Well, ladies and gents..as you know I only do this part time, and soon to do a little more now that I've undergone cut backs at work. San Diego is a tough, tough town to survive in. Doesn't matter what your field is, how degreed you are, etc., you're gonna get hit big time now and again. I'm hearing from the Fulltime Providers that business is slow and they are hurting for sure. Perhaps a lot of hobbyists have also been cut back, or laid off, but not much happening, I'm told. I'm concerned for my sister-providers who are experiencing utility shut offs, are single moms..
So, I was wondering..how is it in other cities? Has is slowed down? Of course, CA has been hit with budget cuts galore, but what about all of you out there in other places? PA, Boston, NY?
Is the Unemployment as bad? Has the hobby come to a screeching halt? (don't believe the news - the Unemployment situation in CA is atrocious!)
Comments?

Care about you,
Sedona

in the Boston Area things have slowed due to jobs cuts and
more traveling providers in the area

Sorry to hear about that.  I live in an industrial city west of Toronto, very blue collar, and there have certainly been tough times here as well.  At the moment, though, things seem to be going well.  A couple of plant closures here, (mostly due to an American parent company going bankrupt, unfortunately,) but I know the real estate market has been crazy for months.  They're building condos in Toronto like nobody's business, and after a minor slowdown at Christmas, my business is pretty busy as well.

Wish things were different for you!

-Anya

And the military has also been shipped out to the middle east. North Island, 32nd St, and Pendelton are ghost towns. One of the regular chatters in the LA room was shipped out 2 months ago....MfSD.

I have noticed that this particular week was slower for me..not dead...just not as many people. I figured this has something to do with Valentine's Day.

I also escort part time (nights and weekends.) I work full time as an accountant.

I enjoy the slower weeks so I can breath. (I have been in the biz since Dec 01.) It seems twice a year, there are two months that slow down..but then its right back into the fast lane.

I am not concerned really... just gives me time to catch up on everything I don't normally have time for.

Philadelphia's Tattooed Escort...

I have to agree that the tough times are affecting all of us.  In the midwest there are so many job cuts and layoffs so one has to be carefull with thier dollars.   Sometimes I think that the laws of Supply and Demand would apply to the hobby.  For the Hobbyist we sometimes don't have the same dollars available that we did two years ago when the economy was going well.   I always like to pay the lady what she advertises her donation is so sometimes it means passing up on a nice lady until I can see her as funds might be low.   Should the ladies reduce her rates to encourge more guys to visit.   I guess thats an individual thing.   I would play more often if the rates came down some.   But I would not grovel with her  as her rate is her rate.  

How do you ladies feel about reducing your fee's a little for a repeat client vs a first time client.

I think the toughest part is that the same economic trends that cause clients to typically have less money (lay offs) cause an increase in ladies in this business and thus more competition for the fewer dollars. Isn't that the mulitplier effect?

You wouldn't know times are tough in San Diego by the booming real estate market which climbed 23% last year. The big question is will no water, no electricity and no infrastructure change that this summer.

FWIW, people I know in the employment field tell me things have picked up dramatically in January so maybe there's hope.

I used to live there. High high cost of living and a low relative wage scale. Hard to develop any discretionary income. People spend too much money on housing. I myself had a low 6 figure income in Sandy Eggo, left for richer pastures and now have tripled income and reduced living costs. Lots of extra money now but always a catch, no really special ladies to spend it on;. I love SD hope to return but you gotta have a pile of dough to really be comfortable, meaning house on beach, nice dinners weekly in Gaslamp or Del Mar, boat in Shelter Isle, tickets to theater.. . I am working on that now. Good Luck.

To add to Marco's comments about the military leaving SD, I spoke to my tax accountant yesterday and she said that a number of her armed forces clients were rushing to get their taxes done before being shipped out. Now that's a tough situation to be in.

It's almost hard to remember now the great bull market of '90's, but clearly that was propelling the escort price inflation that occurred with the rise of the internet and dot-coms [Remember the great Zorro adventures?]. With that bubble now having burst, it's not surprising that the loss of hobbyists' discretionary income is hurting escorts.

As mentioned above, real estate is virtually the last positive support for the economy. However, by itself, increasing real estate prices cannot indefinitely sustain a rising economy; that would be the equivalent of a perpetual motion machine. For San Diego, average home prices have risen so high (approx. $325K), that only a small percentage of residents can afford to buy (approx. 25%). Should the economy deteriorate further, or if interest rates start to rise, these high home prices may indeed be seen as an unsustainable bubble.

So if you factor in increasing energy costs due to wartime interruptions and the oil strike in Venezuela, no businesses willing to invest, and states (particularly California) laying off employees due to budget deficits, I'm not sure what the basis of an economic upturn will be.

If things are getting tough, use the free market concept that this country is based on.

If you want something, you shop for the product, price and quality of the service rendered.  Obviously the product here would not change, nor should the quality, but the price should to attract more clients, even though it may be temporary.  I am sure if the gas station down the street was charging xxx, you would not spend xxx + x for the same service or product.

There has been a number of providers that have thought they were too important and had too big of an ego and priced themselves out of the market, especially in tough times.

Just my 2 cents.

Free market, free market.

The two ladies I see frequently admit, when they're candid, things are slower.  I notice ladies are offering more of their time at no extra charge.  A good tactic to retain clients, if you ask me.  Another sign that the business has slowed from the provider end, IMHO: Upswing in visiting provider posts, at least on the New York board.  Could it be that things are slow for smaller market providers, and they're figuring a trip to a big market like New York will reap them more biz?  I'm also noticing posts from $500+ ladies who never, ever posted pure availability posts before.

As with all businesses, the people with the best product will feel it least. I'm wondering how much the $600+++ ladies are taking it on the chin.

Sunshine dollars is the cruel term used by employers to under-pay the folks in San Diego.  As in, people choose to live here despite the cost of living due to all the sunshine we get.  So when we pay people, we give them PART of their pay in dollars, and part of their pay in Sunshine.  Gee Thanks!

And, of course there is the double whammy of the fact that if we can't afford a $250-300/hour session, there's always TJ a half hour away.

What is the web site address for the NY board????

Interesting reading.  My ATF in Washington DC seems to be experiencing a slowdown.  I attributed it to Congress being out of session for a while.  

On the other hand, a Dallas friend has strangely got more business than she can handle.  It completely amazes me.  She's NOT known for FS, she's cute, personable beyond belief, reasonable at $.8, and has an incredible amount of business.  Always sets the mood (candles, music, warmer for the bed when weather is cold) Very few reviews, tons of repeat business.  

In Orlando, a cute contact with good pics and awful service gets no calls.  The market has completely killed her and she's street walking.  

I'm seeing a trend: this business is damn tough.  Ladies who understand men and convince the client that it's not just about $$ (even though it's likely primarily about $$), are willing to price themselves to market, and are in a city with a reasonable economy, are doing ok.  

But the market is increasingly efficient, and quickly gravitates to the 8-10 providers.  From a lurkers standpoint, it's interesting to see a new face on the scene, hot reviews, and watch the # of reviews / month multiply quickly.

I'm out on Long Island, and the talk out here is that things are slow.  Joe is right about the quantity of ads and visitors on the NY Board, and my feeling is that for the most part we should be trying to support the locals providers to whatever extent we can.  Not that visitors are unwelcome, but times are tougher than they were.  On eprovider out here has actually asked for an introduction to a madam I'm friendly with in the big city!  And she was always tough to book.

I hear tell that Las Vegas is not doing at all well.  I'm going out there next week, and decided to make plans with 3 providers while I am there.  While one of them returned my call and set someething up rather quickly, the other 2 have taken their time about it.  I wonder if business is better in Sin City than we're led to believe.

Definitely Repeat Clients get the best - bumped up the schedule; best specials offered, etc.
I think my rates are fair and comparable. My availability was only nights and weekends. Now that I have more availability due to cut backs, I will offer specials.

Warmest hugs,
Sedona

While my job is still there, I have increased my emergency fund so I have curtailed some of my hobby activities a bit, not so much the frequency, but certainly the duration of my play time.  It has been a long time since I had a dinner date and most are of the one hour variety.

The price range search has also been helpful, and I can't really say that any of the women I have recently seen were not as attractive or provided less in services or passion.