Finding a job with a decent salary is a goal for many people, but maybe even more important is finding a place to live where your entire paycheck won’t be eaten up by housing costs.
An analysis from jobs site Glassdoor looked at the 50 biggest metro areas to see where your paycheck will go the furthest. To do so, the team compared local median salaries to local median home prices to come up with a cost of living ratio for each city. The higher the ratio, the better off you’d be financially.
If you want to get the most bang for your buck, you should consider looking for jobs in the Detroit area, according to Glassdoor, and you won’t have any luck on the West Coast. Here are the other 24 metro areas where your paycheck goes the furthest:
Glassdoor’s analysis doesn’t account for other living costs, such as transportation ― definitely a big one in Detroit, which has the highest rates for car insurance in the country.
“Though there are certainly other financial factors to consider when taking into account total cost of living, this data reinforces that pay typically goes further in mid-sized cities versus big metropolitan areas where there is often tighter competition for housing,” Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist, said in a statement.
Read More:
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Here’s How Much Income You Need To Afford Rent In Every State
Glassdoor determined the typical salary from reports users shared on the website from April 2015 to April 2016 ― at least 1,000 for each metro area. The median home prices come from the Zillow Home Value Index.
Nationwide, the biggest expenditure for families is housing, the Glassdoor report notes. About a third of Americans spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Spending 30 percent or less of your income is the amount typically deemed affordable, meaning a third of the country is struggling to afford housing.
Now you know a few places where it might be less of a struggle.
From my lens as the CEO of one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans, inclusive capitalism involves the meaningful cascade of value that is created through long-term, efficient and diversified investing. My role gives me a unique vantage point, both in terms of a window on global capital markets, as well as the perspective of our hard-working members. They range from police and fire fighters, to librarians and municipal sector workers.
At OMERS, our accountability is to provide a secure, stable and predictable source of income to our members at retirement. We treat every dollar we invest on their behalf as if it were our own. We call this approach 'value for pension dollars' - making carefully researched and thoughtful decisions, and keeping the obligation we have to our members top of mind throughout the process.
Our strategy involves building a diversified, low-cost portfolio invested around the world in leading companies, infrastructure and real estate. These are attractive assets that would be very difficult for our average member to invest in individually
However, it goes both ways. Our members, with the financial security of a stable source of income in retirement, provide our economy with additional stability. Research we've done has shown that our members end up contributing to their local economy and the broader economy through taxes and spending throughout their retirement.
At OMERS, we fundamentally believe in the importance of retirement security, and that it contributes to economic inclusiveness. I believe this is a true example of inclusive capitalism, and one that can be a source of ideas for expanding the benefits that our economic system can offer to a much broader group of people.
This article is part of HuffPost’s “Reclaim” campaign, an ongoing project spotlighting the world’s waste crisis and how we can begin to solve it.
“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful,” Mae West, the Hollywood actress and style icon, once famously quipped.
At a casual glance, you might think her quote would accurately describe the fashion industry. The availability of an endless supply of cheap clothing has unleashed a whirlwind of color and beauty, giving people the chance to express themselves ― even on a tight budget ― and stamp their identity on the world.
But the dark truth about the fashion business is that too much of a good thing is creating environmental destruction and human misery on an unprecedented scale.
Let’s be clear: There is nothing beautiful in seeing a river polluted by toxic dyes or a garment worker surviving on a pittance while toiling in dangerous sweatshop conditions.
The merry-go-round of new apparel ranges the industry spews out at a dizzying rate is fueling an addiction to clothes and a perceived need to constantly be at the cutting edge of fashion. As a result, people around the world collectively consume more than 80 billion items of clothing each year, and those items are increasingly seen as disposable.
We need to slow things down and become more aware of the negative impacts of our actions. That does not mean taking the fun out of buying clothes. It just means becoming less impulsive in our shopping habits and thinking twice before paying $4.99 for another cheap top to add to our already cluttered closets.
In order to help in this process, The Huffington Post is today launching the second stage of our “Reclaim” campaign, which aims to examine and fight the world’s waste crisis. For the past two months we have focused on food waste, creating more than 180 articles and more than 20 videos. We will now be putting our attention on fashion.
The facts speak for themselves. Fashion is considered to be one of the most polluting industries in the world, and the 1,135 people who died in the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh are a constant reminder of the terrible conditions suffered by millions of garment workers around the globe.
Andrew Biraj / ReutersPeople rescue garment workers trapped under rubble at the Rana Plaza building after it collapsed April 24, 2013.
Americans alone produced 15.1 million tons of textile waste in 2013, and around 85 percent of that ended up in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
On average each American throws away roughly 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles per year, equivalent in weight to more than 200 men’s T-shirts.
The scale of waste is no great surprise when you consider that retailers tend these days to focus more on price than quality, which means many garments may survive only a few washes. More than this, the constant change of styles leads to heavy markdowns as retailers need to get rid of stock to create space for the newest styles.
Those clothes that don’t get thrown away often end up in cheap markets in the developing world. This ever-growing mountain of garments prompted five East African countries earlier this year to announce they are considering banning the import of secondhand clothes because their own domestic garment industries have no hope of competing against them.
While the scale of the industry’s problems are immense, the good news is that there are many solutions out there and many more in development.
We are seeing an immense amount of innovation, ranging from the development of less toxic materials, to new technologies that can transform old clothes into new garments, in a similar way to paper recycling.
Environmental organization Greenpeace is campaigning for the apparel industry to eradicate toxic chemicals, and there is increasing pressure for garment workers to be given a living wage to support themselves and their families.
There is also an emerging movement, supported by organizations such as Fashion Revolution, to find alternatives to buying new clothes. These range from going to thrift stores, swapping clothes with your friends or work colleagues, and renting clothes for a special occasion.
Though retail giants seem unable to break out of the fast fashion system they have created, a number of them are taking action to make their products more sustainable. Nearly three-quarters of Nike’s footwear now contain materials made from waste products from its own manufacturing process; H&M is investing in new recycling technology and offering in-store collection points, where customers can deposit old clothes.
But much more needs to be done. First and foremost, the big fashion companies need to be more transparent about the environmental and social impacts of the products they sell. It’s no wonder customers keep shopping to the max if they don’t feel any connection between what they buy and the environmental and social impacts, which disproportionately play out in developing countries, where regulations tend to be lax and the public’s gaze doesn’t often turn.
Even if a piece of clothing is made from organic cotton, the customer has no idea of whether the factory that produced it treats its workers fairly or whether the dyes used are polluting local rivers.
But while the fashion industry has a clear responsibility to take action, just as important is the need for every one of us to become more responsible about the amount of clothing we buy. That means taking a moment to breathe every time we get tempted by the latest fashion ― or enticed by a new markdown ― and asking ourselves a few very simple questions: Do I really need this, will it make me happy and will it make the world more or less beautiful?
Power gets a bad rap, but only because people pursue it for the wrong reasons. When power is pursued for the right reasons, it can be a tremendous force for good.
Niccolo Machiavelli spread the belief that people can only become powerful by exploiting the worst aspects of human nature. One of this teachings was, "A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests." Machiavelli was essentially saying that you're an idiot if you keep your promises or stick to your values when you'd benefit more by breaking them.
Not only did we hear it from Machiavelli, but also from plenty of voices in our own time, such as Robert Greene, who said, "The key to power is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations." It's no wonder so many people think that the only way to get power is to be a jerk.
Fortunately, Machiavelli and Greene had something in common: They were both wrong. Recent research from UC Berkeley shows that when it comes to power, nice guys finish first. The researchers found that the most powerful people (according to ratings from their peers) were those who were the most considerate and outgoing. They also found that those who were the most Machiavellian -- using things like gossip and manipulation to gain power -- were quickly identified and isolated and ended up with no power at all.
Studies like these are rehabilitating power's bad rap. Power isn't inherently evil, and it isn't inherently bad to seek power. Without power, you can't accomplish anything, good or evil. Even those who want nothing more than to make the world a better place, can't do so without exerting the influence of personal power. It's the abuse of power and the underhanded things people do to achieve it that cause problems.
People who earn and use power wisely have a profound impact on everyone they encounter. Yet, they achieve this power only because they exert so much influence inside, on themselves. We see only their outside; we see them innovate, speak their mind, and propel themselves forward toward bigger and better things. Yet, we're missing the best part. The confidence and wherewithal that make their influence possible are earned.
And while what people are influenced by changes with the season, the unique habits of powerful people remain constant. Their focused pursuit of excellence is driven by eleven habits, which you can emulate and absorb until your power and influence expand: 1. They don't wait for a title to lead. It's important not to confuse power with authority. The right title can give you authority, but it can't give you power. On the other hand, you don't need a title to be powerful. You can lead without being a boss and you can have a powerful influence upon your workplace and community without a title.
2. They're graciously disruptive. Powerful people are never satisfied with the status quo. They're the ones who constantly ask, "What if?" and "Why not?" They're not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, and they don't disrupt things for the sake of being disruptive; they do so to make things better.
3. They think for themselves. Powerful people aren't buffeted by the latest trend or by public opinion. They form their opinions carefully, based on the facts. They're more than willing to change their mind when the facts support it, but they aren't influenced by what other people think, only by what they know.
4. They focus only on what really matters. Powerful people aren't distracted by trivialities. They're able to cut through the static and clutter, focus on what matters, and point it out to everyone else. They speak only when they have something important to say, and they never bore people with idle banter.
5. They master conflict. People tend to err on one of two extremes when it comes to conflict: some are passive and avoid conflict altogether, while others seek out conflict aggressively, thinking that this will make them powerful. People who master conflict know how to approach it directly and assertively, yet constructively. In essence, they practice emotional intelligence. Truly powerful people do not react emotionally and defensively to dissenting opinions -- they welcome them. They're humble enough to know that they don't know everything and that someone else might see something they missed. And if that person is right, they embrace the idea wholeheartedly, because they care more about the end result than being right.
6. They inspire conversation. When powerful people speak, their words spread like ripples in a pond. Influencers inspire everyone around them to explore new ideas and to think differently about their work.
7. They know their strengths and weaknesses. People who get seduced by power and, therefore, start abusing it are often blind to their own weaknesses. To become truly powerful, you have to see yourself as you really are and to position yourself to use your strengths for the greater good. That means taking a clear-eyed look at your strengths and your weaknesses and owning them both completely. 8. They grow and leverage their networks. Those who grow power the Machiavellian way don't bother with people who aren't useful to them. People see this coming a mile away, and it doesn't win any friends. Truly powerful people know how to make lasting connections. Not only do they know a lot of people, they get to know their connections' connections. More importantly, they add value to everyone in their network. They share advice and know how, and they make connections between people who should get to know each other.
9. They ask for help when they need it. It's easy to mistakenly assume that powerful people never ask for help from anybody. Asking for help when you don't know the answer or can't do it all by yourself is not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of strength. It sends the message that you're not so insecure as to put your ego above the mission. It takes a tremendous amount of confidence and humility to admit that you need assistance, and asking for assistance is critical, because there's nothing worse than trucking down the wrong path when you're too embarrassed or proud to admit that you don't know what you're doing.
10. They believe. Powerful people always expect the best. They believe in their own power to achieve their dreams, and they believe that others share that same power. They believe that nothing is out of reach and that belief inspires those around them to stretch for their own goals. They firmly believe that one person can change the world.
11. They do it now. Way back in 1894, Orison Swett Marden made an important point: "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seek common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities. Strong men make them." If you put off growing your power until the right opportunity comes along, it's never going to happen. Powerful people know that developing power is a lot like lifting weights or running a 5K. The only way to strengthen those muscles is by using them, so stop making excuses and just start. You know what you believe in, you know who you are, and you know what you want to become, so act like it. Yes, it will be uncomfortable at times, and yes, some people will tell you you're doing it wrong, but the only way to achieve power and use it for good is to get out there and do it.
Bringing It All Together
Boris Yeltsin once said, "You can make a throne of bayonets, but you can't sit on it for very long." Forget everything you've heard about power, because, in the end, the nice guys really do win. Whether you call it power or influence, it's okay to want it and it's okay to have it. You just have to pursue it and use it with integrity.
Have you seen people abuse power? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
This article is part of HuffPost’s “Reclaim” campaign, an ongoing project spotlighting the world’s waste crisis and how we can begin to solve it.
A slew of successful online secondhand stores has made it easier than ever for consumers to buy and sell old clothing.
The leaders of the upstart industry tout the environmental benefits of this new kind of thrift shopping experience. But will it be enough to meaningfully reduce the staggering amount of textiles pouring into our landfills every year, or is it just a way for savvy shoppers to ease their guilty consciences about the waste they produce?
For now, clothing resale is too small-scale to make a dent in landfill waste. And even if it does, it should not be confused for an environmental panacea. But if it forces us to question the way we shop and rethink the way we get rid of our old stuff, it’s a step in the right direction.
David Goldman/ASSOCIATED PRESSShoppers at an H&M store in Atlanta. H&M is one of the big retailers known for "fast fashion," constantly introducing new styles at low prices.
“Even if we manage to come up with the ultimate technology solution, the positive impact of all of that is still outweighed by the amount that we produce and consume,” said Renée Cuoco, manager of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion. “We need a whole scope of initiatives.”
For a variety of reasons, consumers in the developed world often have more clothing than they know what to do with. The rise of “fast fashion,” in which big retailers like H&M introduce new styles more frequently and at low prices, has accelerated this trend.
The short shelf life of many garments has major implications for the environment.
Americans threw away 15.1 million tons of clothing in 2013, with 12.8 million tons of it ending up in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Landfills are a top generator of methane gas, which contributes disproportionately to climate change.
Methane made up 11 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2014, according to the EPA. But methane traps warming in the atmosphere far more effectively than other GHGs, giving the gas a “global warming potential” that the federal environmental watchdog says is 25 times that of carbon dioxide.
A New Model For Thrift Shopping
Digital secondhand clothing and consignment stores did not arise to save unwanted clothing from landfills ― and the industry does not claim otherwise.
But San Francisco-based ThredUP, which may be the largest online outfit for secondhand clothing, markets the positive environmental impact of using its services.
“If 1 in 100 American households shopped resale, it would save over 1.1 billion pounds of CO2 emissions every year,” the company’s annual resale report notes.
There is no concrete data on how much ThredUP and comparable services like eBay Valet and Poshmark have actually reduced the amount of clothing sent to landfills.
By effectively “Uber-izing” the thrift store experience, however, these outfits enable people who might not otherwise want to deal with the hassle of brick-and-mortar thrift stores to clean out their closets without leaving the house.
If the model becomes very lucrative, it can change the market.Tasha Lewis, Cornell University
To send clothing to ThredUP, for example, all consumers need to do is order a “clean out kit” (essentially a free bag), fill it with unwanted clothes and send it to the company. The company only resells clothing and accessories that are “like new,” so it rejects about 60 percent of what it receives and offers to return the rest to senders or give it to other thrift shops or clothing recycling entities.
Once ThredUP has inspected an item and decided it is suitable for resale, it professionally photographs it and lists it on the site. The price is based on quality, original retail price and other factors.
For items that sell for under $60, ThredUP pays sellers between 5 and 40 percent of the list price up front, with the cheapest items offering the smallest payout.
ThredUP has a consignment system for items it lists for $60 or more, offering as much as 80 percent to consigners once the company succeeds in reselling an item. (The shipping and handling costs of sending the ThredUP “clean out kit” are deducted from whatever payout the company provides.)
ThredUPThredUP allows consumers to shop for high-quality secondhand clothing without some of the hassles of traditional thrift stores.
ThredUP’s business is booming: It has resold over 10 million items and at least doubled its revenue every year for the past several years, according to Chief Marketing Officer Anthony Marino.
That can only have a positive impact on the U.S.’s landfill waste problem.
But there is a catch. Although the company’s selectivity is the formula for its successful business model, it demonstrates how difficult it is for secondhand clothing sites to turn online clothing resale into a profitable business.
ThredUP does not buy or sell men’s clothing, serving women and children only. The company told HuffPost it focuses on women because men’s clothing makes up a much smaller share of the resale market.
Until the economics of the business allow online secondhand shops to make up a bigger share of clothing sales, there are limits to their impact on waste.
“If the model becomes very lucrative, it can change the market,” said Tasha Lewis, a professor specializing in fashion sustainability at Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. “The only obstacle is the scale of these programs, and they are constrained by quality, size and color of the things they get.”
More Innovations, Persistent Challenges
Meanwhile, some brick-and-mortar retailers are trying to do their part to address waste with in-store recycling programs. Patagonia invites shoppers to return old clothing and sells used products on-site.
H&M also allows shoppers to return worn clothing to stores, where the retailer sorts it for resale or recycling.
One risk, however, is that clothing that gets offloaded to local thrift stores by major retailers or higher-end online secondhand sites will sit idly on shelves, too, and eventually end up in a landfill anyway. Unwanted clothing can also end up getting exported to developing countries, where it risks undermining local textile industries.
A way around that problem would be ensuring that clothing is made from recyclable material. For example, cotton and polyester blends, commonly used in items like T-shirts, are impossible to recycle.
Last March, H&M and Kering, the parent company of Gucci and other luxury brands, announced a partnership with technology startup Worn Again that aims to speed up that process. The companies will be “monitoring the testing” of technology developed by Worn Again that separates fibers and removes dyes and other chemicals that prevent textile recycling.
Some popular styles are impervious to this kind of innovation. Leather, a material with one of the most opaque supply chains, is not recyclable. (Though it is compostable in some circumstances.) Making it more sustainable, according to Cuoco, would likely mean phasing it out of our wardrobes altogether ― which, it’s safe to say, is not going to happen anytime soon.
Bloomberg/Getty ImagesDiscarded clothing contributes to landfill waste -- which emits methane, a greenhouse gas that's especially effective at trapping heat.
Even if all clothing becomes recyclable, there are limits to the environmental benefits of technological innovations.
It’s possible that after consumers clear their closets by reselling or recycling clothing, they’ll feel freer to buy more brand-new clothing, lessening the effect of the overall recycling trend.
Advanced recycling technology also requires energy and resource expenditures, which would have to be weighed against emissions savings from reducing landfill waste.
And, of course, landfill waste is just one way the ever-growing clothing industry affects the environment. Among other things, the energy expenditures from the agriculture and transportation needed to make and sell clothes will persist regardless of how many garments are saved from landfills.
Deeper change requires a cultural shift in the developed world, in which producers slow down fashion cycles and consumers demand higher-quality clothing that lasts longer, rather than just the newest styles at an affordable price.
“We need to be asking more insightful questions about how we purchase and consume,” Cuoco said. “If we relinquish too much responsibility from ourselves as consumers, that’s really dangerous.”
This article has been updated with additional information about post-consumer alternatives for leather products.
Ride-hailing services want to make sure Grandma Betty can get to bridge club just as easily as her 22-year-old grandson travels to and from ... whatever it is young folks are doing these days.
Once the domain of 20-somethings who might have a drink or two and need a safe ride home, companies like Lyft and Uber have set their sights on a different age range entirely: senior citizens.
Lyft announced Tuesday it has partnered with GreatCall, a mobile phone company that specializes in providing cell phones to seniors, to extend its ride-hailing services to those who ― like the elderly ― may not have a smartphone, much less want to learn how to use an app on one to hail a ride.
Instead of an app, GreatCall customers dial “0” to talk to an operator, who can provide a cost estimate and book a ride. The fare is tacked onto the customer’s monthly cell phone bill.
The L.A. Times notes Uber struck up a similar arrangement with a company called 24Hr HomeCare last week.
Several third-party ride-hailing services also specialize in giving lifts to older adults who don’t have smartphones, including GoGoGrandparent, a newer entrant that adds additional features like meal and grocery delivery options.
As people age, one thing to go is the ability to drive. That means losing your freedom to get to doctor’s appointments and to stay social with friends.
This is far from either company’s first foray into the senior market, which, judging by recent moves from both Uber and Lyft, seems ripe for disruption.
And it couldn’t come at a better time. The first wave of the so-called “baby boomer” generation turned 65 in 2011, with the number of Americans aged 65 and older projected to keep growing until 2030, when it’s expected to peak at around 71 million people.
Earlier this year, both Uber and Lyft began offering non-emergency medical transport services, specifically targeting customers whose rides would be reimbursed by Medicaid.
And in the Denver suburb of Centennial, where 15 years from now at least 30 percent of the population is projected to be over the age of 65, city officials are exploring replacing current dial-a-ride services with less expensive, more efficient rides via Lyft.
Starting Aug. 17, the city has embarked on a first-of-its-kind, six-month long pilot project, paying for Lyft rides to and from the area’s major light-rail station in a bid to increase mobility.
“We call Centennial the Silver Tsunami,” Centennial Mayor Cathy Noon told The Atlantic blog CityLab. “As people age, one thing to go is the ability to drive. That means losing your freedom to get to doctor’s appointments and to stay social with friends. We really want to help keep the people who started Centennial engaged in it.”
Note: The Huffington Post’s editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington is a member of Uber’s board of directors and has recused herself from any involvement in the site’s coverage of the company.
Food policy has gone mainstream. I know this because Summit at Sea 2016--a swanky three-day conference held on a cruise ship that hosts likes of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, skateboarder Tony Hawk and acclaimed poet Sonia Sanchez--is incorporating an entire series of talks under the umbrella "Corn and Soy," curated by food activist Ellen Gustafson. This is a big deal.
Rosenheim Advisors called 2015 "piping hot" for global food tech and food media businesses, citing 142 private company fundings totaling over $2.3 billion, just in the United States. The year prior, in fact, was even bigger: 157 deals raising $2.6 billion in the U.S. And many of these bustling businesses are headed up by young Millennial entrepreneurs, attempting to capitalize on the foodie craze.
As such, it's not just food nerds like myself who are interested in the issues surrounding farms, oceans and diners these days. Businesspeople and techies are finding relevance in it as well.
"I want to see this incredible community of people coming up in their careers, or already well-situated in their careers, deeply understand their roles in solving big problems of the world. And then I want to see them act on it," Gustafson, Principal at Summit Series and Co-Director of the Summit Institute, emphatically expressed over the phone. She sees the "Corn and Soy" talks as an opportunity to bring food issues to the forefront during an otherwise non-foodie gathering.
Summit was founded in 2008 by Millennial cohort Brett Leve, Jeremy Schwartz, Elliott Bisnow and Jeff Rosenthal to bring together academics, artists and entrepreneurs in immersive experiences to converse, connect and create. In Summit's short lifetime, they've hosted the likes of Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, Martha Stewart and John Legend, and sponsored conversations on topics as varied as poverty, lucid dreaming and rock climbing. The Summit founders have pushed the limits of what's possible: They purchased a mountain in Utah to build the town of their dreams; hosted a long-table dinner in the fields of Tulum; and take a 1,069-foot ship of inquisitive minds out to a private island in the Bahamas each year via Summit at Sea.
Though Summit events usually attract a business, tech and arts-focused crowd, this winter's Summit at Sea is putting food front and center. Nestled into presentations on Asian markets, the ultimate hackers and ground-up innovators will be talks on the microbiome and sugar.
"The opportunity to transform the food model in the country has never been more ripe, pun intended," Summit co-founder Jeff Rosenthal told me. "From subsidy reform, farming technology, new growing techniques, the conversations around organics, GMO's, and the overwhelming impact and decisions we make about our diet have on the environment."
The team is also carrying the food emphasis through to the kitchen, appointing 'Wichcraft co-founder Jeffrey Zurofsky as executive director of culinary operations, or as he calls himself, "Nourisher in Chief," of Summit at Sea 2016. Zurofsky is working alongside executive chef Harutaka Kishi to thread the themes of food policy throughout every meal.
"We're using ingredient sourcing to tell a story," Zurofsky explains, so that "others who don't usually think about this stuff are thinking about it." For example, the menu will feature trash fish from Sea to Table with certified traceability by Monterey Bay. Kelp will be provided by Green Wave. "Everyone has been fetishizing kelp recently--the umami flavors and sustainability aspects."
"Dinners will be opportunities to produce even more content and discussion," says Zurofsky.
To keep the intellectual discourse and excitement going around the clock, Zurofsky and Kishi are also masterminding a popup culinary series that will start at midnight every night and last until sunrise.
"Just when you're least expecting it, something fun is going to come out and surprise you. It will make you think, 'Wow, there wasn't an hour where someone wasn't thinking about engaging me with food, my mind, my body,'" Zurofsky expressed.
The goal of Summit, Rosenthal explains, is to "keep it surreal. Do things that are a bit beyond people's expectations."
The surreality is part fun yet also a catalyst to creating unlikely relationships and sparking outlandish ideas. The environment is temporary, unique and entirely detached from participants' ordinary lives: There's no cell service. You're not quite sure of where you are. Questlove can show up to play a set at 4 A.M. and then you'll spot a whale shark off the deck an hour later (as Zurofsky recounts of his first year attending Summit at Sea). The Summit team hopes to create lasting bonds between thought-leaders who wouldn't, under normal circumstances, have the chance to converse, dine and imagine together. And this year's food curriculum creates all new potential for food-centric ideation and solutions.
"The Summit community is multidisciplinary," says Zurofsky. "I've never seen a group of people more focused on optimization and engaged and interested in experimenting with art and tech and beyond. I can't wait to see what they do with the new food programming."
And I can't either.
I will be attending Summit at Sea. Stay tuned for updates, come November, by following me on Twitter @EveTurowPaul.
