My brother in law is a private contractor in the home improvement business. He's extrememly talented and does high end quality work.

But he's getting run out of business. Why? Too many migrant workers in the area are willing to work for cheap, so he can't get any work unless he seriously underbids and makes little to no profit. On top of that, too many homeowners simply don't want quality (translate more expensive) work done on their homes because in the DC market, they don't plan to stay in their present homes for more than a few years. They'd rather have cheap work done of questionable quality since they won't be around when everthing falls apart.

So he and his wife are moving to Arizona where he'll build their house and then become a high school teacher. Not a bad profession, though.

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Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.