A future climate refuge in upstate NY?

July 25, 2022 7:25 PM

I have been reading a lot on this topic, but still don't have a good sense of how to think about it practically. Let's say I was interested in buying a not-very-expensive house in upstate NY specifically with the goal of having it (or down the road my child having it) as a place that was a safe haven from impending climate disasters -- that I could also use as a nice summertime place to get out of the city in the here and now?

How would I figure out where exactly to look and what to look for? I understand that "near lakes" is good, and that cities like Buffalo and Syracuse are considered to be future "climate haven" destinations. I have also read about more DIY folks specifically finding land somewhere "on a mountain" with a water source in the Catskills and building sustainable homes from scratch there. I don't have any interest in buying property in Buffalo as such, and buying very remote land with the goal of building something there is beyond my capacities. So if I was interested in exploring possible options, where would I look and how would I go about it? I understand how to read climate maps and have more specific questions like -- are there specific counties in NY that are more likely to invest in sustainable infrastructure? Does "near a lake" mean that it's good to look at literal lakefront properties around those little lakes upstate, or does "near a lake" only mean large lakes / does one not want to be right ON the lake because lakes can flood? I would be grateful either for specific places to look, if you can suggest those, or a step by step of how to approach this query. Thanks in advance!

posted by virve to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Nowhere will truly be a climate haven (both because there will be climate impacts everywhere and because places like Buffalo still rely on other places for food, etc). I also don't think any cities are doing anything close to what they need to do to prepare (Ithaca is doing some interesting work to decarbonize homes- more than any other city I'm aware of- but doesn't seem to be doing very much to reduce their very high risk of flooding, for example.) Just wanted to mention that this tool is useful for checking flood risk at specific addresses, since it accounts for climate predictions more than government flood maps do. I think some people suggest that being near a lake is good because it's a source of freshwater (so, you wouldn't have to be directly on a lake) but there are challenges there, too, including increasing toxic algae blooms in the water.
posted by pinochiette at 8:21 PM on July 25, 2022 [7 favorites]

I rather suspect that the immediate area around your property is more important than what part of the state you are in. Is it really immune from flood? How long would you be isolated by a 6' snowfall? Can you have your own well and septic? Is there space for a garden? Is there zoning for animals? Can you install solar (or geothermal) ?
posted by SemiSalt at 5:43 AM on July 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: People have different visions of both the disasters they are prepping for and how they want to ride out those disasters. So you sort of need to work that out if you want to optimize your purchase. Do you want to have the option to grow much of your own food? Do you want to be somewhere with significant population and infrastructure so it would be more likely to maintain services? Do you just want somewhere that's less f'ing hot? Do you want somewhere near a highway so it's easier for you to evacuate to it in an emergency, or something more isolated from other people? How does all that balance with what you'd like as a vacation getaway?

In your position I personally would consider the Ithaca or Bennington VT area, but that's based on my own preferences.
posted by metasarah at 5:58 AM on July 26, 2022

There is no such thing as a climate haven. It is far more productive to put your energy into collective local efforts (including local political efforts) to make your current location more resilient to climate change.
posted by heatherlogan at 6:43 AM on July 26, 2022 [10 favorites]

Anecdatally, I live in the suburb of the Syracuse "climate haven" and I was flooded out of my apartment by hurricane Fred last year. My rental insurance company told me to get lost and FEMA did the same.

I don't think climate havens really exist. In choosing a place to live to ride out the climate apocalypse, I think your best bet is to stay far away from the ocean and then choose a plot of land with reasonable elevation and then follow up with planning for eventualities.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 8:43 AM on July 26, 2022 [1 favorite]