Yea verily: another dog-and-human circumnavigation of our lovely North Central Phoenix ‘hood. This morning no sh!thead was holding forth in the park — too early for him, presumably. Whatever: it was a relief to walk around without having obscenities shouted at me.
A new (presumably) owner is re-renovating the handsome, classic home on the corner of the park and Main Drag Central. That place is gonna be worth about a zillion dollars by the time they get through with it.
Seriously: property values here in the ‘Hood are headed for the stratosphere. By the time M’hijito inherits this house (as I sincerely hope he will), he’ll be able to retire to Tahiti on whatever he can sell it for.
Meanwhile, directly behind that fancfiying house, the lovely green park stretches out in three directions — constrained by the presence of Main Drag Central. I personally wouldn’t want to be that close to MDC…or, for that matter, to a wide-open park that beckons to every pot-headed bum who staggers past. But still: get a little deeper into the neighborhood around it, and it’s pretty fine.
If I manage to stay out of an old-folkerie (big IF!), my son will inherit my house and its ever-inflating value. That will give him a juicy choice: he can either move in here and enjoy its classy construction, its lovely pool, and its outrageously central location; or he can sell it and move…just about anyplace he pleases.
Tahiti presumably would not be his first choice. His dad came from Grand Junction, Colorado, a mining town on the Western Slope which, over the years, has evolved into the largest town in Western Colorado. He has remarked that he’d like to move there…so I can imagine him making his escape to those climes, after his dad and I pass on to our furry fathers.
That, unfortunately for him, is likely to be quite a while. Longevity is a Thing in my family: women who didn’t smoke have lived into their mid-90s…and because they were Christian Scientists, they never saw a doctor or had an immunization, either. I do go to doctors and do take flu shots and tetanus shots and the like, so as long as I manage to stay off the local roads, chances are I’ll live nigh unto 100 years old.
He’s doing OK for himself, though…as a practical matter, he could sell his house and get himself into Grand Junction without undue suffering.
Hmmm… What would I do, if I were him and I inherited a pile of dough at just about the time I was ready to retire with a decent pension & Social Security?
Hmmmm…indeed! Y’know…probably not much. I’ve seen the world, having grown up in the Middle East and traveled all over those environs, Europe, and the United States. Absolutely ZERO interest in any further junketing.
Chances are, I’d simply stay right where I am, invest the money, and let it support me comfortably for the rest of my life. I might even get a job just to keep myself amused. Of course, adjunct teaching jobs are all over the place. A journalistic job would be more fun and more interesting — and a lot less work of the unpaid variety. Whatever…I figure money is for loafing.
Gosh, I hope I’ll be able to hang onto this place until then. Really, that only needs to be another eight or ten years. As we scribble, Zillow claims this place is worth about five times what I paid for it. My first house here is supposedly worth some four times more than I paid…and it’s almost two blocks closer to the spectacularly noisy Main Drag West.