Fighting for scraps off of the table

[MelroseHawkins]

Fry your making me home sick. Your story in Iowa sounds like my life except Belle Plaine is just 2000 people. My parents left their keys in the car all the time and didn’t even worry about locking the house. Our neighbors back yards combined with ours were big enough to play baseball and football.

Now I am out here in Utah in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. People are flocking in here from California driving the housing markets through the ROOF (no pun intended).

I knew things would be a little expensive when we left Georgia (eff those SEC fans) and thought I would find a home for around $175k to $225k……….. yeah right. We went into a subdivision with a model home and saw the price of that home (the largest of five models) at $335k. I left thinking those people are NUTS. Four months later I bought the second to smallest model at $410k. That was four years ago. Our home is now valued at over $800k. The state passed a law allows people to rent their basements out regardless of some HOA restrictions. The homes are all crammed together with small yards. We got a corner lot so our yard is slightly bigger but about a fourth of the size of what I grew up with in Iowa.

Doors locked, both cars and house with a security system. Packages delivered from FedEx, Amazon, or UPS get stolen off of peoples porches on a regular bases (I hope they catch those Iowa state grads one day…….lol, Couldn’t resist, had to punch little sister there). Yet this whole community is all new homes with a sheriff’s station sitting right in the middle of the community. I am guessing drugs or ease of life is the reason for these kids who were raised in homes with upper middle class to wealthy parents. Seems this last couple of generations are opposed to hard physical work. That could be a combination of the millennials and the “Z” generation who have had it too easy in life. Maybe they should be called the “EZ” generation. You older guys know what I am talking about. I’ll get off my soap box for now. I know it’s not all of them, but more than I’d care to see.

I have considered moving back to Iowa. Sell the house and pocket $700k and buy a home in small town Iowa at maybe $125k to $200k and bank the rest. Have a large garden and a couple of rockers out on a front porch.

Unfortunately the wifey loves her two year old grand daughter here in Utah too much to want to leave………. sigh.

Awesome investment, which actually leaves you some great opportunity and choices. Yea, when you can bank $400,000 that you may not have been planning, what a deal. Move back, find a "cheap" $200,000 home/condo and relax. What a deal.

 

[Fryowa]

Fry your making me home sick. Your story in Iowa sounds like my life except Belle Plaine is just 2000 people. My parents left their keys in the car all the time and didn’t even worry about locking the house. Our neighbors back yards combined with ours were big enough to play baseball and football.

Now I am out here in Utah in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. People are flocking in here from California driving the housing markets through the ROOF (no pun intended).

I knew things would be a little expensive when we left Georgia (eff those SEC fans) and thought I would find a home for around $175k to $225k……….. yeah right. We went into a subdivision with a model home and saw the price of that home (the largest of five models) at $335k. I left thinking those people are NUTS. Four months later I bought the second to smallest model at $410k. That was four years ago. Our home is now valued at over $800k. The state passed a law allows people to rent their basements out regardless of some HOA restrictions. The homes are all crammed together with small yards. We got a corner lot so our yard is slightly bigger but about a fourth of the size of what I grew up with in Iowa.

Doors locked, both cars and house with a security system. Packages delivered from FedEx, Amazon, or UPS get stolen off of peoples porches on a regular bases (I hope they catch those Iowa state grads one day…….lol, Couldn’t resist, had to punch little sister there). Yet this whole community is all new homes with a sheriff’s station sitting right in the middle of the community. I am guessing drugs or ease of life is the reason for these kids who were raised in homes with upper middle class to wealthy parents. Seems this last couple of generations are opposed to hard physical work. That could be a combination of the millennials and the “Z” generation who have had it too easy in life. Maybe they should be called the “EZ” generation. You older guys know what I am talking about. I’ll get off my soap box for now. I know it’s not all of them, but more than I’d care to see.

I have considered moving back to Iowa. Sell the house and pocket $700k and buy a home in small town Iowa at maybe $125k to $200k and bank the rest. Have a large garden and a couple of rockers out on a front porch.

Unfortunately the wifey loves her two year old grand daughter here in Utah too much to want to leave………. sigh.

Yep that kind of lifestyle is for the birds.

I’m fine with people thinking this is a trashy podunk flyover state. I don’t want more people moving here, I want fewer. If I want to go do something that only California or the east coast offers I’m a cheap plane ticket away (hint, there’s nothing that appealing), and that’s without any of the bullshit rat race.

I’ve lived in huge metros and I’ve lived in towns with a couple hundred people. City life sucks, imo. Suburbs suck, imo.

 

[BigD]

Awesome investment, which actually leaves you some great opportunity and choices. Yea, when you can bank $400,000 that you may not have been planning, what a deal. Move back, find a "cheap" $200,000 home/condo and relax. What a deal.

I googled least expensive housing in the U.S. and was pleasantly surprised to see Iowa number one. Other than Des Moines and Waterloo pretty low crime rates too. Oh you get a knuckle head here and there once in awhile, but over all a great place to raise a family and very affordable place to retire.

Yep great investment and maybe when my wife reaches retirement age and the grand daughter is 15 or 16 years old, maybe a quieter more peaceful place in a small town in Iowa will be more inviting to her. Then cash in the house and do what you suggesting. Sounds like a plan to me.

 

[HawkGold]

I googled least expensive housing in the U.S. and was pleasantly surprised to see Iowa number one. Other than Des Moines and Waterloo pretty low crime rates too. Oh you get a knuckle head here and there once in awhile, but over all a great place to raise a family and very affordable place to retire.

Yep great investment and maybe when my wife reaches retirement age and the grand daughter is 15 or 16 years old, maybe a quieter more peaceful place in a small town in Iowa will be more inviting to her. Then cash in the house and do what you suggesting. Sounds like a plan to me.

I'm in LA right now in Redondo. Wish I lived here. I live in one of the nicest small towns in Illinois. People move out when the kids graduate.

 

[HawkGold]

Yep that kind of lifestyle is for the birds.

I’m fine with people thinking this is a trashy podunk flyover state. I don’t want more people moving here, I want fewer. If I want to go do something that only California or the east coast offers I’m a cheap plane ticket away (hint, there’s nothing that appealing), and that’s without any of the bullshit rat race.

I’ve lived in huge metros and I’ve lived in towns with a couple hundred people. City life sucks, imo. Suburbs suck, imo.

You should try out Coppock.

 

[Fryowa]

You should try out Coppock.

Depending on where my son lives when (if) I get to retirement age, I’d love to move close to IC. For right now I’m somewhat stuck where I’m at unless someone on HN has a good job with lots of PTO for me.

Which is ok. I like my job and I like my coworkers even more.

 

[Fryowa]

I'm in LA right now in Redondo. Wish I lived here. I live in one of the nicest small towns in Illinois. People move out when the kids graduate.

I need changing seasons to a greater degree than what that part of the country offers (aside from all the crap I mentioned before).

I don’t know why.

I was too young to remember Iowa when we moved to Phoenix, but when I came back and experienced four distinct seasons I knew I couldn’t go back. In Arizona there are only one and a half seasons. Really fucking hot and not quite as hot.

I think part of what I like about living somewhere that can go from -35° to 105° with almost every weather event you can imagine is that by the time I get tired of one season, another is about to start.

 

[Hawkboys]

Depending on where my son lives when (if) I get to retirement age, I’d love to move close to IC. For right now I’m somewhat stuck where I’m at unless someone on HN has a good job with lots of PTO for me.

Which is ok. I like my job and I like my coworkers even more.

Housing prices are terrible in Johnson, Linn, Polk are surrounding counties to these.