The AP Finds the Dark Side of the Boom
As we have often noted, North Dakota is booming. This is what happens when you have a great business climate and develop your energy resources. Currently, there are more jobs than people in North Dakota, and workers from around the country are pouring into that little-populated state to earn six-figure incomes in the oil fields and supporting industries. Like every boom, this has consequences; among them, a housing shortage and rising house prices and rents. This is great if you own a home, not so great if you are a renter.
One might think that if the Associated Press were to write about North Dakota, it would focus on the state’s explosive growth and the lessons that other states might learn from North Dakota’s example. But no! The AP finds the dark side of the boom: “N.D. oil boom pushes seniors out.”......................................
"Ellavon Weber, 88, is getting elbowed out of the state entirely. She’s reluctantly moving to Arizona, where two of her three children live, leaving behind friends, her church and her weekly aerobics classes, as well as pinochle games and quilting bees. She says she will even miss the brutal winters.
Is this a comedy routine? The cruel consequence of explosive wealth creation is that Grandma has to join her children in Arizona, and can no longer enjoy brutal winters? The rest of the country should be so lucky!"........................
This always happens when some place becomes more attractive. Don't you live in the mtns of CO? Then you did it to this area, meet many real local Coloradans?
It happened in CO due to TX, Cali and everyone from everywhere. It happened in OR from Cali, it happened in VT from MA, it happened in WVA from NJ, it happened in FLA from all of us.
.
It is called a free market...it has the consequence of some people winning and some loosing, what is the alternative....have protests and debate whether we should just spread the money out no matter what decisions are made?
Keep in mind that those in ND that were paying attention, reading the news, understand history....were able to see this coming and buy up houses...If I was there, I would have made much $, so would many of you.
When this boom started anyone could get a loan, anyone could buy and you could have done the math pretty easy.
I don't feel so bad for people loosing out to economic shifts when they could have reaped the benefits from it. Keep in mind that our property tax systems kick people out of where they grew up all the time...usually when they are elderly and can no longer afford to keep the family's house, even though it is paid off, due to taxes (we are all just renters anyway).
Just remember that this is why there are minimal ranches left in SP. People wanted to move to CO, values went up beyond reality and towns on the front range bought all the water to feed lawns.
Our policies make it so if you stay in the same place and assume you should be stable, you will get screwed. You need to keep moving or change the govt to get ahead in real estate.
This is also part of renting, when you rent you pay more and you can have your rent changed or be kicked out...or even have your landlord sell. Happens all the time and should be assumed to happen to most renters in time. It will happen to owners via their taxes too. I am not saying the world is fair, just predictable.
Most of us could have written this story for future posting years ago.
Hey if we have a SP gas boom, it will happen here before all the properties are worthless due to pollution and wasted land and the BOCC moves to Cali and Fla.
It is called an unsustainable economy, and most of us are heavily invested in it. That is what the 99% are protesting, how you buy crap, even if they don't know it yet.
Oil boom announced in northern Colorado this morning in the Denver Post. Think I will quit my job and become a roughneck and buy up foreclosed homes in the area.
There are always opportunities in every economy, even a depression. Cheaper to buy houses and if you sell cheap food like McDonalds, you have seen sales boom.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
