I enjoy maps combined with data, and I guess my social media has picked up on that because the algorithms seem to be feeding more of them to me lately. Here's a few recent ones.
Passport ownership by state
Best selling music artists for each state
This is one that I almost feel like somebody had to have made up! Some of the selections are so stereotypical (like Prince for Minnesota), while others are downright ridiculous (Andy Williams?!?).
Home Price to Income Ratios
What do you think, is this accurate? I would say my personal data varies from the chart - my home is worth more than 3.9 times my income. I'm a bit of an anomaly though since my previous home was 100% paid off, so I was able to apply all of the proceeds and thereby afford a more expensive home than my income might warrant.
16
27 comments
The farm has increased significantly in value since we bought it. Way outpaced our income growth. All properties did during Covid. I bought the lake house in 2018 for 75k and sold it in 2023 for 180k.
That was a tidy profit! (and deserved - as I recall you put quite a bit of effort into fixing up the place didn't you?).
Also love maps and do use them in some blog posts
nice way to explain
Maps can indeed be very interesting, informing and deceiving. The observation that the map showing the percent of residents with passports can be used as a bat to say how unworldly or insular the residents are or more likely is about them knowing the cannot afford to travel much and certainly outside of the country. Of course the reasons are not mutually exclusive either.
I have run across quite a number of U-tubers that feature maps on their shows or whatever they are called. Some good some terrible and all needing one to use some skeptical judgement when a factoid is shown and a meaning is presented.
Sending you big festive holiday hugs. Hope you are having fun.
I’m off to have “high tea” with some friends who I haven’t seen for a while. Nice that the holiday season spurs this kind of get together.
@smartasswoman Hope you had a lot of fun at the "high tea" and you and friends have a lot of good stuff to catch up on. You are correct that this time of year that people are spurred to contact not recently seen friends.
Sending you big festive hugs and may you be receiving several in person from loving friends.
Oh girl - I knew I liked you! A map, any kind of a map, is sure to get my attention. What better way to understand something, just about ANYthing, than to see it on a map. (One more sign of my visually oriented brain?)
Recently the local paper has started to show maps with no keys. WHAT THE HELL? OK, yes, you can infer the darker colors mean more of whatever the subject is, but it just seems like sloppy journalism to me.
I agree, a map/chart with no key? Outrageous!!
The home prices in Florida one seems pretty close to correct.
I don’t have a passport, probably won’t ever get one. Mainly because I can never afford to go anywhere out of country. I wouldn’t say we’re poor, but definitely lower end of middle class. And as I eluded to in first paragraph, housing is expensive. Hell, insurance is expensive on vehicles and houses, it’s hell down here to get insurance!
I've listened to some podcasts talking about how dire the insurance crisis is because of weather events. 😬 Surprisingly, even in Minnesota. Apparently here it's hail storms that are causing problems for the insurance companies.
Yeah, that music one seems a little wonky to me as well.... I mean, George Thorogood IS from Delaware but honestly, nobody is paying for his music here!
Wiz Khalifa for North Dakota is what convinces me that it's a joke chart.
@CarriedBack ok that makes a lot more sense then. His parents were probably at the Air Force base 15 miles north of Minot. The kids from that base were the only source of any diversity in the Minot school system.
I think cost of living would be a better indicator than house to income. Or at least interesting.
Make your own chart and try to get it to go viral? 🤷🏻♀️
I'm always amazed at how few Americans hold US passports. Nearly 85 per cent of people living in England and Wales hold a UK passport. I shouldn't be shocked because travelling around America is the equivalent to travelling around Europe.
It's true, you can see a wide variety of terrains and cultures without ever leaving the U.S.
I couldn’t find similar mapping for Canada. However here’s a a couple of interesting overviews:
Coffee Consumption
Highest: Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a significant number of residents drinking five or more cups per day.
Popular Brand: Tim Hortons is beloved nationwide
Regional Cuisine Specialties
Quebec: Famous for poutine, maple syrup, and tourtière.
Ontario: Known for butter tarts, peameal bacon, and fresh water fish.
British Columbia: Celebrated for seafood, particularly salmon, and diverse Asian-inspired dishes.
Alberta: Renowned for Alberta beef and hearty stews.
Interesting. Can you explain what "peameal bacon" is? 🤔
@smartasswoman Peameal bacon is a type of back bacon made from lean, boneless pork loin, which is then wet-cured and rolled in cornmeal. This gives it a unique, peameal-like texture on the outside.
Unlike the streaky bacon strips Americans are used to, peameal bacon is typically thicker, rounder, and more tender. It's often pan-fried and served as part of a breakfast or in a sandwich.
If you're looking for a juicy, less fatty alternative to traditional bacon, give peameal bacon a try! 🍁🥓
@sexyldy1000 sounds like what we call "Canadian bacon" with the addition of a cornmeal coating.
@smartasswoman Probably 🤷🏼♀️. Never knew exactly what ‘Canadian bacon’ was.
I just renewed my passport and the new one got delivered a lot sooner than I thought it would be.
You're all set for world travels! Here's another map that showed up in my feed that kinda blew my mind:
I felt incredibly ignorant - had no idea Japan was so large.
@smartasswoman
Well, Japan fits into California, so it's not as big as it looks on that map 😂
@JN63JPN California is quite big though!
Thanks for the reminder. My passport expired during Covid, and I should get it renewed.
Interesting maps, and who doesn't like colours?
My condo has more than tripled in value since I bought it: proximity to rivers, lakes and parks has influenced THAT number. I don't think with my current income, I'd be able to afford it.
When you mentioned California, I paused. I do get tired of the cold and snow here.😶
I don't know - everyone is so good looking in California! I think I would get an inferiority complex if I lived there.
@smartasswoman
Everyone looks good with a tan. You'd be fine. 👍🤗
I don't think house price to income makes sense for anyone above the age of 40 or so. Many of bought our houses long before prices soared and with much lower interest rates. We built this house in 2002 for like 2.7x our income and I think started with 4ish percent loan that was late refinanced to 3 something.
Right, housing prices in most places have probably increased more over time than people's income.
My circumstances don't follow that because I bought this house when I was still working, and then a few years later my income dropped when I retired. No matter, I can still afford the payments although property taxes are starting to be a major ouch. I think as of next year the property tax portion of my monthly payment will be more than the principal and interest.
@smartasswoman we have relatively low property taxes but for sure that is another thing that makes some folks feel the pinch even more.
I love data. Tables, graphs, maps, colors…
Passports and house prices are what I would expect, not sure that I had any feeling for music.
Regardless of house prices and weather I’m not leaving MN
Nice post
Thanks
I'm probably not leaving either. Unless I could convince several of my friends to relocate to the same location. I can't see starting over trying to make friends at this age.
And I think our winters are going to continue getting less harsh (setting aside a few days ago when we had that terrible wind chill).
@smartasswoman
Winters are getting easier and we usually got for a few weeks somewhere south (Caribbean).
However summer are getting hotter and it’s harder for me to cope with humidity.
Regardless of all that I love MN.
Isn't funny on the music map that no 2 artists are the repeated in the US? I agree with you that could it be that the data is made up? Too many artists are top in their home states.! I'm from Michigan and Madonna also is from here.
One of my readers figured out the chart. For a particular state the artist shown is the best selling musical artist born in that state (which would explain why no repeats, since one can’t be born in more than one spot).
No you can't make any assumptions with pass port data. The United States is a huge country with just about any topography available. There is nothing wrong with loving your culture and country. I've been to most of western europe and while I enjoyed it I would not make any judgements on people who don't want to travel abroad.
wil do