Brief by Central Staff
Economy – January 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
The national economy was already slumping before Sept. 11, and the events since that day certainly didn’t help matters.
So did it mean a decline in the sales of certain luxury items, like second homes in remote rural areas?
Apparently not, according to a story in the Oct. 19 edition of the Wall Street Journal. The demand is not declining, it said, but rising.
“The almost-hourly reports of bad news these days are starting to have an effect on the countryside: A jump in people looking for second homes …. Brokers say homeowners are seeking places of refuge — and the more obscure, the better.”
The article went on to explain that upscale buyers aren’t just looking for some rural peace and quiet, but also places that don’t require air travel and are unlikely to be targeted by terrorists. “There’s nothing to blow up, except for the [local] market,” explained one buyer.
And there is some conflict. “Nor are the locals always thrilled to see newcomers, with the crowds and sometimes attitudes they bring…. Others, meanwhile, are annoyed to find recent arrivals snatching up that cheaper agricultural land and building McMansions.”
As for vacation spots, another article in the same edition said travelers are shunning the chic resorts and looking for more obscure spots.
“Even the travel industry is taken aback by how quickly people are singling out new vacation spots — and shunning areas where they once flocked. The shift may not last, but at least for now, travel pros say ‘getting away from it all’ has a whole new meaning. Beyond rural and secluded, people want vacation destinations they can escape to as well as escape from (read: it better be near a major highway)….”
[Banner that says Thanks for Traveling]
We always thought traveling was kind of fun, but we didn’t know it was an act of patriotism until we saw this bannder.