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Here in Anchorage, the city just recently stopped accepting glass for recycling. They discovered there just isn't any money in it, and they refuse to pay for recyclers to haul it away anymore. You should have seen the news footage of the Prius-driving tree-huggers going into shock actually having to throw their glass bottles into the GARBAGE! Priceless!
LOL! The scrap market dumped badly! Last July we were getting $420/long ton for scrap steel, as in trailer frames, fencing, water tanks, etc.. We have a commercial account, and move steel by the container load (up to 10 tons per container). So last October we went and ordered 2 20-foot containers for a ranch clean-up job, took a couple of days to fill them up and had them picked up. We got down to the buyer to get our check and we got $10/LT for 25,000 lbs of steel!!! The market dived rapidly...we knew we were going to get less, but not THAT LESS! Aluminum, brass, copper and other metals followed suit. The Chinese quit buying and were not honoring their previous contracts with the west coast sellers.
Tenderly wash out that milk jug....softly place it inside the city-collected recycle bin and gently place it on the curb. If the city can't sell it because it has no value, it's headed for the nearest landfill.
The pooooor treehuggers! Now, be nice!
Recycling is about the money, not saving the planet.
LOL! The scrap market dumped badly! Last July we were getting $420/long ton for scrap steel, as in trailer frames, fencing, water tanks, etc.. We have a commercial account, and move steel by the container load (up to 10 tons per container). So last October we went and ordered 2 20-foot containers for a ranch clean-up job, took a couple of days to fill them up and had them picked up. We got down to the buyer to get our check and we got $10/LT for 25,000 lbs of steel!!! The market dived rapidly...we knew we were going to get less, but not THAT LESS! Aluminum, brass, copper and other metals followed suit. The Chinese quit buying and were not honoring their previous contracts with the west coast sellers.
Tenderly wash out that milk jug....softly place it inside the city-collected recycle bin and gently place it on the curb. If the city can't sell it because it has no value, it's headed for the nearest landfill.
The pooooor treehuggers! Now, be nice!
Recycling is about the money, not saving the planet.
I wash out my milk containers, let them dry, soak the insides in some vineger, and cut them out leaving the handle. They are used to either hold the stuff sprouted in soda bottles or used to sprout seeds themselves, with the advantage of having the handle to carry them. When done they are reusable. Why should I spend money on plastic pots to start my garden if I already have something. I also use soda bottles to sprout seeds indoors on the window sill.
Just because the city may not be able to recycle them there is no reason to not find your own uses.
You can even use the soda bottle tops as self watering devices like the ones advertised on tv. They also make great funnels.
I wash out my milk containers, let them dry, soak the insides in some vineger, and cut them out leaving the handle. They are used to either hold the stuff sprouted in soda bottles or used to sprout seeds themselves, with the advantage of having the handle to carry them. When done they are reusable. Why should I spend money on plastic pots to start my garden if I already have something. I also use soda bottles to sprout seeds indoors on the window sill.
Just because the city may not be able to recycle them there is no reason to not find your own uses.
You can even use the soda bottle tops as self watering devices like the ones advertised on tv. They also make great funnels.
Marvelous! I ALWAYS resuse boxes and I also use old newspaper to start fireplace fires. There are many clever ways to reuse items. But on a global scale, the scrap market deals primarly with supplying raw materials for industry. Did you know that plastics can only be recycled so many times? And that glass can be recycled forever? Cool huh?
The California scrappers and recyclers have been hit very hard by the economic downturn. Less consumer demand equals less manufacturing equals less raw materials needed.
I lived in St. Augustine, and Jacksonville, Florida. I also lived in Georgia. I currently live in California. I wish I was in Oregon already. We used to get gasoline in Georgia because the road taxes were less than Florida...! Florida has its share of crime and especially racism.
But we were talking about California's money problems....
Last edited by DezertGirl; 01-18-2009 at 06:44 PM..
Thanks guys - there were at least a few useful replies through all the off topic debating. I really have no interest in other states - I don't have to be sold on CA... or FL or anywhere else. Most of our family lives in CA. If they didn't, we'd likely just stay here in the Denver area. This area is great, it just isn't the area where most of my family resides. It's been sunny and in the 60's half the winter so far (just like today) - I can't complain about the weather, the schools are great, the taxes aren't bad, the home prices haven't dropped much in our area, and the cost of living is right around the national average. At a glance, I know it seems like a dumb idea to move away from a good area and go back to a sinking ship. But we really feel like we need to have our daughter grow up near our family so we're trying to find the right situation and good timing.
Again, I was really just trying to get some good educated guesses on CA's future. Maybe it could help us plan things out. As it stands now, we're most likely going to hold on to our house here in CO and rent it out while we move out there next year and rent ourselves. This way we take a lesser risk and give ourselves the option of being able to move back into our house here if we find that being closer to family isn't everything we envision it to be. The last thing we plan on doing is taking our money out of a safer housing market and dumping it into an extremely unstable market - at least, not for another couple of years.
I will give you my 2 cents on moving to be closer to family. We moved to Chicago last June so that our daughters could be closer to family and boy what a mistake! Now we remember why we moved away in the first place. There has been no benefit to being close to family for us and we took our daughter away from her life and her friends in California for nothing! Now we are planning a move back to the very place we left. It has been a very costly mistake for us in many ways. You are smart to think of keeping your house in case you want to move back. Because I'm telling you that I hear it all of the time, family is great, but even better if they are a plane trip away!
Thanks guys - there were at least a few useful replies through all the off topic debating. I really have no interest in other states - I don't have to be sold on CA... or FL or anywhere else. Most of our family lives in CA. If they didn't, we'd likely just stay here in the Denver area. This area is great, it just isn't the area where most of my family resides. It's been sunny and in the 60's half the winter so far (just like today) - I can't complain about the weather, the schools are great, the taxes aren't bad, the home prices haven't dropped much in our area, and the cost of living is right around the national average. At a glance, I know it seems like a dumb idea to move away from a good area and go back to a sinking ship. But we really feel like we need to have our daughter grow up near our family so we're trying to find the right situation and good timing.
Again, I was really just trying to get some good educated guesses on CA's future. Maybe it could help us plan things out. As it stands now, we're most likely going to hold on to our house here in CO and rent it out while we move out there next year and rent ourselves. This way we take a lesser risk and give ourselves the option of being able to move back into our house here if we find that being closer to family isn't everything we envision it to be. The last thing we plan on doing is taking our money out of a safer housing market and dumping it into an extremely unstable market - at least, not for another couple of years.
I understand where you are coming from, wanting your kids to grow up around family. I also understand the poster that moved from CA to live closer to family in Chicago. For some people, living close to family means the world, to others, being an airplane ride away is what works; it's very personal as family dynamics are complicated, to say the least.
For us, we are NE Ohioans, who have lived here most of our lives (I moved to the U.S. at age 6 from Europe), both husband and I are in our mid 40's with children ranging in ages 24 to age 7. We lived for several years in Orange County, CA in our very early 20's, moved back to NE OH in order for our firstborn (I was expecting at the time) to grow up around family. We had more children throughout the years and having our children grow up around grandparents was well worth it; I know that we couldn't have done it without the moral and emotional support they offered. Financially, we did it ourselves, but it took a village (our family) to help in the raising of our children. We did the raising, but the little things that grandparents offer, the unconditional love, the support, etc., it's what added color to that whole rainbow. With all the grandparents passed away except one who is in her late 80's and suffering from dementia, we are now on our own, and are ready to start another chapter. I don't think that the chapters of the book would have been as happy if we hadn't moved back here to raise our kids. That's just how we see it, I realize that everyone's circumstances are different.
Now that we're older, I'm definitely more affected by the lack of sunshine during the winter months in NE OH. I feel horribly stifled in the winter due to the very cold climate, snow, ice, and lack of sunshine. I know to some that they see this as a minor inconvenience and they continue to trudge on with a smile on their face. For me, my life comes to almost a complete standstill in the winter and I pine for good weather, weather that will allow me to be able to walk, hike, bike all year round. This is why I've been looking to get back to CA, particularly SD, within the next year or so, possibly this year. Also, the business that I'm in does EXTREMELY well in California. I am concerned about the taxes though...more on that in a later paragraph.
To get back on track and back to the original question which is about California being on the verge of bankruptcy; I have to say that this question is very unsettling, well, not the question, but rather the fact that California is in such a hole. I realize that 44 out of the 50 states are also in the budget hole this year so it's not unique to CA, however, it's pretty difficult to decide whether to move or not onto a sinking ship. Again, the ship is sinking in other states as well, so then again, maybe it's a decision on what sinking ship to move onto. I'm hopeful for the future and the probability that what goes down is going to go back up; granted it might take a decade or so to get things back on track. My concerns regarding the budget shortfall is possible cuts to education (schools and colleges) as we have children that will be going to school as well as college in a few years (two have already graduated from college or will graduate this spring 2009), libraries, increase in taxes (again, I have no problem paying taxes; I just hope that they're spent in a wise way).
Regarding the taxes, yes, having a business, I'm not sure how taxes will affect me in CA. I am incorporated as an LLC in Nevada. We don't have employees; it's just myself (and my husband as a silent partner). If anyone has any feedback on that, if you own an LLC that's incorporated in Nevada, how are you doing tax-wise in California?
To the critics of CA's governor and how he s*cks and so on, I understand your frustration, however, Ohio has had years and years of Republican rule under Taft (the last governor before Strickland who took office two years ago), and we've had high level corruption at the state level for almost two decades. We've had Coingate to deal with, we are in EXTREME debt as well, businesses have been moving out since the mid 70's, and state colleges cost more than private colleges in some states. I shudder to think that our kids will be paying $8,000 to $9,000 per semester at a lower tier state college in OH if Ohio cuts even more on it's funding to state colleges. That would not be an unrealistic figure at all. Schools are supported to a large extent by property taxes and property taxes rise every year even though the home values have been falling. It's a joke. It gets to the point where it's so ridiculous that you have to laugh. I think that half of Ohioians in NE OH are on welfare and Medicaid (truthfully, it could be more or it could be less - it's not a scientific study that I've performed, it's only my observation). I know that Californians are crying about California's welfare system, it isn't so much better here either. If you haven't been to NE OH lately, you really need to come here and take a look at some of the decaying cities and the rampant welfare in these cities, much of it caused by unemployment and the migration out of NE OH to the Southern states and the Southwest.
My point is that I"m still looking at CA as a possible relocation spot (I've also looked at Denver, CO and Phoenix, AZ - looking for that sunshine), however, the budget cuts, not knowing what they are, what will be impacted, makes me hesitant to make the move right now to CA. I suspect that many people feel this way. However, I'm not giving up on CA just yet. I'll be out there (SD) the first week of February to check the area out while I'm there for business. I'm hoping to get a "feel" for the area while doing more research. Time will tell what cuts will be made in the future (in both states).
Wishing you (and all) the best in 2009 - I hope that your dreams become a reality!
I understand where you are coming from, wanting your kids to grow up around family. I also understand the poster that moved from CA to live closer to family in Chicago. For some people, living close to family means the world, to others, being an airplane ride away is what works; it's very personal as family dynamics are complicated, to say the least.
For us, we are NE Ohioans, who have lived here most of our lives (I moved to the U.S. at age 6 from Europe), both husband and I are in our mid 40's with children ranging in ages 24 to age 7. We lived for several years in Orange County, CA in our very early 20's, moved back to NE OH in order for our firstborn (I was expecting at the time) to grow up around family. We had more children throughout the years and having our children grow up around grandparents was well worth it; I know that we couldn't have done it without the moral and emotional support they offered. Financially, we did it ourselves, but it took a village (our family) to help in the raising of our children. We did the raising, but the little things that grandparents offer, the unconditional love, the support, etc., it's what added color to that whole rainbow. With all the grandparents passed away except one who is in her late 80's and suffering from dementia, we are now on our own, and are ready to start another chapter. I don't think that the chapters of the book would have been as happy if we hadn't moved back here to raise our kids. That's just how we see it, I realize that everyone's circumstances are different.
Seems to me that renting is the way to go for now. We can rent our house here in Colorado (so that we don't have to sell in a tough market) and just rent a house out there to see what it's like. We'll risk the cost of moving, but not the risk of buying a home there. That will give us time to feel things out, see how the state recovers, and then make a decision in a year or so on buying a home. Who knows, it may not be all we're envisioning. But we feel we have to try it.
Now that we're older, I'm definitely more affected by the lack of sunshine during the winter months in NE OH. I feel horribly stifled in the winter due to the very cold climate, snow, ice, and lack of sunshine. I know to some that they see this as a minor inconvenience and they continue to trudge on with a smile on their face. For me, my life comes to almost a complete standstill in the winter and I pine for good weather, weather that will allow me to be able to walk, hike, bike all year round. This is why I've been looking to get back to CA, particularly SD, within the next year or so, possibly this year. Also, the business that I'm in does EXTREMELY well in California. I am concerned about the taxes though...more on that in a later paragraph.
To get back on track and back to the original question which is about California being on the verge of bankruptcy; I have to say that this question is very unsettling, well, not the question, but rather the fact that California is in such a hole. I realize that 44 out of the 50 states are also in the budget hole this year so it's not unique to CA, however, it's pretty difficult to decide whether to move or not onto a sinking ship. Again, the ship is sinking in other states as well, so then again, maybe it's a decision on what sinking ship to move onto. I'm hopeful for the future and the probability that what goes down is going to go back up; granted it might take a decade or so to get things back on track. My concerns regarding the budget shortfall is possible cuts to education (schools and colleges) as we have children that will be going to school as well as college in a few years (two have already graduated from college or will graduate this spring 2009), libraries, increase in taxes (again, I have no problem paying taxes; I just hope that they're spent in a wise way).
Regarding the taxes, yes, having a business, I'm not sure how taxes will affect me in CA. I am incorporated as an LLC in Nevada. We don't have employees; it's just myself (and my husband as a silent partner). If anyone has any feedback on that, if you own an LLC that's incorporated in Nevada, how are you doing tax-wise in California?
To the critics of CA's governor and how he s*cks and so on, I understand your frustration, however, Ohio has had years and years of Republican rule under Taft (the last governor before Strickland who took office two years ago), and we've had high level corruption at the state level for almost two decades. We've had Coingate to deal with, we are in EXTREME debt as well, businesses have been moving out since the mid 70's, and state colleges cost more than private colleges in some states. I shudder to think that our kids will be paying $8,000 to $9,000 per semester at a lower tier state college in OH if Ohio cuts even more on it's funding to state colleges. That would not be an unrealistic figure at all. Schools are supported to a large extent by property taxes and property taxes rise every year even though the home values have been falling. It's a joke. It gets to the point where it's so ridiculous that you have to laugh. I think that half of Ohioians in NE OH are on welfare and Medicaid (truthfully, it could be more or it could be less - it's not a scientific study that I've performed, it's only my observation). I know that Californians are crying about California's welfare system, it isn't so much better here either. If you haven't been to NE OH lately, you really need to come here and take a look at some of the decaying cities and the rampant welfare in these cities, much of it caused by unemployment and the migration out of NE OH to the Southern states and the Southwest.
My point is that I"m still looking at CA as a possible relocation spot (I've also looked at Denver, CO and Phoenix, AZ - looking for that sunshine), however, the budget cuts, not knowing what they are, what will be impacted, makes me hesitant to make the move right now to CA. I suspect that many people feel this way. However, I'm not giving up on CA just yet. I'll be out there (SD) the first week of February to check the area out while I'm there for business. I'm hoping to get a "feel" for the area while doing more research. Time will tell what cuts will be made in the future (in both states).
Wishing you (and all) the best in 2009 - I hope that your dreams become a reality!
Yeah, we thought that being a plane-ride away would be fine, but we've found that seeing family once per year (twice if we're lucky) is not enough. Especially since we have a lot of extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) that we see even less than that - turns out it's actually pretty difficult to visit with everyone you want to all in one trip. Not many people have been able to make that plane ride as often as they'd like, and we haven't been able to make it all that often ourselves. Being a 1-2 hour car ride away from most family seems like it would be a LOT easier to visit with family several times per year.
We never really thought this would be as big an issue as it turned out to be. Everything changed for us when our daughter was born though. The family that we didn't really put much effort into seeing when we lived in California has become a lot more important to us now. We really want our daughter to get to know them and build relationships with them as she grows up. Funny how that works, huh?
I understand where you are coming from, wanting your kids to grow up around family. I also understand the poster that moved from CA to live closer to family in Chicago. For some people, living close to family means the world, to others, being an airplane ride away is what works; it's very personal as family dynamics are complicated, to say the least.
We had more children throughout the years and having our children grow up around grandparents was well worth it; I know that we couldn't have done it without the moral and emotional support they offered. Financially, we did it ourselves, but it took a village (our family) to help in the raising of our children. We did the raising, but the little things that grandparents offer, the unconditional love, the support, etc., it's what added color to that whole rainbow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna7
Now that we're older, I'm definitely more affected by the lack of sunshine during the winter months in NE OH. I feel horribly stifled in the winter due to the very cold climate, snow, ice, and lack of sunshine. I know to some that they see this as a minor inconvenience and they continue to trudge on with a smile on their face. For me, my life comes to almost a complete standstill in the winter and I pine for good weather, weather that will allow me to be able to walk, hike, bike all year round. This is why I've been looking to get back to CA, particularly SD, within the next year or so, possibly this year. Also, the business that I'm in does EXTREMELY well in California. I am concerned about the taxes though...more on that in a later paragraph.
My point is that I"m still looking at CA as a possible relocation spot (I've also looked at Denver, CO and Phoenix, AZ - looking for that sunshine), however, the budget cuts, not knowing what they are, what will be impacted, makes me hesitant to make the move right now to CA. I suspect that many people feel this way. However, I'm not giving up on CA just yet. I'll be out there (SD) the first week of February to check the area out while I'm there for business. I'm hoping to get a "feel" for the area while doing more research. Time will tell what cuts will be made in the future (in both states).
We are right with you and Ludachris. We left California to raise our family. Now that our children are older we are looking to go back. Our family didn't follow us to the Pacific Northwest because they prefer the Cali climate. Yes, they will put up with all the problems in that state because there is more that Cali has to offer then not. All of them have spent time living in colder climates and didn't care for it. I know it sounds trivial but the winter weather has greatly affected us. We have lived in snow country for many years and don't enjoy it. We don't want to spend half of our life miserable in bad weather.
We are waiting and watching to see what transpires in our homestate. We are careful and we don't want to loose everything we have worked hard to build. As we get older we realize that extended family is important. Unlike you Donna, our children weren't raised around any relatives and it was very difficult.
Let us know how your trip to SD goes. We were raised there and it is a beautiful city.
We are right with you and Ludachris. We left California to raise our family. Now that our children are older we are looking to go back. Our family didn't follow us to the Pacific Northwest because they prefer the Cali climate. Yes, they will put up with all the problems in that state because there is more that Cali has to offer then not. All of them have spent time living in colder climates and didn't care for it. I know it sounds trivial but the winter weather has greatly affected us. We have lived in snow country for many years and don't enjoy it. We don't want to spend half of our life miserable in bad weather.
We are waiting and watching to see what transpires in our homestate. We are careful and we don't want to loose everything we have worked hard to build. As we get older we realize that extended family is important. Unlike you Donna, our children weren't raised around any relatives and it was very difficult.
Let us know how your trip to SD goes. We were raised there and it is a beautiful city.
Hi pll, thank you for your response; I feel for you in not having any relatives around while raising the kids; that is hard. My mom was so such a blessing to us and our kids; she passed away in 2004 when the youngest was about 2 1/2. We have really noticed the void in our life. I especially feel sorry for the youngest few who will probably not remember their Nana so well. Because our grandkids were her only ones, she spent a lot of time with them and they had a close relationship.
Where are you at now, pll? I see that you said Pacific Northwest; so would that be Oregon? Washington? Yes, I know what you mean about "snow country"!
I will definitely keep you informed and let you know how SD goes; I'm looking forward to it. A week to myself though? Now, that's something!
Stay warm!
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Aluminum, brass, copper and other metals followed suit. The Chinese quit buying and were not honoring their previous contracts with the west coast sellers.
