Thread: To buy or not to buy, that is the question...

After working my ass off throughout my 20s, I'm finally at a point where I can purchase a nice place for myself.

But instead of being excited about this, I find myself apprehensive

Without getting too political, many people I follow, many I've spoken to, etc. are all telling me that I need to be ready to leave should things quickly fall apart. Of course they are addressing the social unrest, political tensions, economic strain, etc.

I'm finding it hard to rationalize the spending of nearly seven figures on a nice home whilst also holding in my head the idea that at some point within the next few years I may have to abandon said home. And I don't even know what "abandon" means. Would it be a temporary escape to a nearby city? If so, would we be returning to destroyed properties? Or perhaps it's a complete relocation to another state altogether in which case a return would be uncertain.

Either way, it makes it hard to justify a house purchase. Of course, maybe I'm just being paranoid and I may never have to leave. And I don't watch news, I'm not on social media. But I'm a history and economics buff and the past can be very informative which is predominantly what I'm using to base my perspective on along with others whom I follow and converse with.

Curious as to what you all think of this. Are my hesitations justified? What would you do in my shoes?

Would be useful to know where you are looking to buy. There is uncertainty everywhere but some countries/ cities far more than others.

Well,... point number 1: the fact that I am reading this means that you are in fact, "on social media." But I'm know what you mean because I too am not on The Facebooks or Tweeter.

You said, "without getting too political," so I assume you mean for reasons relating to government or economics rather than the fact that everything west of the San Andreas fault will eventually fall into the Pacific. Still, had the people living in Pompeii in 79AD known that Mt Vesuvius was going to blow they would have left. However, the Heavens Gate cult members and some of the Y2K fanatics overshot the mark in their expectations.
So...there is the, "The sky is falling," approach and then there is, "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." Somewhere in the middle is the right tactic. Finding the where in that riddle is the sticker.

Wish I could help but I can't get my head around living in a place where it feels like everything will fall apart shortly. I've been aware of dooms day preppers/survivalists since when I was in high school 60 years ago yet here we are. I guess if you say the sky is falling long enough sooner or later it just might. I'm still waiting. So far the human race has survived disastrous historical and economic events

If it is a major concern of yours you might not be in the right mind set to make that house purchase and if you do the worry would not let you enjoy it. OTH nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow.

Bob

Originally Posted by NittanyGator

Would be useful to know where you are looking to buy. There is uncertainty everywhere but some countries/ cities far more than others.

Good point. I'm in the glorious state of California, specifically in Los Angeles. Geographically, I love the state but the people, laws, and the whackjobs ruling over the state are, well, whackjobs.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Well,... point number 1: the fact that I am reading this means that you are in fact, "on social media."

You said, "without getting too political," so I assume you mean for reasons relating to government or economics rather than the fact that everything west of the San Andreas fault will eventually fall into the Pacific. Still, had the people living in Pompeii in 79AD known that Mt Vesuvius was going to blow they would have left. However, the Heavens Gate cult members and some of the Y2K fanatics overshot the mark in their expectations.
So...there is the, "The sky is falling," approach and then there is, "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." Somewhere in the middle is the right tactic. Finding the where in that riddle is the sticker.

Paul, our definition of social media must be different as I'm not on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. But to your point, it's the riddle I'm having a hard time solving.

It's the age old question. I could add a religious question into that also but that either answers or further complicates the matter. One thing to add is that I remember around the Y2K panic that some historian commented that a similar thing happened before the year 1000. Several religious cults were preparing for "the end" and many did drastic things. I don't remember the details, just the gist of it. Personally I believe it is always important to have yourself prepared financially for hardship as well as spiritually for matters that you cannot control and live by faith in whatever you hold sacred. That's my view at least.

I'm with Bob. We've been near the collapse of civilization my whole life, and probably back to Adam and Eve.

My thought would be, you are going to pay $X per month for a place to live regardless. If civilization collapses you are going to be screwed regardless. May as well have that $X per month going into equity in case we keep surviving. And, if the fan really gets that dirty, I would rather have a place I own to hide out in than a place someone else owns and can kick me out of.

Originally Posted by BobH

Wish I could help but I can't get my head around living in a place where it feels like everything will fall apart shortly. I've been aware of dooms day preppers/survivalists since when I was in high school 60 years ago yet here we are. I guess if you say the sky is falling long enough sooner or later it just might. I'm still waiting. So far the human race has survived disastrous historical and economic events

If it is a major concern of yours you might not be in the right mind set to make that house purchase and if you do the worry would not let you enjoy it. OTH nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow.

Bob

You me and a few others live in such a nice part of the world eh.

Some great points by all of you, I appreciate the food for thought.

Bob and STF, perhaps a move to Ontario is in order if it's such a rosy place

Well, I lived a bit in the Valley in the 70s and out in Cucamonga for a while and lived 6 years in San Diego. Of course in those days you could buy a nice house in L.A for 130,000 and San Diego was still a paradise. These days I say a pox on most of California. When I left was one of the happiest days of my life.

These days I think you have to be crazy to live there. If you can move do it. Unless you make very good money meaning well into 6 figures things are just too expensive. yea the lifestyle can be great but I'd take a cue from the very rich who are moving.