Filed under: Forecasts, Other issues, Employees, Oil, Housing

If one scrolls back into American history, one can detect a clear pattern of cycles or eras: periods of considerable economic expansion, followed by periods of less economic expansion. Periods of extensive public policy activity, followed by periods of less public policy activity. Periods of extensive suburban sprawl, followed by periods of less development.

As more and more Americans entertain the possibility that $4 per gallon gasoline, may, in the long-term, represent a price floor rather than a ceiling, one can detect the rumbles of a shift in housing preferences, so states economist Glen Langan.

“The 3-bedroom home with a back yard is still a goal. That’s part of the American dream. The home with a yard 30 or 40 miles from work, isn’t,” Langan said.

Case in point: the Denver metropolitan area. Suburban and exurban home prices in formerly preferred suburbs, are dropping more than in areas closer to the city center, The New York Times reported.

Denver will hardly be the only city affected, Langan stated. “Many cities that experienced a ‘long-commute’ boom or an exurbia boom during the low gas price area are vulnerable,” Langan stated. “It’s the 30-mile commute re-think.” Another example of a city prone to be hit hard is Atlanta.
Langan said long-commute locations still typically offer many advantages - - more space, a quieter life, good schools - - but now a major negative, commuting costs, will turn-off many potential home buyers.

“The mantra now is ‘good schools’ and ‘let’s see if we have the ability to find something that’s 15 miles closer,’ ” Langan said. “The high gas price era is forcing families and people to decrease commuting distances, so in that sense the era of the unlimited commute is over.”

Two other types of communities are apt to benefit during the new era: those with reliable mass transit systems and those with amenities closer together, he said.

“Towns and communities close to mass transits systems almost always had an advantage over those that weren’t close, but now that advantage will be magnified,” Langan said. “Also, more-compact, less-vast communities will have an advantage. People will gravitate toward communities where all their needs are closer together. A community where you have to drive seven miles to the mall, then drive five miles to the soccer or ball field, won’t be as desirable as communities where everything is closer together, other factors being equal.”

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Marketing and advertising

This post is part of our Huge Company, Small Town series, featuring massive companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

In a remote section of Louisiana, almost 140 miles west of New Orleans, lies the land of Tabasco. Avery Island is home to McIlhenny Co., the family owned and operated makers of Tabasco since 1868. The island is home to only 160 residents, mainly McIlhenny workers, as well as the McIlhenny family. Paul McIlhenny, the current president, is the sixth McIlhenny to continue the Tabasco legacy of its founder, Edmund McIlhenny.

McIlhenny Co. is a leader in hot sauce products, labeled in 22 languages and dialects, and is sold in more than 160 nations. According to Jeffrey Rothfeder, author of McIlhenny’s Gold: How a Louisiana Family Built the Tabasco Empire, the private company earns nearly $250 million in annual revenues. In addition to Tabasco, McIlhenny also co-brands and produces various forms of products, from salsas and Tabasco lollipops to cookbooks and clothing. They even make a 1-gallon glass jug of Tabasco for all of those who can’t get enough of the hot sauce. This spicy condiment can be found in millions of restaurants around the globe, in soldiers’ rations overseas, and is proudly used in my kitchen.

Two of the three main ingredients of Tabasco — Avery Island salt and Capsicum frutescens peppers — are found on the island. The pepper sauce is still made practically the same way it was 140 years ago, except the aging process has been extended to three years, not 60 days.

It might surprise you that Avery Island is a hot spot for visitors. The small island in the middle of the bayou is home to the Tabasco visitor center, which includes a walk through of the pepper sauce factory, but that’s only part of the experience. In the early 1890s, Ned McIlhenny, the son of Edmund McIlhenny, converted part of the island into what is now a 250-acre nature preserve called Jungle Gardens, which has been open to the public since 1935. Tourists can walk through the gardens and see numerous varieties of azaleas, Japanese camellias, and live oak groves. In addition to the flowers and plants, bears, alligators, and deer live in the hills and marshes. The area is also home to Bird City, a bird sanctuary where snowy white egrets and other water birds migrate to year after year.

If you’re a Tabasco lover, Avery Island needs to be on your places-to-see list.

Be sure to check out more Large Company, Small Town posts.

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An anonymous reader writes “Despite all the media reports that your Facebook profile is giving the wrong impression, a psychological study shows people really can understand your personality from your on the web profile. Turns out you’re not giving the wrong impression with your profile; you’re giving the right impression to the wrong people. You can actually learn more about someone’s Agreeableness from their on the web profile than from a first date.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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