# In ~25 years, what city will people \*wish\* they'd bought property in now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304 "2011-06-29T20:05:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/1 "2011-06-29T20:05:41Z")
I live in New York City, and occasionally meet people whose parents, say, bought a Brooklyn brownstone in the '70s or '80s for next to nothing, and have since seen its value appreciate enormously. That’s because in the “good-old-bad-old-days”, crime was skyrocketing, people were leaving in droves, infrastructure was crumbling, the Bronx was burning, etc. Now that’s all pretty much turned around, property values are through the roof, and everyone wishes they’d had the foresight to buy an apartment 25 years ago. So, what city are we going to be saying that about 25 years from _now_? What broke, crime-ridden lost cause is going to regain its footing and marvel everyone with its resurgence? Why? For an extra level of fun futuristic speculation, what _country_ might that be true of? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/2 "2011-06-29T20:13:46Z")
My house. Honest. You can buy it from me, and in 25 years, you’ll be totally rich. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/3 "2011-06-29T20:21:17Z")
Detroit! … ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/4 "2011-06-29T20:44:57Z")
Flint, Michigan Gary, Indiana is due for a revival one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/5 "2011-06-29T21:24:39Z")
Minneapolis-St. Paul housing values are way depressed and it isn’t even a hellhole. Quite the reverse actually. ---
**Author:** ![tbook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tbook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbook)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/6 "2011-06-29T21:30:28Z")
Oakland, CA Now that Jerry Brown fixed it and is in the process of fixing the state it will be a paradise. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/7 "2011-06-29T21:33:27Z")
I figure some places in California. Denver, I hope! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/8 "2011-06-29T21:36:49Z")
> [@tbook](#): > > Oakland, CA Now that Jerry Brown fixed it and is in the process of fixing the state it will be a paradise. I’m sure this is meant sarcastically, but Oakland is my pick, and not just because it’s my hometown. Because housing costs in San Francisco are so outrageous, there’s been a steady migration of young artistic types to Oakland over the past decade +, and businesses and restaurants have been following, as well (we’re home to Pandora). I think in 25 years or so it will be thought of in an entirely different light. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/9 "2011-06-29T22:03:51Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Detroit! I’ll second this. If there is any truth to the legends, one could buy entire city blocks for the price of a decent home elsewhere. Raze with fire, plant some trees, wait for prosperity to return to the region. And I am also really hoping for “Denver.” ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/10 "2011-06-29T22:05:17Z")
Some place with plentiful clean (or cleanable) water. Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/11 "2011-06-29T22:19:46Z")
Sydney, Nova Scotia. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/12 "2011-06-29T22:36:02Z")
I’m surprised by the votes for Denver…I had the impression it was pretty nice right now! What’s so bad about Denver? My prediction: **Baltimore**. It’s in a great spot on the Eastern corridor, has some beautiful old housing stock, interesting history, and a cool culture and vibe that are just drowned out by the unbelievable crime and decay. (And syphilis: when I lived there the local “Baltimorons” were always quick to point out that they were the syphilis capital of the country…) If the city can get its crime rate under control and attract some business, it could really make a huge comeback. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/13 "2011-06-29T22:58:12Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > If the city can get its crime rate under control and attract some business, it could really make a huge comeback. And if wishes were horses we’d all be eating steak. My prediction is some little town that nobody is thinking of in the Southwest. The “return to the Rust Belt/Northeast” will never happen. The next big boom in property will occur around some place like Flagstaff or Nogales. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/14 "2011-06-29T23:09:13Z")
Tacoma is pretty cheap and has promise. Might take a little longer than 25 years… ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/15 "2011-06-30T00:26:05Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I’ll second this. If there is any truth to the legends, one could buy entire city blocks for the price of a decent home elsewhere. Raze with fire, plant some trees, wait for prosperity to return to the region. > > And I am also really hoping for “Denver.” As the property owner, you are responsible for cleaning the sidewalks and cutting the grass. To raise revenue, the city is billing landlords for these things. Also, your property is a convenient dumping ground. Again, you will be billed for clean-up and fined enormously. It’s not like buying farm land and waiting for a developer. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/16 "2011-06-30T00:41:18Z")
Cities in general. In every city there are blighted areas that are in close proximity to the business centers, infrastructure and mass transit. The near south side of Chicago for example. In 25 years with gas prices skyrocketing and the electric grid deteriorating it’s going to become exceedingly important to be in a location that reduces the dependence on cars and is going to have a reliably high level of infrastructure being maintained. Living in the burbs and the sprawl will become prohibitively expensive and people will begin flocking to central areas. It’ll be the opposite of white flight and gas prices will be the cause. Western cities without central business cores and without any mass transit will suffer. Ironically, the rust belt might be best position to flourish when driving a car great distances becomes a luxury many can’t afford. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/17 "2011-06-30T00:49:05Z")
It’s not Austin, I can tell you that. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/18 "2011-06-30T02:13:42Z")
Let’s make this a little more international shall we? shanghai, Sydney, KL ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/19 "2011-06-30T02:58:40Z")
My prediction: **Baltimore**. It’s in a great spot on the Eastern corridor, has some beautiful old housing stock, interesting history, and a cool culture and vibe that are just drowned out by the unbelievable crime and decay. (And syphilis: when I lived there the local “Baltimorons” were always quick to point out that they were the syphilis capital of the country…) If the city can get its crime rate under control and attract some business, it could really make a huge comeback. [/QUOTE] I’m going to go with Baltimore as well. As the DC Metro area keeps booming and expanding, and the prices here rise higher and higher, I think that city types who want to pay less and live in a nice area will start moving to Baltimore. You can already commute between the two via Marc train, and Baltimore to DC by car is only 40 miles or so, which is the same distance and the outer suburbs to DC. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304/20 "2011-06-30T03:21:10Z")
Darfur. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-25-years-what-city-will-people-wish-theyd-bought-property-in-now/587304.md?page=2)