"...........you don't own it/you are a renter!

You shouldn't have rent stabilized anything, its America let the free market determine the rates.

If you owned your land, your attitude would be 100% the opposite!

Not so. In hot housing markets like Seattle, long-time homeowners, adults living in the homes they grew up in, are losing their homes due to constant re-assessments driving their tax burden up. California solved that back in the 70's, with Proposition 13. Other states don't have that.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Not so. In hot housing markets like Seattle, long-time homeowners, adults living in the homes they grew up in, are losing their homes due to constant re-assessments driving their tax burden up. California solved that back in the 70's, with Proposition 13. Other states don't have that.

That's why we will be moving next year when I retire, living on about half of our current income then makes the $9,000 year tax and $2,200/year insurance a bit of a concern. The good news is that as our neighborhood turns over, all of the original owners are making enough in equity to pay cash to downsize in outlying areas such as Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Sequim or Wenatchee.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

That's why we will be moving next year when I retire, living on about half of our current income then makes the $9,000 year tax and $2,200/year insurance a bit of a concern. The good news is that as our neighborhood turns over, all of the original owners are making enough in equity to pay cash to downsize in outlying areas such as Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Sequim or Wenatchee.

This is interesting. So you're leaving the high-assessment "boom" area, for something low-key? I think Mount Vernon is going to start experiencing accelerated growth, due to its location just beyond commuting distance to Seattle, but close enough for weekend shopping or whatever. As soon as that growth spurt starts happening, you'll still have re-assessments to deal with, though at a lower level. But you can't assume stability. Maybe Anacortes would be better. People like Stanwood, too.

Oh, and beware of flood-prone areas. Mt Vernon barely escaped getting flooded this spring, as you probably know better than I. I like their co-op, though.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

This is interesting. So you're leaving the high-assessment "boom" area, for something low-key? I think Mount Vernon is going to start experiencing accelerated growth, due to its location just beyond commuting distance to Seattle, but close enough for weekend shopping or whatever. As soon as that growth spurt starts happening, you'll still have re-assessments to deal with, though at a lower level. But you can't assume stability. Maybe Anacortes would be better. People like Stanwood, too.

Oh, and beware of flood-prone areas. Mt Vernon barely escaped getting flooded this spring, as you probably know better than I. I like their co-op, though.

The places I listed are where our neighbors have gone, we are actually looking at Port Orchard/Silverdale/Poulsbo which are in the middle of the triangle between our 4 closest relatives.

[aries63]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You don't see how work-from-home has decreased traffic in Santa Fe? It's improved traffic in most cities, nation-wide. Now, if you're asking, how Covid could possibly have affected people's driving styles, I agree, that could appear to be a non-sequitur. Maybe with less traffic on the road, people are less tense/stressed, so they don't drive as aggressively. People also seemed to be more attentive to what was going on in front of them, i.e. actually watching the road up ahead. But there was enough space between the cars in each lane, LOTS of space, that there was no issue with lane changes. Maybe with Covid causing business closures, some of the illegals have gone home, and taken their reckless driving with them. That wouldn't explain why the local non-Mexicans were on good behavior though.

I don't care why it's changed! I'm just happy it has, for the time being, anyway. I don't need to analyze it in order to enjoy it! Seriously, Cerrillos Road has been a breeze to drive! Yes, it's true. Along with St. Francis Dr. Enjoy it while it lasts.

I thought that people were going back to the office again, that they got tired of working from home and think Covid is over. I don't know what the stats would be for Santa Fe, but it has a large hospitality industry. All those restaurants and hotels can't be staffed by work-at-home folks. And a large proportion of those workers are from across the border, working for low wages. Maybe some of the government sector is still working from home.

I tend to go in and out of Santa Fe on Old Pecos Trail, and haven't noticed any changes to be honest.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by aries63

I thought that people were going back to the office again, that they got tired of working from home and think Covid is over. I don't know what the stats would be for Santa Fe, but it has a large hospitality industry. All those restaurants and hotels can't be staffed by work-at-home folks. And a large proportion of those workers are from across the border, working for low wages. Maybe some of the government sector is still working from home.

I tend to go in and out of Santa Fe on Old Pecos Trail, and haven't noticed any changes to be honest.

Government workers, banks--the BofA at Cerritos Rd. and Rodeo is still closed, some non-profits are closed temporarily or WFH, theaters, etc. I noticed quite a significant difference this spring. And many of the hotel workers use public transit.

[paleo99]

Originally Posted by startleu

i think most working class people are very unhappy with the influx of new people into their homes right now. between towering greed, gentrification and climate migration everyone feels displaced.
NYC used to be a city of neighborhoods: you could go from Italy to Columbia,Greece to Eastern Europe, China, England, Puerto Rico, Ghana, Jamaica, Norway within a few miles.
and these were intergenerational neighborhoods: your grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, all lived in the same 10 block radius.
most of those neighborhoods have been smashed by realtors and billionaires. i lived most of my life in manhattan. nobody i know lives there now, unless they have 5 room mates or one of the rare remaining rent stabilized apartments, which means they're old and when they die the rent will shoot up from $700 to at least $2800 before their bodies are cold.
it's the same everywhere.
we could fight it BUT WE DON'T.
instead we just ***** at each other while The Greedy pull the land out from under us.
so, NM cut it out. we're all in the same fight.

That sounds like the NYC of the 1950s-60s before everything got torn up bad by the '70s-80s. It's long gone.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by aries63

I thought that people were going back to the office again, that they got tired of working from home and think Covid is over. I don't know what the stats would be for Santa Fe, but it has a large hospitality industry. All those restaurants and hotels can't be staffed by work-at-home folks. And a large proportion of those workers are from across the border, working for low wages. Maybe some of the government sector is still working from home.

I tend to go in and out of Santa Fe on Old Pecos Trail, and haven't noticed any changes to be honest.

Yes. But most of them use the bus system.


IDK about Old Pecos Trail, but Rodeo/Zia, Cerrillos, and St. Francis have actually been pleasant to drive for a change. No crowding, no tailgating, no red light-running (!!), lots of room to maneuver. No rush hour around mid-day, when people used to rush home at lunch, and back to the office.