Do people in big cities want to move to smaller towns where the cost of living is lower?

x429496729

For example, in Owensboro, KY, you can buy a nice brick house on a big lot in a nice neighborhood for $75,000. The same house would cost many times more in a big city. And everyday expenses are lower too. The prices of various common groceries are lower, taxes are much lower, utilities are drastically lower, insurance is much lower, etc. When people in a big city retire or whatever, such that they no longer need to be near a particular job, doesn't it make sense for them to simply move away, to a place like Owensboro, or any of hundreds of other such places?

I know it's common for people in NYC to move to Florida when they retire. But Florida is not all that great. It often gets way too hot and humid, and it has way too many mosquitoes. And lots of other problems. And houses there, while cheaper than NYC, are still too expensive for a lot of people on fixed incomes.

But, places like Owensboro, KY, solve the problem completely. You can live very well on social security in Owensboro, and own your own house, etc. So why don't more people take advantage of that, and move to such places?

For example, http://owensboro.craigslist.org/rea/ shows prices of houses in Owensboro. And you could go to the Sams Club website to look up the prices of things at the Owensboro Sams Club, to compare them with the Sams Clubs in big cities. Such as a gallon of milk for $1.92 vs $3.29, etc.
Moving to a city like Owensboro, Kentucky, is an increase in your standard of living and socioeconomic status. Being packed like sardines in a big city is nothing to be proud of.
Owensboro is not exactly a hick town. It's the 3rd largest city in Kentucky. Is the corn likker too strong for ya?
Few people willingly raise their standard of living in life. Moving to such a different place is scary. People have fears that it might turn out to be a hick town where the locals might gang up on them or whatever. Just like kids don't want their families to move to a new city because the kids in their new school might not like them.
Country hicks are not "narc happy". You watch too many movies. Even in the smallest towns, where everybody knows everybody else, people are friendly even to strangers, and don't tend to narc on them, even for real code violations, much less your imaginary violations.
As for getting a job in Owensboro, the problem is not that they don't hire outsiders, but that there is a recession where everyone has trouble getting good jobs, even in big cities. But if you're willing to work, and don't mind working via a temp agency, there are actually jobs available in Owensboro, even for people who moved here from out of state recently. Not the kind of jobs people would move for, but the point is that being an outsider hardly makes any difference, as the locals can't get good jobs either in this recession, but can only get the same temp jobs an outsider can get.
Your point about your driveway not being paved right and your garage having peeling paint has nothing to do with small towns. The place where such things are a problem is a neighorhood with a homeowner's association. And that kind of neighborhood is a lot more common in big cities than smaller cities like Owensboro.
Commuting 40 minutes to a big city is not the same as moving a long way away to get away from the costs and problems of a big city. The kind of move I mean, you wouldn't even be within commuting distance of any big city. Owensboro is about an hour or two from the nearest big cities, if you consider Louisville, Nashville, etc., to be big cities. A 40 minute commute to those cities would require you to drive about 150 MPH. Aren't you afraid a country hick cop with corn likker on his breath would chase ya?

Answer
I live in the country and commute 40 minutes to work. I live stress free and am saving much more money than my peers that live in the suburbs close to the city. I have the same size house as them, except I'm on two acres instead of their 0.25 acres, and I paid about 60% of what they paid. My neighbors are awesome and we don't care if someone leaves their X-mas lights up all year. My kids ride their bikes and play in the woods all day and we don't worry about their safety. I can understand why people like living close to "everything", but it's just not worth the price and stress to me.

Would you switch to a smart car?

http://www.smartusa.com/index.aspx

40 mpg, tiny, European... good for city driving?

Answer
I have read negative reviews about the car in the past couple months; but, I could only find positive reviews when I just searched the web.

I used to live in NYC. The value proposition of a tiny, safe, economical car that you can almost carry upstairs with you into your 3rd floor walkup is pretty clear. It should sell like hotcakes. Although, those of you who know the kind of laneless weaving that goes on in NYC, can only imagine this thing cutting in and out of bikes in the bike lane...

Would an overprotective father buy one for his child to take to college? I don't know. I don't know about where you live, but where I live, people drive SUVs--normal SUVs, large SUVs, and mammoth SUVs. I'm not even counting the Hummers. You don't have to imagine too hard what would happen in a collision between this smart car and the dominant vehicle on the road near me. Let's not even think about getting passed by a semi in the rain on the NJ Turnpike.

I have read a review that states that the passenger cabin survived intact in a major collision with a large Mercedes Benz sedan, despite the fact that the rest of the body was "pulverized". I'm not sure that is enough of a business case to have me put my kid into one of these otherwise highly practical automobiles.

Bottom Line: It's Cool; it's economical and green; it's unbelievably practical in an environment like a big city where parking is competitive; and, it claims it is safe.

As for me, I think I will watch the accident statistics for the first couple years before I place my child into one of these. I'll settle for my 2-year old Prius. Maybe in Europe, where the size and weight differences between the smart fortwo and the average automobile aren't huge, I would be less concerned. But, here in the good ol' USA where the Buick is, or at least was, King, I will claim to be from Missouri when it comes to safety. Show me...

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Do people in big cities want to move to smaller towns where the cost of living is lower?
Rating: 94% based on 932 ratings. 4,1 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thanks For Coming To My Blog