That is for sure! Melody is a pleasure to read, and her intelligence shines through. I say this as someone who spent forty years as a book editor for publishers you've actually heard of. (One small request, Melody, if you're reading this. Please spell out an initialization/acronym the first time you use it in a post. That will save some of us newbies from the distraction of googling the meaning.)
Will do and my bad! I get in the habit of abbreviating on Twitter, but I will definitely remember on a go-forward basis. And thank you so much for reading and for the incredibly kind words!
Melody this was a great read! Hanging with regular working people gives the real perspective on what’s going on with the actual economy. In my area housing stats came out and not much is moving except for houses that pop up under $300,000. No one can afford a big mortgage when you have 2 newer cars plus kids to care for. Auto insurance jumped bigly. Electric bills to increase this month and we have tiered water rates increasing every year higher to pay for aging water system upgrades. Walmart is advertising $14 plus an hour and this week noticed new older faces stocking shelves. My trades people still having a hard time keeping lower level young workers. Hard outdoor work and hot weather they quit within a week. Get this...my freezer went bonkers so called to get a repair appointment to be informed it would be over 2 weeks till a tech shows up. The Appliance Center has only 1 tech that repairs refrigerators. This company is the biggest in our area for appliances.....I really miss SEARS and Kenmore products from the past.
Thanks for all your efforts to keep your devoted readers in the know. You can feel discombobulated as to what you see compared to what you hear and read nationally.
I’m just a farm girl looking through a common sense lens. Nothing adds up.
Thank you, Liz. Your comment gave me chills. I find it so upsetting to hear the financial press act like everything is fine when I see so many people struggling. And our retirees! I can't even think about it. So many struggling already and don't even know what is coming. I spent a lot of time with my cousins and second cousins in HH talking about how trades are the place to be. But you are right, they don't have our work ethic. We are going to have to teach them. I also sincerely miss when we had real products....I bought a portable monitor from Best Buy this weekend and it had a CD for the driver and you couldn't get it online. The instructions weren't readable. And, I'm a tech expert. I did everything I've ever known to do to get the driver including some backdoor tricks. How can Best Buy sell a product like that? I'll be taking it back but the fact that nothing is as it seems, and we cannot trust our institutions, our businesses, our politicians....well it means us simple, Forgotten Americans who have some common sense left are going to have to stick together! Thank you so much for reading and the amazing comment and intel!
Those are the three rural/semi rural counties that are south and east of Traverse. Traverse is out of control but that has been true for 20 years. Chicago money.
So for people who want to move up north, or have a 2nd home on the western side, those have been destinations for years where costs were reasonable. Cadillac has been a retirement destination for decades for scores of auto workers. Not so much anymore, but during the 80s, 90s it was.
Side note. I skied at Caberfae for the first time in 1965!
Wow! Thank you. The way inventory is increasing in Chicago is a bit wild. I keep waiting to hear some story or anecdata about it, but haven't so far. I will add one of those towns to next week. Heading to Florida a little later today :)
Great article. Loved the personal vignettes! We’ve stayed in Wyethville a few times on drives back and forth from the coast to Midwest. It is a very friendly town, as you discovered.
It will be interesting to see what you discover in FL. I haven’t changed my thesis, although rural properties in northern MI still selling for way more than they are “worth”. 250k and under are still going for at or close to asking. But anything over that is not selling, or is taking a long time.
There are currently 305 properties for sale in Wexford. At least 1/2 are just land. And 1/3 of those that aren’t just land you wouldn’t live in them. So in reality there are maybe 100 actual liveable homes for sale. And 700 short term rentals. So the lack of inventory and the number of people who want to hideout in the woods is keeping prices up. But that is all going to change eventually.
Thank you for your thoughtful work. To add to your anecdata I was recently holidaying (with my parents and a bunch of other random Americans) on a Douro River river cruise in Portugal - these would be retirees who did ok but to a person they confided in me during various chats their concerns over the state of things in the US - no matter which state they came from, it was the same. They may be doing ok but they all have adult kids and see what’s going on through them.
On a positive note, referring back to your Irish roots, enjoy this - the community feel you capture with that country song - this community tie is artisan foods - I promise you will find it worth 25 mins of your time 😉
Thank you so much for the anecdata! Yes, unfortunately with so many still needing the help of their parents many don't consider the impact it has on the older generation finances. I will definitely, definitely watch! Thank you for reading, the link and the kind words!
Not only are you a great analyst, you’re a great writer.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
That is for sure! Melody is a pleasure to read, and her intelligence shines through. I say this as someone who spent forty years as a book editor for publishers you've actually heard of. (One small request, Melody, if you're reading this. Please spell out an initialization/acronym the first time you use it in a post. That will save some of us newbies from the distraction of googling the meaning.)
Will do and my bad! I get in the habit of abbreviating on Twitter, but I will definitely remember on a go-forward basis. And thank you so much for reading and for the incredibly kind words!
Melody this was a great read! Hanging with regular working people gives the real perspective on what’s going on with the actual economy. In my area housing stats came out and not much is moving except for houses that pop up under $300,000. No one can afford a big mortgage when you have 2 newer cars plus kids to care for. Auto insurance jumped bigly. Electric bills to increase this month and we have tiered water rates increasing every year higher to pay for aging water system upgrades. Walmart is advertising $14 plus an hour and this week noticed new older faces stocking shelves. My trades people still having a hard time keeping lower level young workers. Hard outdoor work and hot weather they quit within a week. Get this...my freezer went bonkers so called to get a repair appointment to be informed it would be over 2 weeks till a tech shows up. The Appliance Center has only 1 tech that repairs refrigerators. This company is the biggest in our area for appliances.....I really miss SEARS and Kenmore products from the past.
Thanks for all your efforts to keep your devoted readers in the know. You can feel discombobulated as to what you see compared to what you hear and read nationally.
I’m just a farm girl looking through a common sense lens. Nothing adds up.
Thank you, Liz. Your comment gave me chills. I find it so upsetting to hear the financial press act like everything is fine when I see so many people struggling. And our retirees! I can't even think about it. So many struggling already and don't even know what is coming. I spent a lot of time with my cousins and second cousins in HH talking about how trades are the place to be. But you are right, they don't have our work ethic. We are going to have to teach them. I also sincerely miss when we had real products....I bought a portable monitor from Best Buy this weekend and it had a CD for the driver and you couldn't get it online. The instructions weren't readable. And, I'm a tech expert. I did everything I've ever known to do to get the driver including some backdoor tricks. How can Best Buy sell a product like that? I'll be taking it back but the fact that nothing is as it seems, and we cannot trust our institutions, our businesses, our politicians....well it means us simple, Forgotten Americans who have some common sense left are going to have to stick together! Thank you so much for reading and the amazing comment and intel!
I'm so glad you got a social media break! I'm looking forward to hearing about your Florida travels.
Thank you. I so needed it!!!! I can't wait to get down there. Where are you again?
I'm in Lakeland. Literally one of the epicenters of the entire poop-show that is Florida right now.
YES! I visited the last time I was there. I will message you on Twitter once I have my schedule to see if you are available to meet up!
Wexford. Missaukee. Osceola
33k. 15k. 23k. Respective populations.
All of northern Oceola is rural.
Those are the three rural/semi rural counties that are south and east of Traverse. Traverse is out of control but that has been true for 20 years. Chicago money.
So for people who want to move up north, or have a 2nd home on the western side, those have been destinations for years where costs were reasonable. Cadillac has been a retirement destination for decades for scores of auto workers. Not so much anymore, but during the 80s, 90s it was.
Side note. I skied at Caberfae for the first time in 1965!
Wow! Thank you. The way inventory is increasing in Chicago is a bit wild. I keep waiting to hear some story or anecdata about it, but haven't so far. I will add one of those towns to next week. Heading to Florida a little later today :)
That was excellent! I always look forward to reading your posts
Thank you so much. Looking forward to this next trip to see what we see :)
Super well written and engaging piece. Great data. And you write so well!
Thank you so much for reading and the kind words. I'm blushing :)
I'm looking for a realtor in Tampa area - would you happen to have contact info for @TrishaFLSun ? @ralphkaz on twitter. thanks!
Hi there - I will pass along your info :).
Great article. Loved the personal vignettes! We’ve stayed in Wyethville a few times on drives back and forth from the coast to Midwest. It is a very friendly town, as you discovered.
It will be interesting to see what you discover in FL. I haven’t changed my thesis, although rural properties in northern MI still selling for way more than they are “worth”. 250k and under are still going for at or close to asking. But anything over that is not selling, or is taking a long time.
There are currently 305 properties for sale in Wexford. At least 1/2 are just land. And 1/3 of those that aren’t just land you wouldn’t live in them. So in reality there are maybe 100 actual liveable homes for sale. And 700 short term rentals. So the lack of inventory and the number of people who want to hideout in the woods is keeping prices up. But that is all going to change eventually.
Great work!
Thank you so much. I'm going to add Wexford. I'm so curious about that area. Now that I have Airbnb listing data it is game on!
Thank you for your thoughtful work. To add to your anecdata I was recently holidaying (with my parents and a bunch of other random Americans) on a Douro River river cruise in Portugal - these would be retirees who did ok but to a person they confided in me during various chats their concerns over the state of things in the US - no matter which state they came from, it was the same. They may be doing ok but they all have adult kids and see what’s going on through them.
On a positive note, referring back to your Irish roots, enjoy this - the community feel you capture with that country song - this community tie is artisan foods - I promise you will find it worth 25 mins of your time 😉
https://youtu.be/OFtu6Bi-blY
Thank you so much for the anecdata! Yes, unfortunately with so many still needing the help of their parents many don't consider the impact it has on the older generation finances. I will definitely, definitely watch! Thank you for reading, the link and the kind words!
Sounds great! My baby has an ear infection right now, so as long as she's doing better I should be pretty free.
Hope she feels better!