Granny lived here as long as I can remember, I'll be 40 this yr
and she bought it in 1974. All my time growing up and all the way up through the mid-80's it was a quiet neighborhood with a mix of middle-aged couples and older retiree types. Great neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone, and there were large block parties & potluck picnics happening most every week when the weather was nice. Not affluent by any means at ALL, not even middle-class to be honest, but certainly a community nonetheless. I hit high school and drifted away from spending very much time with granny as most teens are apt to do. Graduated high school, joined the Army, met a girl, fell in love, got outta the Army, got married, had a kid, went to college, work work work blah blah blah. Granny passed away in '07, the house sat empty until my wife decided she was done being married to me in early '09, and now I live here. To say the neighborhood has changed would be an understatement. I'm in southwest MO, and poultry is a major industry here. Poultry farms = cheap labor needs = HUGE hispanic, mostly illegal, immigrant influx beginning in the early 90s. According to wikipedia, my town's population was about 13K in the most recent census, 80% white and "Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.27% of the population". That total population figure and the hispanic ratio are both highly inaccurate, to say the VERY least. In my little 3-block stretch of what I would consider as my granny's neighborhood from when I was young now consists of a total of FOUR non-hispanic households, none of which are side by side. As of today Jan 18 in those 3 blocks, there are FOURTEEN Guatemalan flags being flown from porches and ONE American flag (mine). MOST of the houses are now occupied by hispanic families (multiple adults and MANY children), but there's two houses that are occupied by gangbanger wanna-be's, typically full of a rotating cast of teen/young adult males.
I work in a career field that does not mesh well at all with my neighbors. When I leave my house to go to work I'm in the very recognizable "work clothes" of my profession. When I come home during the night for lunch break its in the very recognizable "work vehicle" of my profession. I don't mess with my neighbors and they don't mess with me, but I'm pretty much the embodiment of their worst nightmare, their very own "SHTF" scenario waiting to happen. That probably doesn't leave very much guesswork as to what I do! If you've ever wondered what it might feel like to be similar to Eastwood's character in Gran Torino, come visit me for a while.
That's my dilemma. I have a "free" house for life if I so choose. I say "free" rather than free, because there's still utilities and yearly property taxes to be paid. But its free in the sense that there's no mortgage and no rent. Its a solid well-built little house, approx 1000 sq ft not including ample attic space. Typical-size city lot. Partly shaded but lots of good growing space in a fenced-in back and side yards. Security system and motion detector lights around the exterior. I've always been of the mind that I will bug-in until that is totally out of the question. The one major thing that I absolutely do not like about my situation is that there will be zero sense of community if the going gets rough, and I have the very strong personal opinion that that factor alone will help many to sustain themselves and even thrive if and/or when it all goes to hell in a handbasket.
I've got ample and growing stores of food. Working on water still, but I've got enough for multiple months. Guns/ammo are in beyond-adequate supply.
Selling the house and using my share of the proceeds is pretty much out of the question, at least until my uncle passes away. He's absolutely 100% dead set against selling it OR renting it, although he's absolutely thrilled that I'm living here. My brother wants to sell it ASAP. I see positives to both sides.
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