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I'm in the North East around NYC. I see a lot less shoppers and shopping bags than usual in the malls for this time of the year. Of course that can be attributed to other factors, including great weather this summer here.
I see lots and lots of unsold inventories in garden shops and nurseries, even though I am told that they ordered about the same amount of stock as last year.
Grocery stores are beating each other silly with discounts even though there are basically just 2 major players in the area.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Having been here 22 years, I haven't seen it any better since the dot com boom of the late 90s. There are probably more big cranes at high-rise construction sites in Seattle than before the recession. Where I work, in the last few weeks 2 managing directors, 2 directors, a manager and an attorney have all left for higher paying jobs they were recruited for. Not only are stores busy, but luxury cars are flying off the lots, and homes are selling in a few days for over asking price.
Our area, 3.4% unemployment. Construction did not slow down much even at the height of the recession in our part of the country. New shopping centers being constructed, and the existing ones full.
McDonald's pays high school kids $10 an hour to start and as they get trained $12 an hour, and adults for day shifts $14 an hour to start, and that is about right for minimum wage jobs. Our housekeepers son walked in at 16, asked if he could put in an application. The manager came out to meet him, showed him around and asked if he could do that type of work. He said yes. Handed him an application to fill out, and when he turned it back to her she said he would do orientation and training on Friday, then start Saturday for a full day shift. Help wanted signs everywhere you look.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and the economy is HOT! The median home price is $1.225 million, people are getting into bidding wars way above asking and paying cash or having huge down payments. The job market is also going strong, even for fresh out of college graduates. The lines to restaurants and stores are annoyingly long. There is a long line of developers begging to get approved to break ground.
Here in Indianapolis, I'd give it a solid B. Jobs are available and companies are hiring, but the pay is nowhere near the coasts (nor is the cost of living) and we also lack the prestigious jobs that are most concentrated in bigger metros.
Even considering the pay where it's it at, Indy is still doing far, far better than Southern states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and most of Virginia. Homes are very affordable with a wide variety of options available, from urban living in the city core, to affluent suburbs on the outset, to fairly rural towns that are USDA eligible within commuting distance of the city's major job centers.
Despite all their praying, things in the rest of the state rarely go all that well. Still, here in Northern Virginia, the economy is doing fine -- even at malls and garden centers. The grocery store was bustling yesterday as well. Unemployment has been at or below 4%. Sales tax receipts are up by 3.5% over last year. Home prices and building permits are up, days on the market are down. What's not to like...
Despite all their praying, things in the rest of the state rarely go all that well. Still, here in Northern Virginia, the economy is doing fine -- even at malls and garden centers. The grocery store was bustling yesterday as well. Unemployment has been at or below 4%. Sales tax receipts are up by 3.5% over last year. Home prices and building permits are up, days on the market are down. What's not to like...
I worked in southwest Virginia for a number of years, and am from right over the border in TN, and it is amazing to me how poorly most of Virginia does, yet that very small number of counties by DC tend to carry all the water.
I worked in southwest Virginia for a number of years, and am from right over the border in TN, and it is amazing to me how poorly most of Virginia does, yet that very small number of counties by DC tend to carry all the water.
That's because the entire rest of the country props up that parasite.
.. it is amazing to me how poorly most of Virginia does, yet that very small number of counties by DC tend to carry all the water.
True. The Tidewater area around Norfolk and Newport News does pretty well also, as does Richmond/Petersburg. But nothing compares to Northern Virginia. Nearly one Virginian in seven lives in Fairfax County alone. It's one of the wealthiest and best-educated areas in the country, so that's where all the economics are.
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