Beerball Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/08/18/reshaping-new-york/?hp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Interesting, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 All luxury condos all the time. It's getting close to pushing my family out of our neighborhood. But interesting graphics and presentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Graphics are cool. Downtown Chicago is also being greatly redefined. Interestingly it is the first ring of suburbs that is in decline right now. The Millennial generation and retirees are looking to urban life as a better alternative to the burbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Graphics are cool. Downtown Chicago is also being greatly redefined. Interestingly it is the first ring of suburbs that is in decline right now. The Millennial generation and retirees are looking to urban life as a better alternative to the burbs. Story about that very trend. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-09/local/41222111_1_boomers-generation-city-life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Story about that very trend. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-09/local/41222111_1_boomers-generation-city-life I am living it... The wifey and I are living in a high rise condo and went down to one car that if I were really frugal about I would get rid of. It is a different lifestyle. I love it but the wifey is lukewarm to it. She wants the best of both as she misses the opportunity to poke around in a flower bed or three plus in effect living in a condo means that we are sharing living space with about 200 other souls. At some point we may buy a really simple second place "out" somewhere but to be honest the financial aspects aside I just don't know if I want the hassle of it. Home ownership is expensive and hardly the "investment" that our parents were told it was. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the idea of owning real estate as a part of being financially secure. I just think that as a society we became way too over invested in a paradigm that did not hold true but for a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 We lived in the SOMA (south of market) district of SF for about 3 1/2 years. It was fun being walking, busing, cab distance from some of the coolest bars, best restaurant, the bay, north Beach etc etc. However the noise, litter, smokers, lack of trees and grass, hipsters etc drove us out. Oh and them jacking our rent to $4200 sealed the deal. The wife asked if I'd ever move back. I said no but she said she would if we lived in a high rise above it all with all the amenities such as valet parking. Well that's only going to cost you just south of a million for 900 sq ft. No thanks. I'll take 1600 sq ft, my yard, garden, view of the city and a 15 drive to the city for half the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 We lived in the SOMA (south of market) district of SF for about 3 1/2 years. It was fun being walking, busing, cab distance from some of the coolest bars, best restaurant, the bay, north Beach etc etc. However the noise, litter, smokers, lack of trees and grass, hipsters etc drove us out. Oh and them jacking our rent to $4200 sealed the deal. The wife asked if I'd ever move back. I said no but she said she would if we lived in a high rise above it all with all the amenities such as valet parking. Well that's only going to cost you just south of a million for 900 sq ft. No thanks. I'll take 1600 sq ft, my yard, garden, view of the city and a 15 drive to the city for half the price. For us the noise of the city does get to be a bit much. The thump, thump from lollapalooza to fireworks at navy pier to sirens there is nearly always something. Probably not as bad as SF there is also the presence of so many homeless and panhandlers. I've come to know several who I walk past nearly every day. Sometimes their shtick is funny other times pathetic. For me it is a small trade off to be able to walk to work, see the lake out my window and to have every form of entertainment minutes out the door. I also just like the energy of the city though I will say that Chicago is clearly far more laid back as compared to NYC. When I travel to SF I usually stay near Union SQ. its amazing to me how much more hard core and desperate the homeless there appear as compared to Chicago. It's also interesting to see wealth positioned just a few very short blocks from the poverty and questionable safety of the nearby tenderloin district. I am very careful about being out at night around there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 (edited) For us the noise of the city does get to be a bit much. The thump, thump from lollapalooza to fireworks at navy pier to sirens there is nearly always something. Probably not as bad as SF there is also the presence of so many homeless and panhandlers. I've come to know several who I walk past nearly every day. Sometimes their shtick is funny other times pathetic. For me it is a small trade off to be able to walk to work, see the lake out my window and to have every form of entertainment minutes out the door. I also just like the energy of the city though I will say that Chicago is clearly far more laid back as compared to NYC. When I travel to SF I usually stay near Union SQ. its amazing to me how much more hard core and desperate the homeless there appear as compared to Chicago. It's also interesting to see wealth positioned just a few very short blocks from the poverty and questionable safety of the nearby tenderloin district. I am very careful about being out at night around there. I heard on the radio today that the SF board of supervisors was suing Nevada for dumping psychiatric patients in the city. I was thinking "hell yeah, about time this city did something right!!" Then "Paul Harvey" showed up and gave me the rest of the story. They weren't suing NV to have them come and pick these people up. They were suing NV to pay to take care of them. WTF?!?! Edited August 20, 2013 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 We lived in the SOMA (south of market) district of SF for about 3 1/2 years. It was fun being walking, busing, cab distance from some of the coolest bars, best restaurant, the bay, north Beach etc etc. However the noise, litter, smokers, lack of trees and grass, hipsters etc drove us out. Oh and them jacking our rent to $4200 sealed the deal. The wife asked if I'd ever move back. I said no but she said she would if we lived in a high rise above it all with all the amenities such as valet parking. Well that's only going to cost you just south of a million for 900 sq ft. No thanks. I'll take 1600 sq ft, my yard, garden, view of the city and a 15 drive to the city for half the price. $4200! Even 1/2 the price! Holy crap! With a +5k property tax bill a year and under 200k (2k sq.ft with 1/3 acre lot) bought new house in the late 1990's... I can't stand paying just over a grand for mortgage and taxes w/just a few years left on my mortage. And we are 15 miles from the city/lake. Another 15 to The Loop and Downtown. How does anybody save @ 4200 bucks a month? 20-25%?? Unless wages salaries are really that much more? Fuel for us isn't that bad... Wife drives 2 miles one way and I got an 18 mile ride that is straight highway/interstate. And I don't even have to lock my doors or get robbed by all these damn Flat Landers!... ;-) :-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 I heard on the radio today that the SF board of supervisors was suing Nevada for dumping psychiatric patients in the city. I was thinking "hell yeah, about time this city did something right!!" Then "Paul Harvey" showed up and gave me the rest of the story. They weren't suing NV to have them come and pick these people up. They were suing NV to pay to take care of them. WTF?!?! LoL... Too funny... How did that Hetch Hetchy thing/referendum work out for SF??? I have no problem about increased urban living, but I have a problem with everyone bragging about living in the city. Just saw some friends who moved to some city neighborhood in Chicago, and it was mentioned like 100 times in the 2 days we saw them. I've lived in the city and the suburbs in various parts of the country. I prefer the suburbs, because I don't have to worry about bad schools, finding a wal-mart, and getting my car stolen. Bingo! And my house not broken into, even though they could easily get in. Schools another story... But they aren't that bad. We just live in a very diverse area. My community is probably 80-20... With neigboring areas can be 50-50 diverse, maybe more... Got good neighbors that have copies of our keys when we are away... Take care of the cats. I surprised we don't have more crime maybe other parts of town where things are mor homogenous. I guess people know each other and we are not all the same age... Age of residents on our street ranges from the old (80's) to the young (20's and 30's)... People come and go, work @ all different hours... Many are retired... Again, diverse, multi-racial... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 $4200! Even 1/2 the price! Holy crap! With a +5k property tax bill a year and under 200k (2k sq.ft with 1/3 acre lot) bought new house in the late 1990's... I can't stand paying just over a grand for mortgage and taxes w/just a few years left on my mortage. And we are 15 miles from the city/lake. Another 15 to The Loop and Downtown. How does anybody save @ 4200 bucks a month? 20-25%?? Unless wages salaries are really that much more? Fuel for us isn't that bad... Wife drives 2 miles one way and I got an 18 mile ride that is straight highway/interstate. And I don't even have to lock my doors or get robbed by all these damn Flat Landers!... ;-) :-P Let me ask you a question. If salaries were not that much higher here do you think they could get $4200 a month for a loft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 City of Columbus has re-developed / transformed a downtown mall to a "commons" area. Summer pops concerts, food truck festivals, etc are held there. Thought was in the right direction. Now, developers are building a multi-unit apartment / condo / townhouse area directly adjacent to this common area. They look nice from the outside, but for 3-4 months of the year I think I would have to find another place to live. Noise (late nite, early morning) would drive me away. We'll see how this takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Let me ask you a question. If salaries were not that much higher here do you think they could get $4200 a month for a loft? While higher they do not completely close the cost of living gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 (edited) Let me ask you a question. If salaries were not that much higher here do you think they could get $4200 a month for a loft? True... But you can make nice money in other places... Like here... 150-200K between a family is not uncommon. I make more a year than my house costs. Are the masses really making 300k plus? That 4200 is 50 k a year! Not good when they are making 150k I want my housing cost to be lower than 25%... Heck, I want it well below half a bi-weekly pay, in the 1/8 range! While higher they do not completely close the cost of living gap. Exactly! That 4200 is rent! Pissing it away... Almost 50k a year! Oh my! I am almost done with my mortgage. Edited August 20, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 True... But you can make nice money in other places... Like here... 150-200K between a family is not uncommon. I make more a year than my house costs. Are the masses really making 300k plus? That 4200 is 50 k a year! Not good when they are making 150k I want my housing cost to be lower than 25%... Heck, I want it well below half a bi-weekly pay, in the 1/8 range! Exactly! That 4200 is rent! Pissing it away... Almost 50k a year! Oh my! I am almost done with my mortgage. When you're making $500-$800k a year as a professional couple renting at $4200 a month has it's attractions. And there is a shitload of $$ in the Bay Area. Many couples in their late 20's early 30's pulling in $200k each. They live in the city but take company buses to Silcon Valley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 (edited) When you're making $500-$800k a year as a professional couple renting at $4200 a month has it's attractions. And there is a shitload of $$ in the Bay Area. Many couples in their late 20's early 30's pulling in $200k each. They live in the city but take company buses to Silcon Valley. Thanks... I wasn't sure it was that widespread. I guess it really drives the numbers up...50k a year on 400 is nothing I suppose... My 1/8th number. Edited August 20, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Thanks... I wasn't sure it was that widespread. I guess it really drives the numbers up...50k a year on 400 is nothing I suppose... My 1/8th number. Yeah it's sort of wild to think that you could be making 150k and be "poor" as compared to your neighbors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Thanks... I wasn't sure it was that widespread. I guess it really drives the numbers up...50k a year on 400 is nothing I suppose... My 1/8th number. We meet people with a couple hundred thousand in the bank just sitting there because it's just piling up. And that's on top of the few hundred thousand in company stock they have and don't know what to do with. Ten years ago we couldn't touch that stock now they realize they have to move it out. Huge business for us. Keep in mind we have Facebook, Google, Zynga, Linkedin, E-Bay, Amazon, Tesla all down the road from my office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Yeah it's sort of wild to think that you could be making 150k and be "poor" as compared to your neighbors. Yep... Yet, in a reasonable market like here in the MidWest, YES... Even Chicago... I guess there is a place for every level. "Every refuge has its price." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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