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Old 03-22-2009, 09:07 PM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,013,585 times
Reputation: 707

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Just in Sunday's paper:

Stories from the unemployment line (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/03/22/0322jobless.html - broken link)

Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell and Bastrop counties all shedding jobs now......a 20-year career engineer at Freescale, just let go, says "it's really brutal out there"......

Am I hallucinating here? Anytime I mention Austin's recession, you would think I spoke something awful.......am I wrong in mentioning any of this?
Missing something? Or indeed, is Austin presently entering a very rough time economically?

If I'm wrong, then what sectors ARE booming and hiring in Austin? Word is
that gov't jobs are currently frozen across the board....tech is laying off liberally.....and on and on....

What is going on here?
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:19 PM
 
648 posts, read 1,956,875 times
Reputation: 184
I think you are saying the truth, but over and over again. Some people don't like being banged over the head more than once.

Hard to say what will happen exactly to Austin and for how long, but it doesn't look like it is immune.

If you want real life stories.

- I know a husband and wife laid off from AMD. 3 kids. They seem to have a ton of accrued vacation and are pondering moving to Houston for a better job market.

- Person who sold us our car in December sent out a rather pitiful email asking for references as business is super slow.

- Family member laid off from a big law law firm here in Austin.

- Just called to hire a cleaning lady, and all she could say was, "Thank you." over and over again as she has lost a lot of business lately.

- Did open houses in Westlake today just b/c I had heard that's where one can find deals now. Agents were pretty brutally honest that they had really motivated sellers and at least would appreciate honest feedback.
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:24 PM
 
2,185 posts, read 6,409,942 times
Reputation: 698
Again, another doom and gloom article by the media. Austin is fine compared to other parts of the country. Our economy is fine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by inthecut View Post
Just in Sunday's paper:

Stories from the unemployment line (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/03/22/0322jobless.html - broken link)

Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell and Bastrop counties all shedding jobs now......a 20-year career engineer at Freescale, just let go, says "it's really brutal out there"......

Am I hallucinating here? Anytime I mention Austin's recession, you would think I spoke something awful.......am I wrong in mentioning any of this?
Missing something? Or indeed, is Austin presently entering a very rough time economically?

If I'm wrong, then what sectors ARE booming and hiring in Austin? Word is
that gov't jobs are currently frozen across the board....tech is laying off liberally.....and on and on....

What is going on here?
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:26 PM
 
947 posts, read 3,129,873 times
Reputation: 736
Everyone knows the world is changing and times are tough.
We are all connected. The mortage meltdown, financial crisis all has a ripple effect. Ever state will be affected. Just because people aren't talking about it over and over doesn't mean we don't know what's going on.
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:48 PM
 
439 posts, read 1,251,764 times
Reputation: 138
Quote:
Originally Posted by llkltk View Post
Again, another doom and gloom article by the media. Austin is fine compared to other parts of the country. Our economy is fine.
The economy is all we talk about here in Phoenix,at my canasta card groups and such, everywhere i go.

It seems you people in Austin never want to believe it is happening to you all. When a post like this is posted,I see the same reply to it (OUR ECONOMY IS FINE) WHY? I don't think it's doom and gloom, it's the sign of the times.

Debbie
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:58 PM
 
34 posts, read 110,915 times
Reputation: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taterhead View Post
The economy is all we talk about here in Phoenix,at my canasta card groups and such, everywhere i go.

It seems you people in Austin never want to believe it is happening to you all. When a post like this is posted,I see the same reply to it (OUR ECONOMY IS FINE) WHY? I don't think it's doom and gloom, it's the sign of the times.

Debbie
I haven't seen everybody stating that the economy is 'fine' in Austin....what I have seen is the majority of folks keeping things in perspective with relation to the hardships and unemployment issues in most other markets compared to Austin and choosing to keep a positive mental outlook on things instead of dwelling endlessly on the gloom at hand.

The positivity of the majority of Austin residents is one of the cities biggest draws in my opinion. However please don't confuse that with being naive.

Last edited by future_itisnow; 03-22-2009 at 10:25 PM.. Reason: .
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Old 03-22-2009, 10:03 PM
 
98 posts, read 294,261 times
Reputation: 28
I agree that everyone knows that Austin is slowing down. But, the world is slowing down. It is hard everywhere and Austin is doing better than most. But, I feel that inthecut just pounds on it constantly. Yes, it is bad, our economy has ups and downs. We are in a down, in a few years we will be in an up.
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Old 03-22-2009, 10:14 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
1,930 posts, read 6,513,014 times
Reputation: 907
future_itisnow - In the previous post by llkltk, it was stated that "our economy is fine" in reference to Austin. I think that is what Taterhead was referring to.
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Old 03-23-2009, 09:59 AM
 
439 posts, read 1,251,764 times
Reputation: 138
Quote:
Originally Posted by future_itisnow View Post
I haven't seen everybody stating that the economy is 'fine' in Austin.


llkltk has said more then once on city data (The economy is fine) as well as others on CD too.

I have been reading CD for 2 years, because we will be moving to Austin very shortly (finely). What i see on CD is when ever the housing market or the economy is mentioned, you all seem to think it's not happening to you,imo. Some do see it is happening here in Austin too, and say so, they get pounced on if they speak up and say anything. It's like you Austinites have your head in the sand. I don't mean that in a bad way, just and observation is all after reading so many threads.

I do agree that the OP does post every and anything bad about Austin he can though

Debbie
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Old 03-23-2009, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Austin
2,522 posts, read 6,013,585 times
Reputation: 707
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taterhead View Post
llkltk has said more then once on city data (The economy is fine) as well as others on CD too.

I have been reading CD for 2 years, because we will be moving to Austin very shortly (finely). What i see on CD is when ever the housing market or the economy is mentioned, you all seem to think it's not happening to you,imo. Some do see it is happening here in Austin too, and say so, they get pounced on if they speak up and say anything. It's like you Austinites have your head in the sand. I don't mean that in a bad way, just and observation is all after reading so many threads.

I do agree that the OP does post every and anything bad about Austin he can though

Debbie
I will make this my last post regarding the Austin recession(I can hear the cheers in the background! LOL!)....seriously, the reason I did post is because no one else was, and I think that the state of a local economy is a major issue for relocatees, especially when it is in a recession and trending down.........
I'm not for several reasons...enough has been posted by myself...no brainer.....other reasons are more germane though.....I really don't think this is the place to ponder econonomic issues....not to say people are not capable on here of such...just that CD is more like a information booth in a train station....quick questions and simple answers....when one gets into a somewhat involved subject like the economy, it just doesn't fit the staid formalism of the conversations on here......also, Austinites, and potential relocation folks, like to think of Austin as a "magical-special place", immune and largely unconnected to the larger world and problems swirling on around them, and that nasty stuff happening in the places relos are running away from...I have news for all of you...Austin is no national shelter from the recession.......it is IN one right now, and the state of Texas as well......
what is worse, Texas AND Austin are still experiencing a massive influx of new folks....when the local job growth slows, stops, or declines, the unemployment rate goes up inversely, IF the growth of new residents stays the same.....that's the reason Nevada AND Florida hit double digit unemployment rates......The influx of new residents kept on coming while the job growth stagnated......and, if the massive influx of new residents continues to Austin and Texas, the same thing will happen to both.....

Long term, I don't think Texas or Austin will experience what California has/is dealing with per absorbing all the growth of legal and illegal new residents....services DO eat away at budgets, per schools, emergency services, hospitals dealing with insured and uninsured,
libraries, etc....need I mention road infrastructure?....Austin has also seemed to decide it
wants long term growth, and has made major planning decisions for the same.....so far so good......however, the city is not set up to maintain without it.......it is already taxing RE
heavily....not much more to do except jack up retail taxes, cut services, and stop building sorely needed roads......I could go on, but the city does rely hugely on Tech, the large salaries of the same, and the relocation and seed money of the same from out-of-state...
that is also ebbing quickly now.....

I hope other people can maintain discussions about such issues.....after all, you will be living with them daily for the next few years........I hope to god this doesn't revert to "happy talk" about how we are doing okay, though I expect that to be the case.....

Thanks to many of you for sharing your insights, and I hope greatly that someone out there keeps these issues alive...

Last edited by inthecut; 03-23-2009 at 11:39 AM..
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