It pays to keep aware of local happenings. I have somehow stayed at my apartment all these years at the neighborhood got better, always planning to move but didn't. Now the neighborhood is gentrifying and I am looking for signs of the building going condo or being torn down but I don't think that trend will get us for some years. I still keep my ear to the ground, though. And in the meantime the rent is very low.
That's so true... I grew up in Manhattan (NYC) and found out my old neighborhood transformed in this way. My family lived in the same apartment building for over 20 years. Also, I live in L.A. during my 20s & 30s and I was in the same apartment for 13 years. The neighborhood became a trendy hotspot, and I was within walking distance of everything!
I'm living in a small city in western MA now, which is located in the northern Berkshire County. It's the poorer end of the county which saw better days when it was a mill town, but it's quaint and very affordable. Artists from the Boston area are flocking her to live in the lofts created by converting some of the mills. Trendy magazines in NYC have been reviewing my town for the last year or so, touting it as an art mecca and a place for affordable vacations & second homes. In the 5 years I've been, the town is turning around. I just hope rents & other prices don't go up disproportionately because of the influx of "richer" people.
I live in the top floor apartment, near the town center, in one of 2 flatiron buildings in town and have beautiful vistas of the mountains & downtown. My landlord is from the UK, via Boston, and has bought up a lot of buildings previously owned by the 3rd most notorious slumlord here. He's fixed up the buildings and the rents are affordable & generous. He's more into creating the sense of community here rather than becoming a land baron.
You are right, it often pays to stay in one place. Here in the UK people are often recommended to "downsize" to save monay. But, if you have a mortgage and need another for yout new place, total moving costs average £15,000.(UK pounds). That is a lot of money. Most workers here earn take home pay of less than £15,000 in one year.
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