Reply to Opting out of coast madness to live a low overhead life

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a follow up to that Atlantic article that was discussed on here recently ("The Secret Shame of the Middle Class.") She's basically saying the author should have left the NYC area for a fly over state. Applies to us schmucks in DC too, I guess. What do you think?

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/05/low-overhead-life/480612/[/quote]

I haven't read this thread but I did read many of the Disqus comments to the Atlantic article and I recommend you do also. People made some good points that picked apart most of the article. I can summarize:

1) The author talks about living "surrounded by poverty" but Shaker Heights is an affluent suburb of Cleveland with a high median income and excellent schools.

2) The author briefly mentions that her parents are loaded but does not expand on how this has affected or will affect her life. In particular, she does not mention whether or not she is expecting a large inheritance. If she is, this would make her very relaxed about her retirement and would make it more psychologically comfortable to earn a low income.

3) The reason why the rust belt cities are cheap is partly because they are not blessed by world-class climate or geographical beauty, but mostly because the local economy is on a long downward slide with jobs and population both decreasing, and house prices falling or flat. Therefore, moving to the rust belt or deep south for a "low overhead life" is only feasible if you have one of the very few good jobs in the area (doctor at Clevelan Clinic, tenured professor at Case Western), or you have a work-from-anywhere job like the author. Both of these two types of jobs are exceedingly rare. Most people must: a) live where they work and b) work where they live.

So basically I think this article is about as helpful as the other Atlantic article: not very.

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Idk. My in laws live in upstate NY. They all live in a nice inner city suburb with beautiful Tudor and craftsman houses dating from the 20s-40s that cost well under 500k. Schools are among the best in the state. They live near a major research university so neighbors tend to be politically liberal and well educated. Commutes are super short and hardly deserve the word. My BIL once let it slip to my DH that he makes well over 500k (way more than us here in DC). My MIL and FIL have a second home in the 1000 islands and my BIL and SIL are thinking about buying in the finger lakes area. They have a country club membership at a golf course considered to be one of the best in the country. There are lots of parks nearby if you like hiking and nature, a world class children's museum, a very good local symphony, lots of festivals in the summer. They often take off for the weekend and go skiing in the Adirondacks. Things that suck: winter if you hate the snow (which I personally don't) and high property taxes. But those taxes are partially what make the schools so good so they say it's hard to complain too much. I've been trying to get my DH to move back but he's a fed so he's reluctant to venture back into the private sector.[/quote]

How's the ethnic food?  How much diversity is there?[/quote]

Ha!  You sound like a Seinfeld character!  Great schools, high income, beautiful homes, amazing nature....but what I really care about is the proximity to ethnic food....[/quote]

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