Latest population boom going bust?

[Mainecoons]

My wife has volunteered at LCS for years at the information desk and also with another lady doing a seminar for newcomers.  She notes she has never seen as many newcomers as in the last year  and their seminars are always full.

FWIW.  Sure isn't a rental glut in my neighborhood. 

My Realtor buddies tell me affluent Tapatios are also buying homes here despite the obvious gringo pricing.  And as Harry notes the real estate folks are very happy these days.  At least  the ones I know.  The notario who handles various aspects of our business recently noted he's never been so busy with closings.

[gringal]

1 hour ago, ComputerGuy said:

Of course it's relative. But I live here, not up north. I don't compare. My income is in pesos. For me it's not a question of "what it is" somewhere else. I don't care what a dascha costs in Russia, or an igloo at the pole, or the price of a hamburger at "The Works" back home. The prices are "relative" to here, nowhere else.

For those who have chosen to move here from Canada or the U.S., it is reasonable to consider the cost of rent here, as opposed to there, and there is no reason to consider the cost of an igloo.  Most of the expats from Canada and the U.S. have incomes from those countries if they are retired, and rents here are a bargain in comparison.  The landlords and home sellers charge what the local market will bear; always have and always will, whether people are happy with it or not.

[Mainecoons]

I'm going to beat Angus to it here:

[CHILLIN]

2 hours ago, gringal said:

"High" is relative.  Compared to most locations up north, they are a screaming bargain.

I don't know about that. Here are Craigslist rentals for Courtenay-Comox valley area of Vancouver Island. This is where my mother, sister and nieces live. Other nephews are on Haida Gwai. Brand new hospital, very safe, low crime (a R.C.M.P. jurisdiction as well as a large military base), not freezing in the winters (mild side of the Island), lots of summer festivals of all types, lush summer gardens, lots of opportunities for world class fishing, hiking, skiing. Scenic Victoria a half days drive away. Excellent senior care homes and community recreation centres. Lots of part time employment opportunities. And the rents are about the same as here. This is where Canadian retirees want to move to. I am not a Canadian retiree though, I am a Mexican immigrant.

https://comoxvalley.craigslist.org/search/apa

 

[Ferret]

Nice try Chillin'. Some things are absolutely NOT comparable... like the weather.https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/14-day-weather-trend/british-columbia/courtenay

And I don't care that the homes are insulated there. It is a "cool" place to live and I mean that very literally because it doesn't get really warm in the summer either.

 

[CHILLIN]

22 minutes ago, Ferret said:

Nice try Chillin'. Some things are absolutely NOT comparable... like the weather.https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/14-day-weather-trend/british-columbia/courtenay

And I don't care that the homes are insulated there. It is a "cool" place to live and I mean that very literally because it doesn't get really warm in the summer either.

 

Well not everyone is dedicated to wearing bulky shorts, bulky tee shirts, and backwards baseball caps for every day left of their life.

http://www.cuatesycuetes.com/

[gringal]

1 hour ago, CHILLIN said:

I don't know about that. Here are Craigslist rentals for Courtenay-Comox valley area of Vancouver Island. This is where my mother, sister and nieces live. Other nephews are on Haida Gwai. Brand new hospital, very safe, low crime (a R.C.M.P. jurisdiction as well as a large military base), not freezing in the winters (mild side of the Island), lots of summer festivals of all types, lush summer gardens, lots of opportunities for world class fishing, hiking, skiing. Scenic Victoria a half days drive away. Excellent senior care homes and community recreation centres. Lots of part time employment opportunities. And the rents are about the same as here. This is where Canadian retirees want to move to. I am not a Canadian retiree though, I am a Mexican immigrant.

https://comoxvalley.craigslist.org/search/apa

 

I don't mean to be disagreeable, but I disagree that these are comparable.  I'll just cite one:

"$1125 / 1br - Brand New Apartments (Campbell River)"

 I know of several apartments in downtown Ajijic that rent for way less: as in the $500 to $700 range.  These are nice places, conveniently located to everything.   I don't know of any 1 bdrm. apts in this area for over $1000

[ComputerGuy]

2 hours ago, gringal said:

For those who have chosen to move here from Canada or the U.S., it is reasonable to consider the cost of rent here, as opposed to there, and there is no reason to consider the cost of an igloo.  Most of the expats from Canada and the U.S. have incomes from those countries if they are retired, and rents here are a bargain in comparison.  The landlords and home sellers charge what the local market will bear; always have and always will, whether people are happy with it or not.

Ah, but I'm here. I've been here a long time. I don't care what scouts think about the difference. Except when they try to jack up the prices of restaurant food. And housing.

[Alpha1]

2 hours ago, gringal said:

For those who have chosen to move here from Canada or the U.S., it is reasonable to consider the cost of rent here, as opposed to there, and there is no reason to consider the cost of an igloo.  Most of the expats from Canada and the U.S. have incomes from those countries if they are retired, and rents here are a bargain in comparison.  The landlords and home sellers charge what the local market will bear; always have and always will, whether people are happy with it or not.

Not sure the Mexican population would agree. 

[AngusMactavish]

3 minutes ago, Alpha1 said:

Not sure the Mexican population would agree. 

Of all the landlords I know, Mexican and otherwise, will not even entertain leasing to a Mexican.

[Xena]

3 minutes ago, AngusMactavish said:

Of all the landlords I know, Mexican and otherwise, will not even entertain leasing to a Mexican.

Huh, so where are all the Mexicans living — under a bridge? I have a friend who owns rental property here. She decided a couple years ago to no longer rent to foreigners. Too entitled, demanding, and in a couple of cases, crazy, she said. She rents to Mexican families for lower rent than she was getting, and they take care of the property. They’re happy. She’s happy. 

[AngusMactavish]

5 minutes ago, Xena said:

Huh, so where are all the Mexicans living — under a bridge?

 

I seem to live on the other side of town from you.

[gringal]

As for renting to or renting from a foreigner or a Mexican, I've heard from several people that Mexican landlords can be very difficult about getting anything repaired, so the problems seem to go both ways.  I am wondering at what point a reasonable request for repairs becomes "entitled"?

There are disadvantages to home ownership, but I'm glad to not be a renter in this era.

[Islander]

3 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

I don't know about that. Here are Craigslist rentals for Courtenay-Comox valley area of Vancouver Island. This is where my mother, sister and nieces live. Other nephews are on Haida Gwai. Brand new hospital, very safe, low crime (a R.C.M.P. jurisdiction as well as a large military base), not freezing in the winters (mild side of the Island), lots of summer festivals of all types, lush summer gardens, lots of opportunities for world class fishing, hiking, skiing. Scenic Victoria a half days drive away. Excellent senior care homes and community recreation centres. Lots of part time employment opportunities. And the rents are about the same as here. This is where Canadian retirees want to move to. I am not a Canadian retiree though, I am a Mexican immigrant.

 

Although I agree on everything you said , the winter weather on the Island is less than desirable. Wet , cloudy and sad. But... summers are glorious. And scenery is unbelievable .We live on Vancouver Island but closer to Victoria. I would not like to live anywhere else but I am happy to come to join you for a few months in the winter. And they are few of us.

The rental manager we rented from ....several times (Mexican lady) told us she does not like to rent to Mexicans. She does not even have the better properties on her website . She "evaluates" each customer in person. She feels responsible for the properties .  That is why it is sometimes hard to rent over the net if a person is a new to the area. It is good to establish connections.

===========================

On our deck in summer(on the Island)

and no less impressive view from one of the lovely Lakeside places we stayed in winter.....not so dissimilar views. No swimming pool or palms on the island and no outside gas heaters in Ajijic.

 

 

[RickS]

21 hours ago, kimanjome said:

I've been thinking about this a lot, as a younger baby boomer from the US.  Where are these millions and millions of boomers going to retire? 90% of them haven't saved enough money to continue to live a decent retirement lifestyle in the US, and how the heck are they going to pay for in home care, or even a maid to help them clean their homes when they are feeble?  And what about when they can no longer drive?  The US isn't cheap! I have no idea how or they will end up. Any ideas? Double wide trailers in rural Arkansas?

While I agree with the sentiment that soooo many people in the US are/will be without adequate funds to retire 'comfortably', I don't agree that all in that shape are completely doomed. Is there any place NOB that equals Mexico and especially Lakeside or San Miguel in all respects for a fairly cheap and robust life with a splendid climate? Well, if there is I surely haven't found it!  BUT, I don't think that, short of that opportunity, their life might as well end now.

For many in that condition there are places to live that rival Mexico and beat Lakeside with respect to cost. And with some level of SS and having Medicare it's plenty doable.... the connotation of a 'double wide in Arkansas' notwithstanding. Plus there are areas that have government programs of assistance to those who otherwise can't afford them. Medicare provides 'Medical' Home Care when needed; some states (Florida is one I am aware of)  will provide 'care' services such as meals, shopping assistance, trips to doctors, etc gratis for those qualifying.... and many can qualify.

IMO one cannot just take a broad stoke of the brush and say 'the US isn't cheap'. Where I live isn't cheap by any stretch but there ARE places I would live if circumstances were different than they are. Most of them come with some drawback (for me and many others) but if one hasn't sufficient funds to live in the 'perfect place' one doesn't have to spend the rest of their life in North Dakota' winters or California's cost. In my 'lookings around' I have seen MANY homes for $200k that would rival what I have here that would sell for $350k today. Now I realize that the boomers we are talking about cannot afford even a $200k home, but in those areas where that exists there are plenty of homes/modulars/manufactured homes selling for less than $30k.... my FIL sold his for $18k! Wouldn't work for me and surely wouldn't work for my wife but IF we were trying to 'live on nothing' as is the subject here I would snap one up in a heart beat.

Now whether folks in the circumstances that are being discussed will actually pick up and move to one of the cheaper places... well that is another kettle of fish. But the pictures may not be as bleak as we, with other means and higher expectations, may believe.

 

 

[CHILLIN]

It also comes down to jobs. I could pick and choose a lot of part time jobs for $10 to $14 per hour. And these are relatively stress free jobs, like customer service, pizza places. My 17 year old niece has three part time jobs. So doing the math, I could work 8 hours a day, for three days a week, for a monthly income of around $1,200. Taxes would be minimal. No healthcare costs. So with six month savings I could have one nice winter vacation in Mexico. Or I could take a ferry over to Vancouver, sign up either of my two union cards, and make $40 per hour, for 12 hour days, usually 5.5. day weeks. Thats about $12,000 per month, until I put a contracting crew together and make almost double that. Those opportunities are just not even possible Lakeside, nor will they ever be.

[AngusMactavish]

I do not think many really wish to leave the US because of what Mexico is known mostly for in their minds, disregarding the language thing.

[Xena]

3 hours ago, AngusMactavish said:

I seem to live on the other side of town from you.

So you meant people living in your neighborhood  won’t lease to Mexicans? 

[AngusMactavish]

2 minutes ago, Xena said:

So you meant people living in your neighborhood  won’t lease to Mexicans? 

I mean:

3 hours ago, AngusMactavish said:

Of all the landlords I know, Mexican and otherwise, will not even entertain leasing to a Mexican.

 

[Xena]

1 minute ago, AngusMactavish said:

I mean:

 

Your response  to me of “I seem to live on the other side of town from you“ caused me to think you were discussing your neighborhood. 

[AngusMactavish]

Just now, Xena said:

Your response  to me of “I seem to live on the other side of town from you“ caused me to think you were discussing your neighborhood. 

I was trying to be kind, so... I seem to be in a different social circle than you.

[Xena]

9 minutes ago, AngusMactavish said:

I was trying to be kind, so... I seem to be in a different social circle than you.

Hahahahahaha! I guess so. Something for which I am most grateful. 

[AngusMactavish]

10 minutes ago, Xena said:

Hahahahahaha! I guess so. Something for which I am most grateful. 

[Xena]

I remain even more grateful. 

[johanson]

Islander, be glad you are not on "The Island" today, or in Hongcouver, Seattle, or even Portland, Oregon.  A cold wave has hit. And there was snow two days ago and more snow is predicted for this Friday and Saturday. And I mean a lot more snow in some areas, as much as 30 cm or a foot of snow is predicted.