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I live in Merced, CA. It's a small city in the Central Valley of California -- think Stockton with less people. The economy cratered in '08 and has sorta-kinda recovered, with unemployment currently 4.5 points higher than the state as a whole: It's an interesting place culturally and historically. There's a large Chicano population and many Hmong people settled here after the Vietnam War. But I do not think there's a a promising future here for most residents. When the University of California opened its newest campus here, the housing market exploded with speculation and now supply way exceeds demand. The NYT did a story a while back about college students in Merced renting McMansions for a pittance. The outskirts of the city all look like this:  Maybe they'll restart construction and fill in these lots, but it's gonna be a while. In the meantime the university campus will expand a little more, student-oriented business will increase somewhat, and the political old guard will fight it all, tooth and nail. Maybe if we're really really lucky, the city will change its slogan to something more interesting than "Gateway to Yosemite", given that most Yosemite visitors don't actually pass through here!
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Sep 4, 2016 17:05
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 20:30 |
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