Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Richard Makepeace | West Chester, Ohio

This is a Marketplace.org Reader

I live in a beautiful wooded area and deer in my wooded back yard is not an uncommon sight. But out my front window, well that was worth a picture. West Chester, Ohio seems to be doing just fine on the surface. (West Chester is home of John Boehner) My neighborhood, typical two story homes that sell north of $200K, appears untouched by the economy. But all is not as it appears. To my left are two retired families but one was forced into early retirement by the economy and now have a daughter, in her thirties, living back home because she lost her job. On my right is a home for sale where the family just walked away a few months ago. Their deserted swimming pool will be a fine breeding ground for mosquitoes this spring. Everything looks great up and down my street but we haven’t totally excaped the realities of the recession.