This story was originally published on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Forget the palm trees and warm ocean breeze. The upper Midwest could soon become the most sought-after place to live in the United States.
The Great Lakes region appears to be a relatively safe place to ride out the wild weather of the future. It is far away from the storm-battered Eastern seaboard and has some of the largest sources of fresh water in the world. The Great Lakes help cool the summer. Michigan is turning into wine country, with vineyards growing warm-weather grapes like pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon, because of rising temperatures.
The mayor of Buffalo, New York, declared in February that the city would one day become a climate refuge. A New York Times article made the case that the western corner of Lake Superior could be an attractive place for Texans and Floridians to escape the heat.
Climate migration will be larger in this century than political or economic migration, according to Parag Khanna, a global strategy advisor. His book, Move: The Forces Uprooting Us, analyzes where people are relocating to and how the "map of humanity" will shift in the coming decades with an eye toward climate change, politics, jobs, and technology. He is bullish on Michigan. He told me to go back and buy property in northern Indiana, a couple of miles south of the Michigan border. Some people are interpreting it that way.
There is a big market for mapping out where people will live in a hotter climate, with the majority of the 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 The Great Lakes cities are planning for an influx of residents and rich preppers to buy bunkers in New Zealand to ride out the apocalypse. Real estate investors frequently call to inquire about where to buy up property, according to a researcher at Portland State University.
More Americans are moving for jobs and affordable housing than because of climate change. The migration from hurricanes and wildfires is already well underway. The global answer is that it is already happening. Khanna said something. You only see early signs of it in America. In the year of Hurricane Maria, as many as 25,000 Puerto Ricans fled to Florida and as many as 5,000 moved to Buffalo. Many of the evacuees from the Camp Fire relocated to the nearby town of Chico.
