Poll: Your view of the money you have tied up in comics

[murph0]

I can't stand not driving, and love cars so that whole not being able to drive or drive my car around is really major for me.

I'm speaking of commercial, and industrial businesses. Both of the cities I originally mentioned are in the top 5 according to various articles/websites for growth and as a prospective area to build. Not saying that necessarily means anything as there's obviously plenty of room to build, but they must also think the economy in Iowa is good enough to support such ventures. At this point the 2 major cities have most of the major chains, which I don't think you can say the same for most other cities their respective sizes.

 

Brian

[Illiterati-migration]

I can't stand not driving, and love cars so that whole not being able to drive or drive my car around is really major for me.

I'm speaking of commercial, and industrial businesses. Both of the cities I originally mentioned are in the top 5 according to various articles/websites for growth and as a prospective area to build. Not saying that necessarily means anything as there's obviously plenty of room to build, but they must also think the economy in Iowa is good enough to support such ventures. At this point the 2 major cities have most of the major chains, which I don't think you can say the same for most other cities their respective sizes.

 

Brian

 

My town here in Kansas (population 150,000) now has TWO Home Depots (this is JUST "in-town", mind you), a Lowe's, a Super-Omega Wal-Mart, TWO Targets, a mall, a Best Buy, a Borders, TWO giant sporting goods stores, innumerable McDonaldses and Taco Bells, and I hate it. It's so freaking generic it makes me sick.

 

In the "area" we have no less than FOUR Borders, FIVE Best Buys, TWO Circuit Citys, an "Ultimate Electronics" (whatever the hell THAT'S supposed to be), at LEAST four Wal-Marts, approximately 5 Home Depots (they keep springing up all the time)... I could go on, but I imagine you're getting the point. These are the SUBURBS of Kansas City. KC itself is a mess, but the suburbs are thriving... if this is thriving. We have all those stores for LESS than 300,000 people.

 

Does that seem crazy to anyone else?

 

While they're building all these stores (and watching our ONE "big worldwide headquarters" shrivel and die-- Sprint), there are untold hundreds of houses being built every year. And these are NOT cheap houses. Virtually everything that's going in now is in the $200k+ range... so, where are people going to get the jobs to afford these houses? Are they going to start paying cashiers $40K a year?

 

Are we just building the "inner city ghetto" of the future?

 

I'll take a city where I don't have to drive, that doesn't go to bed at 9pm, that has a culture, that has an IDENTITY any day.

 

(But seriously, are you seeing "development" like this?)

[Mushroom]

As a counter balance I currently live in a town of 9000 (way too big)...when I retire (already have the house) I will be living in a town of 1100....two pubs, no cinema, a bakery, one community bank, 5 antique stores, 1 saddlery, three hardware stores, 2 grocery stores and one multi purpose store.

 

I drink in a town 10 minutes away where the pop is 800 where they have 1 pub and 1 general store combined.

 

I work in large cities and can't stand it. Give me the peace and tranquility any day of the week.

 

Been to NYC, London, Paris, Munich, Hong Kong etc etc and I all can say is "nice place to visit"

[murph0]

No, that would be over-kill and it was obviously an attempt to get Kansas City popululus to their stores. We pretty much have one of everything, which I think works out much better. The chains do have a fairly good showing here, but there's LOTS of local businesses that are successful. So it's not all chain-madness.

Further illustrating the decline of malls though, we only have 2 malls and those are dwindling in tenants. On the rise though, and even I'm guilty of joining in on this trend, is to build new business complexes for commercial rental. At any point in the year there's probably 5 dozen vacant spaces in a variety of newly built commercial space. It may eventually fill but at the rate they're going up, supply will out balance demand.

Wal-marts are getting out of control though, they recently built one in a "city" in Iowa with a population of 2,000 people. The "city" isn't even off of a major inter-state highway, so I'm not sure what the reasoning for dropping that thing in was..

The 200k-300k house range is at this point considered "family housing" range, so that's the intended market. Not to mention the local of your suburb to KC definately plays a part. There's a lot of people like me who don't want to live in a big city, however, unlike me they have a desire to work in one or have been relocated their as part of their company.

 

Brian

[OldSchoolTerry]

Ah the cultural elite - beat down on the midwest(and everywhere else) again. Even Oliver Douglas and Zsa Zsa had enough sense to get out of the city - Hooterville was the place to be. I won't even get into the rest of it(unless the nyc trolls force me to) but just suffice it to say that it was 78 here today and I swam laps in an out door pool and thought about walking over to the beach. Anyone see that commercial with the guy in the parka and snow up to his knees saying to himself "pretty girls in bikinis."

 

Yep, and here in Kansas I slid sideways down the icy, icy highway. What's your point, Clob, other than proving to everyone here exactly what you were trying to contest?

 

The midwest sucks.

 

It's the hottest in the hot season and the coldest in the cold season. It sucks.

 

Missouri. Heard of it? It is, as we speak, trying to give Arkansas a run for its money as "Crappiest State In The Union".

 

Kansas? Great place to visit but... wait, no it's not.

 

Nebraska? FANTASTIC place if you love no-neck rednecks and people not hip enough to live in the cooler midwestern states.

 

Iowa? Well, you KNOW who lives there. 'Nuff said.

 

Nebraska does have the most rabid college football fans in the country, in my opinion, though. It's like their religion. When I've stopped in a few restaurants there during my cross country travels, I saw Cornhusker memorabilia everywhere, and seemingly everyone wearing Nebraska gear, be it a t-shirt, hat, etc.(I'm from NYC, so this is an impartial observation about that particular state).

[minutekev@50]

I worked for the local newspaper here for two years as the sports editor (Troy, Alabama home of Troy State). I was in Lincoln when TSU played the Huskers for the first time. All I can say is the people there are some of the nicest folks you'd ever want to come across, at least until game time when they turn into a rabid bunch of football fans. I went down to the field right before the end of the game, TSU was getting whipped bad, and a call went against Nebraska...boy, it was like a weight of sound fell on my back....75,000 people booing is heavy!

 

Never been to Iowa, but I had a guy who worked for me at the paper (stringing sports stories) who came down here for college. I think his sister lived down here. Anyway, he went back home so I guess southern living wasn't right for him. Great guy. He called a 'Coke', (and you know in the South, regardless of what kind of soft drink you're drinking, it's a Coke!) a 'Pop.' I was like....WTF?

 

Minnesota is a great place, of course I visited it in early September, before the cold storms hit. Loved the ladies.

 

I spent some time in North Carolina. Had few friends there when I was in the Navy. Chris, UNC is great, but the women in Carolina as a whole are truly charming. Southern and beautiful. You offer them a drink and they drawl out their 'thank you.' Loved it.

 

Been to Miami and the Orange Bowl. It truly is the capital of South America.

In direct contrast to the Nebraska fans, the Hurricane fans were ruthless and swearing. And they need to renovate the stadium itself, because the whole inside of the press box smelled like wet dogs and mildew.

 

But if you truly want the armpit of the nation, visit Starkville Mississippi. It is aptly named. STARK-ville. There is nothing there. A college and two convenience stores. No place to eat. The highway from Tuscaloosa to Starkville just sort of dies when you get to Starkville. You can't go any further. You can only go back. Thank God you can go back.

[OldSchoolTerry]

This is a really great thread people, but isn't it now a little....

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

[PovertyRow]

This is a really great thread people, but isn't it now a little....

 

Actually this whole "My Town" thread is as interesting as watching your fingernails grow...then again...considering the participants!!!!!!!!!!!

[Illiterati-migration]

This is a really great thread people, but isn't it now a little....

 

Actually this whole "My Town" thread is as interesting as watching your fingernails grow...then again...considering the participants!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Awwww, Gwamps is cwanky! Did you get your beard caught under your rocking chair again?

[blowout]

Actually this whole "My Town" thread is as interesting as watching your fingernails grow

 

And here was I thinking I was the only one...

[Illiterati-migration]

Actually this whole "My Town" thread is as interesting as watching your fingernails grow

 

And here was I thinking I was the only one...

 

Oh, but a 4,000 page thread about exactly WHEN the "Silver Age" became the "Bronze Age" is interesting?

 

[murph0]

Exactly. This thread easily beats out probably half of the threads on this board.

 

Brian

[PovertyRow]

This is a really great thread people, but isn't it now a little....

 

Actually this whole "My Town" thread is as interesting as watching your fingernails grow...then again...considering the participants!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Awwww, Gwamps is cwanky! Did you get your beard caught under your rocking chair again?

 

Ohh you are just soooooooo CUTE! Ohhh woodie woogams, can he type? Oh YES HE CAN. Oh, he can TYPE!

[blowout]

Oh, but a 4,000 page thread about exactly WHEN the "Silver Age" became the "Bronze Age" is interesting?

 

[Illiterati-migration]

[davidking623]

On Topic!

 

I read the 4 Polls that were given as a choice but they didnt really apply to me! I buy and sell comics and everything I own is 100 percent paid for but I am really just always looking for a way to make money on it.But trust me if the market fell down in a day I think I am quite fine with it because I still believe there will always be someone that buys comics to read which is why I really got to where I am any way.I could be wrong but when I go do a show it seems to be the readers that I sell the most of.Its been a good ride for me and am hoping it will continue as I like money!!!

 

Davidking623

[ubiquiti]

Mosquitoes, banner, ya forgot to tell 'em about the mosquitoes.

 

Not that we wouldn't love to have Murph and Khaos relocate here...

 

 

 

and droughts and ice storms and copperheads and rattlesnakes and bears and and and and...

 

Kudzu. Yeah miles & miles of kudzu swallowing up the place. That's it.

 

Wow, full disclosure. I feel better now. Please resume the regional bashing on this once-fine poll thread.

 

Zonker, I apologize, but I cannot stand idly by while Murph sits there on his throne of [!@#%^&^] and lures all these poor, unsuspecting east-and-west coasters to their doom here in the armpit of the world! He's the Queen of the Sirens, Zonk! The Queen of the Sirens! He would love nothing more than to see some poor family from San Jose come to the midwest and slam their rickety wooden ship into one of our plentiful, yet not spectacular, rock formations.

 

He's an evil genius, Zonk. Well, he's evil anyway. And I promise you, I'm done. Right after this next post. Then I'm done. I swear. I promise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You guys are all nuts.

Arizona is the best place in the country...at least for 6 months of the year.

Sure Phoenix was never planned properly and you have to own a car to live here...so what? We have the "grid system" so at least you can easily find where you are driving to.

Golf 365 days a year though, boys. NICE!

[kuot-migration]

I view it as a potential earning hobby ... that is hobby that can make me money.

[lighthouse]

I actually checked the 4th box... but then I don't buy at retail... Most of my purchases are actually below wholesale, so having money tied up in them isn't really an issue for me. If I have $1.50 tied up in a Silver Age book that retails at $20 it really doesn't matter to me if the values suddenly drop by 60%. I can still get my investment back.

 

It might be different if I planned to be completely out of touch with the market for a period of 3-5 years and was forced to hold throughout that time. But the vast majority of my inventory could be liquidated at current wholesale at a substantial profit...

 

As for the "real" topic of this thread:

 

I have lived in:

 

A metropolis of 5 million plus

A city of 1 million

A metro area of 200,000

A town of 50,000

 

My time spent in a town of 50,000 was the most peaceful for me. Free car insurance (my wife has full coverage with an at-fault accident and paid $19 a month), no crime, friendly neighbors... But I could feel myself getting dumber with each passing day. The level of competency required to succeed in a town that size just isn't very high. The expectations aren't very high, and there isn't enough competition to force inefficient firms out of business. So most people don't bother. They are nice, and friendly, and fun people to be around, but they were all probably smarter the last day they were in school that they are today...

 

For me, on a personal level living in the metro area of 200,000 was ideal. I have to live somewhere with an airport served by the major airlines, and that's about the baseline population to get that. The combination of available culture and services is about right for me at that population level.

 

But professionally, I need to be somewhere bigger. And so does my wife. There are certain careers that are really only feasible in larger communities, and she has reached that level in hers. Both of our skillsets are better matched to a city of 1 million plus.

 

My time spent in a larger metropolis was enlightening. It was there that I really noticed that no matter how big a city may become, its citizens will subdivide it into smaller sections and will live their lives in those. There are people in NYC who will never leave their borough. There are people in Costa Mesa who will only cross I-5 twice a year. Even when I lived in a city of 1 million people, I could draw you an outline of an area inhabited by less than 150,000 and I was inside that area over 95% of my time in the city. Very few people drive all over town all the time...

 

As for the Midwest sucking... well... it is a long drive to get to anywhere different...

[lighthouse]

And for those of you who actually enjoyed the debate on this thread... I cannot recommend this website highly enough...

 

I have had at least 50 friends take the test and strangely enough almost half of them had their current community appear in their top 5. If the places that pop up in your results are nowhere near where you live, you may want to think about moving.

 

Find Your Spot