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I have posted on the site for a good number of years now. I live in a rural part of upstate NY. I have noticed a trend in this forum and would like to comment on it. Perhaps the experience of a (soon to leave) neighbor prompted this. This couple originally lived on Long Island, then to Florida, next to Vermont, and currently down the road from my farm. As mentioned in a post on the NY forum, I stopped to talk to him as a realtor sign was in front of their property. They moved here almost 4 years ago. New house, pool, horse barn and fencing...etc....Now my understanding is the husband works from home and they are "well funded". When I first met them, they were sure they had found the right place..rural..but not too from all the urban "stuff", 4 seasons, and so on. Well....he now told me this area wasen't exactly what they were searching for. They are now moving to Idaho, which he says has the right "vibe" ( I have come to cringe at that word). If folks can afford to keep moving, the only reason being to find that "right" place..fine..that's their business. But looking at posts from people across the various state sections on here, I wonder if a number of these people will ever be content..wherever they settle, and will probably keep looking for a place that may not even exist.
There are people who enjoy moving and people who enjoy staying put. Some people move around just to experience the differences. What you see as searching and not finding, they see it as new vistas and excitement. I think your soon to be ex-neighbors don't actually want to settle down. If you don't want to settle you always find a reason to move.
I have posted on the site for a good number of years now. I live in a rural part of upstate NY. I have noticed a trend in this forum and would like to comment on it. Perhaps the experience of a (soon to leave) neighbor prompted this. This couple originally lived on Long Island, then to Florida, next to Vermont, and currently down the road from my farm. As mentioned in a post on the NY forum, I stopped to talk to him as a realtor sign was in front of their property. They moved here almost 4 years ago. New house, pool, horse barn and fencing...etc....Now my understanding is the husband works from home and they are "well funded". When I first met them, they were sure they had found the right place..rural..but not too from all the urban "stuff", 4 seasons, and so on. Well....he now told me this area wasen't exactly what they were searching for. They are now moving to Idaho, which he says has the right "vibe" ( I have come to cringe at that word). If folks can afford to keep moving, the only reason being to find that "right" place..fine..that's their business. But looking at posts from people across the various state sections on here, I wonder if a number of these people will ever be content..wherever they settle, and will probably keep looking for a place that may not even exist.
We've moved a good bit also. In state mostly back east then once across the US, then all in state again. We've been blessed by the good Lord to be able to build new homes. We'd build what we thought we wanted then I'd not like it and build another new one. Then we tried a move to better weather and thought it was the last. Then the neighbor from HELL moved next door and within a year we bought a larger piece of acreage, remote and secluded in the hopes we don't have to deal with bad neighbors again. We're currently building a cabin on that property and I have to say it will definitely be the last as age and aches won't let me build another. The property we bought is absolutely stunning with abundant wildlife and cover from our state's horrible wind. We've been blessed beyond belief in that we've always done fairly well on the home sales and timing. We had a contract on our current home in five days. Can't stress enough how much the good Lord has taken care of me and my family throughout our lives!! And no, I do not enjoy the moving all my crap part!!!
For me personally, it was more about the land than the people or "vibe". Now granted the people have been a nice bonus. I friggin love my neighbors, but when I was scouting this place out it's not like I went over to door knock and introduce myself. My key factors were, other than the house itself:
1) Acreage and land amenities (pond, barn, out buildings, fencing, etc.). If I could do it over again I would have purchased more land.
2) Reasonable distance into "town". So someplace I can score groceries, a hardware store, local greasy spoon to grab biscuits and gravy, etc. If I really need to get my city fix for something both Milwaukee and Chicago are relatively close, but so far that has only happened all of once on our anniversary. I am out here because I don't want to be close to population centers, after all.
3) Local government lets me do what I want with limited interference.
4) A nice finished basement to use as my office, since I also WFH. The activities I am involved in out on my property are just my side hustle (and I enjoy it). Along these same lines I needed a place that has decent internet. I am just barley in range. literally folks down the road from me are stuck with Satellite providers.
5) Unincorporated. So not within the town/village/whatever limits of any municipality.
This place checked all of those boxes, and during the time we were searching in 2020 the real estate market in Southern Wisconsin was an absolute bloodsport. Hell, still is. We were on our 9th offer before we hit pay dirt. I am really not interested in moving again anytime soon. I have already invested so much of my heart, soul and money into this place and my family is now in their comfort zone. If people feel the need to be on an endless pilgrimage to find home, then I would suspect they might have a distorted view of the meaning of that word. My 2 cents.
Reminds me of a friend of mine who was looking for the perfect religion, that had nothing that offended or perplexed her and everything she wanted. As far as I know she is still looking.
There are people who enjoy moving and people who enjoy staying put. Some people move around just to experience the differences. What you see as searching and not finding, they see it as new vistas and excitement. I think your soon to be ex-neighbors don't actually want to settle down. If you don't want to settle you always find a reason to move.
Very insightful post. Moving to new places is very exciting to me and although it's a lot of work, there can be great rewards too.
We don't all think alike. The poster seems to view what his neighbors are doing in a negative light when the neighbors might be enjoying every bit of the process of looking for new vibes.
Having the financial freedom to move when you want and where you want is sometimes viewed with envy from those who don't have that ability. I wish I had more years in my lifetime to experience living in more areas of this beautiful country. It has nothing to do with not being content - it has everything to do with enjoying the adventure of life. We've settled in Florida now and we're loving it here. It's most likely the last state we'll live in because we're getting up there in age and we have to be pragmatic and realistic.
There are people who enjoy moving and people who enjoy staying put. Some people move around just to experience the differences. What you see as searching and not finding, they see it as new vistas and excitement. I think your soon to be ex-neighbors don't actually want to settle down. If you don't want to settle you always find a reason to move.
I agree.
We're in the latter group, but I'm tired of being so settled and cautious. We analyze every detail of a home/area to death because we don't want to make a bad financial decision. We're ready to just go with what feels right for us at this moment in time. Life is short. If we don't like where we live and have the means to move elsewhere, why not do it?
We're in the latter group, but I'm tired of being so settled and cautious. We analyze every detail of a home/area to death because we don't want to make a bad financial decision. We're ready to just go with what feels right for us at this moment in time. Life is short. If we don't like where we live and have the means to move elsewhere, why not do it?
I'm in Idaho, so I wonder where they are moving to? Some areas could be quite different from upstate NY: desert, heat, wildfire smoke in the south. Trees, snow, long winters, and wildfire smoke in the north. A bit of each in the middle. A few summers of choking wildfire smoke and I'm sure they'll move on again. Good luck with your next neighbors.
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