[quote=AN][quote=bearishgurl]Ahem … a few things come to mind here, paramount. First of all, how close are these lakes to well-paying jobs? You know … the kind you can raise a family (or two parents can raise a family) with? Want to work at the local Kerr McGee truck stop washing diesels or in the cash cage selling cigs? Or . . . are you ready to “retire” now??[/quote]Seriously, you wrote a whole diatribe bashing Lake Travis without know where it is? It would probably be quicker if you would just search for it on the web. FYI, a simple Google search would show Lake Travis is ~15-20 miles away from Downtown Austin. So, why would you even bring up truck stop and selling cigs? http://goo.gl/maps/sygCE
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AN, I’m truly “flattered” that this is all you could come up with to “pick an argument” with my “diatribe,” lol.
Actually, paramount’s first link was the only one near a major city (15-20 miles). Like SantaLuz in SD County, The “Reserve at Lake Travis” has “HOA” or “country club” mandatory membership dues of $129 mo, whether or not an owner has developed their lot yet. It appears that it is still early in its sales of homes and lots and is mostly still vacant. This means the monthly dues could likely rise after it is built out.
A lot owner at “The Reserve” is obligated to build a house on his/her lot that is conforming with their strict CC&R’s and the lots and already-built and soon-to-be-built homes are VERY pricey.
paramount’s last two links are ~100 miles from a major city.
My “diatribe” really wasn’t about paramount, in particular. He just happened to be handy … again. It was aimed at him and several Piggs who seem to be constantly lamenting here that the “grass is greener” somewhere other than Cali, yet they remain in Cali all the while they’re repeatedly complaining about it. Pigg paramount even bought another local home AFTER repeatedly complaining on this blog about how “corrupt” CA was!
I think it’s great we get to compare and discuss these other locales. But I feel that every time a Pigg touts some other locale on here as a preferable place to live over Cali, they are often comparing apples to oranges and/or are ignorant about what the lifestyle in their *new* state of interest will actually be like and how local laws there could impact their lifestyles.
Hence my “diatribe.” It all LOOKS GREAT in the ads but you can’t possibly know WTH you’re looking at if you haven’t been there for any length of time!
In paramount’s first link, I feel he would be very hard pressed to build a custom home from scratch to conform with the CC&R’s at “The Reserve,” IMHO. This takes a lot of time, patience and cash, and he already has two homes he would likely have to sell in SoCal before doing this. Then he would have to rent a home in TX while his home at the “Reserve” is being constructed. Moving to [name your “better-run” state] is but a pipe dream for “seemingly” disgruntled Californians, such as paramount, that is, until they find out first-hand what living there is all about. In my experience, they typically wanted to come back home (to Cali) in 1-3 years, and, in many cases, were priced out of the RE market here upon their return for a home similar to the one they sold just a few years prior in order to relocate!
And here’s an interesting video from the state of WY discussing shale oil extraction (fracking) as a possible cause of water pollution (convincing circumstantial but unproven):
In the state of OK, I can tell you that there are several fracking operations located >= 500 yards from the shore of a large lake.
Governments of these “flyover states” essentially allow the raping of their environment to keep their economies moving. Many thousands of residents there make their livelihoods in farming, including beef, pork and poultry production and gas and oil production.
I’m not saying this region is a bad place to live. Maybe you don’t swim or ski in the water and are used to buying your drinking water, anyway. But the bottom line is, you pay for what you get in this life. There is always a REASON why the lots you are seeing in these advertisements from “rural flyover America” are “cheap.” Well, definitely NOT at The Reserve at Lake Travis (high bacteria levels be damned), but you get the drift . . . :-0
