My husband and I have always lived downtown, but lately we have been looking at housing prices and coming to the conclusion that buying just isn't going to happen in our current neighborhood. The question of where we should look instead has been a challenging one. We have only ever lived downtown or walking distance to coffee shops, restaurants, and places of interest. Partly this has been by design: we both hate doing cardio at the gym and like to be able to walk as a form of recreation as well as exercise. He works from home and I worry living in an unwalkable suburb would be unhealthy physically as well as mentally and emotionally.
In looking at alternatives, we have some difficult to reconcile goals in mind:
- Be close to my work both to save gas and money, reduce our carbon footprint, and hedge against increases in gas prices. I agree with Mr. Money Mustache and his analysis on the true cost of commuting in time and cash--it doesn't make financial or lifestyle sense to lock in a long commute.
- Be walking distance or have the ability to recreate and get our exercise in a fun way. This could alternatively include being by the bike path so that we could ride, jog or walk along there. It may also mean being happy with walking to a smaller selection of locations.
- Purchase a public transit accessible home. This is important for me because my job prospects in this region mean I may have to commute to another city for a job at some point in the future. It also helps us narrow in on three neighborhoods in our current city.
- A desire to do something a little different. A cookie cutter suburban tract home seems pretty boring, so rather than look at traditional suburban neighborhoods we have actually been considering moving outside of town so we can live in a more remote, natural setting but with what is still a relatively short commute to work for me. Of course this introduces a challenge since the shortest commutes are on septic systems, while the slightly longer commute has public sewer lines; it necessitates a second car; and heading out of town moves us into an area that is much hotter and may necessitate air conditioning (think $$$). The question is whether the costs of such a move would outweigh the benefits or end up costing the same as buying in the area we currently think we can't afford.
We are by no means alone in grappling with these calculations. The Atlantic recently featured an article on the rediscovery of suburban living, and even the hipsters of Brooklyn and Williamsburg are discovering what the NY Times dubs "hipsburbia" as they are priced out of their desired neighborhoods. The Observer may mock these families for thinking they are pioneers, but to be fair these people are seeking a very different kind of 'burb than their parents: all of these articles portray as suburban the kinds of compact development patterns and walkable neighborhoods most Americans think of as dense neighborhoods.
Ironically, the New Republic may have it right. The problem with downtown these days isn't just that it is expensive, but that the economic exclusion these areas are starting to present to moderate and low income
workers and young families is producing the exact kind of monotony that led most of us to move to these places in the first place. Neighborhoods that are dynamic and interesting are attractive to all incomes, but when an area prices out all but the wealthy it starts to lose the very qualities that made it attractive to begin with. This is the problem communities like Greenwich Village and Santa Monica have faced: a cycle of gentrification that becomes so exclusionary that the only ones who can live there are the wealthy, with the result that downtown risks becoming the monotonous, sterile wastland critics associate wth the traditional American suburb.
This very dynamic is currently playing out in my home town, where fights over affordable housing, inclusionary polices vs. in lieu fees, and high home and rent prices are causing many young families to take stock of whether sticking around makes economic sense. While some leave the city for the promise of the suburb, many more move back. There are no easy answers.
Given the surge in real estate prices recently, and our lack of clarity on what options make the most sense, we are holding off for now. Maybe once we start a family what we want will change. Or perhaps we will make more money and be able to get into the neighborhood we want after all. The fact that home prices are rising with no commeserate rise in wages, and 60% cash buyers indicates we may be in a real estate mania that could deflate come the winter selling season or a continued rise in interest rates.
The best bet seems to be to become awesome at what you do, and try to live as cheaply as possible.
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