Was anyone tempted to move to cheaper area during housing bubble?

[rob in cal]

Around 2005 or so, I started to do the numbers on what would happen if we sold our home in suburban Sacramento and moved to some place like Indiana or Nebraska. Basically, with our house owned free and clear we could have sold it for about 450k and bought an equivalent one in the midwest for about 150 to 175k. Then we could have invested the difference. By my calculations, that difference would have amounted to something like 250 to 300 k, and assuming a ROI of the high single digits, that would amount to around 25 k a year in extra income just for moving.
Of course, drawbacks would have been moving away from family and friends and starting a new life in a colder state. Also, I would have had to look for new work, and probably not be able to find anything similar to my very good delivery driver job. Still the extra investment money coming in every month made the idea intriguing.
Now, our house is probably worth 325k or maybe a little less, so the margin between us and the cheaper part of the country is smaller, making the gain by selling and moving that much smaller, though who knows, maybe another boon will once again create this intriguing question.
I wonder if anyone on this forum actually did sell toward the peak of the housing boom and move to a cheaper place?

[scfr]

Sold house in Seattle area early 2006.
Rented (first in Seattle and then in Austin).
Bought house in Austin area early 2009.

Our decisions were strictly financial.

Decided to sell after seeing home prices skyrocket and many, MANY neighbors refinance and pull out home equity to pay for country club memberships, new cars, lavish home improvements, etc. We decided to cash in our chips and walk away.

Chose to move to Austin not because it is super-duper cheap. There were many other cheaper options that we considered. We chose it because it had a much lower cost of living and much lower housing costs compared to Seattle (at the time at least), AND a great quality of life.

We knew no one here when we moved.
Making a move like that is definitely not for everyone.
But we have been very happy that we did it. I have never once regretted our decision. (DH had a moment of weakness when he seriously wanted to move back to the West Coast, but he got over it and is now loving life in Austin.)

If anyone else is thinking of moving to Austin, forget about it. Many others did as my husband & I did and it's a bit of a boom town right now. Rents are skyrocketing, housing prices climbing, etc. Prices may continue to arrive, of course, but the train is already pulling out of the station.

[kaleida]

I am probably weird but I never once thought about relocating. I like where I am ... I like my job, I like my friends, I like being near a big city.

[MonkeyMama]

We had done a lower-cost relocation once (to Sacramento) and decided to do it again in the boom. The value of our house more than doubled in a few years. We did not succeed, because everyone and their brother had the same idea. We basically didn't make the decision until it would have been stupid not to, and the market contracted pretty quickly.

For reference, it felt like winning the lottery. We would have made $300k+ TAX-FREE, if we had sold at the peak - if we had decided a month or two sooner to commit to this decision.

Oh, we had picked Oregon or Washington because where many of our friends had relocated to (specifically, Vancouver or Portland). Which is how we ended up in Sacramento (so many of our friends were moving to Sac).

I am glad we did not move in the end. BUT, worst case, we would have decided to move back and buy back our home when it foreclosed. We'd be richer, so it wouldn't have been the worst decision. Our first move was only 100 miles, and we have had a lot of medical stuff goin on since 2009, so I am personally very relieved we stuck close to family. That has become more important to us than anything. (It was important anyway, but I figured with the $300k+ we made we could visit frequently - make a travel fund). Hindsight 20/20 - we could not have been happy living so far away. 100 miles away I have had no problem with - we have been able to support each other during rough times.

I have never considered moving to "Extreme low cost" areas. I have too many relatives in the mid-west and the south. Just not my cup of tea. I am a west coaster. I also feel like we save tons of money living here as there are many perks (low-cost education, vacation lifestyle so don't need to actually vacation much, awesome medical care - which we have needed, etc., etc.).

What happened to everyone who moved? Most of them spent all their home equity and are dirt broke. Many are moving back to the Sacramento area, penniless. I kind of can't wrap my brain around it because I assumed everyone was being prudent and moving to slow down (like we have done already, once). I think a lot of people went crazy buying stuff and many many people gambled it away in the stock market - recklessly investing. I know people who stayed put, borrowed the equity, invested it, and lost it. I have many acquaintances who moved back because they did not like the weather, etc. Most are underwater on their out-of-state properties, so many of them feel stuck. Others foreclosed and moved back.

I once read weather should be least consideration for this kind of move. HA! It is my absolute *only* complaint about having moved to Sacramento. I would probably not last anywhere else. Maybe it's least important, unless you grew up in "Paradise." Fast forward 10 years and I have acclimated okay. But the first few years I was not so sure about the hot summers.

[grumpter]

Didn't have the chance to sell during the bubble but started looking in 2003/4. Once I saw the prices, interest rates and demand it didn't take long for me to realize saving every penny I could was advantageous. Fast forward to 2008/9 and I was looking to buy places for 20% (or less) of what they sold for a few years earlier.

If I had owned a home at that time I hope I would have been smart enough to sell high, rent for a short time, then buy low.