One friend of mine was busy enjoying life along the Florida coast when the rising tide washed away the foundation of the building that sits between her and the actual sandy beach. Sudden beach front at no charge! What could be better?
Having always nurtured the dream of living on the beach, I was a bit jealous of my friend. And so I decided to make a more reliable plan to secure a sandy and tropical future for myself.
Doubting there's a spot left in America where I could afford a beachfront, I started my search abroad. Central America seemed like a good option, close to home and all, but--the Spanish colonial legacy is lease-hold real estate, meaning you don't actually own the land, just the house you put on it. And that is subject to squatters' rights and political upheaval and other dreary realities.
So I turned my attention to Belize where real estate law is more similar to the United States and the official language is English. Plus there hasn't been a major hurricane since 1960 something.
Belize doesn't really have a sewer system and you are required to capture gray water for certain functions that might be better suited to the processed variety, but we all have to make compromises to achieve our dreams, I suppose.
In Belize, the beach ends at the place where the jungle begins. And the jungle is full of reticulated pythons. And howler monkeys. Yikes!
For awhile, I imagined I could stay away from the snakes (although I did have a few creepy dreams about pythons wrapping themselves around the roll bar of the convertible jeep that comes with my beach living fantasy)...
Then I remembered my friend in Florida and realized that the rising tides might gobble up my newly purchased sand and condemn me to sharing a treehouse with a howler monkey and worrying constantly about reticulated pythons who might have taken tree climbing lessons from the evil snake The Jungle Book.
Not that life imitates art.
So, I came to my senses and made a trip to Maui. So much to recommend it--like familiar laws and flush toilets, not to mention the outstanding red snapper at the Fish Market in Pai'a.
As I said, I can't really afford an American beach, so I decided that a timeshare beach would be good enough for now. The salesman was very nice and incredibly enthusiastic about the condos he was showing us. "What's the set back?" I asked--meaning the distance between the edge of the water and the edge of the foundation.
"A hundred feet," he said, with great pride.
Apparently, the average customer sees a special value in being so close to the surf. He clearly did not expect my next question. "So what's your global warming plan?" I asked tentatively.
"Do you really think we need one of those?" He asked, laughing it off.
"As a matter of fact, I do."
We went back and forth. I told him the Florida story. He calmly assured me that wouldn't happen on his island paradise.
Really? I've got a place for you in Florida...it's really cheap...You can enjoy it while I vacation at my new timeshare in Kauai. It's on a 100-foot cliff. Instant waterfront--the day after tomorrow!
Seriously, exponential global warming increases the probabiltiy of instant change. What will you do if you find yourself sharing with howler monkeys a treehouse surrounded by pythons, and without flush toilets or running water?
Click on this link to Survey Monkey and answer 5 easy questions. Then check back here in a few days for results. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dy2wyCZEQVN7PAO1ovS1vw_3d_3d
And be sure to send every condo salesman you know to my blog! THANKS, from your most forward thinking NeanderGirl
5 comments:
Why move so far for beachfront? I know if might be cold were you live but if the oceans do rise, property that is not beachfront now will become beachfront. Get a topographic map, make a guess about where the beach will end up, and buy your beachfront in advance. It would be a bonus if the land around the new beach was sandy, but even high bank waterfront is nice. A high bank might reduce your odds of getting wet if you guess wrong about how high the water rises.
If we just had to worry about rising tides, this would be a stellar plan! But what about the ice age? No sandy beach then, just a backyard full of glaciers. Brrr!
Whether it's and ice age or global warming, climate change is real and affecting everyone everywhere. Extreme weather conditions will become the norm the farther you get from the equator. I think the best course of action will be to take your family and essential items, including seeds for food, move to within or very near the tropics and live off the land. Take advantage of the food already there and bring what you need.
Just stopping by to say hello. I didn't know about your email until Charlie mentioned it to me and forwarded.
For some reason your email to me went into the rather over-vigilant spam filter.
Another more mundane consideration about beach property is the destruction to one's personal property from the salt air. Things that I had for over 30 years have been destroyed by living near the beach (brass lamps) not to mention that paper clips rust and rubber bands disintegrate faster.
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