The Second Half

I overheard an announcement on my news source radio station, NPR, that they were doing a segment on Flagstaff at 6:00pm tonight. Cool, I thought. Or not.......actually. The title of the segment is Flagstaff: Poverty with a View.

It's true - there are definately three categories of residents. The have's (Doctors, Engineers, and University Professors), the Hanging in there's (Read: Me, other 'professionals' in just about every industry - mostly service and construction), and the have nots who are supporting these industries and/or collecting welfare. As long as land is in strong demand out west, as it probably will always be in my lifetime, prices will be absurd and most residents will be short timers, leaving room for new residents to give it a shot living here. I would estimate that only 25% of the current residents have actually lived here longer than 10 years. Everyone else just passes through for a few years - and then on to Dillon, CO - Bend, OR - Truckee, CA - etc etc.....It isn't any wonder really. Housing goes for $275 per square foot on average. If we had not arrived and bought before the last BOOM, we would have moved on like everyone else.

Me saving money here? No. Big 401K at my small resort? Not even a retirement plan. Cost of living is cheap? Hell no - 4 seasons of clothes are required. Schools are the best in the country? Hardly.

Now let me tell ya why we do live here. Views? Fantastic. Recreation? Endless. Cool temps year-round? Love it. AND......The State Mountain Bike Race Series concludes on 5/17. The starting line is 500 yards from my front door.....out the driveway, up a gravel trail into the woods and Gooooooooooooooooooo!