News/Talk Countdown

[landtuna]

All of the large metros, including LA, the Inland Empire, Sacramento, San Francisco / San Jose and San Diego are vastly more expensive than the comparison cities of Atlanta, Houston or Philly.

It's been a few years since I lived in Sacto but when I was there most of that city was Section 8. And the IE is laughable. SF holds the record for unafordability (and that included most of the Bay Area).

I now live in a smaller metro in CA that is not a top 100 market, and I could get an identically sized home in Tucson for 40% less and in nice areas in Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio for as much as 60% less.

I doubt those numbers. I am quite familiar with Tucson and am quite sure you could find housing for your number but it would be far and away not equal to what you enjoyed in the Coachella Valley. Same goes for Houston and SA but not Dallas. I am currently helping a friend shop for a home in the metro area and she is going to have to commute quite a distance to be in the "affordable" range. I would guesstimate Dallas would exceed CA by quite a difference.

Any place desirable in the IE is expensive.

Funny. I never thought I'd read "desirable" and "IE" in the same sentence.

The "eastern portion" is Baker, Blythe, Barstow and Brawley. Not particularly nice, and not all that cheap, either.

Blythe housing is quite nice (tracts) if you work in the prison. Otherwise it is a dump. So is Brawley (appropriately named, especially on a Saturday night). Barstow is a gas station and Baker not quite so much. All these cities are in the middle of a very ugly desert but at least Blythe has access to the river.

... because whether seniors leave an are due to high costs of living (CA, etc.) or go to it due to lower costs (TX, FL, AZ) affects the median age.

I cannot recall a single senior who has moved here from CA but I know a ton of youngsters who have - mainly because they can buy houses here and cannot in CA. And that has been going on since the early 80's at least. If you've lived in your home in CA for a long time you can retire quite nicely and have a huge appreciation to pass on to your heirs upon your death. Plus, most seniors can't handle the AZ summer heat.

You can have highly unionized workforces that are not highly educated and still have the same median household incomes.

Those high paying union jobs are virtually a thing of the past.

I think if you look you will find that nearly 2/3 of the workforce is blue collar. And of the white collar, a significant percentage don't really work in offices... think of salespeople as an example.

The gubmint disagrees with you.

A growing percentage of white collar workers telecommute so they don't work in an office, either. The majority of workplace listening is, thus, not in offices and it never was.

Telecommuting is a miniscule percentage of the total work force but the very few I know all have a TV in their home office, not a radio. Because large corporations usually cram their office workforce into cubicle farms it is necessary to block out the conversations and banter next door that can detract from your own work. This is usually done with ear buds connected to......a radio or music player.

No, at-home listening is primarily done by 25+ adults. They range from stay-at-home parents of either gender to the unemployed (functional and statistical... about 15% of the population). It also includes people getting up in the morning and getting ready for work who don't turn on the tv, etc., etc.

I have five kids and I've asked them. None of them turn on either the radio or TV before they leave for work. One listens to XM/Sirius in his truck. One listens to terrestrial radio in his truck. One makes phone calls on the way to work. The other two do not listen or watch anything while commuting. I'm pretty sure that in areas with nasty winter weather listening/watching is far more common.

 

[davideduardo]

I doubt those numbers. I am quite familiar with Tucson and am quite sure you could find housing for your number but it would be far and away not equal to what you enjoyed in the Coachella Valley. Same goes for Houston and SA but not Dallas. I am currently helping a friend shop for a home in the metro area and she is going to have to commute quite a distance to be in the "affordable" range. I would guesstimate Dallas would exceed CA by quite a difference.

I looked carefully at Tucson, Houston (only because my daughter is there), SA, Austin and Dallas (because I have many friends there) as well as upgrading in the Coachella Valley.

Let's say the home in the Coachella Valley indexes a an even 1. For a comparable home in a similar neighborhood, Tucson would be a 0.6, Austin a 0.7, SA a 0.4 to 0.5 and Dallas a 0.7. Houston had a wide range, mostly depending on whether I wanted to be near the Galleria and work locations or could work from home and not commute. Average was around a 0.5 to 0.6.

I also looked at the IE, in several nice locations but it was too expensive.

Funny. I never thought I'd read "desirable" and "IE" in the same sentence.

Two examples: Yucaipa, Big Bear Lake.

Blythe housing is quite nice (tracts) if you work in the prison. Otherwise it is a dump. So is Brawley (appropriately named, especially on a Saturday night). Barstow is a gas station and Baker not quite so much.

Barstow is the largest of them all, with a huge rail marshalling yard. It's about 20% larger than Blythe. Brawley is a classic agricultural hub, and hot due to the desert and humid due to the irrigation.

All these cities are in the middle of a very ugly desert but at least Blythe has access to the river.

Such as it is by the time every town from SW Colorado to Lake Havasu City have drained it. It's a large stream at that point.

I cannot recall a single senior who has moved here from CA but I know a ton of youngsters who have - mainly because they can buy houses here and cannot in CA.

It seems half of the folks I know in retirement age have gone, mostly to Austin and SA, but quite a few to Dallas, too.

And that has been going on since the early 80's at least. If you've lived in your home in CA for a long time you can retire quite nicely and have a huge appreciation to pass on to your heirs upon your death.

CA home values are roughly comparable to the late 80's peak. Homes built since then, particularly in the 1991-1995 recession, were priced lower. But long-term owners in more desirable areas have not seen much appreciation.

Plus, most seniors can't handle the AZ summer heat.

Tucson is quite bearable, and even PHX is OK after getting used to it. Anyone from the IE, lower Central Valley, Coachella Valley, etc. will find it not much different. Those from the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley will find it cooler.

Those high paying union jobs are virtually a thing of the past.

The point was that many of the "old" cities were built based on union wages, not on highly educated blue collar workers.

The gubmint disagrees with you.

http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/blue-and-white-collar-workers/#

Blue collar is not just manufacturing. It is now defined as everyone from domestics to retail clerks. And it's two thirds of all workers.

Telecommuting is a miniscule percentage of the total work force but the very few I know all have a TV in their home office, not a radio. Because large corporations usually cram their office workforce into cubicle farms it is necessary to block out the conversations and banter next door that can detract from your own work. This is usually done with ear buds connected to......a radio or music player.

How many cubicle farms do you think there are in Prescott or Cedar City or Roswell or Nogales or Palm Desert or Bakersfield or Laughlin or Henderson or Trinidad?

On the other hand, I know a sizable number of people who telecommute partially or totally.

I have five kids and I've asked them. None of them turn on either the radio or TV before they leave for work. One listens to XM/Sirius in his truck. One listens to terrestrial radio in his truck. One makes phone calls on the way to work. The other two do not listen or watch anything while commuting. I'm pretty sure that in areas with nasty winter weather listening/watching is far more common.

Only one or two radio stations benefit from inclement weather.

The average listener spends more than double the time with radio as the average one-way commute for each market. Many listen before leaving home, many continue to listen because they don't leave home, and many listen at work once they get there.