Woohooo! Seattle on Forbe's list of most recession-proof cities (Starbuck: real estate, rent)

[Woof]

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8. Seattle, Wash.



America's Recession-Proof Cities - Yahoo! Real Estate (http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/americas-recession-proof-cities.html - broken link)

[Ira500]

I don't think any city in the US is recession proof. Washington Mutual is laying off thousands, and Starbucks has had it's worst quarter in years, and has been closing stores. The median home price figure is misleading. Seattle had it's home price peak quite a bit later than other cities. We peaked in July '07, a year to a year and a half later than other places. And prices have been dropping every single month since then.
Also, we are part of the national and global economy..If much of the product produced in Seattle gets purchased in places where their economy is lagging, they won't purchase as much, and we get affected. Starbucks is a good example of this...This country might be in a recession, and many folks are cutting back on extravagances...To me, a latte is a necessity, but for many, that four dollar latte is the first thing they're going to cut back on.
We might be in better shape economically than other places, and that might continue.
But in other cities people can afford to buy houses. Typically, a home should cost 150-200 times the monthly rent for a comparable home, and that's the case in many cities. Seattle, it's more like 350 times the rent.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Ira500

We might be in better shape economically than other places, and that might continue.

I think the best that can be said is as you put it, "better shape economically than other places", and I'd say that about all of the cities listed.

Anybody that has been in the region since the early part of this decade can probably remember the recession of 2001, and going back even further I can remember some bad times… very bad times here. Most people are probably familiar with now famous quote from the early 70's, "Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights". I remember it like it was yesterday...

Seattle has a long history of boom and bust, however even with a much more diversified economy than even earlier this decade I don't see it as being recession proof.

[Woof]

I think the greater diversification will definitely lead to more stability .... at least employment is going up, and in the higher-paid industrial jobs.