Transmat World: Your Property Value Is Dependent on Climate Change Whether You Believe in it or Not

People are now buying land they think will be worth three times its value in 100 years because of climate change. Popular Science created this great little video (less than 2 minutes) showing the best places to live by the year 2100 A.D. If you think you’re safe by not living near the ocean think again. Even far from rising seas, there are other things to consider—tornadoes, heat waves, insects hosting tropical diseases, drought, flooding, and wildfires.

Even if you do find a piece of property that experts say is safe for the next 50 years or so, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be safe staying there. Think about all the things you are dependent on in our modern civilization. Sure you can grow your own food and hunt and forage; but what about medical emergencies, connectivity with the outside world, and higher education for your kids or grandkids?

If this is your master plan that means you are, at the least, middle class or upper middle class to have the funds to accomplish this. What about the 200 million Americans that can’t even cover a $500 emergency. Do you really think they are going to just sit where they are and burn up, drown, or get smashed to pieces by a tornado? They are going to be traipsing through your vegetable garden, drinking your well dry, and knocking on your door demanding food and medicine and toilet paper.

All of the above is true, but it doesn’t matter. People with the means are still going to buy property in cooler, safer places. They are still going to sell the property they are moving from. Our DNA is preaching "Survival!" and we are the choir. The pace at which this takes place will accelerate as the media continuously spotlights the newest atrocities perpetrated by climate change. More and more scientific papers and organizations will point out what is going to happen and how soon and, of course, its inevitability. This acceleration will be exacerbated by FOMO, the fear of missing out. In this case, missing out on the major trend of a whole geological age—the Anthropocene. The people buying land now thinking it will be worth three times that in a hundred years are in a self-fulfilling prophetic loop.

What is the alternative to buying climate change-proof land? Buy the means to live wherever you want. Invest in a super-insulated, 4-wheel drive camper van with at least 600 watts of solar panels connected to a lithium ion battery and oversized fuel and water tanks. You can live anywhere off grid for a couple of weeks. Such a vehicle would enable you to dodge the vicissitudes of weather to some extent.

As for all those people that wind up buying land in Minnesota, Montana, or Canada, you’ll probably do okay just living there on your own; but, if you want to make a killing, set up an RV park to take care of those people that buy that camper van. It will give them a break every once in a while from all that living in the wild. Adding a few saunas and high-speed internet wouldn’t hurt. And a bar. And grill. Just saying.