It's like were almost unaffected by the crisis... (San Antonio, West: best cities, sale)

[kevcrawford]

You actually had some very astute observations for someone so young. When you're comparing us to the rest of the country, you're correct, we've gotten by relatively unscathed. We have a lot going for us here with Whataburger and USAA coming to town, real estate is a little slower, but still fairly strong (cue troll...), and all in all, we're still doing quite well.

National companies with branches here are definitely hit a bit. Yeah, there are a few job losses here and there, but there are still plenty of places hiring right now. They may not be the best jobs, but they're jobs that can hold people over.

It's a different climate than it was a few years ago, but we'll bounce back stronger. We always do. Attitude is 99% of it.

It's nice to see young people getting their head out of their facebook page and actually taking interest in real life. You'll do well in life.

[L3XVS]

What are you comparing San Antonio to though? Other large cities or smaller cities? For a large city, it has such a small corporate/educated population that it may SEEM unaffected, but that's because the demand for lower skilledunskilled labor has remained constant. I mean, let's not fool ourselves...SA has a college educated population of under 20 percent.

Wow, Whataburger, a regional burger joint, is headquartering in SA. SA is a bastion of high level corporate companies.

[djw]

Originally Posted by L3XVS

What are you comparing San Antonio to though? Other large cities or smaller cities? For a large city, it has such a small corporate/educated population that it may SEEM unaffected, but that's because the demand for lower skilledunskilled labor has remained constant. I mean, let's not fool ourselves...SA has a college educated population of under 20 percent.
Wow, Whataburger, a regional burger joint, is headquartering in SA. SA is a bastion of high level corporate companies.

I'm always interested in where folks get numbers. From CD's San Antonio site, it appears that our college educated population for those over 25 is actually greater than 20%...though not by much. But then again, I don't know where CD get's their numbers either.

And yes, as a city that thrives on the tourist industry, we do have a larger than average share of hourly wage jobs and they are just now kicking up their hiring for the summer season. So I can see where a high school student would see job opportunities as promising. But if demand for lower skilled/unskilled labor as you call it remaines constant, then yes...we are in a way...unaffected.

[kevcrawford]

Whataburger and companies like it didn't get to be as successful as they are because they have a bunch of burger flippers working in the front office. They brought a good number of executives. We've got the medical center, which employs TONS of VERY highly educated and well paid people. USAA is a HUGE corporation. DPT Labs is a HUGE corporation. Tons of insurance companies. Lawyers. Etc. Etc. Etc.

We've got a lot more money in this town than people realize. And more coming in every day.

The economy is down everywhere, but we're holding pretty strong here. People can choose to complain about things, or they can choose to do something about it. If more choose to do something about it, the country will recover quickly.

San Antonio is fine and will be fine.

[2DMaxx]

Originally Posted by L3XVS

What are you comparing San Antonio to though? Other large cities or smaller cities? For a large city, it has such a small corporate/educated population that it may SEEM unaffected, but that's because the demand for lower skilledunskilled labor has remained constant. I mean, let's not fool ourselves...SA has a college educated population of under 20 percent.

Wow, Whataburger, a regional burger joint, is headquartering in SA. SA is a bastion of high level corporate companies.

Compare it to any city you want. We have a diverse economy spanning Insurance, Medical/Research, 3rd largest University in Texas, IT and of course the Military. A employed worker, no mater the skill level trumps a unemployed 'educated' derivatives broker any day, IMO of course.

[SAFD_Wife]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Whataburger and companies like it didn't get to be as successful as they are because they have a bunch of burger flippers working in the front office. They brought a good number of executives. We've got the medical center, which employs TONS of VERY highly educated and well paid people. USAA is a HUGE corporation. DPT Labs is a HUGE corporation. Tons of insurance companies. Lawyers. Etc. Etc. Etc.

We've got a lot more money in this town than people realize. And more coming in every day.

The economy is down everywhere, but we're holding pretty strong here. People can choose to complain about things, or they can choose to do something about it. If more choose to do something about it, the country will recover quickly.

San Antonio is fine and will be fine.

Absolutely

[rd2007]

why would the nature of the business have anything to do with whether or not their choice of location for their corporate headquarters is a good or bad thing? Whataburger is a fast food company, true, with sales that exceeded $1 billion in 2007 and over 700 locations (Whataburger Purchases Building for New Home Office - Netscape Celebrity (http://channels.isp.netscape.com/celebrity/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/4922/20090330/0946275379.htm - broken link)) I'd call that a win
but back to the topic. SA has been hit, but not as hard as a lot of other places. That's why I prefer to think of the city as insulated.

[Turtle_Mom]

Originally Posted by Spock's Beard

How can you say that? More and more people I know are jobless, "for sale" signs on houses are twice as plentiful this year as they were last year, companies are still doing layoffs, stores are closing, you just don't see as many customers in many stores, especially high-end ones, as you used to. Half the people in the apartment complex had friends and family members move in due to financial circumstances in the past year, so apartments here are more crowded than they used to be. Plus just last week I was in the texas Workforce commission and saw it with my own eyes: standing room only, and just not enough jobs to go around.



I don't know anyone who hasn't been effected by the downturn in the economy.

Now that is just a random statement and no way can be supported, nor is even close to true. I guess if you are speaking about your own personal apartment complex, and know for CERTAIN that HALF of all apartments had that happen, it might be a true statement for your location. But I seriously doubt it.

Everyone is affected - but most will agree that San Antonio is in an excellent place for recovery and will continue to fair better than many other places in the US.

[Spock's Beard]

Originally Posted by Turtle_Mom

Now that is just a random statement and no way can be supported, nor is even close to true. I guess if you are speaking about your own personal apartment complex, and know for CERTAIN that HALF of all apartments had that happen, it might be a true statement for your location. But I seriously doubt it.

Everyone is affected - but most will agree that San Antonio is in an excellent place for recovery and will continue to fair better than many other places in the US.

My statement isn't random at all and based in reality. Your idealistic vision of us somehow not being as affected isn't right at all. Excellent place for recovery? How? The most Whataburger will do is partially fill the hole left by the absence of AT&T. The best jobs in this city are medical, and everything else is blue-collar or service-sector. That's why this city has always been too poor to afford a pro NFL team while other cities half our size have one. It's the price we pay for having a tourist economy. Just drive through any neighborhood and count the # of houses for sale, and know each one represents a struggling family and know it wasn't that bad a year or two ago.



Just because you're used to San Antonio not being a rich city and are used to everyone being just a little poorer than in other cities in the US doesn't mean the recession isn't here.

[kevcrawford]

Originally Posted by Spock's Beard

Just drive through any neighborhood and count the # of houses for sale, and know each one represents a struggling family and know it wasn't that bad a year or two ago.

Where on Earth do you get this garbage? Every one is a family that's struggling? Moderator cut: see comment

So, every time someone has sold a house, it's because they're struggling?

If you're having problems with the economy, that sucks. But don't assume that every person is struggling. Many are doing just fine. Moderator cut: see comment