Not so strange in San Antonio

After all those stupid studies that rank the Alamo City high on such lists as sweatiest, stingiest, drunkest, most hate-filled, most allergic, and whatever, it's nice to finally be on a list that might make you feel good about living in San Antonio. That's because we are the second most recession-proof city in the nation.

From Joshua Zumbrun at Forbes, via Yahoo Finance:

Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year.

But some cities are doing just fine.

Take Oklahoma City, Okla. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis.

San Antonio is right behind. It also features solid employment figures and affordable home prices that continue to rise. Its industries are growing; it can't hurt that the new AT&T was formed when San Antonio-based SBC Communications swallowed the old AT&T Corp. and BellSouth.

The others holding steady or improving include Austin, Texas; Houston; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.

Actually, it looks like just about anywhere in Texas is a good place to weather whatever recession comes our way. Just sit back, have a Lone Star and some brisket, and keep working.