If you won lottery money, would you move to a new locale?

Steely Dan · #1 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:12 PM**

i've noticed several formers recently saying things along the lines of "i like where at i'm at in city X, but if i had unlimited resources, i'd rather be in city Y".

let's say you got stupid lucky tonight playing the lottery and woke up $5M richer tomorrow morning, are you sticking around your current town, or are you bolting for greener pastures elsewhere in the world?

including "why's" and "where's" in your answer will make it more interesting.

if you're a modern globe-trotting work-from-anywhere digital nomad, this thread doesn't really apply to you. this is for those with a well defined "home" where they live most of their day to day life (not including travel and maybe a vacation property somewhere).

James Bond Agent 007 · #2 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:17 PM**

This is the kind of question I've often pondered to myself, and always end up concluding that there's no real conclusion for me.

Even with unlimited $$, there's no real "perfect" or "ideal" place in the world for me. There are some places that are better than others, for sure, but no place that really sticks out. Even among the better places on my list, all involve a series of tradeoffs where I would be sacrificing something to get something else.

So if I won heaps of money in the lottery, I don't know what I'd really do. I might just stay in KC.

James Bond Agent 007 · #3 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 12:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

This is the kind of question I've often pondered to myself, and always end up concluding that there's no real conclusion for me.

Even with unlimited $$, there's no real "perfect" or "ideal" place in the world for me. There are some places that are better than others, for sure, but no place that really sticks out. Even among the better places on my list, all involve a series of tradeoffs where I would be sacrificing something to get something else.

So if I won heaps of money in the lottery, I don't know what I'd really do. I might just stay in KC.

llamaorama · #4 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 1:35 AM**

I don't know if even the lottery is enough to set you up long term in a dream, but even pretending this was a "money is no object" scenario, it's a hard question.

I don't know if I would stay in Texas or the South. But I wouldn't go overseas. I wouldn't go somewhere like Hawaii where I wouldn't fit in.

I would want to live somewhere low key that is not "paradise" by any stretch of the imagination but allows for things conducive to everyday wellness and sanity. I would want to own a modest but nice house with enough of a yard for things like a garden. It would be in a neighborhood that is quiet but also walkable with a really diverse assortment of things nearby. So it would be in a city. I would rather travel places and stay in nice hotels or vacation properties than deal with owning one.

Yuri · #5 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 1:46 AM**

I’d remain in São Paulo, but part-year in London wouldn’t hurt. And of course, several vacations during the year.

Steely Dan · #6 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 3:57 AM**

As for me, I'd stay put.

Hell, I don't think we'd even buy a different home in Chicago because we love our individual block so damn much (lots of neighbor-friends with 32 kids under the age of 10).

I'd park the 5 mil in some safe-ish investments and try to live off the interest and take it pretty easy.

The one extravagance we'd probably go for would be more frequent and exotic travel to places further afield than our typical tours road tripping around flyover country.

Centropolis · #7 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:18 PM**

I’d upgrade my St. Louis digs for sure since I’m so rooted here, build a new wrap around porched bungalow on my ranch with prodigious landscaping (lined with poplars) and a long entrance road, and have a modest summer cabin in Taos. Perhaps a condo in Playa Del Rey (or similar) close to LAX.

Four houses is really too much to screw with though.

pj3000 · #8 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:26 PM**

I’d likely stay in my place in Pittsburgh, with a bunch more upgrades. Pittsburgh is close to lots of family and friends… I’ll never fully leave Western Pennsylvania. My roots here run pretty deep and this is really a beautiful area of our country.

I’m fortunate and grateful to have a second (modest) home in Miami, so I’m able to spend significant time down there as well.

If $25M came my way, I’d probably buy few more small, comfortable places… likely one in Brazil, one in NYC, and one somewhere else internationally probably.

But overall, no, I’d pretty much stay put in da ‘Burgh as my primary location, traveling to other spots for long getaways to spice things up.

Sam Hill · #9 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:21 PM**

Yes. Manhattan. Because it would suit my preferred lifestyle, and because there’s something comforting about being in a place like Manhattan that makes me feel like I’m tucked deep into civilization. I’m weird like that.

Sam Hill · #10 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:22 PM**

Good question btw

badrunner · #11 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:40 PM**

I would move a little bit closer to the beach.

chris08876 · #12 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 12:01 AM**

I've move to Dat Doc Beach in Vietnam. The Vietnamese people are very good people. I know plenty in my personal life. Good food, good culture, friendly people. Plus as a way to get away from it all and enjoy nature. No stress, nature and opportunities for expats on a side note.

I'd use the money to buy this. Live on the beach. American dollar can go very far.

Image Credit: https://www.google.com/travel/hotels...AAAAHQAAAAAQAw

Than would just buy out a hotel and manage it as a side job to have continuous income. If I ever need to get to Ho Chi Minh City, local airport on the island, maybe for a nice weekend getaway or for business.

Use the rest of the money to travel the world as I would hire a hotel manager in time.

Buckeye Native 001 · #13 Posted **Sep 29, 2022, 11:53 PM**

I'd buy a house in Flagstaff, but I have no desire to move.

muertecaza · #14 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 6:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

I'd buy a house in Flagstaff, but I have no desire to move.

Hope we don't win the lottery at the same time, we might be competing for the same house

.

I don't think I'd want to move out of Arizona and too far from family/friends, but I'd definitely be looking at moving out of the Valley and up to Flagstaff. Maybe up 89 off Copeland where the fire was recently, or maybe in town (although some of the places in town would take a pretty hefty chunk out of that $5m).

There are some neighborhoods in Tempe I would consider as well. In general I'd be looking for an incremental step up to my ideal rather than a wholesale change.

Buckeye Native 001 · #15 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 7:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Hope we don't win the lottery at the same time, we might be competing for the same house

.

I don't think I'd want to move out of Arizona and too far from family/friends, but I'd definitely be looking at moving out of the Valley and up to Flagstaff. Maybe up 89 off Copeland where the fire was recently, or maybe in town (although some of the places in town would take a pretty hefty chunk out of that $5m).

There are some neighborhoods in Tempe I would consider as well. In general I'd be looking for an incremental step up to my ideal rather than a wholesale change.

I didn't think the flooding in Timberline and Doney Park could be any worse than what I witnessed in the aftermath of the Schultz Fire in 2010 (I worked at Coconino County Public Works at the time) but its somehow worse this time around. Just absolutely catastrophic, and I've got tons of coworkers who live up that way who had to create a fortress of concrete barriers and sand bags around their properties.

Not too many places in-town would set you back $5 million, although the cost of living sometimes makes it feel that way ("California prices at Arizona wages!"). I'd prefer to be somewhere close to downtown, like Townsite, Cherry Hill or NoHo/Hospital Hill. No idea what's going to happen (if anything, given the town's continued desirability) as the real estate market cools.

And then there's water, or lack thereof. We haven't had enough snowpack to keep the reservoirs full for a while now thanks to La Nina, and we're looking at potentially another quiet/mild Winter this year

AviationGuy · #16 Posted **Oct 1, 2022, 3:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Hope we don't win the lottery at the same time, we might be competing for the same house

.

I don't think I'd want to move out of Arizona and too far from family/friends, but I'd definitely be looking at moving out of the Valley and up to Flagstaff. Maybe up 89 off Copeland where the fire was recently, or maybe in town (although some of the places in town would take a pretty hefty chunk out of that $5m).

There are some neighborhoods in Tempe I would consider as well. In general I'd be looking for an incremental step up to my ideal rather than a wholesale change.

How about Sedona? The photos I've seen of Sedona show an unbelievably beautiful setting for a city.

muertecaza · #17 Posted **Oct 3, 2022, 8:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

How about Sedona? The photos I've seen of Sedona show an unbelievably beautiful setting for a city.

It has never been at the top of my list for whatever reason. I think my perception of it (rightly or wrongly) is that it is a town of (1) wealthy retirees, (2) tourists, (3) new age/crystal people or some combination of the three, and those things are just not really my scene. I'm sure that's not everyone, but when gauging that ineffable sense of whether a place fits your personality, Sedona has never felt like home. It's also a very small town of ~10k, which is probably too small for me. Flagstaff by contrast is a metro of ~150k, and Prescott has ~250k.

Then as far as beautiful natural settings go, while I agree the red rocks are beautiful, I am more drawn to forested ponderosa pine areas, hence Flagstaff or potentially Prescott as far as Central/Northern Arizona towns.

All that said, I'd probably still move out of the Phoenix area to Sedona if the game was "you win the lottery and get $5m and have to move to Sedona." I'd be looking north of town in Oak Creek Canyon.

PhillyRising · #18 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 12:03 AM**

I would like to retire to Rehoboth Beach, DE...the money would get me one of the fancy houses along the south end of the boardwalk.

SIGSEGV · #19 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 12:53 AM**

I'd probably buy a mountain cottage somewhere for skiing or when it's too hot in Chicago and probably live in a fancier condo....

AviationGuy · #20 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 1:02 AM**

I wouldn't be able to leave fast enough. Even though I've been in Texas my entire life, the culture wars that dominate the news mean "enough is enough". There's no place I like more than Santa Fe. The high elevation, the mountains, the snow, the cool nights during the summer, and hassle free life are what I would look forward to. Second in line would be Boulder. Gorgeous area but too congested and too close to Denver. But I do like it.