Posted on 10/15/2005 8:21:36 PM PDT by Lorianne
For those who made the exodus to the rolling farmland of Loudoun County, Va., over the past decade, the trade-offs were well understood. Stake a claim to the exurban dream in newly sprouted developments with bucolic names like Farmington on the Green and Hirst Farms (going price: $600,000 and up), and you got a brand new house on a quarter acre. Excellent schools, the small-town charm of antique shops, and historic courthouses were also part of the package. And just watch your home value soar, by an average 23% in the past two years
The downside? Everyone wanted to join you. Population in Loudoun grew 41% between 2000 and 2004, faster than any other county in America. Road construction couldn't keep up, so traffic is often a nightmare. Even on the weekend, the drive into Washington takes an hour and a half. At rush hour, figure on two. Caterpillar (CAT ) tractors and orange highway construction cones have taken the place of the horses and cattle that used to dot the hillsides. Still, it all seemed worth it to those like Andrea O'Hara, who moved from Pittsburgh with her husband and three children a year and a half ago. "We love it here," says O'Hara.
These days, though, a chill is sweeping through the fast-growing exurbs that have popped up like mushrooms on the outskirts of established cities and suburbs all across America. A lifestyle built on cheap energy costs and low mortgage rates is in jeopardy. Consumers who hardly gave a thought to gassing up when regular was $1.50 a gallon are abandoning their hulking sport-utility vehicles and pickups, signing up for carpools, and leaving the motorboat in the backyard now that prices are stuck at nearly twice that.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Exurbia...the land of McMansions.
"The moment of truth for many exurbanites may be coming soon, says Vern S. Lazaroff, an attorney in Milford, Pa., and Port Jervis, N.Y., who specializes in personal bankruptcy. "A lot of people here get mortgaged up to their necks," he says. Once winter comes, "there's no way to pay for the fuel oil and the mortgage in the same month. There's just no way. I expect to see a huge number coming to my office." "
It shouls be interesting.
Unlike previous generations that started out in "starter homes" ... today they want it all NOW. The question is, can they afford it by stretching so far?
VA bankruptcy ping.
My husband and I are in our late forties and still living in "early marriage". People grow up with too much and expect it right away when they are on their own. We DID find a wonderful little town with an excellent school district though. The town, however, had the wisdom to put in housing restrictions that include a minimum of THREE acres for all new construction. I also heard of a three story limit for houses but have to look into it.
Answer: No, they can't afford it by stretching so far. We did it the hard, long way and have no mortgage. We should put up a sign that says, "Don't laugh, it's paid for." It's not a palace but we are secure and I wouldn't trade that for anything. People forget that there is more to life than having it all.
My brother-in-law moves into a bigger/nicer house about every 2-3 years and trades in his cars about every year and a half. Apparently, he can afford it, but I guess he complains (to others- I don't associate with him!) about money stress. After I sold my last house, I downsized to a smaller, older house in an older neighborhood (even though I've had more kids.) and plan on staying here for at least another 18 years. I can't wait until my mortgage seems insanely low compared to everything else!
Good for you----it's madness the way people live.
A friend of my daughter just had a "mansion" built and some of the neighbors though it was a couple of large condos instead of a single house.
The kitchen is MASSIVE and they are hardly ever there because they have a summer house and a ski house.
Crazy IMHO.
Atlanta metro is growing just as fast. Homes are leapfrogging over one another.
Dems also don't like exurban voters. They hate the family church enviornment that helps the gop in these settings.
They hate the suv's and applebee's and walmart's.
The sierra club loves their trees too.
Exurbia is conservative/Republican country. Look at the 2004 election results.
This article is more hand-wringing and whining from the leftists who want people living in stacked gerbil box apartments in the corrupt, dying cities.
Our communist governor is spending $100 million, looted from exurbia, to build "cool cities" in liberal hellholes like Lansing and Detroit.
What are "cool cities?" Taxpayer subsidized couscous stands, lofts in former founderies and turn-of-century reproduction street lighting. Everyone knows it's a joke because nothing is done to address the crumbling infrastructure, the abandoned homes, high taxes, bureaucrat corruption and the crooked politicians.
Exurbia is the trend of the future and the fastest growing areas in America, offering space for families to raise children, inexpensive homes and good paying jobs.
The big city socialists at Business Week hate exurbia because it's difficult to loot and control citizens living there.
The big city socialists at Business Week...
Now there's a phrase you don't see too often.
(Denny Crane: "I like nature. Don't talk to me about the environment".)
The population is growing. Most inner ring suburbs and cities have all these anti-growth provisions: smart growth policies, etc. These have the effect of reducing supply of housing, so the supply has to go somewhere else, and it goes to the exurbs.
Then anti-growth people attempt to stop building of roads. They don't want people living in their town, and they don't want them living further out and driving to town. And mass transit is not a viable option in most places: office parks in the burbs are where the job growth is.
Bring on the sprawl! The liberal anti-growth folks may not like sprawl, but it's keeping housing affordable, something they always bitch about.
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