Trip Advisor came out today with their popular Dirtiest Hotels list for 2010.  I'm always curious to see who makes this list so I can be sure to avoid them.  Often, the hotels are in large cities San Francisco, New York, Chicago and the like.  Unfortunately, this year, 2 hotels in the Top 10 (actually, in the Top 5!) were right in my real estate market!

Here is the list:

1. Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, California

2. Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, Missouri

3. Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia

4. Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia

5. Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

6. New York Inn, New York City, New York

7. Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, Florida

8. Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, California

9. Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, California

10. Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida

Hopefully, these hotels will clean up their act and get this big black spot off of the Virginia Beach resort area.  As one of my favorite clients said, "You don't have to have money to be clean".  

I was reading an article this past weekend which highlighted a self-employed couple who owned a small restaurant in southern Virginia.  They were quoted as saying they pay over $2000/month for health insurance.  The couple is "stuck" in the age of being too young to retire, but too old to be easily employable since both have manufacturing backgrounds.

That got me to thinking about other options.  First off, there's the option of going to work for a large employer (such as Walmart) that offers a good, low cost health care plan for all employees.  I suppose the ugly blue vest is a small price to pay for great health insurance.

There's also the option of going back to school.  Almost all colleges offer an affordable, a group health insurance plan.  In addition, many colleges have their own health care clinic open to students which is paid for through tuition and fees.  Yes, college can be expensive, but many state schools are pretty affordable and you only need enroll in one course to qualify for the health insurance.  Keep in mind that many students qualify for the federal student loan program and older students may qualify for other financial benefits.  In addition, most colleges also have other benefits included in the student fees such as use of the workout facilities, gym classes and the like.

For an example of the health insurance benefits, here is a link to GM-Southwest, which provides coverage for many colleges.