Marketing Me! Housing bubble blues

An recent review of posts over in an economics forum read like two sides of the same book:

"The lending/home loan crisis means I cannot buy a home!"

"Homes are so expensive, I cannot afford one where I live!"

"My home just lost some of it's value and my ARM has expired! Here come high payments for a home which has lost it's value!"

The common thread I kept seeing in black and white was "I cannot afford to live where I do!".

Why do people continue to live someplace they cannot afford?

I am stunned when I read about housing prices on the East and West Coasts and the financial juggling good people go through to afford two bedrooms, a bath and street front parking.

What drives someone to stay in an area with 600K home prices while they live on a 40K annual salary?

The answer is simple: Move. Here, big letters. MOVE.

Portland, New York, DC, the Bay Area.. all nice places, but not that great if you live in a 400 sq foot apartment with a view of a brick wall.

And what is so great about your job which requires your staying?

Get online. Research some other parts of the country. Call friends or networkers and land some interviews. Go visit. There are replacements for nearly everything you do in your overpriced town right now.

And if you make the move, you might end up a new affordable home you actually own! Wow.

I pointed this out to a friend who was dropping 2K a month on rent! I told him about wonderful homes in my home state in the 200-250K range. Four bedrooms, suburban, pools, schools, the works. He was blown away.

Stop reading about ARM's and start repeating .. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE.

Happy hunting!