The New York Times
recently wrote about the Hocking Hills area (link is free now, but may be subject to a charge later), about an hour drive south of Columbus. For those of you not familiar with
Hocking Hills, I would recommend you get familiar with it. Heck, I need to heed my own advise. I've only been there once. But it's beautiful country. And I would like to head back down there soon.
Anyways, back to the article.
A typical retreat in the hills may sit on as few as two acres or as many as a few hundred. House prices tend to be modest, mostly $100,000 to $300,000. ... The influx of professionals from Columbus and other big cities, though, has created a small market for houses in the $500,000 range. One recent sale involved an 85-acre estate with a horse arena and a 4,400-square-foot house for $1.3 million.
Wow. That's a lot of smack for a second home. Though the area is nice, I'm not sure I'd be spending that kind of cash for a second home in Ohio. I'd probably buy down in
Florida.
But, sadly, I don't have to worry about such things.
Besides the locale, what's intriguing about the article is the fact that it gives the names of a few professionals that have second homes there, and the price they paid for their home. I know everything is public record and all. But would I want to publicize how much I spend for a home in the "Newspaper of Record?"
For example:
Murley Miller, a fund-raiser for the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University in Columbus, and her husband, Alan, president of the Gongwer News Service, bought a 2,100-square-foot weekend home last December on 35 acres in the town of South Bloomingville in the hills. The house, which cost $275,000, has three bedrooms, an outdoor hot tub, a campfire pit and a large stone fireplace, and is just 50 miles from Columbus, where the Millers live.
Fund-raisers sure make a lot of money. And for that matter, presidents of
Gongwer News Service, which costs $2,625 annually or $225 per month. Which Gongwer says, is "a remarkable value." Which by the way, is. I used to read their publication when I worked for the State. And they did deliver timely information. Which as we all know, politicos need. [Aside: whoa, I just started three sentences with "which," and used it four times in the paragraph. Not counting this aside.]
By the way, sorry about the Florida link. I couldn't resist.
