EclectEcon

More on the USA

Here are some additional observations that I  didn't include in the original post  about our time in  Florida, Jan-May, 2025:

Discount Stores:

US has Walmart, Target, and Costco. We lived miles and miles from the Costco and never went there. There may have been a Target in Sarasota, but we never saw it. The closest Walmart was 20 minutes away. We went there a few times. It seemed much like the Canadian Walmarts. There was also a neighbourhood Walmart for groceries just two blocks from our house, but it didn't have much other than groceries.

However, at the even lower end, the US is seriously lacking. Canada has two phenomenal stores in this range: Dollarma and Gian Tiger, and there is nothing close to them in the US. There's the Dollar Tree (which we also have in Canada) and something called Dollar General, which seems ubiquitous. Neither had the low prices nor the selection of the low-end discount stores in Canada. If Trump weren't president (and maybe despite it?) I would expect these two chains to expand into the US and out-compete the US stores in this market.

More on Gas Pricing

Some gas stations have two different prices for gas: one for cash and one for credit cards. They sometimes advertise the lower cash price and you have to look, read, and think twice about those prices -- not easy when you're driving.

Temperatures and Weather

We went to Florida in part to avoid the winter in Ontario. Last year when we were gone, Ontarians had fabulous weather (and, yes, we felt a bit cheated that the weather was so good in Ontario [talk about interdependent utility functions!]). This year, Barrie had massive snow storms and then a killer ice storm with power outages that last between several days up to over a week in places. Meanwhile, temperatures in Sarasota were great. One night in early February we had walked to a comedy show, but we were cool enough that we Uber'd home. The Gulf water was a bit cool in February, too.

By the time we left in mid-May, the Gulf was wonderfully warm, and the mornings and evenings were pleasant, in terms of temperature. The day we left, we drove through areas where the temperature was 35-36C. Our first morning back in Barrie, the temperature was 0C when we woke up. Quite a contrast along the way.

Music

Sarasota has a splendid orchestra. We heard them when John Kimura Parker was a piano soloist with them, and it was really a pleasure. We also attended several different musicals, and loved them all: "Spring Awakening", a deep and thought-provoking old tale, presented by New College Students; and "Jesus Christ, Superstar", performed by the Asolo Rep Theatre -- first-rate!

Also, I played in the Suncoast Community Band and loved it. This band rehearses twice a week in the mornings and puts on concerts every other week! It's a lot of playing, and I really enjoyed the people I met there.

Politics

Alas, everyone there and in Canada seems polarized into warring camps. When an economist is involved with the arts (as I am), we have lots of friends of all political stripes. It can get awkward at times. I'm grateful for those friends who can see past the political tribalism that has evolved.

 

 

 

Four Months in the USA

Near the end of January, my partner (Nancy Knapp) and I left Canada to spend nearly four months in Sarasota Florida, where I've been teaching "Economics of Sports".

First Impressions:

When we crossed the border in Detroit, there was no line-up. The border guard asked us where we were going and if we had any alcohol or tobacco. He didn't ask why we were going to Sarasota, nor did he say anything about Rosie (Nancy's dog); we're not even sure he saw her. The entire process took maybe ten seconds. I gather it's not like that for people traveling to the US these days.

One of the first things we noticed was that gasoline was a lot cheaper in Michigan and Ohio than it was in Ontario. [note: with the Carbon tax gone in Canada now, the spread is lower but still sizeable].

Drivers in the US seem somewhat more aggressive than drivers in Canada. Certainly not most drivers, but our impression was that there was more aggressive driving in the US than in Canada.

In some places, the lanes seem narrower in the US, especially on two-lane highways.

Prices:

Nancy and I both remember shopping in the US in the past when prices were so much lower there than in Canada. It didn't feel that way this time (other than for gasoline, cheese, and maybe a few other things). When we arrived in Sarasota, we went shopping at a Walmart neighbourhood market, and were shocked by the high prices. Our impression was that the prices were the same as Canadian prices but in US dollars. That was probably incorrect, but it sure felt that way. And it seemed that way no matter where we shopped.

New College of Florida

I applied for a job at New College because (1) it's warm in Florida in the winter, and (2) New College has shifted toward emphasizing merit and qualifications rather than non-academic criteria. There is also a strong emphasis at New College on academic freedom, freedom of inquiry, etc.

New College made this switch quickly and, in the process, made some egregious PR errors. But my experiences at New College were that it is a reasonably good small liberal arts college, emphasizing quality. The students I've met seem bright and work about as hard (or as little) as students at most colleges and universities. And I had some really good interactions with some colleagues. It is definitely NOT a bastion of conservative thought.

The campus itself is huge and beautiful. We spent hours walking around the campus, relaxing in various places, including a beach area that seems rarely frequented by most students or townies.

Sarasota

We absolutely loved our time in Sarasota. The climate was great (albeit a tad warm the last week or two). People were friendly, and the opportunities to participate in and enjoy the arts were wonderful. The symphony is world-class, as is the AsoloRep theatre; and the student performances were excellent, especially for campus of only 800 students.

The '"beaches" near where we lived are on Sarasota Bay aren't particularly great; however, Rosie loved them and spent hours going after a ball or Frisbee we would throw into the water for her to swim after.
However the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico are spectacular. We loved our time spent at all of them, but we came to especially like Coquina Beach because it isn't terribly crowded and there are acres of free parking.

We lived in a mixed neighbourhood. There were cheap apartments on our block, and yet we were just two blocks from all the mansions along Sarasota Bay. We loved walking around in the different neighbourhoods, and we especially enjoyed the peacocks that have been neighbourhood residents for decades just a block or two from our house. We also greatly enjoyed watching all the gheckos everywhere, the palms, and the birds.

Most people seem not to have well-manicured grass 'lawns' around where we lived. Either the lawns are scruffy or they have been replaced with small white shells that at first glance look like white gravel; or they've been replaced with paving stones and areas of gardens.

High Tourist Areas

We spent some spare time at Siesta Key, St. Armand, Lido Key, and Anna Maria, as well as downtown Sarasota. We loved them all, but I think we liked living away from them, too. Buses are cheap in Sarasota: free for people over 80, and only seventy-five cents for people between 65 and 80. Plus there's a free trolley service that runs from downtown to Siesta Key.

Empty Plazas

Everywhere we went, there were empty plazas; often the only surviving business in a large plaza was a money lender. It wasn't clear whether the empty storefronts were because the overall economy was in decline (unlikely, given general conditions over the past few years) or had shifted to suburban plazas. But overall, it looked as if retail plaza real estate was struggling in Sarasota.

Anti-Canadian Attitudes?

None! We had a Canadian car flag on our car the entire time we were in Florida and, if anything, people would honk and give us a thumbs up. We can't count the number of people who apologized to us for Trump's anti-Canada tirades. And it was loads of fun wearing my Canadian-flag sportcoat to various events.
Nevertheless, we removed the car flag and packed up the sportcoat before traveling through the US on our way home. We've read too many stories about discrimination against Canadians, especially by law-enforcement and quasi-law-enforcement officials.
We know that we would be unlikely to run into problems in the future, but it's unlikely, too, that we will winter in the US again until we feel a bit more comfortable and assured that we will be okay.