Our climate migration story

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Recently I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Sustainable Minimalist podcast to talk about climate migration and our purchase of a home in climate-resilient Wisconsin. For anyone visiting my blog for the first time I wanted to be able to point you to my posts sharing our story.

 

Considering a second home in the Midwest Starting our search for a home in a climate-resilient area. Lots of great city recommendations in the comments!

Midwest home search update: we bought a house! How we decided on Eau Claire, and how we made the purchase of a second home work financially.

Hello from Wisconsin! Arriving at our second home to spend a month there in the summer of 2022.

Summer days in Wisconsin Summer in Wisconsin is NOT like summer in Arizona, thank goodness!

Our month in Eau Claire A recap of our month.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I’d also be happy to answer questions in the comments or send me an email.

4 responses to “Our climate migration story”

  1. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    Did you see this article in National Geographic? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-haven-cities

    My fiance and I live in Cleveland- not for climate change reasons but because he’s from here and wanted to work in public policy here. I’ll admit that it is not my first choice of locations – I’d rather be on one of the coasts – but I do think I may end up being grateful to be here in a climate crisis scenario!

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      I had not seen this thank you — looks really interesting. And yes maybe you can appreciate your city anew knowing that you are in a good place for climate change!

      Reply
  2. Mara Avatar
    Mara

    I’ve loved reading and hearing you talk about this process and appreciate your transparency. Can’t wait to listen to the podcast you were a guest on! One thing that’s been a challenge for me as my husband and I have discussed this topic has been the ability to even make the choice to go to a more climate resilient area. The big move that we had to make in 2022 was for financial and work purposes and even though my husband applied to several other positions in more climate resilient cities, the salary and benefits offered to him in the other cities wouldn’t have been enough to make ends meet for our family. We are currently still renting so aren’t locked in to any one place but at this point I also don’t know how we’d make another big move from a financial standpoint even though the thought of being in a more climate resilient place is so appealing and definitely eases some of the concerns I have about what the future will look like.

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Hi Mara, thank you! It’s really hard to wrap your mind around climate change and what action to take and when. I think in your situation you can think long-term. Maybe identify areas that are climate resilient that you might enjoy living and if work opportunities come up there in the next 5…10…15 years then those places will already be on your horizon. Or maybe it’s a long-term goal of saving up and buying a second home or piece of property, maybe even a goal of being able to do that in retirement. The honest truth is those of us who are privileged and wealthy (not living at or below poverty) will have more resources to move if forced, which is not fair, but something to keep in mind if you find yourself becoming anxious. Anyway, I hope offering that longer term perspective might help you feel better about your current situation, which sounds like it was made with a lot of thought and to good financial benefit! Such a move might put you in a position farther down the road to make a very smart move or investment in a climate-resilient area. The only other thing I think about and would recommend is keeping tabs on how climate change is affecting your area and identify what your own “red flags” would be of when it might be time to speed up a timeline of moving. I hope that is helpful!

      Reply

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