We absolutely thought about it, and climate change IS affecting homeowners now. For example, the Outer Banks are eroding at a frightening pace, and water is becoming a big concern in CA and the SW. We were also concerned about hurricanes and earthquakes and eliminated the areas historically prone to those.
Beside the fact that we just love the beauty of Maine and have friends and family there, we bought the second property partly as a hedge against the issues facing our primary home in AZ, mainly heat and water. The cabin has a well, and the summers are quite cool compared to AZ. Weâve drastically cut back our on HVAC use/need by eliminating the summer AC bill in AZ and any winter heating in ME. Basically, we live in a temperate climate year-round now with no concern for fresh water, very much driven by climate change concerns.
Yes. We relocated to a large city in a northern Midwestern state. As the climate warms up we will be (are already) impacted but not as negatively as many other places. We are also in an area less prone to other natural disasters. Flooding will not be an issue.
Yes for us. We hopefully wonât leave our primary home but we have been thinking about a vacation home. The one area we were considering now seems to be prone to more frequent yearly fires. Thatâs a deal breaker for me.
We have family that consulted all kinds of flood charts and water level predication models before they bought their waterfront condo.
We have definitely thought about. We are looking to buy a second home somewhere south near a beach, but not too near a beach. I donât want to be flooded regularly or to have the access to our house cut off by flooded roads on a regular basis.
No, but we donât buy house at the top of the hill because of mudslide and no ocean front property because of the tsunami, rising sea level, and itâs often too cold.
Our house is less prone to earthquake and flood because of where it is located, very convenient to get to places.
If we relocate itâll be for grandkids so weâd move anywhere, but I absolutely have considered climate change in any future moves. This week ds2 vacationed in the Florida Keys, and I found myself wondering whether theyâd be around for the long haul.
Climate change is a concern for us as we plan to either get a second or primary home in Las Vegas. Right now we are just renting there in the winter. If climate change makes a lot of people decide they canât handle the summer heat, then property values there might fall a lot. Nevada has actually been making a ton of progress on water conservation, but we need federal action there to bring about a more sane distribution policy. This might be a reason to hang on to our place in Chicago if we can swing it financially.
So true! Most of Hâs family lives nearby, so they donât really need to stay overnight at our house. And when people do stay with us, itâs no more then 1 or 2 people at the mostâŠ
Yes, we did. We talked about owning a home in the beach town where I spent part of my childhood. The last straw was a map that depicted the expected flood levels after various strength tropical storms and hurricanes. We didnât want to have to deal with bugging out in our last years or worrying about mold remediation and repairs.
Our son lives in New Orleans, and we are considering retiring there. There is a dynamic tension between not wanting too many stairs for the days when thatâs difficult for us vs an elevated house, less likely to flood. Weâd likely invest in the most wind-proof roof, hurricane shutters, and a generator. And weâd have a low threshold for evacuation. We are probably crazy to even consider this. Oh, and our other kids are in Los Angeles and San Francisco, so they have earthquakes, droughts, mudslides, and fires. Hmmmm where we are now is sounding better and better.
I certainly considered current climate when thinking about where to move, and gave some consideration to future climate. We look at the âoppressive indexâ as part of deciding where we might want to retire. We took Wilmington NC off our list, partly bc of hurricane risk.
Having lived in SF and still have friends and relatives living there, I would NOT worry about mudslides and fires. And the last major earthquake was in 1989, which damaged very little housing stock.
And most old and new housing, commercial, office, etc. since the âbig one,â has been built or rebuilt to a very high standard and earthquake proofed.
I live close to the CA coastline and will remain here. Weâll have to continue to think of ways to reduce our water consumption, like replacing lawn with turf and even more drought resistant plants, but other than that, I have no concern over earthquakes, mudslides or fires.
Most of the fires, up here in the Northern part of the state, are in the more rural areas of Northern California, around Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Butte, Plumas, Lassen and Shasta. However, the smoke from the fires often makes it down to the SF Bay Area, creating some bad air days.
Itâs not rural for fires anymore. This year, our local area near the coast with houses in the $5-10 million were on fire. Google Coastal fire in Laguna Niguel 2022 and youâll see.
Yes. We have thought about it. It is one of ShawWifeâs reasons for not living in Marin (fires and smoke; rising ocean levels though that will be slower). I would like to spend time in a warm climate in the winter and am definitely wary of coastal property in Florida, especially the Atlantic Coast.
Perhaps climate change will not happen in states whose governments are run by climate change deniers. This would simplify matters.
Yes, I used to live near that area and I was surprised that they had a fire even. NorCal has more rural areas, SoCal has Santa Ana Wind. In 2020, my area and my brotherâs area had to be evacuated in the fall.
Thanks for sharing those thoughts. Itâs somehow good to hear Iâm not alone in taking this into account.
Thanks for that article, sushiritto. I was surprised to see CO near the top (best) in terms of climate change manageability -with the recent unprecedented fires and (seemingly?) unusual heat. Thatâs hopeful.
I was particularly interested in the points made about being near sufficient water - be it lakes or wells. I hadnât thought of that. It would really add to self-sufficiency to have water nearby - thatâs something you definitely cannot do without.
We absolutely took climate change into consideration when buying our retirement home near the water. No matter where you go, the climate will be affecting life there in ways that are new and significant. Anyone who doesnât consider the effects of climate change in a new location is being foolish.