The ruins of Detroit

[Atash Hagmahani]

I would look for low cost:
Low cost government
Low cost high value labor
Low cost high value housing
Low cost high value food
Low cost high value Heating/cooling
Low cost high value transportation

Mike, are you trying to say that we're doomed? (not sure whether to  or  ).

[opsec]

I was going to ask what that leaves us with, but I think I know the answer already.

[Beeherder]

Saskatchewan?

[Lore]

Atash - Some of your posts are like a box of chocolates.

It seems to me that California's continued death-spiral will eventually start killing off some cities there. It boggles my mind with tax rates as high as they are, and a state that is bankrupt, businesses aren't fleeing as fast as they can. Costs of doing business in California are high. They can't compete.

That reminds me. For all his commentary about the decline of California and his home San Diego in particular, commentator Jim Puplava still hasn't moved and expresses no inclination. It seems irrational. Premises like "My roots are here" or "This is where my grandchildren are" pale beside what's coming, unless he knows something about the future of the area that hasn't been discussed? No. Procrastination seems more likely. He's a sailor, waiting to see which way the wind blows. He better not wait too long as the cost escalates (e.g., lose half your net worth if you expatriate). But his net worth is ~twelve digits, so maybe less of a concern. No, that doesn't wash. He's keeping his own cards close to his chest. Expect him to move soon and see where. I know he's thought about this carefully, because he said so at a meeting in Vancouver a few years ago. Maybe it's time to request an update on his Q-Line and see how / if he responds. I'm gonna do it.

[Lore]

Addendum: If "follow the money" is any indication, the Pacific Northwest must have a future, as the high end real estate market here in BC is strong.

[opsec]

I'd be interested to know where he's going to head off to myself.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Bear in mind someone that rich has options we don't. He can afford to procrastinate more than we can, although if I were advising him, I would strongly suggest a toe-hold, passport, foreign bank account, a black book of local contacts already made, the works, BEFOREHAND. Not worth procrastinating, because as Lore suggested, the cost of waiting could be high.

The solution to the grandkids problem:

"Son, my years on this earth are limited and everything I have is yours. I want you to manage some of my business now. I have an important job for you at my office in... Your mother is looking forward to having you closer now that she's getting up in years..."

Bill Gates' dad once bought him a house in Laurelhurst to keep him close to the nest. It didn't work forever, but it did for quite a while. And even when he moved away, it was just across the lake on the other side of the bridge. About half an hour's drive--maybe 15 minutes on good days (heavy traffic-congestion area though).

[Beeherder]

 
Lore, is that high end real estate the "gentleman rancher" variety that is owned by someone who has never worked up a blister under a gloved hand? Wonder how they will do if there isn't anyone available to do their chores?

What a climate change to go from coastal southern California to BC. bet they shiverrr for the first year.

Did see a serious post in another place about the survivability of the Canadian plains while the cities crumble, so that Saskatchewan comment was meant to be more than humorous. And how much difference is there really (except for the imaginary line) between North Dakota and southern Saskatchewan? Am eye missing something? Low population density, good agricultural land, low costs of acquisition and entry? (provided you stay on your authorized side of the imaginary line).

[Atash Hagmahani]

Wonder how they will do if there isn't anyone available to do their chores?

This might be a problem, or might not, depending on how well they organize themselves.

I doubt civilization breaks down completely. More like a soviet existence, while in some of the more prosperous Asian cities they still retain some of the high-tech wonderland. Some parts of the world interestingly won't change much at all: they were already poor, already using a lot of manual labor, and already know how to get things done without petroleum and imported products.

So, if you are rich, surround yourself with staff who are highly skilled in subsistence food raising and are handy. Bring them wherever you go.

When people ask me about how I expect to accomplish this or that out in the middle of nowhere, I tell them I'm planning to bring my own experts with me.

My great aunt used to work for a Scottish LADY in the literal sense (like a knight's wife...gentry...). Ancestors made fortunes in commodities, that survived the stock market crash of 1929. She left the UK due to high taxes that were eating up the family fortune.

Took her domestics with her...as if she couldn't just hire new ones here. Had a British-style manor house built, brought all her books and furnishings. Had a garden and a gardener to grow the foods she is familiar with. Brought British livestock over. Transported her whole lifestyle to a part of the country that even looks a bit like Scotland. Sometimes it makes sense to treat helpers as though they are not entirely expendable.

[Lore]

Howdy BH,

Lore, is that high end real estate the "gentleman rancher" variety that is owned by someone who has never worked up a blister under a gloved hand? Wonder how they will do if there isn't anyone available to do their chores?

Good point. There are lots of seniors who hire for yardwork. One factor that I think is unique to Vancouver Island is the abundance of private roadside stands where you can buy anything from bread to home grown kiwi, corn, grapes, veggies, pumpkins, hen and duck eggs, honey, etc. It can get pricey, but you don't have to go to a grocery store. Anecdotally, we have a lot of wineries and the product is quite good if you're wine drinker. Do you like seafood?  I can walk to the beach and fill a sack with clams and mussels, and lots of American celebrities come to fish. The tuna this year is incredible; you can see them surging below the surface. I'm told it has something to do with La Nina.

One interesting project on the mainland is a superhouse consisting of something like 110 rooms, builder / owner presently unknown.

What a climate change to go from coastal southern California to BC. bet they shiverrr for the first year.

It's a big province, so conditions naturally vary with local climate. The Okanagan [region] is known for very hot summers but renowned for its orchards and vineyards. Caribou country is known for cattle. The coastal cities generally get less rain than cities in Washington State, as we're protected by the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Did see a serious post in another place about the survivability of the Canadian plains while the cities crumble, so that Saskatchewan comment was meant to be more than humorous. And how much difference is there really (except for the imaginary line) between North Dakota and southern Saskatchewan? Am eye missing something? Low population density, good agricultural land, low costs of acquisition and entry? (provided you stay on your authorized side of the imaginary line).

Saskatchewan is booming. Real estate was the lowest in Canada, but has quadrupled in Saskatoon (bigger than the capitol Regina + prettier, with trees and rivers) in the last 4-5 years. The province has oil, potash, uranium, oilsands, etc. The farms are huge, whole sections as opposed to quarters, with 30-40 bushels/acre. It's not irrigated, hence subject to the vagaries of weather, and the soil is completely flat and free of rocks. You can drive for 20 miles without gaining or losing more than a couple feet. I used to know farmers who brought in their crops and then traveled through the winter. Winter in Sask. is cold.

There are lots of websites, but that gives you the flavor.

[Lore]

I'd be interested to know where he's going to head off to myself.

I asked this week. It will be interesting to see if and how he responds.

[opsec]

I bet he's been asked that a lot.

[Mike]

I've heard Jim Puplava say that he stays for the weather and proximity to his family.  That is why he stays.

I am anxious to hear how Lore puts the question to him.

My first thought is, "Why not just cross the border and drop anchor at Ensenada?  How different is Ensenada from San Diego?  I'll bet he could at least build a house on a hill.

[Mike]

Lore:  You were really good on the financialsense newhshour.  You were on the Q-line during the first hour.

We have heard about the proposal in California to impose a 50% inheritance tax, or exit tax.

Jim Puplava says that they are keeping a close eye on it; and that it isn't the state that is proposing this tax but a wacko left wing nut named Paul McCulley, who's goal is to take that tax money and buy into polluter corporations and steer them towards environmentalism.

Jim Puplava dismisses this as 'just a wacko left wing nut.'  The problem is that he is given a hearing when he should be dismissed with laughter.  The fact that he is getting a hearing should be an alarming wake up call.

[wander]

I've heard people ask him for the past several weeks. I wondered if that came from here. Nice one.