Where the wealth is

From CNBC:

America’s 10 Richest Counties

10. Westchester County, N.Y.
Average income: $128,127

9. Morris County, N.J.
Average income: $128,371

Morris County, located about 25 miles from New York City, is another county within easy commuting distance to Manhattan. It includes Harding Township once named one of the richest zip codes in the U.S. by Forbes.

Morris County has numerous Revolutionary war-era historic sites, such as Washington’s Headquarters and Jockey Hollow, where the Continental army endured the brutal winter of 1779-80. The county’s unemployment rate for 2011 was 7.3, nearly 3 points lower than the state average of 10 percent according to the N.J. Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

8. Marin County, Calif.
Average income: $128,544

7. Somerset County, N.J.
Average income: $129,222

Somerset County is another wealthy location in the New York metropolitan area. Area companies include Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Pfizer and UPS. Somerset includes the picturesque hilly town of Bernardsville, location of the former estates of Jackie Onassis, Mike Tyson and Malcolm Forbes.

6. Fairfield County, Conn.
Average income: $130,074

5. Hunterdon County, N.J.
Average income: $130,723

Hunterdon County is located in the northwestern part of New Jersey between this list’s No. 9 county, Morris, to the northeast, and No. 7, Somerset County, to the east. It’s more rural than its Central Jersey neighbors and is a destination for fishing and hunting white tail deer. In Hunterdon, commuters are split between New York City and Philadelphia.

4. Fairfax County, Va.
Average income: $132,662

3. Loudoun County, Va.
Average income: $134,098

2. Pitkin County, Colo.
Average income: $134,267

1. Nantucket County, Mass.
Average income: $137,811

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73 Responses to Where the wealth is

  1. Mike says:

    Good Morning New Jersey

  2. Mike says:

    Two counties in Virginia? Got to be some natural gas lines running under their homes.

  3. grim says:

    Mike – Easy to explain, that’s where the corporations keep their politicians

  4. grim says:

    From CNBC:

    Homeownership rate drops to 15-year low

    The share of privately-owned U.S. homes fell to a 15-year low in the first quarter as falling house prices and stringent lending conditions push younger Americans, in particular, into renting.

    The homeownership rate slipped to 65.4 percent, the lowest since the first quarter of 1997, the Commerce Department said on Monday, with the rate for Americans under the age of 35 dropping to an 18-year low.

    “You are seeing the perfect storm of age, financing and the business cycle coming together to push down the homeownership rate,” said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research in New York.

    The homeownership rate, which was measured at 66.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, peaked at 69.4 percent in 2004 at the height of a housing market boom fueled by cheap credit.

  5. grim says:

    Price of REOs go … up? From HousingWire:

    Bucking trend, REOs show price gains: Clear Capital

    National home prices lost ground with declines of 1% over the past year, but REO demand — fueled by enthusiastic investors — showed price gains, Clear Capital said in its April home data index report.

    Investor demand could be a driving force behind increasing prices for REO properties, as measured on a median price per square foot, which is increasing at a much faster pace than non-REO sales.

    Over the last year, REO-only prices have jumped a healthy 5.5%, while fair market sales prices dropped 2.9%.

    The portion of national REO sales relative to total sales continued its creep in April, marking the third straight month of quarterly growth — without the typical price decline seen when REO saturation rises. Saturation was at 27.9% in April, up from 25.3% in December.

    The sensitive balance between REO supply and demand will help determine how market prices react to shifts in REO saturation, Clear Capital said. If REO-to-rental investment activity increases, it likely will provide the lift needed to support price increases.

  6. Hunterdon? Whitetail deer? The deer here are so scrawny from overpopulation, they’re not worth hunting.

    From here, you can drive an hour or so into PA and shoot a proper deer.

  7. Prime food source for deer here are KHov and Toll Bros shrubbery.

  8. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [3] grim

    No, that’s where they keep their lobbyists and lawyers.

    I know. I used to be one, living in McLean.

  9. Fabius Maximus says:

    Good morning brothers and sisters.

    I love that I can see Lady Liberty from my desk. It always reminds me of where I came from. I love that there is also a beautiful irony in that gift.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHNsRZ8iqFc

  10. Xroads says:

    Meat

    Most deer hunting in Hunterdon is done with a vehicle.

  11. JJ says:

    Even mortgage free, I know people who live in Hunterdoom with three kids, 18K taxes, house on two acres with maint who put 25K miles a year on their two cars at $4 dollar a gallon gas cause everything is such a far drive. And heating and mainting a large 3,000 square foot house is expensive. Even Mortgage free you cant live on $130,723 a year in that town.

    Hunterdon County, N.J.
    Average income: $130,723

  12. JJ says:

    The incredible shrinking yield
    August 2008 (before the crisis)

    Money-market funds average yield: 1.9%

    Banks average yield: 0.7%

    March 2012

    Money-market funds average yield: 0.03%

    Banks average yield: 0.14%

    The Fed created this Junk Bond rally as investors have no place to go for yield.

  13. seif says:

    ” I am looking for a further 20 percent slide in housing prices.”
    – Gary Shilling

    http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2012/0425/Fed-sees-more-growth-Don-t-count-on-it.-Recession-ahead?

  14. xolepa says:

    I heard this morning they found a dead bear along 78 in Tewksbury area. Must be one of JJ’s street creds thinking it was a white tail.

  15. xolepa says:

    If JJ heard the song of the coyotes that live in the woods across the street from me he’d have a white tail too.

    Seriously, my next door neighbor’s wife is a Bambi lover. Get’s her husband to put out food for those dastardly creatures. Quite illegal, here. They live at the end of the cul-de-sac on the edge of the woods. We have other neighbors who pay bow-and-arrow hunters to shoot those pests while hiding in trees on their properties. Right-to-farm farmers shoot them in bunches and bury them in mass graves with dozers. Deer holocaust.

  16. JJ says:

    Lyme Desease and people hiding in trees shooting at anything that moves. Sounds lovely.

  17. seif says:

    JJ says:
    May 1, 2012 at 9:44 am
    Lyme Desease and people hiding in trees shooting at anything that moves. Sounds lovely.

    if it is a choice of either that or living next to you with “herpes and f’s anything that moves,” i’ll take the former.

  18. xolepa says:

    (18) Actually, we pride ourselves on that. My wife contracted Lymes ten years ago. My father got it in Somerset county 30 years ago. Was one of the first cases around. My old german shepherd had it. Past tenants of mine had it. You ain’t a real man…or woman…or dog..until you had Lymes.
    And shooting from trees is fun. Shooting at trees is fun, too. Shooting from windows is even better. Care to take a walk in our neck of the woods? I’ll introduce you to our neighbor Will E. Coyote. I can also introduce you to one of his best play friends. A good-old boy named Buffalo Bob. He lives out on a farm here with his own kind. They had a visitors day couple years back at his farm and one of the guests meandered a little bit off. Buffalo Bob sighted the trespasser ( a NY newbie) and tossed his ass 25 feet . Ambulance came. No one hurt. Still decided to sue after a year.
    p.s. Bob’s meat is the best. Keep it rare, though.

  19. JJ says:

    Actually I am an amazing neighbor. I leave for work before 7am and I get home from work after 7pm. I usually vacation out of town, so I am gone. One weekends, I got places to go. Neighbors who drive me nuts are the ones who are always home. My next door neighbor to right works from home and I hate it. Always around. My neighbor to the left and behind me are dinks. Never home. I love it.

    Best neighbors, are rarely home, have tall fences, maintain their houses and dont park in front of your house. My six foot four inch fence that surrounds my backyard is great. I can enjoy yard without annoying neighbors. Previous fence was five feet. What a nightmare. The annoying nieghbor who moved, thank god was like six foot three inch. Staring at you all the time. Guy was so annoying we had a war of the fences. Idiot put a picture window years ago facing into my backyard at a height of six to ten feet off ground. Then he kept curtains open all day. He liked to look into my backyard as view was nice. Creepy guy, I got little kids, do I want a 50 year old guy looking into my yard. I put latice up a few feet from fence. Lattice was 4×6.I took three 14 foot posts, nailed burried them two feet in with cement then nailed latice to them from six feet to 12 feet off ground on both sides then wrapped them in growing vines. I expected guy to throw a fit, but lucky he had already planned to retire in a few months and sell. New owners bought and it was already there. I hate idiots who think putting a picture window to look over my pool is a good idea. What makes him think anyone swimming wants a creepy old guy looking at them. .

    seif says:
    May 1, 2012 at 10:02 am

    JJ says:
    May 1, 2012 at 9:44 am
    Lyme Desease and people hiding in trees shooting at anything that moves. Sounds lovely.

    if it is a choice of either that or living next to you with “herpes and f’s anything that moves,” i’ll take the former.

  20. JJ says:

    I would sue you if you were my landlord and I got lyme. I use Sibon and Sibon. 9 Jewish brothers who are ambulence chasing Attorneys and their 27 sons who are all lawyers. They will sue you so hard your great great grandchildren will be carrying empty coffee cups on the four train begging for money. Heck they will sue Buffolo Bob just for knowing you, heck they will sue Chris Christie just from being gov of your state and sue Al Gore cuase he invented internet that allowed you to post about lyme.

    xolepa says:
    May 1, 2012 at 10:11 am

    (18) Actually, we pride ourselves on that. My wife contracted Lymes ten years ago. My father got it in Somerset county 30 years ago. Was one of the first cases around. My old german shepherd had it. Past tenants of mine had it. You ain’t a real man…or woman…or dog..until you had Lymes.
    And shooting from trees is fun. Shooting at trees is fun, too. Shooting from windows is even better. Care to take a walk in our neck of the woods? I’ll introduce you to our neighbor Will E. Coyote. I can also introduce you to one of his best play friends. A good-old boy named Buffalo Bob. He lives out on a farm here with his own kind. They had a visitors day couple years back at his farm and one of the guests meandered a little bit off. Buffalo Bob sighted the trespasser ( a NY newbie) and tossed his ass 25 feet . Ambulance came. No one hurt. Still decided to sue after a year.
    p.s. Bob’s meat is the best. Keep it rare, though.

  21. xolepa says:

    Do they have NJ licenses? I could use a couple of those good-old boys.

  22. Shore Guy says:

    “richest zip codes”

    Pttffftttttttt. What matters in assessing wealth is not how much one earns, it is how much one gets to keep. If person A earns twice as much as person B but the cost of living in their respective towns is such tht person B is able to save twice as much as person A, who is “richest”?

  23. njescapee says:

    Is that a trick question? ;-)

    Shore Guy says:
    May 1, 2012 at 11:33 am
    “richest zip codes”

    Pttffftttttttt. What matters in assessing wealth is not how much one earns, it is how much one gets to keep. If person A earns twice as much as person B but the cost of living in their respective towns is such tht person B is able to save twice as much as person A, who is “richest”?

  24. JJ says:

    Person C. What makes you think living in a good town costs a lot more than living in a bad town. My aunt lives in one of the richest zip codes in Manhattan. She has a rent controlled apt where she has been on lease since she was a 21 year old newlywed. Not all people in rich towns pay a lot to live there. Anyone who bought pre-2000 and has a high income is most likely a person C. Lives in a expensive town but his expenses are not high.

    Pttffftttttttt. What matters in assessing wealth is not how much one earns, it is how much one gets to keep. If person A earns twice as much as person B but the cost of living in their respective towns is such tht person B is able to save twice as much as person A, who is “richest”?

  25. Nets’ new logo should be a zip gun. Or a Hasidim.

  26. C.H. Smith making too much sense again.

    “In a sane system, when the collateral vanishes, so too does the debt (writedowns, write-offs, bankruptcy, take your pick). In an insane system, then phantom collateral supports ever greater mountains of debt.

    How long do you reckon the insane system we have now will last? The collateral is phantom, but the interest payments are very, very real.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-wheres-collateral

  27. Will the Nets be serving malt liquor at the new arena?

  28. A.West says:

    Here’s an idea of the kind of pool party action JJ’s neigbor gets to spy on:
    http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1660R-14896

    Out in Somerset county NJ our houses aren’t packed together to tightly, and my 4 acres keeps some distance between us and them.

  29. seif says:

    28 – WRONG JJ!!!! it is person D. they inherited a billion dollars from their dead uncle along with a building in the richest zip code, of which they rent out many units, so they actually get paid to live there.

    27 – apparently it was a trick question to JJ, so he just made up his own question and answer…this way he gets to listen to himself talk twice as much.

  30. seif (33)-

    He is truly a real-life version of Don Draper.

  31. seif says:

    35 – only in HIS mind

  32. Theo says:

    Anyone know anything about crawl space vents? Are they necessary? I read contradictory info online. If they do serve a purpose, is there a way to close them up and have their function performed in some other manner. I am looking to make it easier to heat/cool my house.

  33. JJ says:

    Why would anyone need four acres? I look at some houses on two acres and wife was way overwelmed with lawn, snow removal, cost to fix a fence, repave driveway. Seem excessive. The generators, the snow blowers. I can see up to 100×100 plot. But beyond that it gets too big. Plus how do you manage that in retirement? My in-laws who are in poor health have a 40×100 lot and that is plenty. One of their kids can grab a mower out of garage when visiting and mow lawn in five minutes. They can still even shovel own walk as it is only 40 feet. The four acres is usually a ego thing. From an environmental point of view makes no sense.

    IA.West says:
    May 1, 2012 at 11:58 am
    Here’s an idea of the kind of pool party action JJ’s neigbor gets to spy on:
    http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1660R-14896

    Out in Somerset county NJ our houses aren’t packed together to tightly, and my 4 acres keeps some distance between us and them.

  34. JJ says:

    Why U.S. house prices won’t recover
    Taking inflation into account, home prices are down to 1895 levels

    When will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that’s no reason not to buy.

    The latest S&P/Case-Shiller numbers, reported last week, show that prices in 20 major markets declined 3.5% over the year through February. They’re now back to 2002 levels. If we subtract for inflation, they’re back to 1998 levels.
    But consider: After subtracting for inflation, prices are also back to 1986 levels. And 1955 levels. And 1895 levels.

    That’s because the natural rate of price appreciation for houses is zero after inflation. Prices will eventually stop falling. They’ll resume rising. But over the long term, they’re unlikely to resume rising faster than inflation.

    That’s why prospective buyers should stop focusing on the vague hope that house prices will jump from here and focus instead on the functional value houses provide for the money. In most markets, they provide enough of that to make buying a good deal.

    To see why house prices and inflation are linked, consider that inflation is a general rise in the price of consumable goods and services. We measure it as a nation just as you might think: pollsters collect prices on thousands of items and statisticians turn those prices into an index, called the Consumer Price Index.
    The inflation rate over the year through March was 2.6%. Behind that number is a lot of variation; dairy products got 6.3% more expensive, while utility gas service got 9.1% cheaper.

    That’s because inflation isn’t the only thing that drives individual prices. Short-term supply and demand factors drive them, too. For example, the U.S. has a severe glut of natural gas at the moment. But prices have a way of self-correcting over time. Power companies have already sharply increased their electricity production from natural gas while pulling back on coal.

    Few things escape the gravitational pull of the inflation rate forever. Even health care and college tuition are showing signs of slowing price growth. U.S. housing had spectacular booms and busts in the 1920s and mid-2000s, but smoothing out the swings and adjusting for inflation, prices have gone nowhere for more than a century.

    Houses are ordinary consumable goods: wood, stone and metal bound pieced together through labor. There’s no reason to believe they should enjoy a special rate of return distinct from those for, say, apples and shoes. My best guess for the rate of price increase of all three is 2.2% a year over the next 10 years—equal to the rate of inflation.

    To get that number, I looked at yields on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Those are a special kind of bond that adjusts in value each year for the rate of inflation. The difference between the yields on 10-year TIPS and those on regular 10-year Treasurys shows what investors expect inflation to look like over the next decade.

    Of course, house buyers can also base projections on factors like house inventories, shadow inventories, the foreclosure rate, the construction rate and so on. But market prices already adjust for factors the public knows about, so buyers who try to form special predictions on prices had better have special knowledge the public isn’t privy to.

    The good news is that houses—like apples and shoes—have functional value, and right now buyers are getting plenty of it for what they spend. The easiest way to see this is by dividing yearly rents by purchase prices for similar properties, to come up with a “rent yield”. Landlords literally collect rent yields; owner-occupants collect implied ones because they don’t have to pay rent.

    In more than half of U.S. housing markets, the rent yield is over 10%. That’s a gross yield; buyers should subtract for things like taxes and maintenance. But even so, buyers in most markets will end up with yields of over 5%. That’s a pretty good deal at a time when 10-year corporate bonds of decent credit quality pay only 3%. And with the average 30-year mortgage rate sitting below 4%, financing terms are attractive relative to rent yields (for buyers who can get loans).

    Similar math led me to believe five years ago that buying a house had become a bad deal in most of the country and to decide last year that it had once again become a good deal in many market. Prices declined 33% nationwide between those two columns, or by more than $80,000 for a typical house. I didn’t time the top or the bottom of the market to the month, of course, but buyers who base their math on the functional value of houses don’t have to worry about next month’s price change. They just have to pay a price that allows them to extract good value from their house.

    To see whether houses are a good deal in your market, start by checking a list of price-to-rent ratios like the latest one published by Trulia.com. To turn a price-to-rent ratio into a rent yield, simply divide “1” by the ratio. So the New York City area’s price-to-rent ratio of 14.5 is equal to a rent yield of 6.9%. (That’s not such a high number, especially after subtracting for taxes and maintenance costs, making New York one of a handful of markets where renters shouldn’t be in any hurry to buy.)

    Four last points to keep in mind: First, those price-to-rent ratios are based on average price data. Individual buyers can do better or worse than the averages, depending on how carefully they shop.

    Second, your market is probably not special. It can be tempting to think that, because prices in your area have risen faster than the national average over the past five years, they will continue to do so. That temptation is called recency bias—the belief that things will always be the way they’ve been lately. They probably won’t.

    Third, renters who base their house buying decision on rent yields will come to a radically different conclusion than those who buy because they’re optimistic about future price growth. For single-family houses, the way to maximize value is to buy only as much house as you need, rather than locking in as much house as you can afford.

    Fourth, there are some useful buying-versus-renting calculators on the web. Some show buyers exactly how many years it will take for them to be better off owning versus renting. But most allow users to put in independent values for the inflation rate and the rate at which house prices increase. If you set inflation to 2% and house price growth to 6%, just about anything looks like a good deal. The prudent thing is to use the same rate for both. Again, use the difference between the 10-year TIPS yield and the 10-year regular Treasury yield, which works out to 2.2% at the moment.

  35. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    JJ because not everyone is metropolitan enough to live on top of their neighbors. I know this is a difficult concept for you to grasp from your work of six figure public employees but some of us actually like having space.

  36. JJ says:

    It is difficult to grasp because no investment should ever be made based on likes. And how do you know you like it. I once rented a tiny apt in NYC cause I got a deal. The thought of living in a 200 square foot apt with no car in Manhattan seem a little stiffling. But I did it anyhow. Within a few months I felt absolute freedom. The world was mine. Newspaper Sunday morning in the park, brunch at the diner. Last minute Knick tickets from a friend at game in three minutes. I was coming from a large coop in Queens where I had a car. From that I came from my Parents house. Each move smaller and closer was wonderful. Also the fact you experience life, not an imitation of life. My buddy from Hunterdoom heard I was out to dinner this weekend at Zum Stammtisch in Queens, real German Food. He was so jealous, he cant get real German Food out by him, he cant get real Steak, Peter Lugar, he cant get real theater etc. He loves it there he is one of those four acre nuts. But once in awhile the boredoom and isolation gets to him. He grew up in Queens and unlike when he was a kid, no hey lets go see Mets or Jets and be there in ten minutes or go to the city on the subway. Everything is a major hassel so he just does not do it.

    Painhrtz – I ain’t dead yet says:
    May 1, 2012 at 12:36 pm
    JJ because not everyone is metropolitan enough to live on top of their neighbors. I know this is a difficult concept for you to grasp from your work of six figure public employees but some of us actually like having space.

  37. The Original NJ Expat says:

    [9] FabMax – It’s not irony, it’s copper.

    I love that I can see Lady Liberty from my desk. It always reminds me of where I came from. I love that there is also a beautiful irony in that gift.

  38. The Original NJ Expat says:

    JJ [12] – Yep. The below description is all three of my sisters and BILs and their kids. One in Ringoes, one in Warren, one in Gladstone. Only one of them has 3 kids, the other two have 2.

    Even mortgage free, I know people who live in Hunterdoom with three kids, 18K taxes, house on two acres with maint who put 25K miles a year on their two cars at $4 dollar a gallon gas cause everything is such a far drive. And heating and mainting a large 3,000 square foot house is expensive. Even Mortgage free you cant live on $130,723 a year in that town.

    Hunterdon County, N.J.
    Average income: $130,723

  39. The Original NJ Expat says:

    [36] Theo – Crawlspace vents: When I was a kid, our house was a 1965 Colonial with no attic, just a crawlspace accessible from the ceiling of a bedroom closet. We had two vents at opposite ends of the crawl space close to the peak. Aluminum louvered with screens behind them. In the winter we would nail a board over a piece of insulation to close them off and then remove the board and insulation in the Spring. I never saw any evidence of mold, but Jesus was it hot up there if you waited too long into the Spring to open them up.

    Anyone know anything about crawl space vents? Are they necessary? I read contradictory info online. If they do serve a purpose, is there a way to close them up and have their function performed in some other manner. I am looking to make it easier to heat/cool my house.

  40. JJ says:

    Interesting part about this blob when we talk about when is a good time to buy or sell a home we forget to think in terms of it is a binary event. You have to be right twice.

    For Instance.

    December 1999 Person A sells all his stocks and buys a home. He made two decisions and he got both right.

    December 2007 Person B who has his house savings in Treasury Bills, Five Year CDs, Money Markets, Muni Bonds, Savings Account, Govt Back MBS etc. sells all his fixed income products to buy a house has made two wrong decisions. He got out of fixed income at start of bond rally and into housing at start of collaspe.

    December 2007 Person C got out of Stocks and bought a house, well he was right once.He sold stocks the correct time but got into housing at the right time.

    Any investment, be it stocks, bonds, housing, art it is extremely difficult to make the right decision. When you buy a house you have to sell something and then when you sell a house if it is for a profit you have to buy something that makes a profit. Each move is being right twice, almost impossible to keep it up beyond 2-3 times.

    So when someone says I bought a house December 2011 and claims they got a good deal. Well you only know it was a good deal if you can figure out how the prior investment did. Someone who had junk bonds, muni bonds or stocks who sold in December 2011 to buy a house is already way under water. If they had 100% of downpayment sitting in a money market at near zero and home went up 3% it might be a great investment.

  41. xolepa says:

    Real food. Hmmm. Rylands Inn, Whitehouse. Damn it. Closed many years.Was only 4 star French rated restaurant outside Manhattan. Swabische Albe, Warren. Damn. Closed many years. You’re right. You win on that. Out here we have so many mediocre Italian restaurants/pizzerias that one guy put out a sign: ‘Eat here or we both shall starve’.
    On the other hand, in summertime, our fruits and veggies are fresher than yours. In good summers, my raspberry garden can produce 1 quart of the delicious stuff every third day. Zucchinis grow mad. Strawberries and apples galore. Basil, cilantro, all the nice spices. And the kids grew up with friends that live on that 300 acre farm….

  42. Joe says:

    I live in Hunterdon county. Great schools and a wonderful place to raise a family.

  43. shore89 says:

    JJ[36] There’s no reason to believe they should enjoy a special rate of return distinct from those for, say, apples and shoes

    This statement reminds me of a quote:

    Buy land, they have stopped making it
    — Mark Twain

  44. JJ says:

    I will give you one thing, my buddy told me a gourmet bakery opened in Hunterdoom this year. Good Pastres.

    When I lived across the street from the AIDs clinic the folks could squeeze some carpsies on their face and produce more than a quart of something that looked like red rasberry juice. I dont like fruits or vegitables, although I know some girls who enjoy them. Unless that garden is growing steaks, beers and brick oven pizza I dont care. I recall my Mom who grew up on a farm loved the supermarket. When chicken dinner starts with plucking and killing a chicken, picking vegitables, baking bread, pumping water, chopping wood and starting a fire you dont have much interest in picking vegitables. Farm work is why my family left Ireland in first place, back breaking work for low pay that puts you in an early grave. I wonder how many 40×100 Capes William Levit could fit on a 300 acre farm. I have to figure math, leave room for streets, schools etc. But I bet a lot. My wife for some reason grows tomatoes and stuff. Come August we eat them, meanwhile they are 99 cents at BJs for a big pile. Funny part is anything I plant in my backyard grows crazy. Up to 1954 my development was a farm. Supposedly a working farm for over 200 years. That soil is rich without as much as a pebble. I guess farming it for 200 years you get the rocks out
    xolepa says:
    May 1, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Real food. Hmmm. Rylands Inn, Whitehouse. Damn it. Closed many years.Was only 4 star French rated restaurant outside Manhattan. Swabische Albe, Warren. Damn. Closed many years. You’re right. You win on that. Out here we have so many mediocre Italian restaurants/pizzerias that one guy put out a sign: ‘Eat here or we both shall starve’.
    On the other hand, in summertime, our fruits and veggies are fresher than yours. In good summers, my raspberry garden can produce 1 quart of the delicious stuff every third day. Zucchinis grow mad. Strawberries and apples galore. Basil, cilantro, all the nice spices. And the kids grew up with friends that live on that 300 acre farm….

  45. njescapee says:

    Swabische Albe closed? bummer.

  46. chicagofinance says:

    JJ says:
    May 1, 2012 at 1:59 pm
    Interesting part about this blob
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhyRpvgm03g

  47. JJ says:

    Chifi, you still going to that muni thing? Is it free.

    Hey I have to buy more munis next week. Got stuff that was called, anything of interest to buy? Bondbuyer is saying colleges and hospital munis are underpriced but then again in December 2010 colleges and hospitals got clobbered. I am thinking just doing kicker bonds as I get the feeling rates are going up in 2013.

    Herbalife down 25% today. Healthy stuff is soo 2011.

  48. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Posted without comment except to note: Approx 456 reportable expatriates in quarter ended 3/31

    http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-30/html/2012-10274.htm

  49. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [11] yo,

    The 99%ers would be screaming bloody murder if we had the tax structures of the countries that tax “more” than the U.S.

    Also saw Lawrence O’Donnell reviving that totally-discredited meme that the economy did very well under Clinton in part due to his tax hikes. Had a subtle spin to it, but it revived the same syllogism: Clinton raised taxes, Economy under clinton did well, ergo raising taxes good for economy.

  50. Juice Box says:

    Rut Roh for O? Romney met with Bloomberg..

  51. JJ says:

    I visit Europe and since tax rates are so high people try to avoid it by getting extra vacation weeks, company car, company blackberry, pension plans, subsidized breakfast, subidized lunches.etc. They also dont work as hard and get free medical and amazing maternity leave and govt subsidized child car. You have to earn more here just to account for their benefits. So even though their tax rate is higher, I get paid more than the equivalent person in europe so in the end I pay the same. I just pay a lower rate on a higher salary.

    Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    May 1, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    [11] yo,

    The 99%ers would be screaming bloody murder if we had the tax structures of the countries that tax “more” than the U.S.

  52. Juice Box says:

    re #55 – No local property taxes Ireland. The Irish are up in arms about a new 100 Euro prop tax and half are refusing to pay.

    http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/31/uk-ireland-protest-idUKBRE82U0AZ20120331

    Funny thing is they have to pay 300 Euro license fee to use a TV, before Sst/Cable TV my uncle used to hide the Antenna in the attic to avoid the tax.

  53. Nicholas says:

    JJ,

    I think that the comming generation has a difference of opinon on food. Where it is sourced from, how it is grown, how it is treated are important. I think we are on the cusp of a huge backlash in agribuisness.

    I’m sure that you can enjoy your pink slim burgers in blissful ignorance but the younger generation has serious issues with the way things are produced. There is a store nearby us called “MoM’s” that does crazy buisness as a supermarket. They only sell food that is locally grown and sourced from nearby farmers.

    The alure of 3 acres is that you have the ability to do things that you couldn’t do in a 100×100 lot including raising your own food. 99 cents for tomatoes seems cheap but compared to growing the plants from seeds it is extremely expensive as tomatoes don’t require a lot of care. I grow strawberries and this year looks to be amazing because of the good weather. Nothing, I mean Nothing, beats going out and picking strawberries and eating them for breakfast before going to work.

    I have had to do 4 hours of work to get my strawberry gardens into shape this year, I enjoyed the exercise, and I will enjoy the strawberries. I will also take comfort knowing that no pesticides were used in producing them.

  54. xolepa says:

    In June of each year, I used to take a special run to the Sussex strawberry farm off 206 between Newton and Andover. Picked myself several baskets plus ate half the owners profits out in the field. My face and fingers were covered with that stuff. Alas, like others, it is there no more. And Nicholas is right, but the educated kids seem to be the ones stepping away furthest from mass produced food. Many kids still stuff their faces, but, you don’t see teenagers anymore in the local burger-kings, Macs, et al. They go ‘upscale’ to the better burger factories.

  55. JJ says:

    I find locally sourced food amusing for people who live on four acres and own three cars and drive 30K miles a year. I dont have a 100by 100 lot if I had something that huge I guess I would farm. Funny I was looking at a little house as a rental and found a 30×100 plot bungalow, deal fell through, but lots of old italians living in those little houses all with an olive or fig tree and gardens in back. My friend who has four acres for a four person family in hunterdoom I find shockingly wastefull. An acre a person. Meanwhile I see dozens of homeless every day. An 1/16 of an acre is enough for a small house. He is living on land that could support 64 families. Uses tons of fuel to heat big house and gas as he drives a lot. He is one of those locally produced save the planet folks. Eats organic milke. Likes oranic meat. Once told him I can poop and pee on the veggies and cut up a cow with cancer and it would still be organic. Who regulates orgainic anyhow. Pedros boy accidently put bug spray on organic tomatoes one day, his dad Juan I am supposed to believe voluntarily will say I guess I better mark them non-organic and we just wont eat this week.

    I never eat breakfast at home. Most people dont. Trouble is your genes have a much great role to play in it. George Burns smoked every day and lived to a hundred and olympic swimmer in his 20s died today.

    Nicholas says:
    May 1, 2012 at 3:54 pm
    JJ,

    I think that the comming generation has a difference of opinon on food. Where it is sourced from, how it is grown, how it is treated are important. I think we are on the cusp of a huge backlash in agribuisness.

    I’m sure that you can enjoy your pink slim burgers in blissful ignorance but the younger generation has serious issues with the way things are produced. There is a store nearby us called “MoM’s” that does crazy buisness as a supermarket. They only sell food that is locally grown and sourced from nearby farmers.

    The alure of 3 acres is that you have the ability to do things that you couldn’t do in a 100×100 lot including raising your own food. 99 cents for tomatoes seems cheap but compared to growing the plants from seeds it is extremely expensive as tomatoes don’t require a lot of care. I grow strawberries and this year looks to be amazing because of the good weather. Nothing, I mean Nothing, beats going out and picking strawberries and eating them for breakfast before going to work.

    I have had to do 4 hours of work to get my strawberry gardens into shape this year, I enjoyed the exercise, and I will enjoy the strawberries. I will also take comfort knowing that no pesticides were used in producing them.

  56. chicagofinance says:

    Yes…going….free drinks afterward….colleges and hospitals…..WTF? do you have a deathwish? Oh, that’s right, you do…..

    JJ says:
    May 1, 2012 at 3:00 pm
    Chifi, you still going to that muni thing? Is it free.

    Hey I have to buy more munis next week. Got stuff that was called, anything of interest to buy? Bondbuyer is saying colleges and hospital munis are underpriced but then again in December 2010 colleges and hospitals got clobbered. I am thinking just doing kicker bonds as I get the feeling rates are going up in 2013.

  57. JJ says:

    I had a deathwish. Currently I dont have a death wish. But a college that is 100 years old with steady enrollment and an endowment and large assets back in March 2009 to 2011 were unfairly punished. I saw SUNY Dorm Bonds, St. Johns Bonds, Hofstra Bonds etc. All paying 6-7% and I bought some. Today for an extra few BPs not as interested. But I need yield. I bought way too much Junk in second half of 2011 that was more than munis I bought in first half of 2011.

    BTW my BAC Trups from Late 2011 rock. 8% coupons at a price of 89. Rock me all night long BAC. Too bad that free ride ended.
    chicagofinance says:
    May 1, 2012 at 4:30 pm
    Yes…going….free drinks afterward….colleges and hospitals…..WTF? do you have a deathwish? Oh, that’s right, you do…..

    JJ says:
    May 1, 2012 at 3:00 pm
    Chifi, you still going to that muni thing? Is it free.

    Hey I have to buy more munis next week. Got stuff that was called, anything of interest to buy? Bondbuyer is saying colleges and hospital munis are underpriced but then again in December 2010 colleges and hospitals got clobbered. I am thinking just doing kicker bonds as I get the feeling rates are going up in 2013.

  58. borat the dictator says:

    Nobody beat jj even chuck Norris

  59. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [63] borat,

    Chuck Norris pays JJ for the rights to use the name Chuck Norris.

  60. chicagofinance says:

    JJ: I predict that Seton Hall and Hofstra are going to have some issues. Also, Fordham will have a special “pay-full freight” admissions policy at some point soon….

  61. The most interesting man in the world says:

    JJ allows Chuck Norris to live

  62. Essex says:

    JJ is prolific.

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  64. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Phil Hodgens on the latest published list of expatriates:

    “This is the list people that the Secretary (of the Treasury) heard about in January, February, and March of 2012. It is not the list of people who actually terminated their citizenship or green cards in the first quarter.

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    Gary would say tick, tick, tick. I say, drip, drip, drip.

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