Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Allagash wrote:I know a guy in Wisconsin who buys duplex's for in the $30k range and rents them for $500 a side. Can't do that on the west coast.

Can't argue with that. One thing I find priceless about Seattle is the access to cheap and wonderful ethnic restaurants/grocery shopping. If I were just aiming for regional arbitrage in housing, though, I'd definitely focus on depressed areas. After living for 10 years in a depressed area of eastern Washington, we felt...limited. We started dreaming of dim sum, pho and Cambodian food. You can only eat so much beef.

@Allagash,

I also love Maine. I live in Boston and I'm currently looking to buy in Maine. I like North Berwick area or Wells. I don't want to be too far from Portsmouth, NH and Boston so I'd like to stay in the southern half of Maine.

I go up there at least every other weekend from Boston.

I've been tempted to buy acreage and build my own too.

PM me if you'd like to discuss more about Maine.

I live outside Boston and while I was initially looking for housing within MA, the supply-demand balance has jacked up prices a bit too much even in the more remote / less desirable areas. So now I'm thinking the odds are good that I'll be in another state, and I've been thinking up alternative game plans to cut my working time down but still have a safe enough pile of money so I don't have to have a really long commute for multiple years. However as you get closer to FI, a longer commute to get a significantly cheaper house starts to make more economical sense. Especially around Boston where the prices sharply drop off outside the dreaded 1 hour commute mark - I can live with that if it's only for another year or two if it saves me a year of work!

I actually found a particular town that I think is nearly perfect for my idea of ERE. I'll be sure to post about it if we end up moving there, and will encourage others to move there in the hopes that it would be an ERE City contender, but in the meantime I don't want to say where it is for fear that some of you will agree that it's a great ERE town and will start competing for the home we're interested in!

How about a different country?

High rents are forcing people to think outside of the box.
https://youtu.be/BRoo4SKpjfw

The 2BR house in the video that rents for $950/m is 20 miles from my location. There is a very similar house a few blocks from my location that rents for $4200/m. The current wait time in the regular border line is 90 minutes but only 10 minutes in the SENTRI line.

Looks like a good idea although as the report notes it's driving up housing costs for Mexicans who haven't the luxury of geoarbitage. Long term you might want to buy rather than rent to insure against further price rises if more Americans cross the border to live.

Florida is full, if anyone asks.

Also, climate change and all.

Ego wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 07, 2022 11:54 pm

How about a different country

I've always made the false assumption that a home country (US) home base is my best option. Given the latitude of tourist visas in many central and South American countries I have re-framed my thinking.

I could cut costs by 50%+ and live in better climates. However, there is the carbon/environmental cost added to the extra required travel. Not sure how to reconcile that ethically, other than I enjoy those cultures more as well. Look at my US citizenship as a means to travel and work a few months every year and get very high wages? IDK

Hristo Botev wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:03 am

Florida is full, if anyone asks.

And apparently also on fire. I didn't see that one coming.

classical_Liberal wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:41 pm

I could cut costs by 50%+ and live in better climates. However, there is the carbon/environmental cost added to the extra required travel. Not sure how to reconcile that ethically, other than I enjoy those cultures more as well. Look at my US citizenship as a means to travel and work a few months every year and get very high wages? IDK

I think it's a great idea although I'd want to keep most of my financial assets, especially property, in the more climate resilient north and still continue to accumulate enough to move back north if or when it became necessary. That's kinda what I'm doing.

jacob wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:52 pm

And apparently also on fire. I didn't see that one coming.

Yep; it's a mess. Everyone should definitely look elsewhere. I hear Duluth is the new San Francisco!

chenda wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:11 pm

I think it's a great idea although I'd want to keep most of my financial assets, especially property, in the more climate resilient north and still continue to accumulate enough to move back north if or when it became necessary.

Yep

chenda wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:11 pm

That's kinda what I'm doing.

Interested in sharing the location(s)?

Hristo Botev wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:35 pm

I hear Duluth is the new San Francisco!

NOOOOOOO! Thats my one of my summer places.. Stay away, it's cold, horrible, and filled with horrible people like me.

classical_Liberal wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 09, 2022 2:00 pm

Interested in sharing the location(s)?

UK and Portugal. The COL in Portugal is roughly 40% lower than the UK, and has great weather, vibrant Latin culture, little crime, and is generally great with a northern European income.

But I'm concerned about long term water shortages and wild fires. This year water levels in reservoirs have dropped so low that you can walk the streets of long submerged villages: See:

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/02 ... underwater

I tried selling my Spouse on the idea of going to Delaware. On the border of Maryland. Sparse population there. +1 if we could grow most of our own food. Some spots are known to be food deserts. Plenty of spots to go fishing. Even better if my job is truly truly remote...

Delaware has no no state or local sales tax. Cheap housing as well at least from what I saw passing through (well at least compared to the DMV).

Would be a quiet place to live out the Anthropocene.