PODS survey - Where Are People Moving to in 2024? Hint: There’s Been a Shift!

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by LA21st

They just liked having it or drinking on it when it was docked.

I remember when I was 20 that some guy in my college program told me that he just read a book on how to become a millionaire and literally the first thing on the first page of this book was don't buy a boat. In my experience, don't buy an RV ought to be added to that list.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Well sure, 10 beach days a summer is fine. Thats probably what I do in LA/So cal.

But every day, no. I dont believe people who say they do that either.

This reminded me of my grandmother telling me about the time in the 1950s when she took my dad and his brothers to the Jersey Shore but the beach was closed due to garbage from New York City washing up on the sand. I think this is back when they used to take barges full of garbage out into the open ocean and just...dump it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by LA21st

I knew people in Chicago who had boats and they didnt use them as much as I thought. They just liked having it or drinking on it when it was docked.

Yeah, that's especially true of big power boats because they guzzle unbelievable amounts of gas. It's WAY cheaper to just leave the boat at the dock.

Back in my bachelor days, a friend of mine had a power boat in Dusable harbor, and it became clear to me that a lot of the other boat owners there primarily used their boats as a place to go party on summer weekends and socialize with their boat neighbors in the marina. Kinda like in lieu of getting a vacation home or something.

Sailboat owners seem more inclined toward actually boating with their boats. Perhaps because sailing requires an order of magnitude more skill and knowledge, and thus self-selects for people that are VERY into it.

[Velvet_Highground]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

Exactly.

My parents moved to Florida. I'd say by year 3 they were sitting in the condo most days. They stopped going to the beach. They never used their condo complex pool. What was the point. They moved back to PA after 9 years.

My grandpa moved back to MI from Tampa and my uncle and aunt moved back from California. They had different reasons and were from different sides of my family but it came down to preferences, community & quality of life. My uncle has deep connections with U of M he’s a doner and season ticket holder he could afford to fly out for big games but the opportunity came to buy a lake house in Brighton for 180k in 2012. Their home in California was something like 500k so it was a great deal for them especially considering that house has to be at lest 4x its value now so they probably made money.

My grandpa had a great community in Tampa for dirt cheap he bought into a “luxury” mobile home community when it was on the verge of bankruptcy after the baking crisis of the 80’s hit Flordia real estate hard. My grandma passed two years before the recession & the neighborhood in financial trouble again opened up its units to people under 50 and it ruined the tight knit community for him.

He had other options his brother lived in Dallas and was quite well off but he already did the sunbelt thing. He lived 102 and had a good quality of life and independence right up to the end. Can’t say things would have been better or worse if he moved to Texas, Arizona or California but he was happy.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

My grandpa moved back to MI from Tampa and my uncle and aunt moved back from California. They had different reasons and were from different sides of my family but it came down to preferences, community & quality of life. My uncle has deep connections with U of M he’s a doner and season ticket holder he could afford to fly out for big games but the opportunity came to buy a lake house in Brighton for 180k in 2012. Their home in California was something like 500k so it was a great deal for them especially considering that house has to be at lest 4x its value now so they probably made money.

My grandpa had a great community in Tampa for dirt cheap he bought into a “luxury” mobile home community when it was on the verge of bankruptcy after the baking crisis of the 80’s hit Flordia real estate hard. My grandma passed two years before the recession & the neighborhood in financial trouble again opened up its units to people under 50 and it ruined the tight knit community for him.

He had other options his brother lived in Dallas and was quite well off but he already did the sunbelt thing. He lived 102 and had a good quality of life and independence right up to the end. Can’t say things would have been better or worse if he moved to Texas, Arizona or California but he was happy.

The problem is that when people move out of their home neighborhoods and join a senior-focused community in Florida or wherever, the community they left is diluted. Yes, there are still a lot of relatively strong neighborhoods in the Midwest and Northeast, but they have all been damaged by the siren call of Florida's air conditioning.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

The problem is that when people move out of their home neighborhoods and join a senior-focused community in Florida or wherever, the community they left is diluted. Yes, there are still a lot of relatively strong neighborhoods in the Midwest and Northeast, but they have all been damaged by the siren call of Florida's air conditioning.

I can't say the percentages, but based on all the Midwestern and Northeastern accents, my senior community is largely residents who have moved from those regions. I know from conversations that some have moved to this area to be closer to their kids, who had already moved here for jobs. Towne Lake Cypress is a very pretty area, and people seem to like it here. Similar migration has occurred to The Woodlands, which is especially nice because of the pine forests in which it was built.