Out of Business From Recession in OC (loans, how much)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Morphous01

This hole Idea that its the peoples fault is just a media blitz to place blame on anybody else but the U.S Gov. This hole situation could have been avoided; had there been strict laws set up; people would not have been able to buy a house they could not afford..

So you're saying that people who signed for mortgages that within a couple of years would wind up costing more every month than they earned aren't part of the problem? Yes, lets just blame the government and the banks. Plenty of people took out fixed mortgages that cost more each month instead of crazy loans because it was the right thing to do. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango.

[949Investor]

I'm hiring right now...Competitive. It's with Banking. I'm look for application developers..enhancing the backend of my procecess ****ing requres C++, JAVA, PHP, and possible more till further notice. PM me...

[Charles]

I guess there's always room for another jewelry store:

Diamonds.net News - Mission Viejo Approves Green Construction of a New Jared Store

[casualsurfer]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Except Ikea already has a store in Costa Mesa and they tend to keep them pretty far and few between. I don't see them putting one in HB or Anaheim. Laguna Niguel is pretty far from the other store but Ikea likes to be right off the freeway.

The Expo store is on top of Crown Valley Pkway and fairly close to the freeway though I agree - they like to be visible from the freeway (if that Costco moves away, maybe IKEA will pick it up).

[skilaketahoe]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

Besides Disneyland, Knotts and the beach, what else is there to promote?

The Cal Tourism Authority dropped in at Sydney Airport for a whole day to promote California to 300 passengers. (And tthen vanished).Pretty weak effort imo. Anyway I'm scanning the OC Travel Guide which just arrived in the mail - its about a centimetre thick but looks enticing for the next trip in a fortnight. Seems there's more than Disney and Knotts that'll attract tourist dollars, even if our dollar only buys 64 US cents.Sell yourselves, guys (and I don't mean by putting the OC on ebay)

[antibes]

Originally Posted by casualsurfer

The Expo store is on top of Crown Valley Pkway and fairly close to the freeway though I agree - they like to be visible from the freeway (if that Costco moves away, maybe IKEA will pick it up).

I don't think IKEA would be able to pick it up, even if they wanted to. They have some kind of agreements in their contracts to not be within a certain mile/radius of another IKEA store. All the stores are franchises.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by brianguy

a bunch of their particle board furniture is stamped Made In China. I started noticing it in the past couple of years and started shopping there less and less, accordingly. two reasons, I wanted something that lasted not just which cost $39 and I could throw out in a year or two when it started to fall apart or look shabby. and #2 I didn't want chinese junk.

and their "slightly more expensive" you're referring to is 4-5x the price of their cheap furniture and the same price you can buy real non-particle board stuff for in other stores.

That's just sad! Didn't use to be like that. They were big supporters of so called ethical business and started as a furniture outlet for low income families. Oh well, I won't be buying at IKEA anymore...
IKEA also make furniture for other brands. Many people are not aware of this, but if you see IKEA styled furniture, there's a chance IKEA is actually manufacturing them. In Europe we have a shop called Habitat. All the furniture are made by IKEA for the company, and at high prices.

Trader Joe's is a great store that still tries to follow ethical business practices. I love companies like that and am always willing to give business to them!

[antibes]

Originally Posted by Morphous01

Yup, from what I came across you can thank Bill Clinton for this; but mind you, all presidents take orders from the higher ups.

As far as China I think they will be the new economic superpower of the future.. It's just basic logic, they make all the things we buy and btw some of those products are really good like their cars and electronics.

As a matter of fact, I was watching a documentary about how they are rebuilding there infrastructure and how they are importing magnetic powered trains built by Germany in hopes of doing away with the outdated rail trains and reducing cars on the road..

China is booming. It's already a superpower. The Chinese are very hard workers and disciplined, strangled by government oppression. There is no doubt they will blow everyone away with their growth and resilience.

I was stunned at how much local manufacturing, not only in the U.S. but everywhere, is now being given to China instead. Just mind-boggling. And all of it correlates to the gradual decline of our own economy both in the U.S. and Europe.
But my question is, when a country has so many human rights violations that they've lost count themselves, why are we helping to make them richer and stronger? Shouldn't they first reform basic human rights? I find it very wrong to support China's economy too much. And the poor who work in these sweatshop factories don't have improved conditions or better salaries from all this international business. They still work for the same pittance salary under inhumane conditions. True, they at least have a job and don't starve, but they are still exploited. Only the owners and our corporations reap benefits from the profits margin from all these cheap goods while it kills jobs here and in Europe.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by skilaketahoe

The Cal Tourism Authority dropped in at Sydney Airport for a whole day to promote California to 300 passengers. (And tthen vanished).Pretty weak effort imo. Anyway I'm scanning the OC Travel Guide which just arrived in the mail - its about a centimetre thick but looks enticing for the next trip in a fortnight. Seems there's more than Disney and Knotts that'll attract tourist dollars, even if our dollar only buys 64 US cents.Sell yourselves, guys (and I don't mean by putting the OC on ebay)

I always felt California had too low tourism numbers while its a lovely travel destination and deserves more. Paris alone has over 75 million visitors a year - double the total tourism to the entire U.S. California is beautiful and there's a lot for tourists to see which for them is different and unique and worth oggling at (!).

I think tourists avoid California because the airfare and costs add up too much. They'd have to spend close to $5,000 to cover for airfare, rental car, hotels and pocket money for a normal two week vacation. Also, you'd be surprised how many don't have a drivers license; they just don't need one in small countries. Everything is close or is reached by easy and accessible public transport. To complete driving school, exams and the final test in Europe, for example, cost a few thousand dollars. To own a car is a bit of a nightmare; a car is almost double the price than in the U.S. and there is shortage of parking everywhere. All the streets that are hundreds of years old can't be widened more to offer more space unless they destroy the structures. So you'd often have to rent parking space which adds another $200-250 a month to your costs. Whenever you go somewhere, again from parking shortage, you have to pay for parking equivalent to valet-parking in the U.S. Imagine paying for valet parking every single day, several times a day... So a drivers license is not something you spend money on right away unless you really need it. So from various practical perspectives, California falls short as a tourist destination.

Many budget their travels to far less expensive destinations than California. They opt for New York or Florida instead on US destinations. But Florida is nothing compared to California.

[Charles]

We ate at Islands in Irvine tonight (Sunday). It was totally packed as was Mimi's next door.

However, we phoned Marble Slab and Swensons for ice cream treats tonight and both seemed out of business.

We also visited RSM Town Center this afternoon and it seemed pretty busy; We ate at Baja Fresh there and it was very crowded but what looked like a nicer restaurant across the parking lot looked not busy.

(Ya, I know I need to go on a diet now.)