"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
07/28/2017 at 16:05 • Filed to: None
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"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
07/28/2017 at 16:05 • Filed to: None | 1
| 17 |
I live in Boulder county, Colorado. Not boulder itself, but about a 20-25 minute drive east. We’ve seen at least 10% equity growth on our houses for the last 4 years and it’s still going. The penalty for such rapid growth and seriously low unemployment? Having to see the demographic change. I’m unsure how good that is.
Many fear change. I’m a progressive but I do like to get used to something before it’s gone. I like my downtown turning from half vacant shop fronts and pawn shops into an enjoyable and thriving downtown. I like seeing the town organizing outdoor events and fun atmospheres. I like the neighborhoods of old houses actually well taken care of and pleasant to drive through. What I’m not digging is that the rapid growth is faster than the town can adjust. Boulder cannot build out into protected land, but only up and even then, it’s height limited - no skyscrapers. So anyone moving in finds either a $650,000 three-bedroom house not near town or they move to a bedroom community; my town.
Don’t worry, I’m bringing up cars.
I now avoid main street (the main north-south artery through town) because it’s become crowded and with the stop lights, never gets moving well enough to ever hit a few green lights in a row; that’s not during rush hour. I now take the side streets of neighborhoods. The highway connecting us to boulder is one of the maddest rush hour adventures of late. For a while, I used to see stickers on most trucks and some other cars picturing the Colorado license plate with the word Native printed. I get it now.
Should anyone be an aggressive driving or fully inconsiderate asshole, swerving between lanes and traffic, parking asshatly or of the type complaining that they aren’t allowed to destroy a mountain so they can build their dream house, I will bet money on it that they own an out of state plate 92% of the time; 50% a California plate. Along with that is the real point. The change in car culture with the change in the city culture.
Only 10 years ago, everyone had a Subaru or a Tacoma with the occasional Audi sprinkling. Today, I see quite a few Maserati’s and Porsche SUV’s and Jaguars with popping exhaust. Car culture? Sure, we got it. I even saw a Mclaren orange Mclaren at a small diner a while back and I saw a few trust fund CU students in Lambo’s, dude. We always liked our cars out here, but what I’m seeing now is attached, I hate to say it, to moron owners.
I mean moron in not the judgemental way, but in a where the fuck do you think you are way . I love biscuits and gravy but I’m not going to slam my fist down on the counter in Japan and demand my biscuits and gravy breakfast there. However, I guess this is what is coming. Everyone want’s to be here and will bring what they only know as their system in tow, demand to build ugly homes in protected areas on mountain sides and screw up the view for everyone else. So what is really more American than going somewhere different and demanding it become what your home town is like? So should I or we be angry at the changing culture inherent with regional economic success? I don’t know, that would be getting angry at American values, wouldn’t it?
It makes me feel older, but I’m 43 and perhaps this is how I’m supposed to feel. I don’t want to feel like grandpa chasing kids out of his yard. So, go ahead and bring whatever you bring, just not into my back yard and don’t fuck up my biscuits and gravy, I like this recipe.
How’s your regional growth and success changing your daily life?
Textured Soy Protein
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:20 |
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Here in Madison, our economy is very good, but we haven’t been invaded by outsiders in that way. Our problem is more on the low end of the economic spectrum: people are migrating here from places like Chicago because our crime is lower and our social services are much better.
Most of the old, established neighborhoods, at least the ones in good parts of town, have steadily increasing property values and are generally desirable. There are also new developments on the outskirts of town with bigass McMansions if that’s your thing.
There are other nice, old neighborhoods that unfortunately thanks to inclusionary zoning are too close to areas that were built as affordable housing but have become crime-infested pockets of Section 8 housing and general bad behavior. The nice neighborhoods near these places are still nice, but their proximity to the bad places drives the property values down. As the property values go down, more of the rental units convert over to Section 8, and more of the homes get sold at low prices, and crime takes over the neighborhood. Even when it’s not crime, you have a bunch of people who don’t give a shit crossing the road in the middle of the road instead of going to the crosswalk. There is one main road that I kid you not, there’s a crosswalk at one intersection that has a traffic light, and the next block thre’s another crosswalk that’s not at a light but there’s a button pedestrians can push to turn on a giant blinky strobe light crosswalk sign, and yet assholes are constantly not using either of these crosswalks and instead practically jumping into traffic.
So you have a concentration of the people with money in those older, more established neighborhoods that aren’t near the crime-y ones, where a half decent house starts at $350k and to get something very nice you can spend about $400k on up. Then you have not-fancy new developments along the outskirts with houses in the $275-325k range that are mostly people who want to avoid being near the crime-y parts of town who are willing to buy ticky tack cookie cutter houses on the outskirts of town because while they may be boring and all look the same and have not much trees because the land they’re on used to be corn fields, at least they’re safe and not near crime. There’s also tons of apartment buildings being built in these former corn field areas on the edge of town, and people will pay more to rent these apartments than it costs to buy a house in some of the areas that are closer to the crime pockets.
There’s very much a racial/segregation component to this as well, but at the same time, you can’t fault people for wanting to get the hell out of a neighborhood when you have shootings and general lawlessness so close by, and they can afford to live somewhere else.
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:22 |
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My equity is double-take worthy compared to what we paid for this little house in 2014, which is a result of the absolutely bonkers Seattle-area housing market.
My experience based on working vaguely with homes and new construction over the last 4 years yields similar observations: few buying these homes are from the area.
Driving to anywhere, from anywhere, at anytime, is a joke.
However, because I am directly benefiting from all of this financially, it’s hard to complain. Thank God I bought a house when they were still cheap though.
garagemonkee
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:24 |
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I’m loading my belongings up here in the Greater Seattle Area on Wednesday and driving to my newly-purchased (100 year old) house in Ohio where I landed my dream job with a huge raise, and I don’t have a mortgage.
My response to it all was to leave. I’ve been gone for three months and I’m back for a week, and its pure insanity. I drove by a sign on a development that said “new home, starting from the 900's”
My town hasn’t been what it was for a while now, but I’ll simply go where I can find my town again. I think I’ve found it. And I can afford it, unlike here.
Future next gen S2000 owner
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:29 |
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I bought a house in “Denver” four years ago. Can’t wait to sell it when I move. Equity, sweet, sweet equity! I have considered moving to the west side but housing prices are ridiculous.
LoDo needs more high-rise condos and apt buildings.
Anyone know what the big new glass building going up in LoDo will be?
MarquetteLa
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:32 |
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When the average price of a home is more than $1 million , what do you expect people will be driving? The people who can afford to live here in Boulder aren’t house-poor.
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:34 |
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Here in Grand Rapids, MI, the city basically was derelict and bankrupt 20ish years ago. THe furniture and auto industry died out. Now it’s a mix of new growth and hipsters due to beer culture and some tech culture. It’s an odd mix, and the overall review from the people who stayed during that time is pretty positive. I’m one of the yung’uns who moved in after college from the overly suburbanized east side of the state. There’s a lot of tourism and art in the town now too. Many art schools, and some marketing and advertising firms are coming in nicely. It’s an interesting mix for sure.
Milky
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:39 |
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Well I’ve helped gentrify and have gotten priced out of a couple neighborhoods in Detroit. In less than 8 years.
Where I’m currently at is pretty nice for Detroit, mostly new cars with the occasional merc, maser, caddy, etc. But since I’ve moved in it seems like 3 out of 4 new tenants are white and under 30. Meaning less black families. Clearly I’m conficted because I’m doing it, but its also sad.
The point though is the car selection has declined drastically. The Donk section has vanished. The few old 70's boats are gone. The guy with a Viper moved out. The interesting stuff got replaced with Cruzes, new beetles, ford ranger with a “midwest” sticker on it, etc.
A new development went in close to where I am and immediately the tenants complained about noise. That area has been a hangout/burnout spot for years with no one living around there.
DONT KILL THE DETROIT CAR SCENE PLEASE.
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MarquetteLa
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 16:41 |
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In regards to the “Native” bumper stickers: Unless you’re actually Native American, we’re all immigrants. At some point in the last 200 years, your family moved from somewhere else to Colorado, and then fucked here. Congratulations, you were lucky to be born in a good place. My parents happened to fuck somewhere else, an empirically shittier place. Does that mean I’m bound to stay in the south for the rest of my life and emphatically dislike my environment?
Boulder is (in area) a very small city that is doing extremely well. There are growing pains. Clearly the city can’t and won’t stay the same as it has been over the past few decades.
EDIT: If you were born in 1974, you were part of the biggest population growth in Boulder’s history. 1960 = 37,718. 1970=66,870
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Grindintosecond
> MarquetteLa
07/28/2017 at 16:46 |
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True, but that average price is also driven by the folks cashing out their $15m places and moving....to my town. I feel resistant to believe the ones selling and moving out are the ones in maseratis and lambos.
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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Milky
07/28/2017 at 16:56 |
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Loud Marijuana Music? I wish to subscribe to your newsletter
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> garagemonkee
07/28/2017 at 17:11 |
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Same happened to us in San Francicso, but we moved to Portland (yeah, same problem here too and now we’re the gentrifyers!). I visited SF a few weeks back for the first time in a few months. It was stark how different it is to our life now. Can’t imagine dealing with the traffic, mayhem, and double parked ridshare drivers on every block.
I LOLed driving by my favorite exotic car dealership in town and seeing a new condo building come up across the street with one of those signs saying “Studios starting in the 800s!”….lol, no thanks even if I do get to stare at a Spyker all day from the bedroom window.
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MarquetteLa
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 17:13 |
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The average price is driven by limited quantity and high demand. The people who can afford these inflated prices, natives or not, will likely also own other expensive things. The same goes for any other small city with huge economic growth. That’s the way things are in our capitalist society. Would you rather you see your hometown in economic shambles and devoid of people, or would you rather see it flourish economically and go through some growing pains?
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ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 17:20 |
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It’s a shitty tough problem with no real solutions. It was so sad seeing how much things changed even in the 12 years I was in the SF Bay Area. I’m sure this happened during the dot com boom before I got there too, but it was so sad seeing San Francisco go from such a cool weird little city with very little pretense to just a horrible douchefest. We probably could have afforded to buy some dingy little place to stay but it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I’m not so sure the American experience is wanting things your way no matter where you go – but more so in embracing the local culture but also giving some of yours to make it better.
We moved to Portland last year – which is going through similar issues of its own, and I feel for the city. We’re definitely here for the long haul and are doing our best to get to know our new home and embrace the local way of life. In a weird way it is also nice being in not so much of a liberal bubble for miles around. I’m definitely very much on the progressive side of the political spectrum too, and while Portland proper is very liberal it is nice to see some diversity in thought and get to interact with people with opposing views – if anything just to remember that there are good people, and bad, from all walks of life. But there are some serious crazies too, a la Malheur occupation and the State of Jefferson.
just-a-scratch
> MarquetteLa
07/28/2017 at 17:31 |
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We are ALL immigrants if you lengthen the time cutoff enough for native status. Yes. That includes Native Americans. They came from Asia, just earlier than most of us.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Grindintosecond
07/28/2017 at 17:31 |
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“We’ve seen at least 10% equity growth on our houses for the last 4 years and it’s still going.”
In Toronto, house prices are up by over 30%... since 2014...
In terms of actual home prices, what that means is this:
The average price for a house is just short of CAD$1,000,000 (about US$800,000) right now in Toronto. And for Condo apartments, the average is a little over CAD$500,000 (about US$400,000). As you can see, house prices have gone up more... and basically cost double compared to what they cost 5-6 years ago.
And how is it affecting me? Well my property taxes are about $500/year higher than they were 9 years ago.
My home and car insurance is a little higher.
And traffic is noticeably worse. When I moved to my current area, I typically drove ‘against’ the traffic. 20 years ago, most people drove into the city for work in the morning, then drove back out to the suburbs in the evening. But for me, I live in the city and work in the suburbs... so I rarely ran into traffic... unless there was some big special event or some issue like a road closure or big collision.
However, over recent years, there has been a demographic shift that started back when fuel prices peaked in the mid 2000s where people started moving back into the city. Gradually there have been more and more days where I would hit bad traffic.
And this past year, it seems like that some days, my drive is as bad as the drive for people going in the other direction.
And financially, I’ve done very well with my house. Eventually when I downsize one day, I’ll make a very nice profit.
In terms of the area... it has gone from a semi-rough area that was popular with bikers (not the nice kind) to a ‘pretty nice and getting nicer’ area that still has some bikers around.
Actually the house I’m in was owned by a guy with a motorcycle... but with the divorce, he had to sell his motorcycle and the house.
And the house behind me was also owned by a guy who once had a motorcycle... but he had to sell the bike after the divorce as well... but he hung onto the house until recently.
Also, developers have been buying up the smaller/crappier houses and “renovating them”... where they are gutted and become twice their original size at the end of the reno.
There are also more college students around as the college nearby has been expanding.
On the whole, I like how my area is changing.
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MarquetteLa
> just-a-scratch
07/28/2017 at 17:41 |
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Native Americans have been living in Colorado and other places in the U.S. for 13,000 years. Yeah, they’ve been here a little longer than the rest of us.
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Milky
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/28/2017 at 17:53 |
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Well come on over! The weed is decriminalized and the music is loud.