Hi everybody

[Scott]

I'm an American. I live in Madrid. I teach English as a second language.

I haven't been in the US since 95. What's it like there now? I hear that there are tent cities because of the economic crisis.

[Lawn Tennis]

hi and welcome! im actually the newest member right now. how do you like Madrid? America seems no different to me, but im one of the fortunate ones this time.

[John]

Hey Scott, Welcome to TennisW.com! We're glad to have you join us and hope that you become an active member of our online tennis community.

I haven't been in the US since 95. What's it like there now? I hear that there are tent cities because of the economic crisis.

I'm in southern New Jersey. I haven't seen any tent cities anywhere in my area, but I can say that it seems times are tough for many people. I stumbled upon a few videos on You Tube about "tent cities" in various areas of the country, though. Just recently in California governor Schwarzenegger supposedly opened up some state fairgrounds area to be some sort of shelter for the homeless in CA. I don't know much about that, just read a few news snippets about it recently.

In addition to tent cities, there are also some places that have special parking lots for people who live in their cars. A video about that is on YouTube as well. It was some news story in the major media. Supposedly, the lady interviewed in the video used to own a very expensive home but ended up living out of her car because of the economy and not being able to pay her mortgage.

Anyhow, that's enough from me for now. If you want to chat more about the economic crisis or other related issues, feel free to start some threads in our general chat forum. I'll be sure to post some replies if you do.