Back from Aspen to Wonderland

Apparently Aspen is doing pretty well still:

https://therealdeal.com/2021/04/23/mountain-high-homebuyers-flock-to-and-reshape-ski-resort-towns/

I can't really remember a time Aspen wasn't doing well...? Palm Beach County is madness right now. I own one home here that has tripled since purchased in 2012.

FYI we canceled our ski trip out there this year. Anyone here ski out west this winter? I talked to a friend a couple of weeks that didn't cancel his trip, wound up getting covid, but not sure where along the way.

Went to Park City this winter, it was great. Obviously skiing is a pretty covid friendly recreation choice. Had a friend go out there for a “two week vacation” in July 2020 who is still there and now owns a townhouse.

Was in Telluride in March and had a great time. But definitely no desire to leave NY to live there

We're now fully vaccinated and my wife's ready for air travel again. We've been moving around pretty freely but it's all been via car. Maybe Chile this summer to get my ski fix...

I saw there was a giant music festival in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday, pretty wild. Looked like a few thousand people!

There was an article in the WSJ today about how increased insurance premiums could put a damper on the Florida market.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/insurance-costs-threaten-florida-real-estate-boom-11619343002?mod=hp_lead_pos7

Jackson in March - not ideal skiing but loved it and more importantly, love the vaccinated life.

The hottest housing market in the country? Coeur d'Alene.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lakeside-idaho-city-is-americas-hottest-housing-market-in-new-wsj-realtor-com-index-11619515802

Condos with a view of the lake can run $1000/ft. Houses are asking 3X the price of 5 years ago:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3566-S-North-Cape-Rd-Coeur-D-Alene-ID-83814/113139045_zpid/

These Nowheres feel like NYC in 2002.

I love Idaho, that along with Colorado have been on my radar. Just can't get myself to move off the coast though! And I've definitely been enjoying the year-round warm weather of Florida, coming up on my 10th anniversary here...

"In fact, more Manhattanites moved to Brooklyn than anywhere else between March 2020 and February 2021."

Business Insider: Florida isn't replacing New York after all.
https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-exodus-florida-temporary-move-migration-manhattan-brooklyn-2021-4

The macro change that I think we're seeing is the continued acceleration of the southern migration that started when A/C became affordable in the 1950s and 1960s, accompanied by a realization that the south (from Wilimington to Malibu) is miserable in the summer even with A/C. Hence there is increased interest in mountain areas for summer houses rather than winter houses. This is really flipping the script of fleeing the north in winter.

Interesting fact, when I was looking at real estate in the Vail area, I was told that they receive equal activity in the summer and the winter. With the muddy season being the quietest. I was a little bit surprised...

I'm one of the minorities I think that actually likes the hot humid Florida Summers. But I'm just a stone's throw from the ocean. Although NADA and I had this conversation, I think he feels the same way I do about the heat, he likes it. But it can be pretty overbearing for a lot of people.

Anyway I think it's a real super minority of people that can afford to have mountain homes in States like montana, wyoming, Colorado etc. I had a little weekend place in a town called Summit, New York, the highest point in Schoharie County. It was pretty damn hot there in July and August!

Depending on your lifestyle in Florida, even in the brutal months of July, August, October You've got The escape of your swimming pool and the ocean. But yeah you've got to like to heat, I also had a place in Costa Rica on the Central Pacific, not for everyone but I really loved the heat and humidity of living in a jungle..

Sorry, to throw shade on one your favorite locations, but I grew up on and off in northern Idaho and couldn't wait to get out of there. Yes, the resort towns (Cd'A amongst them) are nice places to visit, but I found the state to be overly conservative, with limited diversity, an astounding lack of knowledge of the larger world, and without a lot of economic opportunity. The state is also home to some of the nastiest racists in the country, who are largely given a pass on their behavior by locals. A large part of Idaho's growth has been fueled by second homeowners and retirees from southern states (looking at you, California), but wages and economic conditions for locals has lagged, and the state of education is appalling.

Let's be clear - some of the worst racists in the country are right here in NYC. Look at the rise in physical attacks on Asians and whoever else racists here don't like. Locals here step over the bodies on the street - not unlike when Kitty Genovese got murdered in Kew Gardens in 1964 and not a single person called for help.

In any event, NYC was a dump when you grew up, unless you were born some time after 1993, and the issues you cited in Idaho are rapidly changing.

George we'll have to agree to disagree, I moved into New York City in 1982, stopped being full-time here in 2012. And in 1982 I lived on avenue C and East 6th Street. Far from being a dump, there were a lot of things that actually made the city a much more livable place for many people. Certainly a much more interesting place. It changed and became something much different, and I accept that.

I definitely agree a lot of things could have been better without sacrificing the heart of the City. Driving through the burned out South Bronx in the seventies to have dinner on Arthur avenue, certainly much could have been done for the people of the Bronx.

Perhaps I'm being a bit nostalgic, however I raised two of my kids in the city of the '80s and '90s. It was definitely an extremely exciting place, perhaps not for the week of heart or those looking for a homogenized suburban experience in the midst of a great metropolis. Every neighborhood was so different, and you didn't need to be part of the 1% to comfortably live here.

Just feel the need to stick up for my old friend whom help me create some amazing memories and experiences.

As a teenager hanging out at the Mudd club or Max's Kansas City. Rubbing elbows with Andy Warhol, Jagger, Bowie, Iggy... The city was a pretty cool place...

"No one helped Kitty Genovese" has been debunked. Researchers now say that no one helped her, except for the bystander who scared off the attacker the first time, and the neighbors who called the cops.

Let's also be clear that "overly conservative, limited diversity" is a feature and not a bug for a significant portion of the population. Coeur d'Alene is over 93% white. Idaho voted 64% for Trump in the last election, which was up from 59% in 2016.

Wow, Ave C and 6th St is still a pretty rough area. Not as rough as Ave D and 6th St, which is one of the last totally ungentrified corners of this city. But still rough.

The bottom line is that it's easy to criticize flyover country and say how glorious NYC is, and how perfect it is, and nothing will ever be better than New York. New Yorkers do it all the time, and it only shows their own ignorance and self-importance and gives rise to people like Trump who recognize there's life beyond 11th Avenue. There are just as many a$$holes, racists, and other low-lifes in NYC as anywhere else. NYC is diverse - great. Tokyo is 94.5% of one ethnic group - less diverse than northern Idaho, and with more herbivore men than northern Idaho. So what. Many people who talk a big game about diversity have little if anything to do with anyone of a different socioeconomic class than themselves, except their house staff and doormen.

Simple fact is that Northern Idaho has the best-performing real estate market in the country, and NY ranked 299 out of 300.

I like the idea of a mountain getaway, I follow a couple of off-gridders with homesteads in Northern Idaho. I've just decided to stick with Airbnb rather than buying, especially now! Anyway good for those who owned homes there, maybe not so great if you're trying to buy..

Here's some pretty interesting real estate if you're looking for a concrete reinforced bunker! Wonder if they're also seeing an increase in sales? In the 80s in San Francisco there was a place called The Vats (look it up). An old brewery that was converted / squatted. My band shared what was essentially a giant concrete vat with another band. Families also live there and other artists. Later on they found the dust from the concrete was causing lung disease in long-term occupants. Wonder if the same could be true about the spaces below?

http://www.terravivos.com/secure/vivosxpoint.htm

"This former military base is no longer a target, having been retired since 1967."

Let's hope the ruskies have updated their target lists!

From the Vivos site:
"We first look for those individuals who may best contribute their skills and expertise to each shelter community, thereby providing the greatest chance of long-term survival of the entire group. Each candidate is reviewed based on a number of criteria." and. "...a member of the Vivos Selection Team will review it and if they determine you are a worthy candidate".

Curious to know what the equal housing laws are in SD.