Why improve your health when you can buy a TRUCK!?

[131071]

Absurd billboard spotted while walking in Charlotte, NC. 

"Build your strength!  No gym membership required." - http://i.imgur.com/ahKWTWR.jpg

For some context:

• This truck, according to a quick Google search, starts at $29,580.
• Mecklenburg County poverty rate is > 15% (2015), and Charlotte is the least upwardly mobile economy of the United States' 50 largest cities.
• The obesity rate in Mecklenburg County is 61%.
• In 2011, 78.2 percent of workers in Mecklenburg County drove to work alone, compared with 76.4 percent nationally.
• About 0.1 percent of all workers in the county biked to work in 2011, compared with 0.6 percent nationally.
• In 2011, the average one-way commute to work for people living in Mecklenburg County was 24.4 minutes.  About 4.5 percent of all workers had a commute of 60 minutes or more in 2011.

[jinga nation]

Pssshh... it's a ricer. Not a real 'Murican truck. Not Built Ford Tough. Not Guts Glory RAM. Not GMC We Are Professional Grade.

[gimp]

Ferd! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8P5vGcf-NU

[Just Joe]

Just push that Dodge around the neighborhood and you'll be hardcore fit in a matter of weeks or months...

[kms]

You're not getting it. It build strength through having to push it back home because you were unable to afford the fuel to get you back home after work.

[Just Joe]

OH....

[Metric Mouse]

I would imagine hoisting an obese body up into it every day would build some muscle.

[Just Joe]

Now I'm looking at the prices on trucks when I drive past the dealer on my way to work. Dizzying...

[Indexer]

The truck sucks, but why the dig on Charlotte?

Having lived in the south my whole life, Charlotte is one of the nicer cities. In many parts of the south many people appear to be unhealthy. I have never felt that way in Charlotte.

The numbers back that up. Charlotte has lower obesity rates, less smokers, higher household incomes, and less poverty than the state of NC and the national as a whole.

Mobility:  I'm not 100% sure how they measure this, but most of the people I know who moved to Charlotte moved for a higher paying job.

[Gerard]

The numbers back that up. Charlotte has lower obesity rates, less smokers, higher household incomes, and less poverty than the state of NC and the national as a whole.

I have no dog in this fight, but you're comparing Charlotte to the rural south (or rural everything), while OP is comparing it to other cities. So as a compromise: Charlotte is crap for a city, but not as crappy as rural NC.

[Indexer]

I have no dog in this fight, but you're comparing Charlotte to the rural south (or rural everything), while OP is comparing it to other cities. So as a compromise: Charlotte is crap for a city, but not as crappy as rural NC.

Where did you get rural south from? I specifically said it was one of the nicer "cities." Then I compared it to the state and to the nation. Most people in NC live in cities. Most people in the USA live in cities.

[Gerard]

I have no dog in this fight, but you're comparing Charlotte to the rural south (or rural everything), while OP is comparing it to other cities. So as a compromise: Charlotte is crap for a city, but not as crappy as rural NC.

Where did you get rural south from? I specifically said it was one of the nicer "cities." Then I compared it to the state and to the nation. Most people in NC live in cities. Most people in the USA live in cities.

In your sentence about numbers that I cited, I assumed "the state of NC and the nation as a whole" were more rural than Charlotte (because Charlotte's a city). I should have said the rural-er south/everything, which would have been clearer. My point in quoting that particular sentence of yours was to say that both you and the OP can have accurate numbers that mean different things because your point of comparison was different. (Although to split hairs, you're wrong when you say "the numbers back that up" if the "that" is your sentence about Charlotte being one of the nicer cities, because your numbers don't compare it to other cities!)

[Indexer]

Gerard: Of the 7 things the OP said, only one compared Charlotte to other cities, and that one thing isn't included in the quote. Everything else was either a broad statement or compared to the nation.

I did pull up how Charlotte ranks specifically against other cities. I'll stand by my statement that it is one of the nicer cities in the south. Besides higher incomes than most cities in the country it also has a lower cost of living. For a mustachian it is great. :D Especially when you look at the electricity bill. Rarely too cold(below 40F) or too hot(above 90F). It's 57 F(13.89 C) outside right now... in January at night.

FYI: Your compromise was that the city I live in is crap, but it isn't as crappy as the rest of NC...

[Gerard]

Gerard: Of the 7 things the OP said, only one compared Charlotte to other cities, and that one thing isn't included in the quote. Everything else was either a broad statement or compared to the nation.

I did pull up how Charlotte ranks specifically against other cities. I'll stand by my statement that it is one of the nicer cities in the south. Besides higher incomes than most cities in the country it also has a lower cost of living. For a mustachian it is great. :D Especially when you look at the electricity bill. Rarely too cold(below 40F) or too hot(above 90F). It's 57 F(13.89 C) outside right now... in January at night.

FYI: Your compromise was that the city I live in is crap, but it isn't as crappy as the rest of NC...

Fair enough, especially on the weather data which I envy right now.

So how obnoxious am I if my new compromise is that the city you live in is okay, except for limited upward mobility, but the rest of NC is worse? :-)

[Just Joe]

Tough to judge a place from afar and stats alone. Lots of decent places to live around the country that get zero attention from the folks in the metro areas.

[talltexan]

Charlotte resident here:

The biggest downside of NC is the quality of the school system. Compared to what's available in other parts of the country, it's bad, and those problems are a consequence of state-level policies. Many other aspects of Charlotte (traffic, weather, congeniality of the neighbors) are really nice.

The local economy depends upon a few large employers--Bank of America and Wells Fargo--that lead to a major real estate bust ten years ago. If your home is a substantial share of your net worth (should not be true for a mustachian), this is a risk of living here. Lately there is a LOT of building downtown, which makes me...nervous...that another real estate bust could be over the horizon.

[actionjackson]

I'm lucky in that I have a company truck. As an Australian, that came to the US, I would never have even dreamed of owning a truck in Australia - they're around $100k USD for a converted (AUS drive right hand drive vehicles) one. You know that you're in the pocket of the converter for service and parts for the life of ownership.

Trucks are standard issue for the sales reps in our company. It also comes with a fuel card so the only hit I get is on FBT. It is so convenient for our weekend trips - we mostly go camping. I'll miss it when I change jobs. Having said that, I'd never actually buy one out of my own money. I'm still working on a low cost 4wd solution for camping trips though, once the Truck is gone.

FYI, my wife drives a Toyota Corolla. I saw a Toyota Corolla billboard the other day and the tag line was "Define 'Rich'..." Made me smile.

[Metric Mouse]

I'm lucky in that I have a company truck. As an Australian, that came to the US, I would never have even dreamed of owning a truck in Australia - they're around $100k USD for a converted (AUS drive right hand drive vehicles) one. You know that you're in the pocket of the converter for service and parts for the life of ownership.

Trucks are standard issue for the sales reps in our company. It also comes with a fuel card so the only hit I get is on FBT. It is so convenient for our weekend trips - we mostly go camping. I'll miss it when I change jobs. Having said that, I'd never actually buy one out of my own money. I'm still working on a low cost 4wd solution for camping trips though, once the Truck is gone.

FYI, my wife drives a Toyota Corolla. I saw a Toyota Corolla billboard the other day and the tag line was "Define 'Rich'..." Made me smile.

Some jobs have some pretty good perks!