Restaurants closing down, or busy as ever?
Foreclosures everywhere, or business as usual?
Rampant unemployment, or people finding work?
And what's the word on the street - are people thinking things are getting better and this will all blow over, or are they stocking up the basement shelter?
And oh, right on schedule:
BREAKING NEWS: Consumer Confidence Index 54.9 in May Vs. 40.8 in April
Posts
67 comments:
Got green shoots?
http://tinyurl.com/oqf77l
went to jc pennys here in sacramento and no sign of recession.The cashier was wondering where the recession was beacuse she simply doesn't see it.Arden mall was packed as usual.How is working for wall street tools?
Raleigh, NC: Things seem okay in our health care/education/government/R&D/pharma city. People are definitely spooked but it seems that they just cut out the extra drinks out.
Get outside of Raleigh, though, and the state of North Carolina looks to be in shambles.
DENIAL DENIAL DENIAL
The word recession is tossed around, but everyone is still spending like crazy. Pile those bills onto the credit card. You gotta think it was like this in early 1930 too.
Mid Hudson Valley NY
Business as usual, everyone is out shopping and Resturants are packed.
I do see a lot of homes with 'for sale' signs in front yards, but this areas home prices have remained at peak thus far.
This area is definitly in Denial
SEATTLE, Lots of shops all over town have closed, for lease signs are up. Tax revenues way down, sales tax, B&O tax are ultimately based on some form of consumption. Excise tax from Real Estate sales are down.
Unemployment in the Puget Sound is up around 8%.
Wa state only went into recession about a year an 1/2 ago. The fail in commerce seems to many here to have been very rapid. Even Microsoft has announced layoffs. Boeing is also laying off. The same for local and state government.
5-6 banks are operating under Cease and Desist orders. Several banks have failed WAMU being the largest.
Columbia, MD
Mall is crowded. But cheaper stores and doing the best. Sears and JC Penny are killing Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor.
Pricey stores are empty except Coach. Some store closings in strip mall areas.
Cheaper food places are doing well like Outback and Olive Garden. While $$$$ ones have gone under.
Chicago(North and NW Suburbs) rents and housing prices are still sky high, for example $1,750 per month for a three bdr rental in the Old Orchard area.
There are some foreclosures and some scared home owners but overall prices are still unaffortable.
Life is good is you are a transplanted Cabrini Green (City of Chicago ex-projects area) thug, in that case the goverment picks up the tab (rent cost). That way they get to live in a nice suburb but forget to leave their criminal minds behind. Hail to the politicians who transform peacefull suburbs into gettos.
Skokie police was in the streets, with machine guns-M16s- just a few days ago trying to apprehend some of these model citizens.
What do you think will happen when things get worse?
Expecting delayed effect there. Oil drives our economy here in Alberta Canada and the pain is delayed. Oil is going up but gas is down.
RE down about 25-30% from peak.
Year 2000 - bought 2600sq ft house for 200k
2006 houses selling for around 600k on my street.
2009 neighbour just moved in from UK to escape crash there and bought for 430k.
Government pouring money down a rat hole to prop up oil companies so they can "research" Carbon Capture, which of course will never ever happen.
Went to a clothing store that told everyone that they were not going to close, that they were simply making room to bring in the leftovers from all the other store that were closing. It was empty and locked. They lied.
Why? So that the locals would not panic.
those responsible for price stabilization changed the method of price inflation calculation to omit what they wanted to inflate and rip off the savers who did not get fair return that would have stabilized prices...it is so manipulated one wonders what ever happened to insider trader rules
Northern Chicago Suburbs-- real estate and rentals still high, but falling steadily. Also a steady "creep" of storefronts going vacant-- each month that you drive past, you notice another one gone.
Radio ads all advertising sales and enticements that didn't exist before. Restaurants doing okay (I guess rich ladies can't learn to cook over night).
Near the *epicenter* – West Michigan – mixed bag, upbeat, lots of shoppers, boaters, summer beaches are open! (however) some people are on the edge of area auto parts (suppliers) going down w/GM this week as the end comes near??? Hard to call what will happen in Detroit 3-hours away.(Besides the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup!) If GM does go down though, get ready for a MASSIVE GLOBAL AFTER-$HOCK! The Republicans 8-Year "Shock and Awe" plan has arrived! I say the new 600,000+ out of work USA auto-workers ARMY and their out-of-work suppliers, should assend on Crawford, Texas at 2:00am!...
That would be sooo funny! The 600,000 strong army would find Bush hiding in a hole in his backyard! lol I would love it!!!!!
It's been 8 months since I was last in the US but I'll be going back in a week on both coasts to check it out.
In my current town (Bangkok) people talk about the economy being bad but people are still shopping like crazy, traffic is as bad as ever and people are chugging along.
There are some more anecdotal stories in the news about violent crimes against foreigners and locals but it's not too widespread just yet.
-Mike H
In NYC, condo high rises are still sprouting like weeds in Brooklyn/Manhattan. Real estate is still sacred to the people here. Cannot ever talk bad about real estate.
People spend money. Everything is crowded as hell like usual. Less traffic congestion, although still terrible.
A lot of people have lost their jobs, but most have managed to find new ones. That's about the worst of it.
Very busy here.
My company hiring dozens. (Heavily govt subsidized and getting billions in stimulus.)
Some house builders are RAISING listing prices. (Subsequent to large closing price drops in the past 3 years, however.)
Lots of people at open houses. Bidding wars breaking out in the better neighborhoods.
People are out eating, shopping and partying. Stretch hummer limos are seen in the streets during prom/graduation season.
Promotions and favorable job changes are happening among my friends.
New commercial and residental construction projects are still going up and still being started all around the city. (Although I suspect a few are stopping, not starting, slowing down, getting cancelled, or changing scope/type.)
Can you guess where I live??
YUP! Washington DC!
BUT, the house/condo price slump has moved in to downtown from the exurbs, since October, so I'm seeing some one-time listing price drops for new-built condos of 10% or more, and other new and used housing with listing price drops of 1-2% per month. And I think the ratio of closing price to listing price has dropped a healthy amount too.
Let's see where we are in Jan 2010, shall we?
No improvement in Socal.
Everyone is waiting to see how many jobs local and state govt will cut.
But chain store restaurants are packed.
Much of the weaker mom and pop restaurants closed 3-6 months ago.
The closing of Gottshalks, Mervyns, and Circuit City seemed to help their former competitors.
San Diego: housing down about 25% off peak; knife catchers legion...
Home Depot somewhat subdued; big pile of unemployed illegals every morning. Wife's Fortune 500 biotech division 15% pay cut across the board.
CA April sales tax receipts down FIFTY percent from a year ago... :^o
"...You gotta think it was like this in early 1930 too..."{2:00}"...at the end of 1929 as they celebrated, all that lay in the future...
...the bubble had burst...one era had ended...
...somewhere, deep down, they knew..."
Best. Soundtrack. EVER.
I forgot about Real Estate.
The Fed $8,0000 first-time buyer credit along with California's $10,000 tax credit has started a small mania in home buying.
People are reporting multiple offers on houses again. At least on homes that were priced at or below market. There are some people whose houses are priced in fantasy land.
If Obama gave a tax-credit to all buyers, we can have another housing bubble in no time.
Southern York county PA.
No bubble!
No clue!
Closest town is Bel Air Maryland to the south. Noticeably down in traffic last Sat morning (the wife had to go to JoAnn's, big sale, had coupons, yada-yada.) Usually downtown Bel Air is a driving hell on Sat morning.
Don't get up north to York City, Pa. much. When we do it's usually just a stop in Sam's Club (employees say business has never been better!)
Restaurants in both directions are noticeably down, even on weekends.
Everybody that I know is working.
For Sale signs on both sides of the line seemed to be staying up forever, although some SOLD stickers are starting to crop up here and there.
All in all, no great calamity.
It rips my guts out to admit it Keith, but you may be right in that we have turned the corner.
At least until Option Arm and Adjustable Arm descend on us in 2010-11. Don't know if Hilary is going to be able to beg another couple trillion from the Chinese and Saudi's to get us through that one.
Time will tell!
Of course, no matter what happens, our children and grandchildren will hate us!
NYC is booming. Restaurants packed, Bars packed, tourists everywhere, shops busy. Cafe's you cant even get a table.
Granted real-estate continues to drop and will drop alot furthur, but people are spending money.
And this is why credit card companies are slashing credit lines for all U.S. card holders.
99 out of 100 of the mindless sheeple are so stupid, they will spend themselves to death.
GR Lakeshore -
Gas: $2.70 gal
Cheapest cigaretts: $5.02 pk.
Jobs: Hard to find (if you dont have one)
Brand New Cars: 50% off
Homes: $49,000 and up.
Benefits: Lake Michigan shoreline "resort style living" for less.
Keefer said:
‘BREAKING NEWS: Consumer Confidence Index 54.9 in May Vs. 40.8 in April’
If we would to take a poll on Housing prices in 2005 we would likely get an above 90% consumer agreement that prices would continue going up.
D.C. - I know several that have been laid off. Some others have suddenly decided to go "independent" in the middle of an economic shitstorm. I am worried about my job.
And no, I do not see things getting better in the near future because people are OUT OF MONEY!
Montgomery County, PA (burbs of Philly)
More houses for sale than usual- a lot more. I own a few and the rental market is down big- its harder to find good paying tenants, and they are getting concessions, reduced rent, etc. Malls (esp new ones) are doing fine. Lots of business are no longer in business, but some new ones have popped up. Some gyms have gone out of business but new 24 hour gyms are popping up.
Basically, its a good cleansing of the system. There are more foreclosures than there were. The big "if" for my area is whether one of the biggest employers, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, closes their headquarters when they complete their merger with Pfizer by the end of the year. They employ 5000 ppl in the area.
I am seeing Big grading companies bidding on extremely small jobs
Things are tough and gettin tuffer
Recently co-bid a commercial building grading job in Corona, Calif.
Our Bid was around 2mil (cheap, based on old 1980's cheaper yardage numbers)...
our bid was also inclusive,
and we lost it to a bid of 1.2mil!
There is No way that much dirt can be moved that cheap!
It's gettin ugly
Annapolis, MD is close enough to Washington, DC so we get the "it hasn't happened here yet" feeling. However, the "For Sale" signs are up all over the place and aren't going anywhere. Businesses are consolidating. Municiple budgets are being cut and the banks are just as stingy about lending as anywhere else. It seems like loans below $200K loan still go through. Tourism is down. And since we're a big boating town, it would be remiss not to mention how terrible the marina business and boat repair business has been.
On the other hand, the restaurants and malls are full. Traffic still sucks and people seem to be investing in fixing up their houses, but doing their own landscaping.
Personally, I think this summer/fall is going to be a shock to the system, and I resent TPTB not doing anyting to get ready for it.
Chicago and south suburb retail is deserted. You see people at the malls, but no bags. The city wants to charge an entertainment tax on the PSLs the Chicago Bears crammed down fans years ago. Should be interesting to see how the sports in this town reflects the economic realities.
The consumer still doesn't know what hit us. Talk to the average joe on the street and see. They don't know what caused the housing bubble. They don't know that it is yet to run it's course. They don't know that the US economy is fundamentally broken being a predominantly service economy fueled by cheap money and debt.
This is simply a short reprieve in Great Depression II. The original Great Depression featured the same dead cat bounce before plunging into the abyss.
-Gonzo
Pretty much if it isn't "life vital" (food, shelter, clothing) it isn't being bought. At least in my household.
On a positive note though, the commute seems to be easier.
Montgomery County, MD
If you don't know this area, let me tell you, houses were way overpriced. Now prices are being slashed especially townhouses in the upper county area. Once going for $350,000 or more are now short sales for $175,000 - $200,000. Want to buy but will only pay $175,000 - no more.
Shopping in this area has declined some. Bethesda, MD - shopping is still major but other areas you see a decline.....As someone else mention, Target, JC Penny's are doing well, whereas Talbot and other high price boutiques are seeing the slow down. Malls are pretty empty in the evenings....I actually enjoy them now!!
In southeast Michigan it is quieter, much quieter. First in line, only a few people shop, though sometimes it will get sort of busy, kind of like a gust of wind.
On a busier street nearby, multiple stores empty, for sale for lease signs on commercial real estate abound.
We noticed last weekend the paint on the roads is pretty faded lately. When will they paint them??
Highways included.
Median price is half what is was a few years ago..everyone talks money, worried, even if you have a job, you can't help but see the business going out of business, the lessening traffic, all the little ways people try to raise extra money.
Very worried here in southeast Michigan.
If you are one of the gov't parasites and/or your job is dependent upon parasitic gov't spending, then everything seems OK because you are not effected.
However, if you are in the private sector, you are seeing the SHTF.
Gov't will be next.
Here's a Target in West Virginia circa February 2009:
http://tinyurl.com/rasuar
An empty mess.
Noodles123-
NY state must be blessed because here in Monterey Ca. there's a small panic in the air.
20% unemployment in 3 counties around us and that's GOVERNMENT NUMBERS!
Too many field/construction/manual workers with 20 kids each..."We is fucked mon...Shabba!"
Here's an excellent report on what's happening in the boomtown of Las Vegas:
Here's What's Going Down in Las Vegas.
I wish there was great street level reporting like this on the corporate media but all we get is green shoots and mustard seeds from Larry Kudlow and Co's ass.
Wonder what the consumer confidence level in Las Vegas is right now.
BTW - That video shows one of the mythical mortgage broker's turned to stripping that you're always on about, Keith.
-Gonzo
So Cal
Not good. commercial vacancies are up. mom and pop retail owners are dead. foreclosures are up. Taxes/fees are up. The 10% sales tax is a killer. Much of the local economy was fuled by real estate so unemployment is up. I notice the increase in unemployed most at my local gym and the library - used to go mid day and have the gym/library to myself, now it is crowded with 30-50 year olds. public schools are getting hammered - soon a prison will have more amenities.
And unfortunately, with the billions the terminator has to cut from California's budget, this party is just getting started.
Austin TX and surrounding area:
Seeing a lot of For Sale/For lease signs staying up for longer than a couple of years ago. For example two houses on the street out of my neighborhood have had signs up since the beginning of the year. Prices seem to be slipping a bit but the biggest difference is in how long houses are staying on the market (79 days in April compared to 63 the year before).
Lots of restuarants closing, especially smaller places including two of our favorites have closed in the last 3 months. Lots of empty storefronts and business parks with now leasing signs even as new projects continue to go up. Condo's going to auction to sell because people aren't buying them downtown.
Seems to be less traffic on the roads but its hard to say how much of that is economy and how much is related to schools letting out. Traffic in and around the courthouse is up with antecdotal evidence of case loads increasing in all courts. Attendance at the AAA baseball club is way down this year. They are 4 games under .500 so it could be the record but even one of the most affordable events in town seems to be suffering.
It is good in D.C. Was out of work for 2 1/2 months was not looking that hard. Started last week landed a 100k plus job in 4 days Thank you Dice.com. Not great but will keep me in beer. Also have another job that I might get that pays more. Keep paying your taxes so I can get good paying jobs with very little work. Downside is I have to live in the shithole that is D.C. I swear this place sucks you never hear English when people talk it is always some other language.
Burn Baby Burn
Albany, NY
Probably 15% work force reduction across the board (white and blue collar, education, public sector). Housing prices down about 20%. Very noticeable increase in vacant storefronts and closed auto dealers. Unfortunately the chains all seem to be doing better than the "local" institutions (mom and pop butchers, grocers, shoe stores, restaurants, bakeryies). People are paying off their cars and credit cards at a brisk pace. Major drop in public services including reduced bus routes, city festivals, police and fire departments also reducing services. Lastly, crime is on the rise.
NYC - storefronts going empty; people still going out but not spending as much as far as i understand. no condos or co-ops being sold; the market is dead, dead, dead. whatever is being sold is mostly high end. more foreclosures too.
as far as the consumer confidence number is concerned, it's transient. after two months of spin and lies from the grifters and banksters, the sheeple have momentarily been convinced that things are going to get better.
ha! wait a few months; you'll see...
HIT!!!!
Dateline Wilmington, NC
Inventory on the Boat/Marine lots WAY down, some closed...ditto for the camper/RV lots.
Many furniture store closings.
Early retirment packages for municipal workers, budget cutting for schools.
Beach rentals are way down...the rental agents actually requested that the rental owners decrease their rates by 15%.
People at the beach were at least as fat as last year.
Better and better stuff at the flea market.
Phoenix is in pretty bad shape. Job losses are finally taking their toll. Restaurants and retail are still closing. Resorts and hotels are going in to foreclosure.
A lot of jobs that came during the boom times i.e. mortgage-related and construction are not coming back for years. Phoenix continues to miss the boat when it comes to attracting major corporations, but continues to be friendly to small business.
Small business is probably what will get Phoenix out of its mess eventually, which is why I am starting one.
If anyone else has a different take on Phoenix, I'd love to hear it. Everyone I know is now coming to me for answers and I really don't have many good ones.
Denver
Complete denial. Real estate prices pretty much holding.
"...Can you guess where I live?? YUP! Washington DC!..."
"...If you are one of the gov't parasites and/or your job is dependent upon parasitic gov't spending, then everything seems OK...
...Gov't will be next..."P'shaw, naysayer; how could any industry based on taxation and fiat currency be adrift in today's climate?
Recent news article>>> "...the one bright spot in the economy: Federal employment is up(!!!)..."I shit you not.
"...Keep paying your taxes so I can get good paying jobs with very little work..."Think of how much good just two well-placed devices would do this country:
1) Washington
2) New York
It'd be like back to revolutionary times; people that actually do something engaged in commerce with each other...
Without the parasites.
We need a clean break like Israel. ;^D
"...Can you guess where I live?? YUP! Washington DC!..."
"...If you are one of the gov't parasites and/or your job is dependent upon parasitic gov't spending, then everything seems OK...
...Gov't will be next..."P'shaw, naysayer; how could any industry based on taxation and fiat currency be adrift in today's climate?
Recent news article>>> "...the one bright spot in the economy: Federal employment is up(!!!)..."I shit you not.
"...Keep paying your taxes so I can get good paying jobs with very little work..."Think of how much good just two well-placed devices would do this country:
1) Washington
2) New York
It'd be like back to revolutionary times; people that actually do something engaged in commerce with each other...
Without the parasites.
We need a clean break like Israel. ;^D
No jobs here, City is saying..if you can retire, retire now or lose your health insurance. Subdivision with 22 houses for sale of which 14 are foreclosed. Hospitals laying off around 150 so far. Most people have a sort of glazed look.
Work on Wall Street in NYC. Definite uptick in homeless begging for cash. Not many but more than there were even a few months ago.
Recently visited Albuquerque NM. Lots of empty/closed businesses. For sale/lease/rent signs are everywhere on both homes and businesses. Many empty, or nearly empty, parking lots around businesses. In the local newspaper, 6 pages of notices of foreclosure sales. Some malls had quite a few cars in the parking lots. Seemed to be especially around the bookstores - could be people getting out of the house for cheap. Still gridlock on the main highways around quitting time though. A single homeless and unemployed mom killed her young son and buried him in the sand in a local park playground. She said she couldn't take care of him anymore.
I see a funny world in Sonoma County.
The many technology companies are dwindling to near nothing and there are more retail and commercial vacancies than I'd ever imagine seeing. Acatel use to employ over 500 now only has 85 people left. Cisco and Agilent have also shrunk a ton (don't have figures with me). Several smaller companies have also cut or went out of business altogether. Only Cyan and Calix have grown that I know of (and of course not enough to absorb even a fraction of the people laid off).
However, the parking lots are full of customers and housing prices are shy of affordable for a good neighborhood. I feel the consumer is still strong for being hammered down, but I believe that can't happen forever. They are still allowed to go into debt deeper or getting bankruptcy so they can start spending again.
With so many of the tech jobs gone, I would expect prices to be under pressure for a long time.
lots of homeowners can live in their homes for up to 1 year mortgage free while facing forclosure.
Guess what they are doing with that money? Shopping.
Nice double post there, Thumbs.
Our Bid was around 2mil (cheap, based on old 1980's cheaper yardage numbers)...
our bid was also inclusive,
and we lost it to a bid of 1.2mil!
There is No way that much dirt can be moved that cheap!
---------------------------
I have seen this happen many times over the years, even in the good times.
A large multi-state/national contractor will "dog in" on an area by bidding a job at a loss just to get their foot in the door in that area. That way they get a psychological advantage when other bids come open and definitely remembered when the "no bid" contracts come up.
A large national utility contractor down in Maryland recently lost a bid on a job ONE MILE FROM THEIR MAIN YARD!
The winner, a utility company down in Texas that had NEVER worked on the east coast. They will have to bring all their equipment from west of the Mississippi.
"These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett"
Here's a list of salaries in San Francisco. Firefighters and policeman making $250,000 a year.
http://myprops.org/content/S.F.-is-gonna-be-broke-whether-you-like-it-or-not/
All of California's tax money is going to fund public employees' ridiculous salaries.
California should not get any federal assistance. They created their own mess, and they can clean it up themselves by declaring BK.
Cleveland / NE Ohio is in the 3rd decade of recession. Most steel mills closed in the 1980's, Amoco/BP moved to Chicago in the 1990's, MBNA sold to Bank of America, TRW gone, LTV Steel gone in 2001, National City sold to PNC and laying off 5,000, now GM and Chrysler (and 100's of thousands of parts manufacturing jobs) going under.
Green shoots galore sprouting from broken sidewalks. Will the last person leaving Cleveland please turn out the lights?
Downtown Brooklyn: Business as usual. There are three new brick buildings under construction across the street from my apartment. Few to no vacancies. Three new frozen yogurt shops have opened within four blocks of each other in the past six months. Restaurants are crowded as ever. The new Trader Joe's (in a former bank building) is packed with shoppers, especially on Sundays. Students at Brooklyn Law School are having more trouble finding and keeping jobs, but business on the street appears unaffected.
Suffolk County (Long Island): In the Miller Place / Port Jefferson / Smithtown section on the north shore, there are noticeably more vacancies. Car dealerships have been hit especially hard - at least a half-dozen have closed along a few mile stretch of Middle Country Road. Local art gallery in downtown Port Jefferson is closing, as did the local pet store and hobby shop. My ex-GF's acupuncture practice has seen a slight dropoff in clients, and a major insurer has reduced their payments for her services by 50%. I intern for a Smithtown lawyer who is focusing on Ch. 7 and 13 consumer bankruptcies - he is busy. Was at the office past 9pm last night working with a couple on their Ch. 7.
Two views, sort of -
Portland, Oregon where I am originally from and I just left. Major recession going on, second highest unemployment in the nation and it shows. Lots of homes for sale, lots of foreclosures, lots of people out of work, lots of empty storefronts.
Houston, Texas my new home where I found a new job. Hard to tell if the empty storefronts are typical of this area or are new. However, lots and lots of business in the stores and restaurants. New construction continues, economy is robust here (witness the fact that I got a new job).
Wisconsin used to have a lot of industry & ties to automakers. So some cities are reporting 12% unemployment (which means it is more likely to be 20% or higher.
Grocery & pharmacies are as busy as ever. Everything else is looking pretty bad.
Down Under in Down Under, no real change. Still lookin' good.
I was dinking around on my most recent days off, riding my bicycle around different suburbs where I don't usually go. I like to stop at some homes for sale and read the advertising billboards in front to find out more about the ages of the houses and other details. Those realtwhores you hate so much put up high-gloss metal signs with pix of the back garden, interior rooms, a puffed-up description of the property... Nice sales technique, and they teach me about the history of some of these nicely-built, English-looking brick homes.
Maybe a few less signs than there were years before, but I'm still seeing "SOLD" notices on about half. Real estate section gives a column to the local equivalent to the NAR each Saturday, and it mentions that median prices have dropped less than 10%, still putting optimistic spin on things.
Yards, fences, cars parked in front still in good nick. No increase in vacant storefronts, roads as crowded as ever, perhaps a bit easier to get seated in restaurants but still turning tables. Older friends who had to sell their home at Christmas due to a financial setback and come out of retirement have both found new jobs. No panic.
Maybe it's not as bad as I think it should be. But it SHOULD be that bad. I still expect it will. For now, enjoying the good times, ready for the bad. Maybe my permabear side is wrong!
Los Angeles is an armpit in the middle of an asshole. It's hard to believe that millions of people can suck exhaust and live in the stench of their own excrement while not knowing why they are angry.
I do it for money.
The economy here is still strong.
Lancaster PA is A-OK.
Northern VA--
Sellers still asking 2005 prices, and houses still completely overvalued. So many old, crumbling shit box houses that I honestly wouldnt pay a dime for.
Wanted to buy earlier, but now I seriously couldnt give a shit about it. I will rent forever and let someone else pay the bills and get JACKED on property taxes in the years ahead. Wake me up when prices are down another 30% and rates are at 2%.
Living next to Univ of Central Florida. My favorite coffee shop on campus closed, but probably for reasons other than the macroeconomy. Other on-campus businesses look like they're doing anywhere from slow to OK. I don't know the particular stats here, but academically things appear going well. Exciting things are developing administratively, but i'm not at liberty to explain at this time. Funds from NASA, NSF continue. College towns will do okay because now people seek more education. This article may be of interest concerning college towns.
At the food court in our local mall (Nashua, NH), the vendors were offering free tasting as well as half-off menu prices. Never seen that before...
In Phoenix it is getting difficult to find a nursing job. I am not including nursing asst, those jobs are abundant.
In the past, a nurse would walk in apply for a job and get it immediately. Now it takes a while to get called.
I don't know if this is due to the economy or an influx of Filipino nurses who take two jobs at a time.
It seems, to me, that jobs are exported or workers are imported. Not much left for the U.S. citizen and I am not white. I am of Mexicaqn ancestry. Family in the U.S. since the mixture of Indian and Spanish took place in the Southwest.
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