July 2009

Perfect climate not so hot…or so cold either

     It was Mark Twain who reportedly wrote, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Spoken like a true resident of Hartford, CT, where the author lived for a good part of his adult life. Hartford features one of the most unpredictable climates in the nation. I know; I live there, and I have the snow shovels, broken umbrellas, T-shirts and shorts to prove it (all items occasionally called upon the same day). As Twain also famously wrote, “If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.”

     Millions of baby boomer golfers cannot wait to flee the cold weather in places like Toronto, Bangor, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Hartford and head for a more predictable and golf friendly environment. Only the most dedicated among us will don the necessary two sweaters, two gloves, thermal undies and hand warmers to get in a few holes on a typical January day north of the Mason/Dixon Line. Outfitted thusly, however, we both look and swing like the Michelin man, not exactly what we worked so hard for the last 40 years.

Finally, a definition for the perfect climate for golf and other activities

     But the question is begged: Which southern cities in the U.S. have the “best” climates?  For the purposes of this discussion, consider “best” those climates in which the sun shines the most, the warm average temperature varies the least, and the chances are greatest that your four-hour round of golf will not be interrupted by rain (or, heaven forefend, some other form of precipitation). Those who protest that they really, really like four seasons should read no further.

     I did not take a single meteorology class in college, although I have learned enough over the years to understand that if you stick an umbrella in your golf bag before you head for the course, it guarantees no rain (the inverse, of course, is true as well). For an objective view of what constitutes “best” climate, I turn to Jan Null, a meteorologist with the Golden Gate Weather Services in California. He devised a Camelot Climate Index, a reference to the 1960 musical that features a song about perfect weather (see the lyrics at Mr. Null’s web site, http://ggweather.com/camelot.htm ).

     The meteorologist ran data on more than 150 cities and towns in the U.S. and determined –- no surprise here –- that San Diego ranked first, followed by a few other cities in California.  Aside from a couple of towns in Florida in the Top 10 (Key West at #8 and Appalachicola at #10, great oysters by the way), the highest ranking southeastern town was Cape Hatteras at #14, followed by Atlanta at #25, Norfolk at #27, Charleston at #29 and Charlotte at #30.  Wilmington just missed the top 30 at #31.

     In a nutshell, Null assessed a range of climate characteristics to come up with his overall Camelot Index; they include “maximum temperatures, minimum temperatures, mean number of days with minimum temperatures less than 32º F, mean number of days with maximum temperatures greater than 90º F, mean annual rainfall, mean number of days with precipitation, mean annual snowfall, average percent of sunshine, and average relative humidity. The average monthly maximum temperature and corresponding afternoon relative humidity were combined to derive a monthly temperature humidity index (THI), which is a measure of ‘discomfort.’”

     For the full list of 158 cities, check out the Camelot Climate Index site at http://ggweather.com/camelot.htm. By the way, Mr. Twain, Hartford finished a weak 125^th; Juneau, the capital of Alaska and the opposite of Camelot, finished dead last.

Don't push the remote button too hard

(Part of a series on traps to avoid when looking for a golf community home)

     A nicely designed home in a well managed golf community should retain its value over time (assuming no more catastrophic news for the economy). But if the community is many miles from such local services as healthcare and shopping, with no scheduled date for those services, your chance for significant appreciation over time may be just as remote as the community.

     Unless decades of work, traffic and nosy neighbors have turned you into a recluse, you can have your cake and eat it too by identifying a golf community that feels secluded but is actually within a few miles of a thriving city. The communities around the east coast cities of Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah come to mind, as do some that circle Asheville and Greenville (SC). Many Florida communities near bustling cities are also sequestered well behind their gated entrances; but just outside the gate lurks the kind of traffic many of us have spent decades swearing at.

Private clubs outside the gates are cheaper than those inside

     In any of these cities, you will find excellent private clubs adjacent to neighborhoods but developed separately. In general, you will save money by purchasing a home in one of these un-gated neighborhoods and then buying your club membership at your leisure. (Note: Some planned communities force you to decide on membership within weeks of buying your home, and the rules for refunds or transfers in equity clubs can require a lawyer to decipher.) Four years of research has led me to the conclusion that these separate private clubs generally charge initiation fees 15% to 20% lower than comparable clubs in nearby gated communities. If you don’t need the full roster of amenities and the gate in a community, a home outside the gates is a viable and cost-effective alternative.

Giving away $65,000 golf memberships

     If the preceding decades have left you so bruised and battered that you absolutely insist on leaving civilization behind, just as long as you have a good golf course to play, try Bald Head Island (a ferry ride from Southport, NC) or Daufuskie Island (ferry from Hilton Head). On Daufuskie, at the wonderful Haig Point community, they are giving away $65,000 golf memberships (literally) with the purchase of a home, and deeply discounting some very nice homes. The catch is that it is expensive to run that ferry; the combination of club and homeowner dues at the island’s beautiful Haig Point community are well in excess of $15,000 per year.  Also, the local Daufuskie Island Resort, with its two golf courses, recently closed, creating an unfortunate drag on a niche market. These realities are driving prices ever lower, for some low enough that the bargains may make the high carrying charges pretty much a wash.

     For the worldly, though, and those for whom protecting their investment is a priority, the safest bet is a home within 15 or 20 minutes of such services as hospitals, shopping and entertainment.  “What is outside the gates,” says southeastern real estate expert Marian Schaffer of Schaffer Realty Group, “is just as important as what is inside the gates.”  

The anomaly of Asheville:
Cheap steaks, expensive Lipitor

     I have been searching through cost of living data to determine how much cheaper it is to live in the south than the north. Readers of our blog site at GolfCommunityReviews know that I believe many people with equity in their primary homes and a plan to move south should accept a market price and move sooner rather than later. They will instantly give themselves a cost of living increase because it is cheaper to live in the south, and in many cases dramatically so.  They will also get ahead of a market rebound that demographers and real estate experts expect will favor faster appreciation in the south than the north.

Eat, drink and be merry...but watch your cholesterol drug expenses

     Take, for example, someone who owns a home in the Boston/Quincy, MA, metro area. According to the web site BankRate.com’s cost of living calculator, a Bostonian couple moving to Asheville, NC, will give themselves a 21% annual raise. Virtually every major expense, from housing to utility costs to doctors’ visits to a T-bone steak, is dramatically cheaper in Asheville. The one outstanding exception is drugs. The cholesterol-fighting drug Lipitor and painkiller Ibuprofen stand out as significantly more expensive in Asheville. Moves from every northern city I compared with Asheville -– Chicago, Hartford, New York, even Burlington, VT -– yielded the same result; more expense for Lipitor and painkillers in Asheville.

     However, the glass of wine, which is only slightly more expensive in Asheville than in Boston, is half full: The cost of steak in Asheville won’t mitigate the reliance on Lipitor, but the money you save if you move there will probably reduce the need for headache medicine.  

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