Would Redding be a better alternative to Phoenix and Las Vegas? (warehouse, business)
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Well yeah there are exceptions to the rule but they are only a tiny slice of the pie.
Way way way more cheap desert locations than places that charge 3.7M for a house.
Don’t cha think?
That's beside the point, which is that supply and demand determine RE prices, not climate. I provided Ketchum as but one example of a place with hot/cold climate that is expensive. There are many many areas throughout the west with hot and/or cold climates that are expensive: Jackson, Crested Butte, Aspen, Telluride, McCall, etc.
Boise is located in a desert, but the median home price is around $500k, and in certain neighborhoods such as the North End, median price is around $900k. On more than one occasion we've had visiting friends from California assume the stately historic homes are "like $500k" and then are taken aback when we're like "no, that's a $3M house."
Many of the population centers of the Mountain West are located in desert: Boise, SLC, Phoenix, LV, etc. Housing in these areas, while more affordable then much of coastal CA, isn't exactly cheap. Median price in most of these places is somewhere around $500k, which is approximately on par with Sacramento, Portland, Eugene, Tacoma, and even the north coast of CA (e.g. Eureka).
Last edited by AnythingOutdoors; 12-10-2023 at 02:25 PM..
Now if we drew a big picture of a pie that was all the available desert property just how much of that pie would have $3.7M homes?
Yes there are places like Palm Springs and those over priced places in Idaho but for every one of those there are literally hundreds and hundreds of towns like Barstow and unincorporated desert areas in a 5-6 state region are not selling very many homes for $3.7M.
I’m not knocking Idaho.
I love it and could see me living there in a New York minute if it had a marine area.
Not having a beach is a deal breaker for me though.
I do see your point about Idaho’s supply and demand issues when it comes to real estate.
A good portion of those properties have what doubled in value this last 4-5 years right?
That said,
I think it’s still a very small piece of the pie when it comes to the big picture.
I also happen to agree with you.
I just think we are talking about different things.
Now if we drew a big picture of a pie that was all the available desert property just how much of that pie would have $3.7M homes?
Yes there are places like Palm Springs and those over priced places in Idaho but for every one of those there are literally hundreds and hundreds of towns like Barstow and unincorporated desert areas in a 5-6 state region are not selling very many homes for $3.7M.
I’m not knocking Idaho.
I love it and could see me living there in a New York minute if it had a marine area.
Not having a beach is a deal breaker for me though.
I do see your point about Idaho’s supply and demand issues when it comes to real estate.
A good portion of those properties have what doubled in value this last 4-5 years right?
That said,
I think it’s still a very small piece of the pie when it comes to the big picture.
I also happen to agree with you.
I just think we are talking about different things.
All the best.
Andy.
I'm just keying in on your suggestion that climate determines RE prices. There are just too many counter examples. And trying to average across the entire desert (or any biome) is just not a meaningful metric. Nobody's going to confuse Murphy, ID with Boise or suggest they are remotely similar even though they're both in the same desert.
Median home price in Reno is around $540k, whereas in nearby Lovelock, NV it's $250k. That's a very big difference even though they essentially share the same climate. What then accounts for the difference? Jobs, income, medical care, services, culture, dining... these are but some of the reasons people value living in Reno more than Lovelock.
I suppose it should also be pointed out that San Diego is in a desert.
I think you are overlooking a large section of the country that meets most of your criteria and does not get snow. We have family on the panhandle of Florida which is more affordable than South/Central FL. We just returned from a warm-up trip visiting them along the Emerald Coast. It is beautiful even in December with white sand beaches, palm trees, sun and mild temps. Best of all, the northern part of Florida is less susceptible to bearing the brunt of hurricanes like central/southern FL is. Our family members retired to Ft. Walton Beach and have lived there 30+ years. They've never sustained hurricane damage in that time while most of the rest of the state has.
I would also look to places around east and west of Florida such as Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. There are warm areas in the south with a much higher QOL over places like Redding, Vegas or Phoenix.
Here are a few recent pics, the first from yesterday in Pensacola where it was 73 degrees just before we flew home.
Derek
Hmm I might have to reconsider Florida, it does meet most of my criteria and it's not as crazy expensive as most of California. Thanks for sharing, nice pics
Hmm I might have to reconsider Florida, it does meet most of my criteria and it's not as crazy expensive as most of California. Thanks for sharing, nice pics
While keeping in mind no place will be perfect especially for a bargain price, southern living can beat much of the west coast when it comes to housing prices and other expenses. I just paid $2.60/gal for gas while there and we found an oceanfront condo for $70 a night since its off season.
Another beautiful spot I visit for work is Charleston, SC. Although its gotten very popular lately and so prices have gone up accordingly.
If you go to the Florida CD forum. you will see a lot posts similar to yours. They will also recommend adjoining states with some lessor known spots that offer great bang for the buck.
I'm just keying in on your suggestion that climate determines RE prices. There are just too many counter examples. And trying to average across the entire desert (or any biome) is just not a meaningful metric. Nobody's going to confuse Murphy, ID with Boise or suggest they are remotely similar even though they're both in the same desert.
Median home price in Reno is around $540k, whereas in nearby Lovelock, NV it's $250k. That's a very big difference even though they essentially share the same climate. What then accounts for the difference? Jobs, income, medical care, services, culture, dining... these are but some of the reasons people value living in Reno more than Lovelock.
I suppose it should also be pointed out that San Diego is in a desert.
San Diego is actually not at all a desert by definition. Many people think this for some reason, but it's incorrect. It's on the cusp of Mediterranean and semi-arid coastal, with 90 percent of the metro area being Mediterranean. Average annual rainfall is right around 10 inches at the airport and up to 15 inches inland, with most areas around 13 inches. Dry but nowhere near desert, especially when factoring in only moderate soil evaporation due to the mild climate. The actual desert starts east of our mountains and can be seen like night and day in the landscape and climate. Just an FYI
While keeping in mind no place will be perfect especially for a bargain price, southern living can beat much of the west coast when it comes to housing prices and other expenses. I just paid $2.60/gal for gas while there and we found an oceanfront condo for $70 a night since its off season.
Another beautiful spot I visit for work is Charleston, SC. Although its gotten very popular lately and so prices have gone up accordingly.
If you go to the Florida CD forum. you will see a lot posts similar to yours. They will also recommend adjoining states with some lessor known spots that offer great bang for the buck.
Derek
Charleston is one of the most beautiful and vibrant small cities in the country, we love it. But in the historic part of the city, it's become unaffordable and is prone to frequent flooding. Suburbs are still a good bet though.
Couldn't personally handle the heat and humidity of Florida and would definitely miss access to mountains and winter snow, but housing prices sure are better in most places, and the ocean is at least fifteen degrees warmer than here in San Diego, so I would at least be in that water! Gas prices are nice but hardly a reason to uproot your entire life, more of a nice bonus
Charleston is one of the most beautiful and vibrant small cities in the country, we love it. But in the historic part of the city, it's become unaffordable and is prone to frequent flooding. Suburbs are still a good bet though.
Couldn't personally handle the heat and humidity of Florida and would definitely miss access to mountains and winter snow, but housing prices sure are better in most places, and the ocean is at least fifteen degrees warmer than here in San Diego, so I would at least be in that water! Gas prices are nice but hardly a reason to uproot your entire life, more of a nice bonus
It's important to keep in the mind the context of the OP's quest and limited options for cheap(er) living. When it comes to living in places like Redding, Phoenix or Vegas vs. the Florida coast or other southern states, there's really no contest in terms of QOL. Of course, you have to accept some cons with anyplace to get the pros including humidity. But that's true for any tropical location like HI, Costa Rica, etc... and many people still love it. Personally, I would take some humidity to live in a tropic climate. Also important to note, places further north such as northern FL have less humidity than areas such as Miami. But that doesn't make Miami any less a popular destination nor the Bahamas, etc...
For all the people who complain about humidity, there are likely more that would move to such places if given the chance. Hence, its also why many southern coastal areas are growing in population like Charleston. I think it boils down to personal tastes. I've never minded humidity if I have somewhere to cool off with some decent A/C. While others would rather live in snow country or even the hot, dried out dessert. I personally hate dessert climates due to the lack of humidity after living in the high dessert and would take tropical climates including ocean access any day over that type of living.
Even growing up along the SoCal coast, I grew tired of the climate there and lack of rain. And the overcrowding combined with all the traffic, pollution and ludicrous COL made it not so great any more. The increased risk of fires are ever present and very evident just looking at all the dried out hills. After close family members' home burned to the ground in one of those CA firestorms, it became more of a reality than simply watching it on the news. Bottom line is no place is perfect. But you accept with pros with the cons if you generally like it regardless. We traded coastal CA for WA and enjoy it more up here now. But we have colder winters which some fair weather folks could definitely not tolerate. Although that's hard to tell with all the Californians moving to the PNW.
Lots of people (and I’m one) tend to complain about humility because of things like heat sweat and bugs.
Well, here is humidity and then there is humidity.
I live in a very humid area.
Our area in the rain shadow hardly rains at all but is green as all get out because of the humidity.
Even when there is no fog we have a higher humidity rating than a lot of other areas.
It took a while for me to realize this but I believe it’s true.
One of the effects of a humid area is that water transfers heat or cold (which is actually heat as well just less) differently.
It does it faster.
This might be where the “yeah but it’s a dry heat” comes from or why some people can thrive in Fargo.
I heard about Bethel church having a huge influence on the city, does having a large religious population keep the crime in check and make the town cleaner?
nope
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