When bad times came in earlier days, Americans were likely to up and leave town for greener pastures.
This time, they’re hunkering down. It’s the new depression mentality.
Those that are moving seem to be moving out of the two states that had the biggest booms in housing – Florida and California.The reason is clear. With the housing market in crisis, the economies of the two sunshine states have been hit proportionately hard.
CNN Money reports:
“The Florida economy is based on growth and home construction,” said Lang. With building projects dying on the vine, unemployment soared to 7.6% for the state in 2008. It’s now up to 10.7%.
The same job problems plague many California cities, especially Central Valley towns like Stockton, Fresno and Merced. Construction-related job losses helped send state unemployment to 8.7% by December 2008 from 5.9% a year earlier. Today, some cities report breathtakingly high unemployment rates: 30.2% in El Centro; 17.6% in Merced; and 17.2% in Yuba City.
So, if people aren’t heading for the good life in California and Florida, where are they going?
D.C., Alaska and Wyoming. (Seriously………To be fair, however, small populations in these places convert modest in-migration increases into large percentage gains. They’re each among the smallest states (or district) in the Union. That’s just the opposite of California and Florida where each percentage point represents hundreds of thousands of people….In terms of net migration — those moving in minus those leaving — Texas was the star performer in 2008, with the population growing by 140,000.”
My Comment:
I thought of Texas – way back in 2003. Houston or San Antonio, I thought. I liked the fact that Houston had a large Asian community and was reckoned one of the best places to begin a new business and one of the best places for immigrants. Property was also reasonably priced and the place had a healthy libertarian community. It’s reputed to be a safe, family-friendly city – and greener than you’d think. And there are all those jobs in the energy business.
But there are negatives. Both places are a long way off from anywhere else. In many ways, you’d be going to a new country. To get to any other city in Texas, let alone anywhere else, is a long haul. Houston’s roads are congested. The housing is largely modern – no old architecture. The weather is extremely hot and humid, and there’s hurricane season. I told a friend of mine he’d find me on a ranch, chewing baccy, spitting, and eying down rattlesnakes. I’d fit right in, I said. I probably would have. But I would have lost something in fitting in. In Uruguay, subtly, I feel I gain by fitting in.
And the prison system – not that I was planning on ending up in it – has serious problems. I am not sure it would have been the ideal place for a political blogger.
I still wonder about Texas and if I made a mistake coming here. My reasoning was that if I was going to uproot that much, I might as well go abroad, where I’d also have the advantage of being out of the country. But I admit to being conflicted about it all…still.
What made up my mind for me ultimately was the privacy issue. You can move to Texas, but you can’t move out of the way of the snoop state. And you can’t get away from litigators and stalkers…from enemies with their malevolence and the government with its benevolence….
“I told a friend of mine he’d find me on a ranch, chewing baccy, spitting, and eying down rattlesnakes.”
That I’d love to see 🙂
Seriously, I pay attention to your comments about your wanderings, the musings etc. Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I am curious what your feelings will be in 6 months or 1 year from now.
Looking forward to it.
Well, I grew up in India and it was common to find snakes in the garden. Not feeble grass snakes either – King Cobras, Russel’s Vipers, Pit Vipers…
my parents, now in their seventies, still have to tackle them…and there are plenty of snakes in Florida too
Stop thinking about Texas and Houston in particular. The good things about Texas don’t outshine the bad. Many people describe Houston as the armpit of Texas and for good reason.
“…Houston … was reckoned one of the best places to begin a new business…”
Recently, a number of people I know of who’ve been there said they heard that too, but thought just the opposite.
If I can help it, I’ll never go back there.
What Jim said, +1.
I live in Houston, and started my own business while here. I have been successful here, and have been looked upon favorably by the communities that I have dealt with. I run an internet company, I deal with nationwide customers, but my local customers have been the most friendly to deal with. No state income tax also allows one to grow a company without a heavy tax burden.
Sure, the heat and humidity are oppressive in the summer. However, the fall months are mild, and the winter is almost non-existent. You will never shovel snow in Houston! Houston is also far enough inland to withstand the force on most hurricanes; Galveston not so much.
There are tons of parks around the city, and since the weather is decent the majority of the time people are usually frequenting the parks.
The interstate traffic in the city is miserable during rush hour, no doubt about it. It’s a part of life, but there are ways around most of it.
It is a very diverse city, something I appreciate. Many different cultures leads to some great dining options and people generally get along. My fiancée, a white Jewish girl, is in a running group with 50% Mexicans, and the remaining 50% is a host of other ethnicities. She became a member in the club after they spotted her running by herself one day. It is a friendly place in general.
You can live in the bustling suburbs like Sugar Land, or inside the loop. Each has affordable housing options as Houston didn’t have a major housing boom.
Every big city has its problems, Houston is certainly no different. If things ever go south, you can catch a plane at either of the airports (one a hub for Southwest, one a hub for Continental) and easily escape the place. Libertarian thinking is welcomed here (See Paul, Ron of nearby Lake Jackson) and you would be welcomed too!
I am sure it is very nice…
the places I looked at in the US were Pittsburgh (very beautiful city..but fog capital of the US)..
and Houston…the exact opposite, in climate.
But architecture decided me. I really can’t live in modern surroundings. I will be thrown into depression if I can’t find quaint, historic details.
I need to feel I live in history.not cut off and drifting in some science fiction world..
After spending the last four years as a real estate developer in TX, this economic downturn was a blessing for me. Allowing me to wake up from TX and see it for what it really is. This place has a lot of work to do. Most clarifying evidence of the politicians that come from there, and it will be quite damaging to this country if it gains all of those electorate numbers if the GOP can go in like they did before and reorganize the voting lines for their appropriate electorate voting numbers…
I also abhor modern architecture (with the exception of some of the early stuff from the 1940’s). San Antonio has quite a bit of spanish colonial, and then there is New Mexico, a place to lose oneself in historic relics amid more interesting geography. Not sure what the business climate is like there.
I left California in 2007 and moved to Houston. My wife and I were paying $800/month in state income taxes in California. We pay none in Houston. We were renting a two bedroom apartment for $1750/month, we now own a home (much larger and nicer then the apartment) for $1433/month. Everything else (e.g. electricity, food, etc) is cheaper in Texas. In California, we were getting by. Here, we are increasing our home equity, saving money in our IRAs, and building a financial future.
Move to Texas. It makes sense to do so.
I was born in raised in CAL, all my family remains in CALIF. I worked in LA for the police department for 25 years until April of 2008. I could not get out of that toliet state fast enough! I now live in Texas and had I know then when I know now- I would have walked away 3 years ago! If it was not for my family-I would never go back to the “left coast”-to find out why just do “google search” using the words “California Reccession” and watch your computer start to smoke!
I sell real estate in Wyoming, it saddens me to see how many foreclosures are on the market, and how many more are coming daily
Well, don’t be sad.
You get to make a living selling them
Some investor buys them and makes money.
And someone who wanted a house cheap gets one.
The former owner learns a lesson about finance, rents and eventually recovers.
That’s capitalism.