scrubbedexpat099

Of course, makes perfect sense, if you have enough time to survive the next correction then it makes sense.

The assumed rate of return for the Government Pensions in Colorado is 7%, how are you supposed to get anything like that other than going high risk?

Steerpike

I'm already (partially) retired ... I'm taking a massive risk. Always have.

scrubbedexpat099

It is an interesting channel and I have not watched all of them by any means, difficult to see things not having a tank soon, when soon is well that is the tricky one. Apart from the indices they talk about, something in the air...

Steerpike

2008/9 was an absolute killer for me, but shockingly I was back after 2 years. If the next one is worse/longer, I will likely be in big trouble ... But as the guy in the video says, I am addicted to the returns of the equity market.

scrubbedexpat099

I understand your position, I do not understand how it keeps on going. I see Lyft etc with massive valuation which make no money and essentially rely on paying below minimum wage 'staff' or unproven future technology. I see manufacturing etc offshoring, see the middle class disappearing and there is only so much the top tier can buy. Colorado does have oil and gas, the Politicians seem determined to shut that down, we can maybe feed 10% of the population, anyway I am ranting I do not see how this adds up.

Hotscot

I think it was around 8% for CA.

7% is not too difficult in my personal opinion. Depends where they're invested. Low cost Vanguard funds for me.

https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual...th-end-returns

scrubbedexpat099

I would say long term a safe rate of return is 3 to 5%, less now as interest rates are so low.

Nothing is risk free and the more you aim for the higher your risk, and to state the obvious as bit player you do not have the same information as the big boys.

Kooky.

I'm still in a very different timezone from most of you so apologies for going back up the thread quite a bit. I did watch the video - I thought it was overly dramatic and sensationalist but I don't doubt the problems are there.

As others have intimated, Seattle is not alone in this. I live on Sydney's city fringes, near a huge public housing estate with a lot of problems, and work very close to Central Station. I witness similar scenarios on a daily basis. We have tent cities too - until the authorities tear them down. We're not dealing with the causes of the problems well either, we just clean them up now and then to make our city centre look better and ourselves feel better.

I still choose to live in the city, in fact have just put a deposit on an apartment in Downtown Seattle.

scrubbedexpat099

What did you think of downtown Seattle, is this what you saw.

Kooky.

I've never been to Seattle. We have a terminally ill cat and have just finished Week 7 of some major renovations. (This move was not planned.) I'm not going to get there for a while yet, and probably not until I make the move. Had to trust my husband - who I don't normally trust to buy a t-shirt on his own. He'll be moving ahead of me.

We moved to Singapore sight unseen, so him having been to Seattle a few times now is a bonus. I'm pretty chilled, and looking on it as an adventure (for however long it lasts).

petitefrancaise

my daughter had an apartment last summer in south lake union - clean as a whistle and full of highpriced apartments for the tech crowd. Go over the bridge to Ballard though and it's a different story. I had a short 4 day visit to Seattle and was thoroughly shocked at the level of homelessness.
Last year (?) the Seattle city council tried to impose a 'head tax" on the big businesses in Seattle and Amazon threatened to forego a lease on yet another downtown building and take the employees elsewhere - it would have cost I think about $700 pa per employee. The whole point of the tax was to have money to build affordable housing.
I am a little concerned as I see Austin rent price hikes over the last 12-18 months - we have some major employers opening huge offices downtown and a little out of downtown and I don't see how anyone other than the well payed techies can pay the new rent prices. And not every new employee in the tech industry is overpaid...

scrubbedexpat099

We have added Homeless to the discussion, is it Homeless of Druggies that was the issue in Ballard?

Melly

I live about 25miles south of Seattle, and I can tell you the video is indeed a true depiction of what you see as soon as you get off the ferry. This time last year I took my visiting U.K family for a day out to see the "sights", and during the walk from the ferry dock to Pike Place and up to the Space Needle, the unsavory characters and tents are everywhere. A visiting German lady that was walking along with us was taking pictures of the tents as she thought they were people that were in holiday camps!! It's very real.

naomi

I've lived in Seattle for over 20 years, and although the piece isn't the "whole" story of homelessness in Seattle, (this was part 3 in a series), this was the episode that everyone is talking about. Although I don't think Seattle is dying (this is still an amazing city, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else), we clearly have a huge problem. I don't know what the solution is; but surely it has to start with empowering the police to criminalize illegal activity and drug use? This certainly isn't about "rich" people looking down their noses at the homeless encampments. I have friends who own small businesses, and are sick to death of having their windows smashed, and property taken. I live in Ballard, and we have a few tents that have popped up a few streets over. These are not safe places to live in, especially as they use propane for heat (and there have been 2 large fires over there recently). But this isn't just a Seattle issue, same story in Portland.

Pulaski

You're talking about Seattle, WA?