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If you could live anywhere in the US


Leathernecks

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17 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Definitely prices are not dropping right now. Gosh prices are through the roof right now. Not sure it will ever become affordable for the avg person. Housing is going to be hard to find for the service industry people in the near future. We don't go out too much right now because there is huge shortages for servers/cooks etc. Last time I was out we had one server covering the whole outdoor patio which had about 12-14 tables...and I know a family that owns their own restaurant (very popular family restaurant) and the father, mother, and son are up to 3am every night washing dishes because they can't find help...then turn around and come in at 6 to prep for next day. They are exhausted and after over 25 years being open are thinking of closing if something doesn't change soon. 

Living in SWFL, I love it but I took my daughter to the local Harvest Festival (corn mazes, bouncy houses, games, food, farmers market, hey rides) but the heat index was over 100. I miss SW Indiana!! My hope is to find a hunting track of land to put in a cabin and spend my future free time up there...somewhere that has seasons lol.

I watch and read housing market stuff all the time.  Low interest rates not expected to increase in the next year or 2 along with the largest influx of first time buyers since the baby boomers, along with low inventory.  It will take disaster, war, or some other failure of the economy to drop housing.  We are probably 5 years out anyways so that gives me time.  We have 2 major projects left on our house for it to be pretty much done, then the boys will be in school and wife back to full time work.  

I know guys buying near Hoosier National Forest for pretty cheap.  

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5 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

I watch and read housing market stuff all the time.  Low interest rates not expected to increase in the next year or 2 along with the largest influx of first time buyers since the baby boomers, along with low inventory.  It will take disaster, war, or some other failure of the economy to drop housing.  We are probably 5 years out anyways so that gives me time.  We have 2 major projects left on our house for it to be pretty much done, then the boys will be in school and wife back to full time work.  

I know guys buying near Hoosier National Forest for pretty cheap.  

There are always potential...and the market won't stay the same forever...and the market in say Naples/Ft Myers area is vastly different than say Mobile/Gulf Shores etc etc. I'm sure you will absolutely find you a great home. I just don't see housing market in the gulf area going down soon. Just an enormous amount of demand of people fleeing down here. Almost everyone paying cash...I have a client in real estate and he hasn't even had to list homes because his list is so long when he get's a house or one of his real estate buddies does they just call each other knowing they have a buyer lined up. Most houses going for all cash, many sight unseen (in person), and most told to come in above asking price to avoid competition. Like you said, inventory at all time lows, because even though they are building like crazy it has slowed to a crawl with the supply shortages/costs.

Yeah...definitely keep my eye out....going to be several years before I can buy anything...got a young one too lol....but I'm happy to even be off the grid somewhere. Just a getaway...or who knows...maybe a place to lay low if things ever did get bad. Mostly just want a change of pace....and while most like to gulf/boat down here I just would rather put that money into investing in something I'm more passionate about.

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6 minutes ago, dgambill said:

There are always potential...and the market won't stay the same forever...and the market in say Naples/Ft Myers area is vastly different than say Mobile/Gulf Shores etc etc. I'm sure you will absolutely find you a great home. I just don't see housing market in the gulf area going down soon. Just an enormous amount of demand of people fleeing down here. Almost everyone paying cash...I have a client in real estate and he hasn't even had to list homes because his list is so long when he get's a house or one of his real estate buddies does they just call each other knowing they have a buyer lined up. Most houses going for all cash, many sight unseen (in person), and most told to come in above asking price to avoid competition. Like you said, inventory at all time lows, because even though they are building like crazy it has slowed to a crawl with the supply shortages/costs.

Yeah...definitely keep my eye out....going to be several years before I can buy anything...got a young one too lol....but I'm happy to even be off the grid somewhere. Just a getaway...or who knows...maybe a place to lay low if things ever did get bad. Mostly just want a change of pace....and while most like to gulf/boat down here I just would rather put that money into investing in something I'm more passionate about.

 I found my "get away from the wife" house in Mobile, close next week hopefully. Northwest corner of Mobile, 15 minutes-ish from the airport. 4 bed, 2 ba, 3 car detached w/ workshop on 2 acres. Was being remodeled and the gentleman passed away. Even got it $3k under ask. Right place, right time, now to haul all my tools down and get to work! Future Air BnB! 

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1 hour ago, NotIThatLives said:

Sorry man.  

I would like to live on the Gulf of Florida or Alabama.  Or South Carolina coast.  As a tenured firefighter, gotta get about 14 more years before I can seriously consider going anywhere.  Realistically at least 17 years to get our Drop money.  18 to get the boys off to college.  Waiting on the housing market to drop at least 20% before we buy a vacation/investment property on the coast.

I'm on vacation right now on the Mississippi coast, and it is about $1200 for 1 week. And the house is nothing special at all. If you could buy somewhere in one of those places, I think you could easily make enough to pay for all or most of it, and then use it went you want to get away.

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13 minutes ago, Joe_Hoopsier said:

 I found my "get away from the wife" house in Mobile, close next week hopefully. Northwest corner of Mobile, 15 minutes-ish from the airport. 4 bed, 2 ba, 3 car detached w/ workshop on 2 acres. Was being remodeled and the gentleman passed away. Even got it $3k under ask. Right place, right time, now to haul all my tools down and get to work! Future Air BnB! 

Awesome!! No doubt prime real estate if you can do that or use it as rental property for a few years it might even pay for itself before being a beautiful place to retire. Great catch!

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5 minutes ago, Leathernecks said:

I'm on vacation right now on the Mississippi coast, and it is about $1200 for 1 week. And the house is nothing special at all. If you could buy somewhere in one of those places, I think you could easily make enough to pay for all or most of it, and then use it went you want to get away.

Exactly.  I've done a ton of research.  A 2 bedroom condo is your best return on investment.  All through Gulf Shores areas where its driveable for a huge percentage of the country.  We figured if you rent it out 70% of the time you break even or even have a surplus.  My buddy even has a hurricane rider on his insurance that pays 6 months expected rents.  He had a 10k surplus last year, even with covid.  

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I've pushed pretty hard since I was 24 and at 56, I could quit and live most places in the country, although I think California coastal and similar housing markets would put some unwanted stress on my finances.  That being said, I love my job and would miss it so I'm staying put.  Even when I fully retire, I'm not going anywhere.  The only plans I have for a second home is a pull-behind camper and a small cabin on our land in Brown county.

I've never liked the idea of owning real estate a great distance away.  Brown county is about an hour from us, which makes it a nice weekend destination.  I figure I can live a lot cheaper here and use the savings for travel where I want to go.  I've motorcycled in the Smokies and the Rockies and I still want to do the Adirondacks, but we're now old enough that we trailer the bikes to our destination and then ride.  I've got a bucket list of places I still want to visit and that requires a lot of location flexibility.   Indiana gives me a nice central jumping off point for that.

I guess the point of this ramble is that, aside from the cost of living advantages and directional flexibility, I'm just a Hoosier at heart, so barring dramatic economic, demographic or governmental policy shifts, I'm here to stay...except when I'm (traveling) not.

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18 hours ago, Steubenhoosier said:

For those that want to live on the Gulf in Florida… US41, ie Tamiani Trail, is a nightmare from November 1 to the end of April. Way too much congestion. 
 

If that’s what you view as nirvana, good for you. I don’t want to ever have to put up with the parking lot of Gulf Coast Florida 

News flash...it's that EVERYDAY from 7-9 and 4-6 lol. If you want to get out at rush hour in the morning or late afternoon then yeah...no doubt. But there are certainly times during the day even in season you can get to things just fine. You just have to realize that if you live down here you are not ever going to be in a hurry to do anything. Almost everyone is retired and have no reason to complain about the traffic. It certainly would be nice if they would all make their dr appointments and go to breakfast at like 10 but well that's just not how old people work lol. I'll say...the traffic is bad but I've seen worse in many many many places and no where even close as nice to live.

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On 10/19/2021 at 2:01 PM, FKIM01 said:

I've pushed pretty hard since I was 24 and at 56, I could quit and live most places in the country, although I think California coastal and similar housing markets would put some unwanted stress on my finances.  That being said, I love my job and would miss it so I'm staying put.  Even when I fully retire, I'm not going anywhere.  The only plans I have for a second home is a pull-behind camper and a small cabin on our land in Brown county.

I've never liked the idea of owning real estate a great distance away.  Brown county is about an hour from us, which makes it a nice weekend destination.  I figure I can live a lot cheaper here and use the savings for travel where I want to go.  I've motorcycled in the Smokies and the Rockies and I still want to do the Adirondacks, but we're now old enough that we trailer the bikes to our destination and then ride.  I've got a bucket list of places I still want to visit and that requires a lot of location flexibility.   Indiana gives me a nice central jumping off point for that.

I guess the point of this ramble is that, aside from the cost of living advantages and directional flexibility, I'm just a Hoosier at heart, so barring dramatic economic, demographic or governmental policy shifts, I'm here to stay...except when I'm (traveling) not.

I think I have mentioned earlier in this thread that I bought a some land in a golf / lake community in central TN. Plan is to build there in 5 yrs or so and then have that as our centrally located base. I've been looking at travel trailers and could see us going that way. Go a little further south in winter, up north in the summer. See some National Parks. I figure I will continue to work part time as I enjoy what I do and have the flexibility to do so. Staying in IL not a very attractive option. I prefer the mountains over beaches. A Caribbean cruise can fulfill the beach itch just fine. 

The final part of my plan is a nice a little recession 5 years out where the cost to build drops and I can pick up that travel trailer on the cheap!

I'm actually leaving Friday for 9 days of exploring the Smokies and Nashville so probably won't be too active on here for a bit. 

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25 minutes ago, Reacher said:

I think I have mentioned earlier in this thread that I bought a some land in a golf / lake community in central TN. Plan is to build there in 5 yrs or so and then have that as our centrally located base. I've been looking at travel trailers and could see us going that way. Go a little further south in winter, up north in the summer. See some National Parks. I figure I will continue to work part time as I enjoy what I do and have the flexibility to do so. Staying in IL not a very attractive option. I prefer the mountains over beaches. A Caribbean cruise can fulfill the beach itch just fine. 

The final part of my plan is a nice a little recession 5 years out where the cost to build drops and I can pick up that travel trailer on the cheap!

I'm actually leaving Friday for 9 days of exploring the Smokies and Nashville so probably won't be too active on here for a bit. 

Have a safe trip. 

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3 hours ago, Reacher said:

I think I have mentioned earlier in this thread that I bought a some land in a golf / lake community in central TN. Plan is to build there in 5 yrs or so and then have that as our centrally located base. I've been looking at travel trailers and could see us going that way. Go a little further south in winter, up north in the summer. See some National Parks. I figure I will continue to work part time as I enjoy what I do and have the flexibility to do so. Staying in IL not a very attractive option. I prefer the mountains over beaches. A Caribbean cruise can fulfill the beach itch just fine. 

The final part of my plan is a nice a little recession 5 years out where the cost to build drops and I can pick up that travel trailer on the cheap!

I'm actually leaving Friday for 9 days of exploring the Smokies and Nashville so probably won't be too active on here for a bit. 

Yeah, if I were choosing between Illinois and Tennessee, that would be a really easy call.  Loving what you do is an awesome place to be and I'm thankful to be similarly situated.

Enjoy your travels!

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2 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Yeah, if I were choosing between Illinois and Tennessee, that would be a really easy call.  Loving what you do is an awesome place to be and I'm thankful to be similarly situated.

Enjoy your travels!

I'm really loving what I do right now, and I can take care of myself.  But life kicks you in the ass. My family and inlaws are having a really hard year. 

My FIL, and MIL were planning on retiring to Tennessee. @Reacherdo it before it's too late. My wife's parents planned on that and shit went downhill fast. So retiring there isn't going to happen for them. 

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1 minute ago, mrflynn03 said:

I'm really loving what I do right now, and I can take care of myself.  But life kicks you in the ass. My family and inlaws are having a really hard year. 

My FIL, and MIL were planning on retiring to Tennessee. @Reacherdo it before it's too late. My wife's parents planned on that and shit went downhill fast. So retiring there isn't going to happen for them. 

Sorry to hear that, brother.  Sometimes we make plans and God laughs at them.  Hope things turn around for your extended family, but am glad to hear you've landed at a good place workwise.

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21 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Sorry to hear that, brother.  Sometimes we make plans and God laughs at them.  Hope things turn around for your extended family, but am glad to hear you've landed at a good place workwise.

He, my FIL, had a brain bleed earlier this year. He's been having mini strokes.  Meds aren't working.  He's pretty much given up. It's hard seeing someone you knew become something else. 

At least Rustin is improving.  

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  • 1 year later...
10 minutes ago, Steubenhoosier said:

 

IMG_0577.webp.cabded31aacc190820e5e2221774f408.webp

This is the view on a property we have an accepted offer on in Western North Carolina (WNC) . We have been looking for a retirement second home for several years, interrupted by Covid and my wife’s back surgery. Really excited for this next chapter in our lives and fully blessed by God’s grace in allowing us to achieve this dream.

Congrats Steub.  Beautiful location.  

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37 minutes ago, Steubenhoosier said:

 

 

This is the view on a property we have an accepted offer on in Western North Carolina (WNC) . We have been looking for a retirement second home for several years, interrupted by Covid and my wife’s back surgery. Really excited for this next chapter in our lives and fully blessed by God’s grace in allowing us to achieve this dream.

Congratulations!!

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9 hours ago, Steubenhoosier said:

 

IMG_0577.webp.cabded31aacc190820e5e2221774f408.webp

This is the view on a property we have an accepted offer on in Western North Carolina (WNC) . We have been looking for a retirement second home for several years, interrupted by Covid and my wife’s back surgery. Really excited for this next chapter in our lives and fully blessed by God’s grace in allowing us to achieve this dream.

We'll be almost neighbors !

That's one helluva drop off outside your door and deck. Hope that deck has more than a couple of 4x4's holding it up.

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10 hours ago, Steubenhoosier said:

 

IMG_0577.webp.cabded31aacc190820e5e2221774f408.webp

This is the view on a property we have an accepted offer on in Western North Carolina (WNC) . We have been looking for a retirement second home for several years, interrupted by Covid and my wife’s back surgery. Really excited for this next chapter in our lives and fully blessed by God’s grace in allowing us to achieve this dream.

How close to Mount Airy?

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12 hours ago, Steubenhoosier said:

 

IMG_0577.webp.cabded31aacc190820e5e2221774f408.webp

This is the view on a property we have an accepted offer on in Western North Carolina (WNC) . We have been looking for a retirement second home for several years, interrupted by Covid and my wife’s back surgery. Really excited for this next chapter in our lives and fully blessed by God’s grace in allowing us to achieve this dream.

Very nice! We lived for a couple years on the coast of NC and I loved it. We vacationed in the mountains near your new second home and it was a beautiful area. Congrats!

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