The Beginning of the End for Big Cities

[Russ]

In my opinion, the rioting, looting and general destruction in the downtown areas of our biggest cities will start a death spiral for the Big City in general, especially coming on the heels of the pandemic shutdown.

The pandemic caused layoffs, store and restaurant closings, and a lot of people working from home. Just as stores and restaurants were about to open again and start employing a lot of people that got layed off, the rioting in many cases just destroyed the building and everything in it. If you owned a small business in a big city and your building and inventory had just been ruined - would you want to reopen? Claiming the insurance and heading out of town must sound pretty good in comparison.

How about the people that have been able to work from home? Tech companies were surprised to find out that productivity of people working from home didn't go down - it went up. It went up big time (75%). If you owned a tech company in a big city, would you want to force your employees to continue coming in to an office? If you don't, you can save a lot of money by decreasing your office size, and you can recruit employees from all over the place, and you can reduce/eliminate your city wage tax.

On top of that, there is the one higher motivator than money. Fear. How many people want to live in a city where they have to be afraid of riots and looting? Despite all the complaints about police, they are the only thing between a big city and lawlessness. If people think out of control police are bad, wait until they see out of control criminals.

Big cities fund themselves on two things - city wage tax, and property tax. What happens when people decide they don't want to work in your city anymore? What happens when employers decide they don't want to have a building in your city anymore? What happens when people decide they are afraid to live in your city anymore - or they don't like it anymore because every store and restaurant is closed for the next 5 years?

That's right, Big Cities are about to lose all their tax revenue, right when they are running out of money and have a lot of rebuilding to do. The Beginning of the End.

[Gunny]

The fly in the ointment is those big cities also hold all the people afraid to venture around the block. You could be right. Some of the people at least might venture forth into the World and they will probably be the ones that do most of the funding for those cities.

That's going to leave a LOT of large, welfare cities. See Detroit.

[Abbey Marie]

We know people already planning to di-di the hell out of their city.

[Kathianne]

We know people already planning to di-di the hell out of their city.
Yep. My friend since we were toddlers said the other day that she wants to move further out from where she's living. The city we grew up in, where my brother was on the police force is upper socioeconomic. However, it's the easternmost in DuPage County, which is contiguous to Cook, which is the county of Chicago. She's very liberal, but for some reason no longer wishes to be so close to the city. Go figure, I love her, but. . .

[SassyLady]

I've never been a city girl and I never want to be one. I live on 4 acres with a neighbor on west side on his 4 acres and a national park on the east side and its still to close to people.

[Abbey Marie]

Our daughter has said for years she doesn't like cities, and she means it.

[Kathianne]

Our daughter has said for years she doesn't like cities, and she means it.

The youngest moved towards the city after college, into the city a couple years before Liam. Now back to the 'near in' suburb his first apartment was in, but now owning.

His wife works at Daley Center, so they really need to be within 'reasonable' distance, but yeah, not something I'm crazy about.

In all honesty though, I'd have loved living in the city before kids. Problem was, where I could afford wasn't safe; where it was safe, I couldn't afford. ;)

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I am now where I want to be, in the Tennessee hills about 12 miles outside of the small city of Millington.
Neighbors are bit too close but the good part is we have been here a bit over 4 years and the neighbors keep to themselves , minding their own business.
And that is just the way I like it.
Bad part is we are 41 miles from my wife's job.
Always seems to be a give and take in life....-Tyr

[Gunny]

I am right on the very edge of the city here. 5 minutes and I'm in the country. I've been weighing all the in's n out's of just leaving. Wouldn't be very easy considering the current situation, but I really hate it here.

[Abbey Marie]

The youngest moved towards the city after college, into the city a couple years before Liam. Now back to the 'near in' suburb his first apartment was in, but now owning.

His wife works at Daley Center, so they really need to be within 'reasonable' distance, but yeah, not something I'm crazy about.

In all honesty though, I'd have loved living in the city before kids. Problem was, where I could afford wasn't safe; where it was safe, I couldn't afford. ;)

I loved NYC when I lived there. But I always felt it was too much to live and work in a big noisy city. There is just no down time. Sirens all night long, etc. I will say if you are wealthy, you can insulate yourself fairly well from the bad stuff.
But in my dotage, I’ve come to see that the calmness of being surrounded by trees and wildlife are far better for the soul than anything the city can provide. Did anyone see the videos of the rats in NYC emboldened by the lack of people in the streets? They were climbing over trash cans, etc., in big numbers in the daylight.

Even though we are in the suburbs now, we see foxes, raccoons, rabbits and deer right out back. (Yesterday, a doe casually walked up the street out front). But still, we have a neighbor pretty close on one side, and their boys don’t understand (or care?) about boundaries. If we do move to NH or Maine, I am only looking for homes with lots of land and no close neighbors.

With these riots, you guys who live fairly independently are looking pretty wise. Tom was one.

[SassyLady]

My philosophy is that if your neighbor is close enough you don't have to drive to their house it is too close.

[Abbey Marie]

My philosophy is that if your neighbor is close enough you don't have to drive to their house it is too close.

Amen, Sassy.

[SassyLady]

Amen, Sassy.

Out here, when I want to visit a neighbor, I drive to end of my road and turn right on another dirt road. My best friend lives at the end of that dirt road. I can walk there when I want to get some exercise but prefer not to do that because of critters (snakes, coyotes, bobcats and javalinas) I might encounter on my way home in dark. So, I drive. :laugh:

[icansayit]

In my opinion, the rioting, looting and general destruction in the downtown areas of our biggest cities will start a death spiral for the Big City in general, especially coming on the heels of the pandemic shutdown.

The pandemic caused layoffs, store and restaurant closings, and a lot of people working from home. Just as stores and restaurants were about to open again and start employing a lot of people that got layed off, the rioting in many cases just destroyed the building and everything in it. If you owned a small business in a big city and your building and inventory had just been ruined - would you want to reopen? Claiming the insurance and heading out of town must sound pretty good in comparison.

How about the people that have been able to work from home? Tech companies were surprised to find out that productivity of people working from home didn't go down - it went up. It went up big time (75%). If you owned a tech company in a big city, would you want to force your employees to continue coming in to an office? If you don't, you can save a lot of money by decreasing your office size, and you can recruit employees from all over the place, and you can reduce/eliminate your city wage tax.

On top of that, there is the one higher motivator than money. Fear. How many people want to live in a city where they have to be afraid of riots and looting? Despite all the complaints about police, they are the only thing between a big city and lawlessness. If people think out of control police are bad, wait until they see out of control criminals.

Big cities fund themselves on two things - city wage tax, and property tax. What happens when people decide they don't want to work in your city anymore? What happens when employers decide they don't want to have a building in your city anymore? What happens when people decide they are afraid to live in your city anymore - or they don't like it anymore because every store and restaurant is closed for the next 5 years?

That's right, Big Cities are about to lose all their tax revenue, right when they are running out of money and have a lot of rebuilding to do. The Beginning of the End.

I still have friends in Philly. Two of them are Firefighters for Philly, and the city once told them they had to live IN THE CITY in order to be a City Employee. I understand that didn't work too well for them since they couldn't find candidates who would qualify from the city.
Cops and Firefighters, EMT's, and other special services are growing scarce in most cities. After all...think about it. Where you live is becoming a rat trap, and Ghetto due to Democrat Politicians who are CRAPPY all the way. Not to mention the FAILING SCHOOLS as well.
More Money IS NOT THE ANSWER. Leadership, Courage, and Neighborhoods are all leaving at once.