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

[DCReid]

Austin joins the list of top move out cities in 2023. TX and FL cities plummet in popularity of move-ins, with Miami among the top move outs...CA still the top move-out state. Carolinas, TN and GA are most popular for move-ins...

https://www.pods.com/blog/moving-trends

[The North One]

Will never understand why anybody would willingly move to an inferno like Phoenix. You have to be crazy.

[azliam]

Originally Posted by The North One

Will never understand why anybody would willingly move to an inferno like Phoenix. You have to be crazy.

Crazy? I imagine most residents are smart enough to stay out of extreme heat and adapt to PHX during parts of the Summer, just like I would imagine northerners aren't crazy enough to stand in a blizzard or rainstorm for hours upon end whilst Phoenicians are enjoying their mild Winters.

[photoLith]

^
Or Texas for that matter now. I'm from Houston and my parents live in San Antonio pretty much. Every year I go there its well above 100 during the summer. Last year when we visited it was above 100 every day and one day it got to 107. No thanks.

Its 93 here in Pittsburgh right now and thats plenty hot for me now.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Or Texas for that matter now. I'm from Houston and my parents live in San Antonio pretty much. Every year I go there its well above 100 during the summer. Last year when we visited it was above 100 every day and one day it got to 107. No thanks.

Because people from the north who complain about the cold to justify a move to the south are all couch creatures. They're going to move to Texas or Florida and just sit in the AC watching TV all day before driving to a restaurant, then back to their couch for another 4 hours of netflix and chilling in the AC.

The whole Tennessee/Carolinas thing is because people want to be within an easier 1-day drive of their families in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, NY, etc.

As a former resident of Tennessee, I can assert that the summer and winter weather isn't substantially different than much of the north. You have to go all the way up to the actual shoreline of the Great Lakes and even north of New York City to experience a significantly colder winter or significantly hotter summer.

Drive from St. Louis or Columbus or Indianapolis down to Nashville any day of the year and the highs/lows are almost exactly the same. It's almost like the use of the term "south" and "north" has convinced a huge chunk of Americans that there is actually some sort of strict line of demarcation between "warm" and "cold". Instead of accepting as fact just how wet, gray, and dark Nashville is during the winter, they'll vilify the pointer-outer of that fact.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Because people from the north who complain about the cold to justify a move to the south are all couch creatures. They're going to move to Texas or Florida and just sit in the AC watching TV all day before driving to a restaurant, then back to their couch for another 4 hours of netflix and chilling in the AC.

The whole Tennessee/Carolinas thing is because people want to be within an easier 1-day drive of their families in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, NY, etc.

As a former resident of Tennessee, I can assert that the summer and winter weather isn't substantially different than much of the north. You have to go all the way up to the actual shoreline of the Great Lakes and even north of New York City to experience a significantly colder winter or significantly hotter summer.

Drive from St. Louis or Columbus or Indianapolis down to Nashville any day of the year and the highs/lows are almost exactly the same. It's almost like the use of the term "south" and "north" has convinced a huge chunk of Americans that there is actually some sort of strict line of demarcation between "warm" and "cold". Instead of accepting as fact just how wet, gray, and dark Nashville is during the winter, they'll vilify the pointer-outer of that fact.

Part of the Tenn/Carolina thing is that many retirees move to FL and then determine that it is too hot and humid or too far from their relatives up north, so they move 'half-way' back. A lot of the retirement articles tell potential retirees considering the FL move of this prospect. And as someone mentioned, SC is popular with conservative people, and I suspect TN is as well.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by DCReid

Part of the Tenn/Carolina thing is that many retirees move to FL and then determine that it is too hot and humid or too far from their relatives up north, so they move 'half-way' back.

The worst part of all of this mindless vacationing and retirement moving is the terminology. The "snow birds". The "half-backs". These people could be invested in the social lives of their home neighborhoods - church, schools, volunteering, etc. - instead they're watching TV 500+ miles south.

Another thing is that Atlanta is relatively close to the Tennessee state line. This means for everyone coming down from Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, etc. - they get to Atlanta and think that they're "halfway" through Georgia. Nope. They've still got hundreds of miles of Georgia before they get to the Florida line. At which point they still have hours to go.

[ChiSoxRox]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Another thing is that Atlanta is relatively close to the Tennessee state line. This means for everyone coming down from Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, etc. - they get to Atlanta and think that they're "halfway" through Georgia. Nope. They've still got hundreds of miles of Georgia before they get to the Florida line. At which point they still have hours to go.

Indeed, measuring from the center of the terminal layout, ATL is the same distance (596 miles straight line) from DTW and MIA.

(MDW is 591 miles, ORD is 606 from ATL)

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Because people from the north who complain about the cold to justify a move to the south are all couch creatures. They're going to move to Texas or Florida and just sit in the AC watching TV all day before driving to a restaurant, then back to their couch for another 4 hours of netflix and chilling in the AC.

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.

[Steely Dan]

"permanent vacation" is probably sexier in theory than in the reality of living it daily.

And I say that as an extremely ardent beach lover.

But there's more to life than the beach.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

"permanent vacation" is probably sexier in theory than in the reality of living it daily.

And I say that as an extremely ardent beach lover.

But there's more to life than the beach.

Lots of people that move to FL find that out too! That's why so many leave even as huge numbers come in....

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

"permanent vacation" is probably sexier in theory than in the reality of living it daily.

And I say that as an extremely ardent beach lover.

But there's more to life than the beach.

I'm not really a beach guy - but I do like mountains and need to exercise my leg muscles or I start getting twitchy. We don't have beaches and nice cool great lake vistas in St. Louis but thank god we have tons of nice rocky Ozark trails in St. Louis County that go 400+ft straight up to treat my restless leg syndrome, lol. It's one of the midwest's best kept secrets that we have appalachian-style trails in St. Louis county, hope it stays secret, lol.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

"permanent vacation" is probably sexier in theory than in the reality of living it daily.

And I say that as an extremely ardent beach lover.

But there's more to life than the beach.

Yea, its kinda overrated. I work next to the beach in Santa Monica and lived next to Oak Street beach in Chicago.

Its nice to look at but it does get old and you dont think much of it anymore. The crowds/energy are fun bun you still take it for granted.

I like the bike/jogging paths next to the beach in Chicago and LA than the actual beach lol. I think hiking is far more interesting now, all kinds of different views, landscapes change, different trails,
nice crowds of people, great cardio etc.

It's not even good for you to be at the beach all the time, for skin reasons. Vacations are not the same thing. No doubt. If you get bored by the beach in Chicago or LA you can just walk in or hop over to another fun area. I have no idea what these people are doing who get bored by the beach (and they will) and live in these smaller towns.

[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.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by DCReid

Austin joins the list of top move out cities in 2023. TX and FL cities plummet in popularity of move-ins, with Miami among the top move outs...CA still the top move-out state. Carolinas, TN and GA are most popular for move-ins...

https://www.pods.com/blog/moving-trends

Austin is a bit odd. It's hard to imagine people leaving with all these new residential towers coming online soon. Jobs are still being announced and construction is still booming in the metro area.

[SteveD]

I read thru that article. Are they talking absolute numbers, or some kind of percentage rate or per capita number. I find it very hard to believe that Myrtle Beach is No. 1 in absolute numbers.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by SteveD

I read thru that article. Are they talking absolute numbers, or some kind of percentage rate or per capita number. I find it very hard to believe that Myrtle Beach is No. 1 in absolute numbers.

It says it's based on "PODS customer moving data." So it's completely anecdotal based on one company's experience.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

It says it's based on "PODS customer moving data." So it's completely anecdotal based on one company's experience.

possibly correlated with where they have the best sales office...

[JManc]

Originally Posted by SteveD

I read thru that article. Are they talking absolute numbers, or some kind of percentage rate or per capita number. I find it very hard to believe that Myrtle Beach is No. 1 in absolute numbers.

I don't. Lots of people still leaving the NE and opting for the Carolinas and Northerners who moved further south (FL, GA, TX, etc) want to be closer to family but still live in a milder climate (halfbacks).