The last few years in Southern California have felt unreal to me, especially the closer one gets to the coast. It seems as though the malls are full, the BMW’s are new, and the money is flowing like water in a rainy climate.
I doubt we will have a recession, but even “normal” economic growth and consumer spending will seem like a slowdown to those parts of the country that have been appreciating like crazy the last few years. Technically, a recession is at least two consecutive quarters of negative economic performance (decline in GDP, I believe). By that standard I doubt we will have one, but it will feel like one to many people who have been living in unreality for a while.
