Remodeling, usually high end. It’s pretty bullet proof, but requires attention to detail, a bit of psychological hand-holding, some aesthetic input in a tactful way, and then integration with less communicative/political skilled subs that once they understand what you want done are good skilled guys with on the job taste that rivals any la-de-da limpwrist architect. If it is busy, I hire. If not it’s me and some help. I’ll even sub out. Some cash is better than no cash. On base walk is better than on the bench.
Anyway, American labor rates have been high since the Revolution. There was a reason that American sailors didn’t want to work British ships. We had high labor rates because we had a free, unfettered, fast return on investment economy in which high labor rates were more than compensated by quick high rates of return. Now of course it takes over a year of local permits to the well paid, well pensioned, easy job permit government extorters.
The trend on is high labor costs, slow return on investment.
So, money goes were it is loved and wanted the most.
We are like a nation of trust funders. Too proud.
This slo-mo meltdown is going to take another generation. Young people are not having kids, not going to be able to buy the houses that were built, if they can they will not be able to afford to maintain them. Local governments are already raising local taxes to keep their government employees on. Like a skin doctor seeing odd freckles I see semi-abandoned houses and commercial space everywhere. I know well a owner who has gone two years before the town (Hyannis, Ma) to tear down old buildings and put up about half as much new. The town employees are dragging their feet because they have nothing else to do and want to look busy.
This is the new America.
Anyway, I hope to be retired by the end of this year on my boat in the Bahamas until I get the big familial chest cramps.
Well, that's a good field. Can't be done overseas and exported or transmitted back to the US. But you've been offering remodeling work in the US market with the average per capital income of Americans. People doing the same sort of work in much poorer nations would be unable to earn anything like as much as someone in the US. Plenty of skilled workers would do remodeling jobs in other nations for much less than is paid in the US.
No matter what they do, every American is 'overcompensated' compared to most of the rest of the world. Of course, that 'overcompensation' was once called the 'high American standard of living'. Now some talk like certain categories of Americans are no longer deserving of that (but of course, some still are deserving).