I am sure that you are aware of the huge population shifts that have occurred as a result of the worldwide pandemic. The virus that originated in China and spread throughout the entire world is the worst disaster of our times. Comparisons are constantly made between Covid and many other catastrophic historic events. Rightly so too. Who doesn’t conjecture about the similarities that exist between Covid-19 and the Black Death for instance?
These type of happenings always put people on the move for a variety of reasons. I am constantly reminded of this in Westchester County, New York. The real estate market here is crazy as a result of people wanting to escape the crime, lockdowns and loss of quality of life in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
There are the New York team cheerleaders of course. Those who refuse to speak anything but positivity concerning New York City or its spill over cousin Brooklyn. However, the reality is far from that positive thinking version of the truth. Very, very far from the truth. In fact, that is a false narrative. Fake news. What are the facts? New York City is reeling and may not come back to enjoy the elitist status that it has come to enjoy over the years.
Facts:
Job Loss/ Huge Workplace Changes
Crime Increase/ Police Under-siege
Homes and Apartments that are too small.
No Opera, Ballet, or Broadway
Restaurant Experiences Not What It Used To Be
High Prices and High Cost of Living
The past couple of weeks, I have been engaged in spirited debates with friends who are looking at the pros and cons of a move. Here are several such stories.
Ron* has lived in New York City his whole life. He was born and raised there as was his mother and grandmother. He thinks New York City is the center of the universe. He knows New York like the back of his hand. He is the complete insider. However, his life has not been so rosy since the Covid virus hit. He is a landlord in NYC.
There have been nervous tenants, enhanced cleanings, and a contractor who died of Covid. Taking his friend to the hospital to set a broken bone at the height of the Covid scare. Eating outdoors until his fingers turned blue. The fear of contracting Covid in such close quarters. The fear of tenants taking advantage of the rent leniency that was legislated during the epidemic. Also, lawsuits, city regulations and the possibility of increased taxes on his building to offset the financial crisis heading for the Big Apple.
He was used to getting away for week-long trips now and then to release the inevitable stress that being a landlord brings. This has been difficult due to the current situation and has made Ron ponder the possibility of moving out of his building, and buying a place outside of the City. He could still manage his building. Also, by moving he would be releasing one more apartment to rent. That would be a way to increase his revenue.
He has even begun to wonder if it is time to sell his building altogether and get out of this business. What if there are waves and waves of diseases? There is something vaguely creepy about the upcoming immunity passport in New York. It is called the Excelsior Pass. Ron doesn’t think it will be that easy to straighten things out. Will all this impact his long term business goals? He wonders this even though he owns a building in one of the best areas of NYC, i.e. the Upper East Side. Of course he knows that if he sells his building now he won’t get nearly as much as he would have. Prices have tanked in NYC as people are moving out in droves.
Then there is John*. John has been a widower for about five years. His kids are in college and he wonders if now is the time to move out of his house in Westchester. He sees his wife everywhere that he looks in their small town and home. He remembers their life together and feels unable to move forward. He sometimes thinks that he should be living somewhere he would have more activities that he could enjoy. What about a condo which has a pool or a golf course? He also lives in one of the highest taxed counties in the nation and it does not look like it will get better any time soon.
Add to that his suburban block. It is full of young parents with their 2.5 children, dog, cat or ferret. He no longer feels as if he fits in. His friends tell him it is time to meet someone. He is not so sure. He and his wife had a beautiful partnership. How easy will it be to replace that? Also, he is stuck with how young his wife was and how quickly she passed away. I know he feels foolish saying that he can’t believe it happened but he can’t.
John’s even looked at a place that his friend recommended. He was considering how nice it might be to have someone else mow and shovel for him. But, John was happy to have his backyard and roomy home to enjoy during lockdown. If he had bought that condo it would have been depressing stuck in his small condo because the pool and recreation room were closed. Still, he has been using this past year to begin to clean his house and get rid of some things. He is all packed up with no place to go. New plan for him, maybe Florida?
Then there is Mary*. Mary was originally from South America. She was married to a Portuguese man for many years. They went through a nasty divorce some time ago. They had one daughter together and now have two grandsons. Mary’s daughter Maggie* has just informed her mother that she has put in for a job transfer from the United States to Portugal. Furthermore, she has started the paperwork necessary for her and her family to relocate.
Mary was blindsided by the news. Her daughter had not included her in the preliminary planning of this move so it was a complete shock. Now, Mary is facing the prospect of uprooting her life here in New York to move to Portugal. What choice does she have? She wants to see her grandsons grow up. Also, she is not certain if there will be lockdowns in the future because of one virus variant or another and she can not stand the idea of being so far away from her grandchildren if that should happen.
The truth is Mary is getting old and her arthritis has been getting worse. Although Maggie has not been that supportive of her mother in the past, she is hoping that her daughter would be there if she needed her help. I am not so sure. Mary and Maggie have had a cold and distant relationship for as long as I knew them. Maggie blames her mother for her parents divorce. There is a lot Maggie does not know and Mary has not wished to malign her ex-husband in his daughter’s eyes. Everyone else that I know wishes she would since he was such a cad. But, Mary is correct to believe a parent should not put their children in the middle of their marital issues. Is this a good move for her? It will not be easy given the cold way that her daughter treats her but, she must try to reach some sort of accord with her daughter and stay close to her family.
Then there is me. During lockdown, my friend Leila* escaped the harsh reality of her life by looking at real estate listings. She kept thinking despite the virus fallout that it was a great time to buy due to interest rates being so low. She was triple washing anything that came into her apartment, and changing her clothes every time she came home from a shopping trip but, somehow she thought it was okay to go into strangers homes as she tried to upgrade from an apartment to a house here in Westchester.
She would call me frequently to go over listings that she had found and ask my advise. She had never bought a house before and came to me for some insight into the process. It made me feel so smart when I would catch things that she had missed. It wasn’t too hard really but, catching her mistakes became a sport for me. Leila, I know that area of Pleasantville. You drove by during the start of Covid that is why you did not see traffic but ordinarily that street will be very busy.
Or, Leila you are working from home now but should you ever have to see clients in person again, they will not wish to drive that far. Then there was the lovely property in North Tarrytown. It looked cute in the pictures until you looked in the backyard and saw the ancient pool. Leila that pool is going to cost a fortune to take out and replace. She wanted to take it out and expand the house. Not so fast said I, there are rules, regulations and permits involved. We debated this and she asked me to meet her for a walk around the outside of the property.
I was so serious. Did you know that I was on the serious side? I bet you did. I even had a clip board with a checklist and it was a good thing that I did because Leila was like a babe in the woods as regards homes. Leila, this retaining wall looks like it needs to be replaced. The roof is at the end of its’ life span, the siding is shot and the pool is a major construction project. It looked much better on the real estate listing.
Then there was the church retreat in Ossining which she wanted to convert into a business center. Except, when we arrived we found two squatting families hesitant to leave. They were actively trying to dissuade my friend by saying how many things were wrong with the property. If it was so bad why don’t they want to leave? When I purposely countered their claims about how bad the property was, they even tried to scare us womenfolk with tales of snakes on the property. That was all Leila needed to hear. She was outta there.
In the process of helping Leila I started to think about how fun it might be to get a new place. I would search along with her at first in Westchester and then expand my search to Upstate New York, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. It was as if I was traveling again, in my head anyway. I didn’t need a green pass, an excelsior pass or to be scrutinized with an enhanced drivers license.
A trip in my head was great but, then the possibility of getting out of New York began to take seed with me. After all, I have read my blogs! Why am I here? Sure, it is mission territory and I have God’s work to do everyday. A day never goes by when I don’t have an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus. However, is this the time to turn my back on Sodom and Gomorrah and not look back? The more that I thought about it, the more that it made sense.
So, we have actually taken several trips and looked at some properties. The first properties that we looked at were in New York State. The taxes and the hostility toward the Christian lifestyle made us think of our options outside of New York. It makes me a little sick really. I have lived here my whole life. In New York they train you young to think that New York is the center of everything. You can’t get better than New York. The best medical care, the best food, the best arts and entertainment. That has all fallen apart or maybe it was all hype to begin with. All I know is that when I visit states where people are mannerly, friendly, Christian and conservative I feel a certain joy. A joy that I haven’t felt in a long time.
I just had a conversation with an 84 yr old woman. She described her childhood church in New York in all it’s vibrancy. God has been replaced in New York since then. Replaced with yoga, Buddhism, and atheists. Every perversion is running wild. Is it time for me to leave? Maybe so.
* the names are changed to protect privacy but the stories are true.
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