America's Most Overpriced Cities, 2012

The Lone Star state has gotten a lot of good press lately for coming through the economic downturn relatively unscathed. Thanks to that strong state economy, housing in Texas’ biggest cities, including Houston, San Antonio and Austin, never suffered from the plunge in property values that struck the rest of the United States in the last few years.

So it wouldn’t surprise you to see them top a list of the nation’s most overpriced cities, places where the cost of living–especially housing prices–are the highest compared with median income. 

Yet none of them make our list. They didn’t even come close. But we were surprised when we ran the numbers and found another Texas town within the top five: McAllen. Known for its hardscrabble economy and high unemployment, the City of Palms suffers from an 11.7% jobless rate–and the lucky folks who do find work don’t tend get a fat paycheck. The U.S. Census Bureau crowned McAllen America’s urban poverty capital for 2010 with a 33.4% rate.

So while the cost of groceries, clothing and gas—and even housing, with a median price of 107,000–are low compared with a lot of other cities in America, this border city of 741,000 is still comparatively one of the toughest places to make ends meet anywhere. “It’s still hard to buy a house even if it’s cheap because there are low incomes,” says David Crowe, chief economist of economics and housing policy for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). 

Behind the Numbers

To find the most overpriced cities, we started with America’s 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Metropolitan Divisions (MSADs), all with populations of more than 600,000 residents or more. We then ranked these places based on four metrics, placing an equal weight on each metric.

First we looked at housing affordability, using the Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) compiled by the NAHB and Wells Fargo. The quarterly index weighs median prices for homes sold against median income levels to determine the percentage of local residents who could afford to buy a home.

Next we assessed the cost-of-living index created by Sperling’s Best Places to gauge the cost of food, utilities, gas and a variety of other everyday expenses in each area. Cities that clock a cost-of-living rank above 100 represent places where these goods cost more than the national average. Since some expensive cities are balanced out with high incomes, we factored in the median salaries for residents with a BA degree or higher to see just how far a paycheck actually stretches in each of these cities, using data from Payscale.com. Last, we included local unemployment rates collected from Moody’s Economy.com and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are the top 10 most overpriced cities in America:

8 (tie). San Jose, Calif.
MSA: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Housing Affordability: 51.5%
Unemployment rate: 9.8%
Median Salary (for college grads): $92,100
Cost-of-Living: 175

San Jose, Calif. Photo: Bernd Geh/Getty Images

8 (tie). Bradenton, Fla.
MSA: North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
Housing Affordability: 72.6%
Unemployment rate: 10.4%
Median Salary (for college grads): $52,000
Cost-of-Living: 100

Bradenton, Fla. Photo: Forbes.com

7 (tie). Honolulu, Hawaii
Housing Affordability: 40%
Unemployment rate: 5.7%
Median Salary (for college grads): $53,900
Cost-of-Living: 180

Honolulu, Hawaii Photo: Peter Photo/iStockphoto

7 (tie). El Paso, Texas
Housing Affordability: 55.5%
Unemployment rate: 10.2%
Median Salary (for college grads): $47,700
Cost-of-Living: 82

El Paso, Texas Photo: Denis Jr. Tangney/istockphoto

6. West Palm Beach, Fla.
MSAD: West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL
Housing Affordability: 74%
Unemployment rate: 10.4%
Median Salary (for college grads): $54,700
Cost-of-Living: 112

West Palm Beach, Fla. Photo: Thinkstock

5. Providence, R.I.
MSA: Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA
Housing Affordability: 75.9%
Unemployment rate: 10.2%
Median Salary (for college grads): $55,000
Cost-of-Living: 129

Providence, R.I. Photo: Thinkstock

4. McAllen, Texas
MSA: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
Housing Affordability: 53.4%
Unemployment rate: 11.7%
Median Salary (for college grads): $44,900
Cost-of-Living: 75

McAllen, Texas Photo: City Data Via Wikipedia

3. Miami, Fla.
MSAD: Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL
Housing Affordability: 61.3%
Unemployment rate: 10.2%
Median Salary (for college grads): $55,700
Cost-of-Living: 112

Miami, Fla. Photo: Thinkstock

2. Fresno, Calif.
Housing Affordability: 77.4%
Unemployment rate: 15.8%
Median Salary (for college grads): $50,600
Cost-of-Living: 109

Fresno, Calif. Photo: ZUMA Press/Newscom

1. Los Angeles, Calif.
MSAD: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA
Housing Affordability: 45.1%
Unemployment rate: 11.9%
Median Salary (for college grads): $62,900
Cost-of-Living: 144

Los Angeles, Calif. Photo: iStock

News by Yahoo


Read current news at http://bbc-cnn-worldnews.blogspot.com

Venezuelan pin-up Aída Yéspica shows she is still at her beauty queen best as she slips her dangerous curves into a tiny bikini

Aída Yéspica

She made quite the impression when she competed in Miss Venezuela just under a decade ago.

But Aída Yéspica showed that she's still got the body of a beauty queen as she hit the beach in Miami.

The 29-year-old former Miss Amazonas flaunted her dangerous curves in a tiny orange bikini.

Tanned and toned she looked at her prize winning best with not an inch to pinch on the South American model.

The brunette beauty enjoyed some time with her three-year-old son Aron Ferrari.

The toddlers father is her former boyfriend, footballer Matteo Ferrari.


Although she never won the Miss Venezuela 2002 contest, her figure left a lasting impression with the press.

Aida is a big star in Italy where she has graced the covers of Maxim and GQ.

In addition to her relationship with Matteo, she has been romantically linked to footballer Adrian Mutu.

Ex Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reportedly once told her: 'With you I'd go anywhere.

News by Dailymail


Read current news at http://bbc-cnn-worldnews.blogspot.com

This Horrifying Spider Is The Only One That Carries Her Babies Like a Human Mother Would

Spider

If there's an image that summarizes my idea of complete horror, this is it: a wolf spider carrying dozens of babies on her back. It's the only spider in the world that does this.

It's also the only spider that carriers her eggs in a round silken globe attached to her abdomen, like a human would carry a growing baby. After a gestation of 9 to 27 days—it varies depending on the temperature—the eggs hatch and the infant spiders move onto the mother's back until they are old enough to hunt on their own.

These spiders are all around the world, billions of individuals living in gardens everywhere. They are voracious predators, roaming the soil under the ground looking for other insects to eat. Sometimes, they wander into houses.

When I was living in Miami I had an encounter with one of these wolf spiders, one that was burned into my retina. I remember the hairy bastard walking down the rug of my bedroom, my girlfriend screaming, me using a shoe to kill it and then what I remember being two hundred thousand little spiders running everywhere. Then I screamed more than my girlfriend because I hate spiders like that.

News by Gizmodo

Read current news at http://bbc-cnn-worldnews.blogspot.com

Oneal Ron Morris Alleged to get Buttocks Surgery By Fake Doctor

Oneal Ron Morris

MIAMI -- Several possible victims have come forward alleging a woman posing as a Florida doctor and promising buttocks enhancement pumped their behinds with a toxic concoction of cement, superglue and flat-tire sealant, state health officials said Tuesday.

Oneal Ron Morris – who police say was born a man and identifies as a woman – was arrested Friday after nearly a year of being sought and charged with practicing medicine without a license with serious bodily injury. Authorities say a victim who was looking to get a job at a nightclub and wanted a curvier figure paid Morris $700 for the injections in 2010. Morris allegedly used some type of tubing and inserted the toxic chemicals into her backside during a painful procedure.

The victim, who is not being identified due to medical privacy laws, suffered permanent scarring around the injection sites. Shortly after the surgery, she went to the hospital, but left because she was too embarrassed to tell doctors about the procedure. The victim required multiple surgeries and had a 24-hour home health aide for an extended period of time, according to a statement from the Department of Health.

State health officials said Tuesday that several possible victims have since come forward alleging Morris performed similar procedures resulting in life-threatening injuries.

The 30-year-old Morris has since been released from jail on a bond. A phone listing for Morris could not be found, and it's unclear if Morris has an attorney. Police say Morris performed the same surgery on herself.

Authorities said Morris may be part of an underground plastic surgery ring in South Florida. Health officials said additional arrests are possible, but did not elaborate because it's an ongoing investigation.

Investigators spent nearly a year tracking Morris throughout South Florida and said she moved frequently.

State health officials are encouraging other potential victims to contact them.

News by AOL

Read current news at http://bbc-cnn-worldnews.blogspot.com