San Antonio's Economy (Houston, Dallas, Cleveland: apartment, buying a home, unemployment rate)

[voyager674]

there were also two negative articles 2 days later concerning high unemployment and higher foreclosures

[holmesmic]

Originally Posted by LindaGrace

Also, my husband got laid off in February. Anyone looking for an HR generalist person?

We have a opening for a (part time) HR generalist at the company I work for.

We are also hiring (full time) for:

"Level II Server Support" and
"Web & Database Developer."

If anyone is interested, send me a DM and I will send you the information.

[L3XVS]

lemonfresh:

Sorry, but this information proved absolutely nothing. In eight out of the eleven cities you mentioned, housing was the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.

We already established that in most cities, that yes, the lower cost of housing in San Antonio offsets the lower than average salaries. The remainder of the differences are negligible, and are offset by slightly to significantly higher median incomes in all of those cities relative to San Antonio, except Milwaukee and Sacramento.

Milwaukee and Sacramento both make up two out of the three cities in which housing was not a factor in their cost of living differences - according to the site you provided, the factors were utilities and health care, which were 51% and 76% more expensive relative to San Antonio, respectively.

So the bottom line is that, yes, economically speaking, residents of Milwaukee and Sacramento likely experience a lower quality of life relative to San Antonio residents because the cost of living is higher and the median income lower.

However, San Antonio residents continue to experience a lower quality of life relative to those other metros, because the cost of living difference does not make up for the differences in salary across a variety of fields.

By the way, goods like clothing, furniture, and automobiles are largely consistant in price from city to city, and so while they may not be used in computing cost of living data parameters, they remain a consistant element of many peoples salaries. Therefore, they're relevant. When inputing those constants, San Antonio's salary to buying power ratio decreases even further.

Originally Posted by lemonfresh

Utilities: Well, I'm sure you can prove this. But I'll let the links below answer that.

Groceries/Food: Same as above.

Clothing: Well yeah, that's generally not considered part of any cost of living criteria.

Gas: As of right this moment the national average is $2.69. The Texas average is $2.55. San Antonio's average is $2.51

So SA's gas price is 18 cents less than the national average and 4 cents less than the state's average. Yeah, in line.

Transportation: Same as the first two.

But here's the crazy part. You can accept the salary ranking as the gospel truth and use it to bash SA but find the cost of living ranking to be fluff and use it to dismiss SA. God, you're something alright.

What can you come up with these links?
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Dallas is 24% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 69% more expensive in Dallas.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed


Houston is 14% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 38% more expensive in Houston.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Orlando is 25% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 80% more expensive in Orlando.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Charlotte is 21% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 68% more expensive in Charlotte.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Phoenix is 39% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 128% more expensive in Phoenix.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Cleveland is 4% more expensive than San Antonio.
Utilities are the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Utilities are 52% more expensive in Cleveland.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Atlanta is 49% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 187% more expensive in Atlanta.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Denver is 39% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 112% more expensive in Denver.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Salt Lake City is 30% more expensive than San Antonio.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 102% more expensive in Salt Lake City.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Sacramento is 47% more expensive than San Antonio.
Health is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Health is 76% more expensive in Sacramento.


Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Milwaukee is 11% more expensive than San Antonio.
Utilities are the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Utilities are 51% more expensive in Milwaukee.


I purposely left out the obvious cities like LA, NY, SF, etc.

I can keep going but I hate broken records.

P.S.

I love how all the comparisons seem to be "in line" with one another.

[L3XVS]

Originally Posted by SweethomeSanAntonio

San Antonio has a respectable corporate base. Six F-500, would have been seven but At&T ceo wanted to move home. Cities like San Diego, Phoenix, Orlando, Miami have less.

Yes, but in exception to Orlando, those other three cities have higher median incomes and more a more educated population. San Antonio is not quite at the tipping point those places reached decades ago for conspicuous consumption.

Bottom line, they are wealthier cities despite their lack of F500 presense.

[lemonfresh]

Originally Posted by L3XVS

lemonfresh:

Sorry, but this information proved absolutely nothing. In eight out of the eleven cities you mentioned, housing was the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.

It was the biggest factor percentage wise not the only factor.

I doubt you did but I'll ask. Did you actually look at the break down numbers in each link?

We already established that in most cities, that yes, the lower cost of housing in San Antonio offsets the lower than average salaries. The remainder of the differences are negligible, and are offset by slightly to significantly higher median incomes in all of those cities relative to San Antonio, except Milwaukee and Sacramento.

What? It breaks it done in each link. Each link represented the COL for someone making a $50,000 annual salary in SA. In each case, in order to retain that same quality of life/cost of living in other cities, you would have to increase your salary. Meaning, in SA the lower salaries are because of the adjusted cost of living.

For instance, a $50,000 salary in Phoenix, Arizona is equivalent to a $36,073 salary in SA.

And it's not housing that is the reason behind this. If you actually looked at the index breakdown, you'd understand this.

Milwaukee and Sacramento both make up two out of the three cities in which housing was not a factor in their cost of living differences - according to the site you provided, the factors were utilities and health care, which were 51% and 76% more expensive relative to San Antonio, respectively.

Just the highest percentage not the only differences. If you bothered to click on the links and look at the index they provide you'd have realized this.

By the way, goods like clothing, furniture, and automobiles are largely consistant in price from city to city, and so while they may not be used in computing cost of living data parameters, they remain a consistant element of many peoples salaries.

Which is why they're not included in COL calculating. If it's a constant, it's not comparable. FYI, it's consistent.

Therefore, they're relevant. When inputing those constants, San Antonio's salary to buying power ratio decreases even further.

No they're not. A constant is not relevant when computing differences. If a 5 dollar dress costs 20 dollars everywhere else, why would you factor that into a cost of living comparison? They cancel out one another.


Moderator cut: see comment

[lemonfresh]

Originally Posted by Quattro72

Obviously you have not stepped outside of SA. Dallas has more Fortune 500 companies than all 3 cities combined.

I wasn't referring to Dallas.

[dvlpr]

This argument seems a little, well, silly. The economy has faired much better here than in other parts of the country (that really is a fact). It doesn't mean there aren't people struggling in SA. And, of course, if you bought your house from 2006-2008, you might not be too pleased if you had to sell it now (though if you bought a house during the same time period in Phoenix, Las Vegas, LA, SF, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, or virtually anywhere in the midwest, you'd be looking for a serious anti-depressant prescription right about now).

But I also don't think that any of the SA "boosters" posting in this thread (and there are many of them) are claiming SA is the best freaking city in the world.

As I've said before, any reasonable person should admit that there are many things that need improvement in this city. But most of those things (education, jobs/income levels, cultural resources, downtown/urban neighborhoods, transportation) are getting better as the city continues to attract jobs and talented people to the area. Given our anticipated job growth, I think that the next 10-20 years could be a very exciting time as SA grows into a more world-class city.

I can clearly understand why some people would hate living in SA. I didn't like it much when I moved here almost 10 years ago. But if you can't enjoy yourself here, the problem truly isn't SA. My close circle of friends include recent transplants from NYC, SF, DC, Chicago. And, to be sure, there are things about SA that are clearly inferior to the places they're from. But there's also much to like, too. And, yes, the relatively low cost-of-living is one of those things.

And to the folks who take great joy in pointing out the (numerous) shortcomings of this city........there are really good things happening here..........smart, cultured, ambitious people are working hard to improve SA where it needs it.

And while I resent the "love it or leave it" approach that many SA-boosters resort to, turning a positive point about SA's economy into the same, tired, and occasionally incorrect rant about how SA is a non-progressive, uneducated backwater is just as obnoxious.

[traficdogn]

Corporate bases for smaller firms would be nice.

But no way in hell do I want to live near corporate bases for fortune 500 companies.
1)Their corporate culture is horrible.
2)Only a small % of the workers in those companies actually create or innovate anything.
3)The one exception is that they create massive amounts of traffic.

[2DMaxx]

Originally Posted by traficdogn

Corporate bases for smaller firms would be nice.

But no way in hell do I want to live near corporate bases for fortune 500 companies.
1)Their corporate culture is horrible.
2)Only a small % of the workers in those companies actually create or innovate anything.
3)The one exception is that they create massive amounts of traffic.

This makes too much sense!!!

[V3rtigo]

Originally Posted by ryneone

You seem to discount that we also have the lowest cost of living. You need to look at the WHOLE picture. People here are paid less and they also spend less to be here.

because cost of living's major factor is housing cost. food is NOT cheaper here. cars are the same price wherever you go. gas is a bit cheaper. insurance is higher here. electricity/water is roughly the same price, except here i need to run the AC 8 months out of the year.

it funny that people are complacent with their low salaries. no other city that i have lived in would this be tolerated. my work and my deliverables are worth X dollars. having cheaping housing does not negate my worth or make the going rate X-30%.