What is TEOTWAWKI? Notwithstanding the hit song of this name by the group R.E.M., among the prepper population, this stands for “The End Of The World As We Know It”. In almost all doomsday books and such, this event is seen as coming in a flash via an asteroid strike, an EMP detonation, terrorist attack on the power grid, etc. Some would include pandemics, but most writers and prognosticators didn’t see COVID-19 as the catalyst. But when you think about it, mid-February through March may have very well been “The End Of The World As We Know It”. Consider the following:
- NBA, NFL, MLB and the NCAA cancelled all events and who knows when they’ll offer their full schedule again. Can you imagine Soldier Field Chicago with 6′ separation?
- Schools closed across the country and are struggling to adapt. Home school enrollment is through the roof these days as parents have found they can teach their kids just as well at home.
- Millions of jobs lost, many of which won’t recover.
- Tele-medicine is now in vogue. Good or bad, we aren’t likely to return to normal any time soon.
- Millions of people added to the welfare rolls, many of whom will never dislodge themselves from the “free” money being doled out by the Fed, while honest tax paying citizens provide the dollars for that “free” money. Have a client who told me her employees can make more off the government handouts than they would if they worked for her.
- Our population has been conditioned to believe social distancing is acceptable and that we must at nearly all cost avoid being around each other. We’ve become desensitized to the images of masks everywhere, and the serious adverse psychological impacts of staying at home are just now starting to be felt.
- Attendance at Sunday church services has all but vaporized as we now worship on line, which is nothing like being together in person. Many smaller congregations were already struggling, and the lock downs have only forced many of these to shutter their doors forever.
- Much as travel changed after 9/11, we are now conditioned to new travel restrictions at airports, resorts and such which aren’t likely to be lifted even after the pandemic is officially over.
So I contend that “The End Of The World As We Know It” has already come and we missed it. This is a new day and the “new normal”, which is anything but. Do you honestly believe we’ll ever get back to our carefree lives, where we aren’t wearing masks or worried about getting too close to a stranger? Sadly this is a new era. What does this have to do with real estate? Those areas with lowest incidence rates happen to be rural properties such as those offered by Retreat Realty. So if you really want to “social distance” yourself, what better way than to settle down on a 20 to 50 acre farm here in the western North Carolina mountains? Call us today for some ideas.
