Weather notes

Just down the road from my old house.
But i don’t live there anymore.  

Sitting here in Hickory at 8am, listening to Helene sweep into western North Carolina, I feel vindicated. 

I sold my house in the mountains early this year and this morning I see that part of my road in the valley is under water and they are calling for landslides on the slope my house sits on. The state highway is impassable going west to the nearest large town. 

This is the worst rain I have seen in my 15 years living in that small town, and the basement must be at least 12” deep in runoff water right now, but I don’t have to worry.*

 I am currently in my girl friend’s brick house in the Piedmont, on level ground, with a good roof. Even so, we are right in the path of the storm too, and for sure her basement is flooded. She has issues with gutters and rain getting into the walls and there will be expensive repairs for her. 

But I have no property to care for, other than my car and a little cheap camper. I put a deposit on a bigger rv, but for the purposes of this storm, that is someone else’s problem right now. I have nothing to lose. 

That’s not precisely true, because I did buy an acre of farmland that is getting the absolute worst of the rain in the area. Luckily, there is just a driveway and a small plot of willow growing there, and nothing more.   No infrastructure to damage. So I am still good. 

Sometimes, having nothing to lose is like being lucky. 

But in reality, I foresaw and planned for this. I don’t want a house  anymore, it’s a liability. Repairs to housing are outrageously inflated these days, and cleaning up after a climate change event is going to be more expensive and more frequent from now on. 

Being able to pack up your domicile and move to a safer area easily is a smarter choice in my opinion. Even with a more expensive rv, and the perils and costs of the road, it will keep me ahead of most bad weather and the crazy heat. I like the odds. 

It’s too bad that homes have been identified as a profit center for greedy corporations and contractors. It used to be a path for middle class wealth building, but companies like Berkshire Hathaway and Home Depot don’t want us to keep that money. They are trying to own all the resources needed to live, so you have to pay them for the privilege of living.  Apparently, B-H also owns the largest rv brands as well, including Winnebago, Forest River and Airstream, so you can see where they are headed: Housing, at all levels, that is expensive, but cheaply made. 

Buy used. Do not buy new. Buy older models that were made better and fix them. Do not buy anything from corporations, ever. Learn how to make what you need. We are being squeezed like a toothpaste tube, on purpose.  Be nimble and ready for change. It’s coming in fast with the wind. 

* This is my viewpoint, not necessarily my girlfriend’s. Once she has sold her house, which is the current plan, we will own the Rv and the farm together. But connection to property runs deep. Houses are more than just shelter, possessions more than just things. It took me a good 6 years to move out of my house.