rosefarts

Seems a little lame but I can buy a much nicer house outside of town. I’d lose the ability to throw the kids on the back and head out.

Does anyone do this? Throw the bike in the back, then unload it when the parking is still easy, and then head to town. How does this work out for you? Does the trouble to load and unload 65 lbs of bike mean you just use it less?

I realize I’d need a longer and stronger rack for the car.

Seems silly to let something so expensive be influenced by a relatively inexpensive seasonal toy. But here we are.

CliffordK

I don't think my cargo bike has ever left the house without me pedaling it.

I think some cargo bikes can be broken down. Bike Friday Haul-a-day?

I might get a small trailer that would haul the bike easily.

cat0020

If you carry your cargo bike across the rear of your car, wouldn't it stick out from both sides of your car?

How many years do you expect your kids to stay on the cargo bike before they graduate to their own rides?

Is it a good time to buy a home now with interest rates being high?

Smaug1

cat makes some really good points.

I've been considering a cargo bike, the Lectric Expedition, thinking about putting my daughter on the back, but she told me the other day she'd rather ride her own. Even at 5 or 6, she'd probably have preferred to ride her own.

I think you'd be better served by an XP 3.0 with the cargo package, unless you have a minivan or something where you could just fold down the bars of an Expedition or something.

cat0020

I have a 25 year old Ford Ranger pickup truck that I bought about 15 years ago for $2.5k.
It gets driven about half dozen times in a year for moving furniture, motorcycle, office cabinets, etc..
Since it's 25 y-o, it has classic/vintage lifetime registration, insurance is about $70 per year.
Solid work truck that don't take up much room like the mega trucks these days,
The cap comes off and can easily fit a long cargo bike in the truck bed.

rosefarts

Before it was electric, I just barely managed to get it home on the back of a Highlander. Now that it's so much heavier, I wouldn't put it on a standard rack. A stronger rack, about 4" longer would do, if it had a ramp to make loading easy.

More to the point, it's a f-n terrible time to buy a house. Life does not always follow the ideal timing of political tides. It's worse now than normal, high prices, high interest, low inventory, and fierce competition from cash buyers. It's almost like there's a certain segment of society who is directly benefiting from another segments financial immaturity and the entire system is built to keep it that way. So what are the options? Move somewhere devoid of mountains, quality schools, and public works (parks, pools, libraries) just to buy something cheaper? Stay where I'm at an continue to pay more to rent a house than I would to buy one? Bite the bullet and buy, hoping that there will be favorable rates to refinance into a few years down the road?

CliffordK

In theory, the increased interest rates should decrease the capital price to compensate. However, that may not be the case.

Keep in mind that anything you purchase today will seem cheap in 10 or 20 years, and you may be able to refinance, or get a variable interest rate.

You will enjoy your country house the most with the young kids.

You may ride your cargo bike on country roads. I see them buzzing around here from time to time. And, I've done a lot of cargo hauling out of town here.

Of course it all depends on where you are, distances, and traffic.

Suburbs in a small city like Eugene/Springfield, OR is very different than Portland.

Choose bike friendly neighborhoods. Your kids may choose to ride too!!!!

Leisesturm

When I bought my first house more than 30 years ago the interest rate was 6.5% and that was a great interest rate. My ex-wife is a millionaire now because of that house. All I got out of it was enough money to put a 40%DP on my present house, bought two years ago just as things were starting to go nuts. 3% and glad to get it. It's in town. We could have paid much less and lived much further out but the people that do that usually hate it after the fog lifts. I doubt there will be much difference after 5 years in what I paid up front to live close in and what a suburbanite pays over time in living so far from work, shopping, repairs and just about everything else. Not having to own ANY car whatsoever is priceless don't let anybody tell you otherwise. There are kid friendly neighborhoods that are close in just about everywhere. Live close to your work or you may well end up being one of the millions who get to maintain a family you never see for the next 20 years.

CliffordK

Country life doesn't save piles of money. Some of the rural/suburban homes can be mighty expensive. Think of the cost of buying 100 city lots, plus building the home.

Yet, there is one opportunity to teach children where their food comes from. And a very different lifestyle than living in the city.

Things like theft can be minimal in the country.

The OP has mentioned (PM) that he is in a small, but growing city. That means one can get from outside the city to most parts of the city by bicycle in a reasonable amount of time and effort. Of course, cold in the winter, and toasty in the summer. And lots of outdoor recreation. GRAVEL riding?

There are small neighboring cities around. Those would be interesting too, but, cumbersome if one commutes from the satellite community to the larger city.

The nice thing about small cities is that one can go from rural to urban very quickly. And, hopefully there are some roads that are not slammed with traffic.

cat0020

I bought my house 20 years ago, found it while I was on my bike ride.
The seller had only sign a contract with realtor and yet to list the house on the market.
I ride in areas with preserved open spaces, close to national park, rail-to-trail access, or powerline areas; that way I know development for further residential & commercial would be limited.
Nowadays most housing development have monthly association cost, limited in how you can use the land that comes with your property.
I have about 1/3 acer of land, last year I put up a ground solar array that can easily charge my ebikes & handle my household usage.
I didn't want to put it on the roof, because if something needs fixing I can easily access the panel from the ground.


I have less than 3 years left on my mortgage payments, been making extra payment every month for 20+ years.
I don't see my house value increase much, since the building itself is well over 50 years.
Over the last 20 years, I've replaced the water heater, fridge, well pump, washer & dryer, remodel the bathroom, I'd say in total about $40k investment into the house.

With the Federal government about to default on national debt, I would avoid getting or refinance a mortgage at all cost.