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Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain? 
10042 messages, Last post on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: kernick (Jan 17, 2008 9:09 am) Kernick, There are a lot of planners out there (myself included) trying to do that very thing. What you've described is called vertical mixed use - retail on the ground floor, office on one or more floors above the retail, and residential on top of that. However, 75% of the population still wants a detached single-family residence, so this particular ship isn't going to be turned around any time soon.
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Replying to: norcalplanner (Jan 17, 2008 5:03 pm) I have a friend that I worked with in Alaska. He sold his $1 million plus home in Colorado. Moved to a little beach town in Florida. Bought an old downtown building and built a beautiful home on the second floor. He has an ocean view and will eventually rent out the downstairs store to a nice quiet business of some sort. He will live rent free with his utilities paid by the store downstairs. Great idea if you can find the right old building. I have looked for one in Hawaii. Not cheap enough yet to go for it. |
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Good luck as you wait for Hawaii to get "cheap enough." As for vertical mixed use -- that concept worked pretty well through the 1950s. Then in the 60s and 70s, major cities became crime-infested hell holes, so people left. That's how the suburbs came to exist. That's also how $3 gasoline came to exist. When that many people commute every day, demand for oil trumps supply. But high gas prices still aren't sending people scurrying back to the cities. All the features of suburbs -- detached homes, back yards, garages, low population density, low crime -- trump the whole hip urban vibe and no commute thing. People naturally desire personal space and personal safety. And they're willing to pay (IMO) up to $5/gal. to maintain that standard of living. Higher than that, and they'll STILL stay in the 'burbs, they'll just buy a more efficient car for the daily commute. . |
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Replying to: 1stpik (Jan 17, 2008 5:46 pm) Well in my case, my job is in the 'burbs, so why would I live anywhere BUT? Plus, I'm only 3.5 miles from work, so I'd be saving gas no matter what I drove. Even if it was a '79 Newport. 
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That's what I meant to say; high gas prices are the result of 100 million people migrating to the suburbs, AND Andre delivering pizzas in a '79 Newport. I'm sure that's some kind of crime. But there's probably a statute of limitations on destroying an ecosystem. Anyway, living AND working in the suburbs demonstrates that you've rehabilitated yourself. So ..... okay. .
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Jan 17, 2008 3:13 pm) If I'm driving on a toll road I am certainly burning gas, meaning I am paying a gas tax. If no gas taxes are going towards this toll road then that doesn't seem quite right. Whether or not you believe in toll roads they definitely deserve their share of the gas taxes. The other option would be to calculate how much gas was burned by drivers on these toll roads and refund them for the amount of gas taxes paid. |
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Replying to: 1stpik (Jan 17, 2008 5:46 pm) I've got to believe there are very expensive, small properties(condos) in NYC that have a low incidence of crime. I think that crime rates are more a function of economic conditions. Bring affluent people into the inner-city and you will see a lower crime rate. |
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Replying to: lemko (Jan 17, 2008 5:41 am) I don't know. I used a home equity loan to buy my new car because I could deduct the interest from my taxes this way. I don't consider myself stupid. It was a calculated decision on money I would have spent anyway. But I do agree with the thinking that you should never tap into your equity for frivolous things like vacations and such. Everybody should live slightly below their means.
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Replying to: 1stpik (Jan 17, 2008 6:14 pm) Something classy about your pizza rolling up in a 79 Newport. Almost as good as having the limo driver go get the pizza. You would not want to stink up the limo with garlic and anchovy smells though.
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Replying to: chuckhoy (Jan 17, 2008 8:37 pm) That may not be the best way to do it as HELOC usually have a much higher interest rate than new car loans and the taxes saved usually don't make up the difference.
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