The pandemic is clearly over in my neighborhood. Houses are selling – but not at the same pace or above list prices they were during the pandemic induced buying frenzy. Judging from the traffic, people have returned to working from the office. I see dozens of new cars with temporary license plates in driveways that have replaced cars that looked to be only 3-5 years old. Homeowners are getting new kitchens, new bathrooms and swimming pools installed.
Inflation and interest rates are up. Prices across the board for everything are higher than pre-pandemic. Hiring has slowed down. Not every fast food joint or retail store has “we’re hiring” signs on the doors.
A few changes seem to be permanent. Some stores have eliminated 24/7 hours. Other stores have changed their hours to open later and close earlier. The dreaded “paper sign” on the door has become a permanent fixture at many places – announcing an unexpected closure due to staffing or whatever they decide is an acceptable reason for not being open.
Otherwise, the new normal looks a lot like the old normal doesn’t it?
I guess all the proclamations that “this changes everything” were premature.