San Francisco Bay vs. Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: foreclosure, condo, loan)

[darkblue]

Originally Posted by rtandc

People trying to get a job starting at the bottom rung will have a hard time finding decent pay as this area is flooded with people with little or no experence in the job market so employees know they can fill those positions on a lower than average pay scale... ..But I do think that most middle to upper management jobs pay well around here based on the cost of living........There are pleanty of jobs paying 6 figures in the area...no you wont find them listed in the local paper but they are out there.....

There are jobs paying 6 figures, but companies are very few that pay 6 figures.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by darkblue

There are jobs paying 6 figures, but companies are very few that pay 6 figures.

Thats the problem. This whole entire area is Mom and Pop operations, and they either dont have the demand for professional services, or they dont have the revenue to pay high level salaries. Further more, most of the operations are low level service in nature, and not corporate power house types.

[darkblue]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

Thats the problem. This whole entire area is Mom and Pop operations, and they either dont have the demand for professional services, or they dont have the revenue to pay high level salaries. Further more, most of the operations are low level service in nature, and not corporate power house types.

As far as i know Fortune 750 companies in this area are
1 - Dollar Tree
2 - Amerigroup.

somebody can add to this list if you kow any other company.

[damian]

Originally Posted by darkblue

As far as i know Fortune 750 companies in this area are
1 - Dollar Tree
2 - Amerigroup.

somebody can add to this list if you kow any other company.

Norfolk Southern
Smithfield foods

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by darkblue

As far as i know Fortune 750 companies in this area are
1 - Dollar Tree
2 - Amerigroup.

somebody can add to this list if you kow any other company.

Have you ever talked to anybody who worked at Dollar Tree Corporate? They are notorious for paying rock bottom wages.

I applied there a couple times and I bet they dumped my resume right in the garbage after seeing my salary demands.

[rtandc]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

Thats the problem. This whole entire area is Mom and Pop operations, and they either dont have the demand for professional services, or they dont have the revenue to pay high level salaries. Further more, most of the operations are low level service in nature, and not corporate power house types.

Again not looking very hard to find these jobs may be the problem.....
Look at all of the homes in this area that are 750,000 and up with many well into the 7 figure area.....where do you think these people work?

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by rtandc

Again not looking very hard to find these jobs may be the problem.....
Look at all of the homes in this area that are 750,000 and up with many well into the 7 figure area.....where do you think these people work?

1. Out of the area- Most people I know who are wealthy, including my enormously wealthy uncle, do not work here. He works in sales for a company based no where near here. My dad couldnt find a job around here that paid more then $10 bucks an hour after retiring from the Navy, but does ok as an over the road truck driver.

2. They OWN the tourist traps- Many other wealthy people I know either directly own, or are in the family of someone who owns a business in the area. This area is HIGHLY profitable for businesses, mostly because the wages are a joke.


3. They are old and retired- They spent their lives gathering wealth and experience in a much better city, and came here to retire by the ocean, or take one of a handful of top positions. There are an enormous number of people who have migrated here from Northern Virginia. Take a look at the average demographic populating those "high six figure houses". I bet you it is a load of 60+ year olds.


4. They have a high paying cushy government/government contracted job- A number of wealthy people Ive known are higher ranking officers in the military, or GS-whatevers where their salary is approaching 100k a year or better. Even lower ranking government service individuals routinely get cost of living increases based on where they live. So every time this area goes up over whatever given time, these government employees are able to directly keep pace. Those of us who do not have a housing allowance or routine cost of living increases, have seen our dollar shrink here.


5. They are simply living in a house they cant afford, and are living with several roommates, or are in a constant state of near foreclosure, or are able to hide assets well- There are countless people I know living with 3 or 4 roommates just to cover the payments on a townhouse. Hell there was just an article in the paper the other day about some guy living in a 500k house who was millions in debt, and hoodwinking investors. Michael Jackson has been in the red for years, and has never lived in anything shy of a palace his whole adult life. People who are rich, or were rich, have this way of being able to protect everything they own, regardless of how big of debt they get in.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by rtandc

Again not looking very hard to find these jobs may be the problem.....
Look at all of the homes in this area that are 750,000 and up with many well into the 7 figure area.....where do you think these people work?

Oh by the way, affordability is not much of a factor in the supply and demand equation. This is why a city gets "overpriced" in the first place, because the cost of living, mostly fueled by housing costs, outstrips wages. As long as people still need houses in the area, they will charge whatever they want for them.

[HR_Native]

Originally Posted by damian

Norfolk Southern
Smithfield foods

HSBC - World's third largest bank has two centers of operation in the area.

Any of these companies presence doesn't change the fact that these large corporations pay less in this area than the housing costs should dictate. That's why you see some companies coming here. Toyota is on it's way to replace the Ford plant. They are/were coming here because of the low wage and lack of unions. It's better to the business' bottom dollar.

[HR_Native]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

1. Out of the area- Most people I know who are wealthy, including my enormously wealthy uncle, do not work here. He works in sales for a company based no where near here. My dad couldn't find a job around here that paid more then $10 bucks an hour after retiring from the Navy, but does ok as an over the road truck driver.

2. They OWN the tourist traps- Many other wealthy people I know either directly own, or are in the family of someone who owns a business in the area. This area is HIGHLY profitable for businesses, mostly because the wages are a joke.


3. They are old and retired- They spent their lives gathering wealth and experience in a much better city, and came here to retire by the ocean, or take one of a handful of top positions. There are an enormous number of people who have migrated here from Northern Virginia. Take a look at the average demographic populating those "high six figure houses". I bet you it is a load of 60+ year olds.


4. They have a high paying cushy government/government contracted job- A number of wealthy people Ive known are higher ranking officers in the military, or GS-whatevers where their salary is approaching 100k a year or better. Even lower ranking government service individuals routinely get cost of living increases based on where they live. So every time this area goes up over whatever given time, these government employees are able to directly keep pace. Those of us who do not have a housing allowance or routine cost of living increases, have seen our dollar shrink here.


5. They are simply living in a house they cant afford, and are living with several roommates, or are in a constant state of near foreclosure, or are able to hide assets well- There are countless people I know living with 3 or 4 roommates just to cover the payments on a townhouse. Hell there was just an article in the paper the other day about some guy living in a 500k house who was millions in debt, and hoodwinking investors. Michael Jackson has been in the red for years, and has never lived in anything shy of a palace his whole adult life. People who are rich, or were rich, have this way of being able to protect everything they own, regardless of how big of debt they get in.

You forgot one. People who already owned here before the huge increases over the past five years. They're using the amazing return on their investment to purchase another home in the same price range. Although, this is probably increasing their debt and I can't understand why anyone would ever do it, except to escape a worsening neighborhood.

For the record, I agree with Lethal's points, and I can understand it if he seems a little angry. I was born and raised in Norfolk and have lived my entire adult life in VB. Until the wages in this area are adjusted to be more in line with the housing prices, you will continue to see more and more foreclosures (and poverty level standards for those who struggle to save their most important investment) overtake the area. It's impossible to get ahead in this town unless you move away, get the wage you're worth and then return. I'm now in the process of looking for an area where I can do just that.