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The reality is the list of places nicer than NYC and LI is too long to list. Dozens upon dozens of cities across Europe and parts of Asia. The West coast is beautiful and while I would never live in SF again, San Diego or Tahoe are great. Cities all across the midwest offer great nature and more land at a fraction of the cost. There's a reason the Montana real estate market is so hot right now. I have a good friend who bought a 5 bed/ 3 bath house on 5 acres outside Boise a few years back for about 400K. He's living the life. Going south in the Carolinas or VA are great options. And if you don't mind the cold, going upstate or to Vermont and Maine can be great.
I don't know anyone who has the means to retire and move away from NY, who stays. But now given the Dems have destroyed NYC, many are looking to take their families and professional careers elsewhere.
My IT guy along with his wife own an apartment in Shanghai. They're currently house shopping in Florida, will move down there and split the year between Florida and Shanghai. Lucky him.
Life is too short to live in this Dem hell hole if you have other options. I'm going to stay, earn and save as I'm younger but will pump money into my Eastern European property and eventually move over there permanently. Maybe rent my current house to create another revenue stream at that point.
The only reason to stay in NY is to make and save enough money to live a great life elsewhere.
If I ever become a nursing home material, I know with reasonable certainty that I'd be shipped to Bangkok by my extended family (because that is what I ascertained with the said nursing home, and have legally down in writing with the family). I would consider moving to BKK anyway, but I have so much stuff (books and audiovisuals that are proving absolutely indispensable in this covid lockdown) that it would be impossible to move it to Asia.
I already live in multiple places, of which NYC is in the third place, so the question where to move from NYC is actually really not for me. NYC cannot be my major home until 2029 anyway, due to certain tax/health insurance reasons, but I do intend to explore the idea of moving more substantially to NYC over the next decade, via intermittent stays at the crashpad in the Bronx. I am getting a feeling that it will not happen, I will probably just finally just get NYC out of my system, it has changed way too much for my liking.
If I settle down in a single place in my very old age (assuming I remain reasonably functional, and do not need to go to that BKK nursing home), I might end up renting in an old-person apartment building in LA, that is certainly a possibility.
Places where I have resided for extended time (+/- ongoing) include Upstate not far from NYC, central PA (but that wasn't by free choice, it was for training, and I hated it), Boston and San Francisco. Other places that I had under consideration at various times were Montreal, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and the above-mentioned LA. In 2008, it was a toss-up between getting a condo in LA and SF. A good opportunity came up in LA, and I already signed the P&S agreement, and was about to wire the deposit, but then the seller pulled out of the deal.... and then a couple of days later there was a quake, and a piece of Sepulveda Blvd expressway overpass fell down and crushed some cars about three blocks away from where my would-be condo was located... and then half a year later a very unique condo came on the market in San Francisco, so I got that one instead :-).
A lot of folks are doing AirBnB across the country just to work in different cities. I know one guy he's traveling every other week just for a week stay somewhere while still working in the office remotely. This is why I believe NYC will be in decline for years until covid19 is passed.
can you tell us a bit more about your PA situation?
I would absolutely love to have my own driveway and a fairly low mortgage payment on a 2 story/3 bedroom house in a good somewhat populated town.
I am tired of NYC's population and not being able to sock away a dime when all the money goes on rent, and i don't even have my own driveway either, which makes it so miserable.
I live out in the Poconos. I've spoken about it elsewhere on the forums... your mortgage may be cheap but your property/school taxes won't be. (my property taxes are $1100 but my school taxes are $5200- no discounts of any sort, either.) Some areas have school taxes well above what I'm paying and the school systems stink.
It's costly to heat a home in the winter months as most of the newer construction are electric baseboard. You may have a propane fireplace but they're inefficient as a heart source. And propane isn't cheap either unless you lock in for several thousand gallons a year. Same with wood burning, they're inefficient and you need to now buy wood. Pellet stoves and coal are generally found in the very old houses so I can't speak to costs.
Car insurance goes down but gas, tolls and wear and tear increase exponentially. We're 2 people with 3 cars. One car goes to the shop and it's usually at least a few days to get it back. So you'rem issing work etc as there is very little public transportation to speak of.
There are few municipal services in most areas of PA. My town- no local PD (state police only-30 minute response time on average) no FD- only volunteer, no EMS/ambulance- only private, no garbage so we pay for a town dump (or monthly private sanitation). No municipal sewer or water- we run a well and septic which require yearly maintenance along with a water softener system and that requires monthly upkeep.
Food costs are the same but you're driving to pick up it up so add gas into that. Plus time. We map out a full half day to run errands on the weekends. There's also snow removal, yard maintenance (for all the "I'll do it myself- just hire someone. The needed materials are costly and it's time consuming) dues for our private community, etc. etc.
And don't even think about giving up your NYC job unless you're happy with minimum wage or barely above and mostly service industry jobs. That brings to another large expense- commuting. The commuter bus into Manhattan is over $500 month plus parking. I personally drive in as I work in the Bronx. My 125 miles each way trip takes a good 3-4 hours in both directions. (Presently, the ride in is very pleasant- 2 hours on average, going home still sucks).
Southern, CA (well south of LA...I'm talking beautiful Orange County or Northern San Diego).
Outside of Las Vegas (lots of East coasters out there now, yet quiet enough from the strip...but close to the action when I do get my old NYC urge to purge after covid)
Recently been thinking about areas 20 - 30 miles south east of Boston. Nice New England towns with plenty of Irish seems nice to me.
...and probably the house I currently own in Ireland if things really get bad here and we need to get out of town once the race wars go full throttle.
At my age, I've seen/lived it all as it pertains to NYC. I'm done with diversity (for the most part), liberals, woke people, BLM, men who think they are women, two dads and transients. Although I freely admit I am now going to become a transient myself. Go figure.
Excerpt: I'm done with diversity (for the most part), liberals, woke people, BLM, men who think they are women, two dads and transients. Although I freely admit I am now going to become a transient myself. Go figure.
Response:
I am a proponent of choice. It is yours and yours alone. You don't owe any person an explanation.
Coming form a City that once was the greatest in the World and is now being reduced to rubble by
some of the things you have mentioned, I wish you the greatest happiness.
I have never been mugged by an ear of corn or an apple tree.
I have never been shot at by a cow or a pig.
Well ....................at least not yet............
Car insurance goes down but gas, tolls and wear and tear increase exponentially.
There are few municipal services in most areas of PA.
dues for our private community, etc. etc.
And don't even think about giving up your NYC job unless you're happy with minimum
wage or barely above and mostly service industry jobs.
Response:
Things will change once leaving New York City.
You grow up and learn to do things for yourself instead
of having it done for you. If you are not ready or willing
to give up that baby bottle I don't advise Pa at all. Not
for the squeamish.
My friends retired to the Poconos and are paying $2,500
property taxes for a 2 bedroom one bath home. Love it.
Saving tons of money. Living a simple and Great Quality of life.
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