Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > General U.S. > City vs. City
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
View Poll Results: better economy in ten years:
L.A. 35 57.38%
Philly 26 42.62%
Voters: 61. You may not vote on this poll

Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:29 PM
 
705 posts, read 1,661,541 times
Reputation: 574

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee View Post
Sure. Just look at Washington, DC. Areas that used to be middle to working class (Takoma, Brookland, Shepherd Park, Hillcrest, 16th Street Heights, Michigan Park) are now unaffordable for most working families. $500,000 is a lot of money for a house, don't you think?
My point is working class people would never leave en mass because despite what happens you still need those trades, and you need them in sizable numbers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:33 PM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,808,422 times
Reputation: 2857
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott5280 View Post
Statistically speaking LA isn't very educated, and wealthy?..true.. that is because much of Los Angeles stats are brought down by migrants, and larger groups of poverty. LA has some of the wealthiest and brightest people in America. If some LA zips succeeded from their lower priced surroundings like Beverly Hills adjacent(low rent)..the income, and housing stats would be some of the highest in the US. LA is huge wealth surrounded by poverty. Philly is much more uniform..On the subject of who will be better off..I don't really know..California has some work to do if it wants to retain a decent position.
LA also has some of the best universities in the nation...6 of them are ranked in the top 50, so I wouldn't exactly say that the population is uneducated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:37 PM
 
Location: Soon to be Southlake, TX
648 posts, read 1,618,751 times
Reputation: 381
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott5280 View Post
Statistically speaking LA isn't very educated, and wealthy?..true.. that is because much of Los Angeles stats are brought down by migrants, and larger groups of poverty. LA has some of the wealthiest and brightest people in America. If some LA zips succeeded from their lower priced surroundings like Beverly Hills adjacent(low rent)..the income, and housing stats would be some of the highest in the US. LA is huge wealth surrounded by poverty. Philly is much more uniform..On the subject of who will be better off..I don't really know..California has some work to do if it wants to retain a decent position.
You think there is no poverty in Philly offsetting statistics but there is in LA?

a street view example for the city 1st and 2nd street view of outside the city
philly - Google Maps

camden nj - Google Maps
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Crooklyn, New York
32,101 posts, read 34,714,145 times
Reputation: 15093
Quote:
Originally Posted by calisnuffy View Post
My point is working class people would never leave en mass because despite what happens you still need those trades, and you need them in sizable numbers.
They don't leave en masse. They just get pushed out to the most undesirable suburbs, which are often a good distance away from the city center. They commute in on public transit, which may take more than 90 minutes each way.

In DC, for example, many of the poor are moving to the far edges of the city or to neighboring Prince George's County. Most of the middle class that existed (which is mostly black) moved to areas far, far, far out in Prince George's County. So now you have a very affluent core, poverty on the edges, lesser poverty in the inner suburbs, and middle to upper class families in the outer burbs. It's almost like the inner beltway serves as a buffer zone for the more affluent black suburbs.

And you can just forget about the rest of the DC Metro area if you and your spouse aren't pulling down $250K minimum. Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, Fairfax, Arlington, Rockville, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Centreville are all expensive. If you have just a regular job, and want a halfway decent education for your kids, you need to go to Burtonsville, Gainesville, Loudon Prince William County, maybe Calvert County, Bowie, Germantown/Gaithersburg, or some other remote suburb/exurb that all of the secretaries in my office commute from.

The Bay Area is pretty similar in this regard. SF is out of control. Oakland is out of control too, even though you have a few places like Maxwell Park. The Inner East Bay is pretty much out of control. If you're just a regular dude with a regular job and have thoughts of starting a family in the Bay, you need to take your money out to Richmond.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:48 PM
 
705 posts, read 1,661,541 times
Reputation: 574
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee View Post
They don't leave en masse. They just get pushed out to the most undesirable suburbs, which are often a good distance away from the city center. They commute in on public transit, which may take more than 90 minutes each way.

In DC, for example, many of the poor are moving to the far edges of the city or to neighboring Prince George's County. Most of the middle class that existed (which is mostly black) moved to areas far, far, far out in Prince George's County. So now you have a very affluent core, poverty on the edges, lesser poverty in the inner suburbs, and middle to upper class families in the outer burbs. It's almost like the inner beltway serves as a buffer zone for the more affluent black suburbs.

And you can just forget about the rest of the DC Metro area if you and your spouse aren't pulling down $250K minimum. Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, Fairfax, Arlington, Rockville, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Centreville are all expensive. If you have just a regular job, and want a halfway decent education for your kids, you need to go to Burtonsville, Gainesville, Loudon Prince William County, maybe Calvert County, Bowie, Germantown/Gaithersburg, or some other remote suburb/exurb that all of the secretaries in my office commute from.

The Bay Area is pretty similar in this regard. SF is out of control. Oakland is out of control too, even though you have a few places like Maxwell Park. The Inner East Bay is pretty much out of control. If you're just a regular dude with a regular job and have thoughts of starting a family in the Bay, you need to take your money out to Richmond.
The professions and trades you listed make very good money, most live in nice houses in the burbs, ie the Peninsula, in houses that are 500k plus. I know people a lot of people in the trades that live in San Francisco, money was never a deciding factor in where they live. What applies in Dc does not apply here. The San Francisco peninsula, the south bay are expensive but you will find just as many average joe's here as you will in some god forsaken town in the valley or the east bay.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Denver Colorado
2,561 posts, read 5,813,159 times
Reputation: 2246
Quote:
Originally Posted by RussianIvanov View Post
You think there is no poverty in Philly offsetting statistics but there is in LA?

a street view example for the city 1st and 2nd street view of outside the city
philly - Google Maps

camden nj - Google Maps
I am certainly not saying that at all. I was merely stating that LA a city where you find 100 million dollar+ estates actually might have some wealth. It is very common knowledge that two classes dictate LA. I have always heard Philly has a larger middle class. I don't claim to understand the Phiily area, and I was more or less off topic.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 02:09 PM
 
Location: Lower East Side, Milwaukee, WI
2,943 posts, read 5,074,569 times
Reputation: 1113
Quote:
Originally Posted by calisnuffy View Post
The professions and trades you listed make very good money, most live in nice houses in the burbs, ie the Peninsula, in houses that are 500k plus. I know people a lot of people in the trades that live in San Francisco, money was never a deciding factor in where they live. What applies in Dc does not apply here. The San Francisco peninsula, the south bay are expensive but you will find just as many average joe's here as you will in some god forsaken town in the valley or the east bay.
I call shenanigans on you. With the exception of doctors, lawyers, and engineers, the rest of those trades don't earn "good money" and could never afford a house that costs $500k.

Teachers, police officers, and firefighters make around $40-50k a year; welders, electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen make roughly the same. Fast food workers are lucky to make $20k a year. And unless you're Dog the Bounty Hunter, then that's probably not a very lucrative career field either. Definitely not enough to afford a $3,000 a month mortgage payment.

Quote:
The lack of tremendous affluence in Philadelphia means there's room for teachers, cops, artists, doctors, boilermakers, plumbers, electricians, lawyers, bailbondsmen, porters, fast food workers, estimators, engineers, firefighters, and even bounty hunters all within the city limits. If the city witnessed a sudden infusion of Harvard, Stanford, and MIT grads, then most of those people would have to leave the city.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Crooklyn, New York
32,101 posts, read 34,714,145 times
Reputation: 15093
Quote:
Originally Posted by calisnuffy View Post
The professions and trades you listed make very good money, most live in nice houses in the burbs, ie the Peninsula, in houses that are 500k plus. I know people a lot of people in the trades that live in San Francisco, money was never a deciding factor in where they live. What applies in Dc does not apply here. The San Francisco peninsula, the south bay are expensive but you will find just as many average joe's here as you will in some god forsaken town in the valley or the east bay.
And just like in DC, the housing market in the Bay Area has come crashing down. Some teachers and electricians do make good money, but that doesn't mean they can afford a $500 or $600K house, especially with kids to support and car payments to make. A note on a $500K house is about $3500. That's insane. I would think the average family would struggle to make that type of mortgage payment.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 02:19 PM
 
705 posts, read 1,661,541 times
Reputation: 574
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjacobeclark View Post
I call shenanigans on you. With the exception of doctors, lawyers, and engineers, the rest of those trades don't earn "good money" and could never afford a house that costs $500k.

Teachers, police officers, and firefighters make around $40-50k a year; welders, electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen make roughly the same. Fast food workers are lucky to make $20k a year. And unless you're Dog the Bounty Hunter, then that's probably not a very lucrative career field either. Definitely not enough to afford a $3,000 a month mortgage payment.
Union journeymen top out at over 100k a year($50 hr), thats more than enough to support a mortgage on a 500k house.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2010, 02:21 PM
 
Location: Shawnee, KS
1,173 posts, read 1,473,979 times
Reputation: 1161
LA will still get the most tourism, and i think thats gonna give it the edge.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > General U.S. > City vs. City

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top