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bearishgurl
Participant[quote=spdrun]Not like Apple’s cripplecrap iDevices are much cheaper. But yeah, you can grab a refurb Thinkpad X220 or whatever for $300 or so and have an equally solid machine.
(Most cheap non-business laptops are utter shit, so go with a biz-grade Thinkpad. Some of them can even run hacked OS X.)[/quote]
I’m partial to the Toshiba Satellite notebooks (w/high def), videocam and Intel inside. Almost everyone I know has one, incl myself. Its original battery and power supply lasted nearly six years. I installed a SSD in it last year and now it runs really cool 🙂
One caveat. They DO tend to be heavy. Mine weighs 21 lbs and it hurts to carry it around an airport on my shoulder. It has its own classy rolling case. I paid $500 plus $16 (CA monitor disposal fee) for it over six years ago but its retail price at that time was $899.
This machine can do so much more than what you are looking at, Russ. The $900 price is strictly for the Apple logo. Yes, my kids all have MacBook Pros, which are even more expensive than the one in your link 🙂
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl]When young adult residents of TX/OK/AR decide to get married, their main goal in the first years of marriage is to pay off their home and their new truck (if they have a loan on it). Especially if parents helped them build or buy the home.
A LOT of young couples in this region have their homes paid off PRIOR to having kids or at the very latest, by the time their youngest kid reaches school age.
A paid-off first home is a very important goal to this demographic and they’ll work several jobs to do it, if necessary.
Having excessive debt is shunned and this value is hammered into them by both sets of parents from the get go (during their engagement).
And no, they don’t all buy/build mcmansions for their first homes straight out of college![/quote]
I don’t agree with this. If people were this fiscally conservative, we wouldn’t have the dire stats about people not being prepared for retirement.
I think the data show that smaller rural cities are being economically left behind.[/quote]
I’m just not seeing the inability of (boomers?) to “retire” in my world. I know of maybe 2-3 females pushing 60 years old who may end up having a hardscrabble retirement but this was all due to the bad financial decisions they made while younger (reasons: past gambling addiction; squandered settlements they rec’d; and lost their longtime home due to over-borrowing on it). All are reasonably intelligent and still working FT and may yet be okay by the time they are 66 and eligible to collect a full SS benefit. Almost 100% of my relatives (mostly cousins but aunts and uncles as well, some of who are of the WWII generation) paid off their final home in their forties or early fifties or purchased their final home with all cash. Almost ALL have defined benefit pensions for life and several still run (or partially run, with other family members) their long-established family businesses. I’m not even seeing this phenomenon in my neighborhood, which is full of boomers and beyond. Quite the contrary. A good portion of them (some younger than me) are living in paid-off homes they “inherited” and in some cases have been living there for decades (and of course, have a minuscule property tax bill, as well). They’re not going anywhere and I can assure you that they will never be homeless or “destitute” (as long as they refrain from borrowing off their homes).
Pigg flyer has brought this subject up here many, many times but I don’t know what his frame of reference is. I’m just not seeing it in the real world …. at all.
It doesn’t matter to a “retiree” if the “small rural cities (they live in) have been economically left behind” as they are only working PT or not at all. This only matters to the Gen Y growing up in those towns who is (hopefully) headed off to college. After college graduation, this group typically does NOT move back to their (rural) home turf. They take the best FT job they are offered, wherever that may be. That is, unless they have been “pampered” by well-off helicopter parents in a CA coastal community. With this group, determining their actual “motivation to succeed” is a crapshoot. This group could easily end up back home after college graduation, moving into their old (well-appointed) bedrooms and play video games while pretending to “search” for a (local) minimum wage job and invite all their old (local) friends over every other weekend to swim, drink their parent(s) booze and hang out at their backyard built-in BBQ and/or jacuzzi. I mean, why move to “Gritty City” to pay exorbitant rent to accept a “real” job when they can continue to live the “cushy life” on their parents dime (and time)?? :=0
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]. . . We actually have a lot of retirees from all over the country. I know a guy from PA who’s here because there are only 5 states he can live where his PA public pension is not taxed. One is the states is PA which too cold. WA is too cold also.
That leaves NV, FL and another state i forgot.[/quote]That’s interesting, FIH. I never really investigated that angle as to where to retire because I’m picky about my immediate environment and I don’t plan on paying much (income?) tax, in any case.Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]. . . Happiness and satisfaction is all about perspective.
Anyway, I’m lucky to have choices. I like to be on the move and I can go back to SD when I feel like it.[/quote]Yes, you are the exception, brian. You have well-established family and property in SD and can come and go at whim without too much fuss or expense.
The rest of the SoCal transplants in LV likely don’t have those choices …. especially if they are married to FT jobs there and have kids in school.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, Vegas recovered better than San Diego, from the bottom. The operative words being “from the bottom”. Same goes for riverside and San Bernardino counties. The returns are wonderfu, if you had bought at the bottom.
I love the Strip in Vegas. The crowds of people and the excitement. MGM will start charging for parking because they can. Tourist traffic is up. They are talking about light rail along the strip and to the airport. I bet they will accomplish that before San Diego because they learned the lesson from the crash and they need to diversify the economy. I like it here. A lot of the news articles you read are based on comparison to the peak. It’s a different story compared to the bottom. Happiness and satisfaction is all about perspective.
Anyway, I’m lucky to have choices. I like to be on the move and I can go back to SD when I feel like it.[/quote]
I suspect that a lot of LV’s population influx from SoCal in the past decade has been from residents who were renters in SoCal and felt they would never own a home if they stayed. OR residents who over-borrowed on their longtime home or bought it at the peak and lost it to foreclosure or short sale and wanted a “fresh start” (especially from the inland empire where the real estate values really got hammered during the depths of the recession). In the ensuing years, many were able to raise their credit scores enough to buy something in Clark Co, NV. Now, if they wanted to come back to SoCal, they likely wouldn’t make enough off their LV-area home for a downpayment to re-enter SoCal because the values have completely rebounded or more than rebounded in most areas.
ParticipantHere’s this morning’s gas prices from gasbuddy.com in one of the biggest oil-producing towns in “flyover country” (bold is mine):
Lowest Gas Prices in bartlesville, ok
1.37
Circle K
925 SW Frank Phillips Blvd & S Kaw Ave
Bartlesville42m ago
Garys_F1501.38
Phillips 66
1835 SW Frank Phillips Blvd & OK-123
Bartlesville41m ago
Garys_F1501.38
Sinclair
1705 SW Frank Phillips Blvd & SW Adeline Ave
Bartlesville42m ago
Garys_F1501.38
QuikTrip
1835 SE Washington Blvd near Nowata Rd
Bartlesville1h ago
loveBUG05151.38
Phillips 66
609 NE Washington Blvd near Minnesota St
Bartlesville4h ago
greene570Umm, this particular population could care less if the rest of the country thinks it’s excessive that their vehicles are all Triton or Hemi V-8’s. Bring ’em on! The reality is that they’re going to continue to drive what serves their needs and what they’re most comfortable in. Fill ‘er up!
Even when the sitting-duck captive audience in SD, CA was paying almost $5 gallon for gas, this area’s gas was just $2.53 to $2.68 gallon.
Participant[quote=The-Shoveler]We will most likely have to wait for stats to come in next year, but I would bet CA sees net inbound migration.
Anyway IMO.[/quote]
Yes, inbound from MX and China, mainly. The vast majority of the residents in the US “flyover country” are “comfortable.” It’s not worth it for them to try to move here. Many of them can afford to stay in a CA coastal 5-star hotel or timeshare for one week per year. Why bother to disrupt their comfortable lives (with plenty of parking space for toys and equipment) to move into a congested coastal area year-round?
ParticipantWhen young adult residents of TX/OK/AR decide to get married, their main goal in the first years of marriage is to pay off their home and their new truck (if they have a loan on it). Especially if parents helped them build or buy the home.
A LOT of young couples in this region have their homes paid off PRIOR to having kids or at the very latest, by the time their youngest kid reaches school age.
A paid-off first home is a very important goal to this demographic and they’ll work several jobs to do it, if necessary.
Having excessive debt is shunned and this value is hammered into them by both sets of parents from the get go (during their engagement).
And no, they don’t all buy/build mcmansions for their first homes straight out of college!
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=The-Shoveler]
I would say TX is a lot like Vegas in that regard, few CA residents probably ever really wanted to move there in the first place.[/quote]That’s because people want everything and can’t adjust to their circumstances. They want the best neighborhoods, the biggest houses, the nicest cars and so on.
It’s a 2 bedroom condo in San Diego or a 3000sf house in TX. Take your pick. The returnees would be miserable unless they suddenly make more money in CA. Unless you go hungry or lack shelter, the unhappiness comes from within.[/quote]FIH, those hundreds of thousands of Angelenos who relocated to LV in the past decade would have been much better off financially had they stayed back in their “home turf” of El Monte (or name your working-class/middle class SoCal city/community) and waited out the recession. Those LA County 1500 sf 1950’s-era homes situated on generous (often very generous) lots which they likely fled from have doubled and in some cases tripled in value since the depths of the recession in 2007-2009.
Even Compton is now being “gentrified” (albeit slowly) and is looking pretty good from recent photos. It is getting new public infrastructure, little by little.
Last year (on the way back home from one of my road trips) I got off I-15 in LV for about 45 mins, took a couple other newer hwys I’d never been on and looked around. I wasn’t that impressed. It’s not nicer than SoCal … not where people actually live (non-tourist communities). In the newer areas, the homes are every bit as close to one another as they are in newer developments within CA CFD’s.
Most of the areas I drove thru in LV and Henderson (except for the very well-established areas) were akin to driving on the moon. The newer neighborhoods the SoCal lower-income crowd apparently fled to are completely barren (nearly devoid of any vegetation at all). Yikes! It was wa-a-a-ay too dry for me.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=The-Shoveler]TX and ND etc… are having a really hard time economically these days,
Would not be too surprised to start seeing a lot of returning ex-Socal people.[/quote]
I think only the roughnecks are having a hard time. But that’s because they bought large SUVs and trucks, and spent large during the good years. They would’ve saved their money if they were fiscally conservative.
People in Austin, Dallas and Houston are doing fine especially if their houses are paid off.[/quote]I find if amazing the percentage of residents of the southwest region of the country (primarily the oil-producing states) who have primary residences which are paid off. I would take an educated guess here that it is >50% of homeowners almost everywhere (in both cities and rural areas).
Yes, for the most part, the residents’ values in this region are to have a paid-off home and a nice, large pickup for all their hauling needs (including dogs, lol) …. even 20 and 30-somethings 🙂
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]Currently reading
The art of grace
On moving well through lifeI need to move with more grace and that shall be the focus of my remaining time on earth. Less As more ease[/quote]
You’ve probably already had a lot of practice in this regard, scaredy, but I think part of the university experience is receiving exposure to all kinds of people from all walks of life and learning to speak, act (and move) with more grace and confidence.
Aside from the academics and degree obtained, I look to university as a type of “finishing school” experience for my kids and so far, I haven’t been disappointed.
The CA public HS experience doesn’t exactly lend itself to practical preparation for adulthood, IMO.
Participant[quote=deadzone]My point is the Academic mission of these Universities is un-affected by the athletic teams, good or bad. If the poster wants to act like an Ivy league elitist and put down these Universities because they don’t produce enough Nobel prize winners, go for it.
But the fact is the presence of elite sports teams is strictly for entertainment. Nobody in their right mind really believes the kids on these football teams are legitimate students.[/quote]
Agree. And college sports creates another kind of “social life” for the students and is often the only “entertainment” going on in the community in some of these schools. There’s nothing wrong with students belonging to cheer, drill team, marching band, mascots or anything else that supports college sports teams. If anything, it builds confidence to audition for other things, including interviews for internships and “real” jobs. It exposes the student-athlete and students supporting the team in these capacities to interaction with different classes of people that they may have not had exposure to, such as those community “movers and shakers” who have permanent box seats and skyboxes.
If campus is “boring,” where is the inspiration to stay there FT for 4+ years and slog away to finish your degree?
ParticipantThere’s something to be said for a so-called “party school.” Or “semi-party school.” Add to that membership in a “Greek organization.” It all matters in the real world today.
Your kid could be a Valedictorian of his/her HS class but if they’re antisocial (don’t know how to talk to other kids and adults) and can’t/don’t know how to groom or promote themselves, then they’re pretty much toast out there in the business world.
There’s nothing wrong with learning how to take decent selfies and developing your own “brand.” In fact, I recommend it for the Gen Y set.
I also recommend sending them up to college with their prom formal wear (if they own it) and a nice skirt or shirt and tie for public speaking.
I’m going to another semi-formal fundraiser in a couple of weeks put on by my youngest kid’s Greek organization. There will be a few local “movers and shakers” present.
It’s good for your kid in this day and age to get that kind of (legitimate) exposure and learn how to talk to people who are well-known philanthropists who contributed heavily (with their time AND money) to the local area.
If if weren’t for the $75M+ annually in legacies that my kid’s campus receives, their fees would be astronomical because they have a LOT of 1st class services and activities going on for the students.
Party? Bring it on. Like I said, it’s better than staying in mom and/or dad’s back bdrm working at the S-bux across the street from your HS and watching Netflix all hours of the day.
You want your college-age kid to mentally “grow up” and they’re not going to do it at home with mommy and/or daddy helicoptering them.
Participant[quote=Blogstar]Thanks BG, I am reading and paying attention. I am not giving anyone a big deposit before I really understand what is going on. I have before and I will again pay for hourly consultation. Nothing against that at all.
A few reasons I don’t want to go pro-per:
Dealing with bad clerks. Dealing with one official saying things work one way and another official saying they work another way. A lawyer would know who was right. I know that procedure alone could be a nightmare. Even just to subpoena records, I got a complete run-around until I gave up, for the time being. Not to say that I can’t try again.Lots of reasons for DYI too.[/quote]
IIRC, Subpeona Duces Tecum (SDT’s) have 27 steps to their preparation, filing and service to legally compel the other party to comply with it. They are among the trickiest documents to properly execute, even for an experienced paralegal or attorney (depending on the nature of records being sought). In most cases, you will not be able to see what the opposing party has produced until the day you (both, hopefully) show up in court because they are typically sent to your court department directly. Hence, you better be a very quick study and take very good notes of them in the short recess you are provided (for review of the docs, NOT keeping them).
SD Superior Court clerks and their supervisors are not allowed to give “legal advice” to members of the public. If caught, they can be disciplined for doing so. All they can basically do is sell you forms and tell you the procedure for filing them. They cannot tell you how to fill out the forms! The only exception that I know of is that of obtaining a TRO. Superior Court Clerks exist for the express purpose of meeting in person each party wanting to file a TRO and filling out the forms for them, serving the other party and filing the TRO pkg. This is only to get the matter into a (domestic) courtroom fairly quickly where a judge or other magistrate will sort out the situation to see if it warrants a more permanent restraining order. If it doesn’t, that could later hurt the TRO filer’s case if the parties have another domestic case pending on dissolution and/or child custody.
SD County also has a Family Court Facilitator’s Office set up to help domestic litigants in pro per by appt only (after a very long wait in line to get an appt scheduled) so their cases (dissolution and/or child custody/child support) will timely move thru the system. But they do not accept civil litigants and only accept the most basic of dissolution and/or child custody/child support cases.
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