mass_biker wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 7:28 am
Also interested in responses to this - less "where to retire" than maybe a second home.
Criteria - within 3 hours of the Baltimore/DC area.
Specifics - waterfront (river, lake, coast (?))
Other - not focusing on power boating etc., but more kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding
Other part II - good cycling (road, gravel) would be ideal
We have looked in the Annapolis area - not terribly affordable, somewhat densely populated, but some of the rivers and creeks that flow into the Chesapeake are lovely, and the vibe is a bit more rural the further south you go.
We have also begun to look at some lake towns in western MD and central PA - higher elevation, low humidity, but maybe a bit more difficult to get to in the winter months. Have visited Indian Lake in PA and are considering visiting Deep Creek Lake in MD. Would love any perspectives from folks on the board on both. Not sure if there are any o
We have circled the Lewes area in DE as a potential spot to visit and scout around - looks like nice river access and the town of Lewes itself are draws. Would appreciate any feedback or first hand knowledge of the area.
We have little/no knowledge of the Eastern Shore of MD and coastal VA. Nor do we know much about the inland areas west of Middleburg VA heading into WV, where there are apparently places with decent kayaking/canoeing etc.
We have not focused on this as "where to retire" choice yet - but given that we are in the mid-Atlantic for the foreseeable future and work takes us up and down the Amtrak corridor for at least the next 5-10 years, our focus has been in this area. Of course, in the back of our heads is the issue of adverse impact of rising coastlines - maybe mitigated by riverfront vs. coastal?
Thanks in advance for any insight...
m_b
Remember that whoever buys your house has to be able to get a 30 year mortgage on it. If it looks like it will be underwater in 30 years when you are trying to sell (in 2040?) then you have a problem.
There are a lot of contingencies, but sea level rise this century is likely to be at least 18 inches. For various reasons the US Eastern Seaboard gets it worse (the slowing down of the Atlantic Meridional overturning aka "the Gulf Stream" means water piles up on the western shore of the Atlantic).
(the new IPCC Reports will be out this year
https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/ )
It could be a 3' increase. There are some positive feedback loops that we do not entirely understand that could cause disruptions (even much more severe ones).
Storms will also be worse - higher peak surges.
I would not buy within 3' of current sea level. Or if I did, it would be in a home prepared to deal with the possibility of sea flooding. Tiles not carpet on the ground floor. Electricity conduits at waist level not floor level, etc.
Jeff Goodsell's book is an excellent introduction to all this.
Conversely we are seeing just incredible rainshowers. London has had a month's average precipitation in less than 2 hours, this summer. So you have to be quite careful about the drainage around a house on a river. Modern building techniques & styles - by paving over essential drainage areas like front gardens etc, make things worse - we have flooding around here, and I am over 100' above sea level - and it's because these torrential downpours have nowhere to go. The streets just become spillways.
A lot of nice little riverfront towns are going to be regularly flooded.
Stay on as high ground as you can, and certain types of forest cover on hilltops reduce the runoff.