Depressing state of economy-is it better where you are?

[lynn]

Things are still good here in N Alabama. We are mostly defense and NASA. Defense companies and contractors seem to still be hiring.

[Catherine]

Not bad here in MD. My family in Upstate NY say not much has changed there, was never wonderful, but not much different now. Florida, where other family is, is bad, bad, bad.

[SquirrellyMama]

I think the Iowa economy hasn't been as bad as the rest of the country. Houses still being built, houses still being bought. Some companies have laid off people, mainly in the insurance and mortgage business.

[cathmom]

Southern NJ: Many people out of work, the Sunday job section in Philadelphia Inquirer is 1-2 pages medical, 1-2 pages everything else. They've added a comic/puzzle section to help people not get too depressed about the job market (not kidding). Just read today in the Inquirer that NJ surpasses MI in foreclosures and unemployment. I would say it's pretty bad.

 

My mom lives there and has been unemployed for several years. She worked in the mortgage industry, so she was laid off at the very beginning of this crisis. She was unable to find anything - who's really going to hire a 70 yo woman with not a lot of experience (she was a SAHM for 25 years and then worked PT until my father left her)? She's given up looking because she has had to care for my aunt who is 90 and my sister who was very sick for a year. Anyway, my mom told me that about the Inquirer classified section - that it was only a page or two, and mostly medical. My mom has a paid for house that is 50 years old and needs major work, and her SS goes to pay property taxes. Thank goodness my aunt plans to leave my mom her assets when she passes away, and my mom is always welcome to move in with us, but it's been really hard on her.

[Tess in the Burbs]

We moved to No. VA this summer after being unable to get Dh a new job in Hampton Roads area for a year. We had to pay to move ourselves but it was the right thing. There are jobs up here. He knows another person moving up here soon for a job.

 

I noticed the other day at the outlet stores how packed they were! Very crowded and people were buying...tons of shopping bags. It took awhile to find a parking spot!!! People are spending. And if the line at my Joann's is any indicator(always long) then women are spending large amounts on hobby items and not just on groceries ;-)

 

But I do see a difference in my own state from the different regions in spending. People are still eating out in both areas but we actually wait up here some days and our fav place back south was empty Sat night when we visited.

 

so we feel we are in a better area right now concerning the economy than we were....all in the same state. I suspect every metro area would be different depending on people's spending habits/beliefs.

[MBM]

Things are still pretty good here in our area of Chicago. I do see more foresclosures, though.

[FloridaLisa]

I'm in northern Florida, where the economy has certainly taken its toll, but much less so than South Florida. Of course, South Florida boomed waaaaayyy out of proportion too. One of the hardest hit areas in the state is the Southwest coast -- from Tampa to Naples. There was just so much building going on and speculation. I've heard that 1/4 of the home sales in Florida were speculative. Houses were bought to flip 6 months to a year later, so it was a house of cards waiting to implode.

 

It's been eye-opening how vast the toll is. I was in a body shop the other day to have my car estimated. This place has always been very busy. I remarked that their business must be doing okay, b/c people still have wrecks and need their cars fixed. An older salesman calling on the place shook his head, no. He said body shops are dead. People are taking the insurance money and not fixing their cars. Worse, he said, cars with lots of body damage are getting repo'd.

 

We've had only one foreclosure in our neighborhood, but I live in a small, older neighborhood with few new homes. At the foreclosure garage sale, my neighbor remarked that in South Florida, they are literally stripping the houses, leaving only a shell, carting out flooring, pavers, light switches, and all. So, yeah, South Florida is another world.

 

Lisa