…as we were saying yesterday, briefly, Zillow claims my li’l middle-class house is worth (hang onto your hat) $563,000! And change.
What????????
Over half a million dollars for an aging tract house within walking distance (easy walking distance) of a dangerous slum? Seriously????
And horrors!
****
I return to the idle thought that maybe I ought to think about moving out to Scottsdale — more specifically, to the district known as McCormick Ranch. Once a very fancy-Dan tract, McCormick ranch is now a mid- to upper-middle-class suburb, filled with ticky-tacky construction set in seas of Bermuda grass. The area is relatively safe. Of course, no place in a big city is “safe,” but McCormick Ranch is far more so than the swaths of North Phoenix that border the alarming Sunnyslope tract, where I live now.
This proposition presents its challenges. The main one: I very much doubt I could get anywhere near that much for this house. And houses out in Scottsdale are pricier by far than the ones here in North Central on the edge of Sunnyslop.
To get into Scottsdale housing, I’d probably have to move into an apartment. And I don’t wanna. I love my house and all its roominess. I love my swimming pool — my pool and no one else’s. I love the trash pickup service from the alleys. None of these appertain to apartment living.
And another important adjunct to this issue: unless there’s something I’m misunderstanding, it doesn’t look like it would be worth moving unless I could get into a better area.
McCormick Ranch is not a better area than North Central Phoenix. The two districts are about on a par. Fairly affluent. Relatively low in crime. Close to upscale shopping. Attractively built middle-class homes. Decent schools. Sooo….
Why would I want to live there?
* It’s ten minutes from the endlessly importuning Mayo Clinic. The gawdawful drives to see MayoDoc would go away, once and for all.
* Shopping is excellent, ranging from the high side of middle class to the high side of very much upper middle class.
* Proximity to lots of great restaurants.
But…but…waitminit here.
* I don’t go to restaurants. I can cook lots better than that…for lots less change!
* These days I do about 75% of my clothes shopping online.
* I should base where I’m gonna live on the proximity of a doctor’s office? Uhhhh… don’t think so…
* The Ranch is a long way from my son’s neighborhood. If I moved out there, I’d hardly ever see him!
* I dunno if the Cleaning Lady from Heaven would be willing to drive way to Hell & Gone to clean the Funny Farm if it were in North Scottsdale.
***
Hmmmmm…. To my mind, the “Waitaminits” outweigh the benefits by about ten to one. Seriously: there aren’t enough positives to convince me that I should pull up (expensive!) stakes and move to the far side of Scottsdale.
So…one is led to apply that Fine Old Saw: When in doubt, don’t!
- Doubt, indeed. There’s just not enough there to persuade me that I would benefit from moving. Benefit: in any way…
- Socially (I know one! person who lives out there.)
- Financially (Any benefit from moving to a tonier area will be outweighed by the costs of selling, buying, fix-up, and moving.)
- Comfort-wise (My house is a luxurious palace; noplace on McCormick Ranch is any better, and most are not as good.)
- Gasoline and mileage savings (I probably drive out to the Mayo Clinic no more than once a month. That’s hardly a motive to pull up stakes!)
So unless my son decides to move someplace else — say, he gets a job in another city — there’s really no reason for me to even consider buying a place in McCormick Ranch.
If he did move out of North Central Phoenix, I might move out, too. Either to follow him or to put some distance between me and the gangs. But as long as he’s in these parts…well, so am I!