Having grown up in a small town in Southwestern Colorado that had only one radio station, you listened to whatever music they played – at least until sunset when radio skipwaves bounced off the ionosphere from distant locations into the valley. Whatever the DJ felt like playing is what you heard. One of the DJ’s favorites, evidently, was Johnny Horton’s 1960 North to Alaska. We all knew the words to the song since it was played so often. That is changing today, and the song needs new words given trends now.
On average, one out of every 10 Americans move each year for a multitude of reasons. [To read a Previous Stewart Blog on moving click http://blog.stewart.com/stewart/2018/09/29/moving-2018-to-from-and-why/ ]
From that blog:
Why do people move? According to Move.org’s latest survey:
16.0% Relocate to a new or better home
11.5% Establish their own household
11.3% Other family reasons
9.9% New job or job transfer
8.3% Cheaper housing
7.6% Other housing reasons
7.3% To own their home instead of rent
5.5% Closer to work or easier commute
5.1% Change in marital status
5.0% Unspecified
3.0% Attend or leave college
2.8% Better neighborhood with less crime
As important as where people are moving to, also key is where they are departing. To track intended arrivals and departures, LendingTree reviewed more than two million purchase loan applications for primary residences in all 50 states for 2018 (through November). On average, 12.1 percent of those applying for purchase loans are moving to another state. That rate, however, is not equal across the country. As usual I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market or a National Economy. The same is true when it comes to states and locales regarding the number of people moving in and out. It varies across the country.
The following table summarizes the percent of loan applicants for loans outside of their current state. In addition, also is the primary destination state among those departing. One-in-four loan applicants (24.8 percent) residing in Alaska hope to purchase out-of-state. The most common destination (10.8 percent) among departing Alaskans is Washington. Second highest out-of-state movers was Hawaii, with slightly more than one-out-of-every five loan applicants departing the state (22.4 percent). The primary destination from the Aloha State was California.
At the other end of the spectrum, just 6.6 percent of the loan applicants in Texas plan to move out-of-state, with one-in-ten of those heading to Florida. Florida was the top destination among 15 of the states.
To read the entire LendingTree Study click https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/study-finds-americans-moving-south/
If you want to hear the original North to Alaska song from Johnny Horton, including lyrics, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUZGWjv1L68 You too would know all the words to this song from 1960 if there was only one radio station in your hometown. Perhaps the new words should sing, Go South to Florida, Go South to the Tan Line Zone…..
Ted