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If you've chosen to live in a small, Midwestern town or rural area, you probably already know the benefits of endless sky and fresh air. But did you know you could be gaining wealth faster than the 261 million residents of cities and suburbs?
An analysis by USA Today shows that people living in cities and suburbs haven't recovered earning power lost in the recession and economic slump. It cites a Bureau of Economic Analysis report that states average income per person in these areas fell 3.5 percent between 2007 and 2011, after adjusting for inflation.
But residents of 51 small towns and rural areas saw an inflation-adjusted increase of 3.8 percent per person since 2007. The study attributes the increase to the nation's oil and gas boom and strong farm prices. In oil-rich Sutton County, Texas, for instance, wages and benefits doubled, to $115,775 per job, from 2007 to 2011.
New York City suburbs are still the richest overall, with the Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn., metro area coming in first with an average income of $78,504 per person in 2011. It's been the most affluent place in the country for a decade. But next on the list is another oil-rich county, Midland, Texas, which beat out technology-rich San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.
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I recently moved to the ghost town of Long Beach, Mississippi and I had loved every moment I've spent here!
How can you ignore all of the natural disasters that are occuring all over the country recently? These clearly raise the cost of living EVERYWHERE.
Drinkable water is a MAJOR issue wherever you go. Factor in the costs involved in maintaining this.
Unemployment figures as reported are a joke. Once someone exhausts their ability to collect they just fall off the charts. These people aren't actually employed they just don't get a check from unemployment. They don't count in the stats anymore.
I'm amazed [read sarcasm] that our representatives don't look at these issues. Maybe they don't care because they live a different life than we do. They have a medical plan that's amazing. They don't have to hunt around and spend huge amounts of money for healthcare premiums each month. They also have amazing retirement benefits. All these are at our expense.
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