for whatever it s worth, the geauga county fair has been unusually crowded this year that s 35 miles

Readers may have inferred that I am taking a bit of a holiday. I m currently in coastal Maine (Casco Bay) and have gone to this area at this time of year for the last 20+ years, cheap travel europe which makes it possible to judge how the economy here is doing over time (remember, tourism is a major business for Maine and summer, particularly August through Labor Day, is the peak of tourist season).
Given that various cheap travel europe seers have become less keen about the recovery thesis, and the Fed is sufficiently concerned that Bernanke has all but promised another round of QE is imminent (as if the last two did much to help people outside the speculative classes), I thought it would make sense to get reader input on what they ve seen in the last few weeks, particularly if they either live in or visit vacation areas at this time of year.
I m curious to get other readings on Maine and the US generally, but the indicators here really are mixed. Some spots, particularly in my immediate environs, are clearly busier than last year. I also saw more new shops, mainly of the cute upscale sort, than in quite a few years. But Freeport, home of LL Bean and outlet stores, was stunningly empty over Labor Day weekend (this could be secular, since the Internet has likely reduced the appeal of outlet stores). Boothbay Harbor also seemed less hopping than usual. Traffic generally was a bit heavier than last year. Overall, 2012 seemed somewhat stronger than 2011, but not as good as even 2010, at least in terms of crude indicators cheap travel europe like raw visitor levels. And there were more houses for sale this year than any time in the post crisis years. That might net out to signifying that the cohort that has reasonably steady employment is spending more, but the lower tiers of our stratified economy cheap travel europe are showing even more visible signs of stress than before.
From what I ve seen, things are down compared to last year, even though the statewide economy is almost as good as it gets outside of D.C. We vacation on Lake Superior in Wisconsin. It s a vacation town but a lot of shops have closed compared to two years ago. When we chartered a boat we noticed cheap travel europe we were the first people to charter it that season, which is unusual. Also the rental office has been hitting us pretty heavily with sales calls to charter again, etc. The local CEOs still have their huge vanity boats but it seems other people are holding back.
Our local area hit some sort of housing bottom this summer. 4 or 5 grand victorians were for sale in foreclosure and sitting on the market for half a year or so when suddenly the market heated up and they were all snatched up within a month or two of each other. But there s still a pile of distressed homes that are parading down the pipeline so the bottom will probably be a fat one.
Three weeks in supposedly depressed California were quite surprising. One couldn t find for sale signs neither in San Diego nor in San Francisco. Even low middle class neighborhoods in San Diego were well kept and no selling signs were easily detected. (I did drive around to find out how people are doing.) North County, the area north of the city were houses are in 7-8 digits you had to wait 30-45 minutes for lunch as at a half decent eatery. San Francisco shows massive rise of in price of housing. Many stores cheap travel europe are full and everything is fast moving.
In my little California town I ve seen housing prices dip as low as they were 13 years ago (pre-bubble). This is a dying rural industrial town on a bay, and as often happens there is another cheap travel europe town, the college town, across the bay. Over there prices have stayed up, falling perhaps only 30%. Seems many of these comments reflect the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Affluent urban areas recovering and everyone else feeling cheap travel europe the squeeze.
Also, I was born in Rochester, New York. A lovely city, home of Kodak (now bankrupt). I m not sure if somehow the taxes are funneled off to the Big Apple, but the tax burden is overwhelming there, enough to drive off businesses. When I visited cheap travel europe last summer, there were cranes deconstructing empty skyscrapers, deleting them from the middle of the city. absolutely apocalyptic.
at least they are tearing down the buildings they have no use for, rather than letting cheap travel europe them rot down..that would be a great stimulus program across the country from coast to coast, demolishing commerical and residential buildings and developments that have no (real) prospects there are whole vast tracts of new houses that should be torn down, and plenty of large,empty, commercial buildings (many of them brand new)..The land in most cases should be allowed to return to scrub or feild. That would not only serve two good practical purposes (economic and environmental), it would serve to educate americans as to where we really, truly are..not building a glorious future, cheap travel europe but cleaning up the remnants of a future past.
Visited the South Coast Mall, South of LA, near Newport, for the first time this weekend. It is probaby cheap travel europe the LA area s premier Ritz blitz venue. A veritable phalanx of living mannequins ignored me. Spooky. The place was fully stuffed and Christmess packed. Not a large percentage actually carrying cheap travel europe purchases though. I bought a pair of socks to try.
Hope you re having fun in Maine Yves. Here in Denver, Co. I can t really judge the tourism activity, since I ve been preoccupied cheap travel europe with work and an out-patient medical procedure, but I know of one dermatology office which will be quite happy once I (and my insurance company) pay them. At least my income has been holding up quite steadily, so I know I d be travelling if other events weren t interfering.
Ten days in rural northwestern France had me shocked to see commerce in absentia; never mind 24 hour convenience stores or petrol pumps, the only thing open after 7pm were restaurants. I was told a lot of enterprises cheap travel europe were closed for the summer holiday season, with people away. Apparently it was all normal, but compared to SoCal and east Asia I was surprised to find a place without 7-Eleven! It seemed to me a statement of its own, that these people had better things to do than micro-shopping, such as dining with friends and family!
A week in Colorado southwest of Denver (Crestone) and the place looked financially bifurcated: real estate changing hands among retirees but not much enterprise for young families or students to leverage (although someone has to look after the homes. That area s tourism trade could be developed more I suspect.
Back in So Cal, LA County is humming as usual with its endless profit cheap travel europe of being a port city; this town alone has at least three 99 Cent-only stores for moving all the surplus, not to mention at least 3 health-food stores, cheap travel europe in addition to a few massive supermarkets.
I drove up Mt Baldy behind here yesterday, and the Angeles Forest park area was full of campers and day-trippers looking to represent a wider diversity of economic classes, although I can t say I spotted any 1%-ers. I was glad to see local people having the sense to make the most of their nearby scenic areas, and that to me is an auspicious omen!
About 2 hours from Chicago, around Lake Michigan in Southwest Michigan, there s a large resort community. In my corner, Sister Lakes, there has been a noticable cheap travel europe uptick in waterfront sales ( 100 % YoY). Almost all of it from Chicago s Financial industry, many cash buyers but for personal use not investment.It makes sense, this asset class has been marked down 25 to 35%, so it appears cheap relative to stocks and bonds. Plus it s an inflation hedge.
The local media cover tourism numbers extensively, since it s the island s and state s lifeblood. What they say, which is confirmed by my observation, is that tourism is up. However, a good portion of this increase cheap travel europe comes from persons who don t live on the US Mainland: cheap travel europe Canada [lots!!], Chinese [new air routes being added], Japan. Apparently these folks have the money, even if Americans do not.
On the other hand, the merchants that locals use continue to suffer cheap travel europe hard times. Two of the major malls here have many closed shops. I guess all those tourist dollars spent on t-shirts, hotel rooms, restaurants, trinkets and touristy-amusements don t or haven t trickled down to those who actually live here.
Here in Southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire, I d say that the ecnomy has been flat to slightly declining. Some shops and restaurants that closed were replaced with new businesses, but on balance it s net negative. A friend who owns a restaurant in Biddeform Pool told me and my wife she had a strong summer, but my colleagues on the local school board say otherwise and refer to many families in distress. We ve seen lots of local logging and received solicitations for logging that emphasized quick cash.
for whatever it s worth, the geauga county fair has been unusually crowded this year that s 35 miles east of cleveland; the observation cheap travel europe is that it s close and cheap (a couple bucks to get in, dozens of free agricultural buildings)
Missing from the mix, however, is the once highly visible newly-enriched. No thickets of Hummers, cheap travel europe Rolex Oysters, the panoply of show. This is a wealthy town, but I don t hear the buzz of schemes and tactics here any longer.
Try vacationing at Walmart. Notice the increased spreads between shelves. I estimate store stock is down 30%.Check out the lower and lower quality of the goods Walmart sells.Then, while you are deservedly enjoying your vacation, ask local cab drivers, carpenters and electricians if they are having trouble making their mortgage payments. If you want to see the poor, who are not invisible, it really is not that difficult.
Martha cheap travel europe s Vineyard is rocking again after some weak summers. Lots of new restaurants some aren t gonna make it, but at least they re trying. All of the menus are more expensive than in the past, even the local brewpub, which also has plans for expansion.
Down here in LA (Lower Alabama) we are continuing to recover from the BP Oil Spill. Quite nicely for the folk