[Magdalen] immigration / migrant situation --->Re: Professionalpanhandlers; was Loaned out.

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

I recall that the main front representative of chamber of commerce
announced upon his retirement that he was moving because nobody can afford
to live in New York State.

I laughed at him!  What on earth are all the citizens of New York doing
then?  We seem to be getting along quite well, actually, and I'd match our
services with -- ah well.  Folks know what they know.  A lot of my friends
are retirees, and we are doing fine.

I can well imagine an older couple living in a small apartment in some
larger municipality, and living quite well.

I love where we are, but the stairs are a factor, and when my mobility is
impaired, we'll have to move.  My spouse wants to move to a retirement
community, which has its advantages, but I find old people horribly
depressing, so....

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Tue, Sep 15, 2015 at 3:47 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:

> From: Mahoney, W. Michael
>
> Well, the Metropolitan Opera is neat and it would be nice to have to have
>> some proper Jewish delis around.  But I can do without  Rikers Island and
>> an awful lot of other big city stuff.  Moreover, were I old and poor, I'd
>> far rather be here than in a big city.
>>
>
> Cities are important.  But, having lived in a couple, I am glad to be where
>> I am.
>>
>
> One can live where one wants, of course. But the point is that the poor
> can be served better if they live in urban communities than out in the
> country. I should add that rural people love to pay far higher taxes to
> support a social safety net that's half as good, right?
>
> Even some ostensibly middle class people drift toward some cities at
> least. One of the largest cohorts of people moving to New York remains
> retired people from the Sunbelt. They retired in the 1960s near the golf
> course or canal for their boat, and now they're widowed (or widower), not
> able to see to drive at night --  or maybe in the daytime, too frail to run
> a boat or even play golf, so move to New York City and take an apartment
> above a grocery store. Well, maybe 22 floors above the  grocery store, but
> shopping becomes easy, getting to the doctor is easy, getting to the movies
> or a show (or even the Metropolitan Opera!) is easy, and they can usually
> get meals on wheels in 30 days if they need it.
>
> Some have never lived in NYC or a city approaching its size, but they’ve
> heard good things from former neighbors.
>
> So, not only is the social safety net far more efficient and helpful in
> providing far better service, on average in a city, that social safety net
> creeps up the income/resources scale.
>
> I would add that NYC has deteriorated -- you can no longer have your kids
> go to college at Zero Tuition, nor does everyone have free medical care
> available at City-Owned Hospitals (done in by Medicaid and the wider
> availability of insurance) but most of the social safety net abides.
>
> Cheers,
> Jim
>