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The analysis is based on Emsi’s Talent Attraction Index, which is comprised of six key metrics: job growth, skilled job growth, net migration, annual openings f

The analysis is based on Emsi’s Talent Attraction Index, which is comprised of six key metrics: job growth, skilled job growth, net migration, annual openings for skilled workers (per capita), educational attainment growth (based on adults with associate degrees and above), and a broad measure of regional competitiveness. All of these (except the last, which is an ambiguous indicator) are based on flows, not stocks. Beyond that, as far as the reason the report names the top big county in the country as Jacksonville's... Duval County is the heart of the Jacksonville metro, a rising economic powerhouse that is consistently attracting new residents and growing its talent base. Its population increased 7% from 2014 to 2018. Jobs were up 11% over the same time, nearly twice the national rate. Notably, the largest industries in Duval County are restaurants and hospitals—the kind of industries that exist everywhere, and which do not usually involve the big manufacturing centers we tend to think of as job drivers. But over the past two years, the presence of both Wayfair and Amazon distribution centers has spurred 242% growth in the electronic shopping industry, an addition of over 5,000 more jobs than expected given national trends. I'd love to see a report that analyzed trends around changes in talent (the "Creative Class" jobs that Richard Florida identified back in the day), because I'd love to get more bang for buck than I do in one of the Superstar Cities. But this report is mis-advertised. Show me surprising or up-and-coming places where most people have college degrees or advanced degrees from good schools, cultural events, and the potential for high wages doing interesting work.

aphextron 7y ago
I moved from the bay area to Charlotte NC this year, and it's fantastic. A big brand new apartment in a walkable area downtown is $1200. I'm making the same salary and brand new houses can be had for $300k in a nice neighborhood. It's the number 2 banking capital in the US after New York, so there's endless growth potential for someone interested in fintech. We're on the same line of latitude as San Francisco so there's plenty of sun and the winters are extremely mild with little to no snow. I really can't think of any reason other than chasing FAANG positions why anyone would stay in the bay at this point.
- scarmig 7y ago
  See, that's the type of thing that's intriguing! And it seems like it should be possible to capture in the statistics (at least so that Charlotte appears above Jacksonville), but it seems like this report is more about advertising for Emsi to try to make potential clients (municipal governments in currently unpopular places to live) feel like there's hope if they just hire the company to consult with them.
- sudosteph 7y ago
  Charlotte is my hometown. I actually considered moving back after 5 years in Seattle doing the FAANG thing, but it's not really comparable to other big cities in some ways. It's still a great place for the right type of person, but I wouldn't have been happy there. I ended up taking my remote job with a Seattle-salary to Raleigh instead, and am really digging it. The main issues I had with Charlotte are: - The banker culture downtown is too formal - The live music scene is in a bad spot (the gentrification of the southend area + NoDa killed off the best venues) - Calling any neighborhood "Walkable" is kind of a stretch. It would be hard to live in Charlotte without a car. Even downtown is littered with huge blocks of parking lots. It really kind of terrible to walk down those blocks in the summer due to the heat and lack of shade. But it's still a pretty solid place with lots of opportunity, even if it's not everyone's scene. Also, the light rail has been a great addition to the city and the walkability issue around rail stations is definitely improving.
  - BoorishBears 7y ago
    I moved to Durham last year, which outsiders consider to be part of Raleigh-Durham (despite them being separated by almost 2hrs of traffic at peaks). I hate the Triangle and am already leaving. A particularly nasty type of sprawl here, out of control real-estate market, serious crime problems, no proper "downtown" where you can live and walk to everything you need, hours away from mountains or beaches. The crime is what really angers me, maybe Raleigh is better off, but both Durham and Charlotte manage to be less safe than the worst parts of most cities, which is incredible to me considering just how many people seem to be selling the area as great for families and "settling down". I actually considered Charlotte for having more of a "downtown", but decided to leave the South. The weather is marginally better than where I came the Northeast, the heat is worse and I feel more oppressive. And sure my tax burden is reduced... but so is my salary. There's tons of traffic in both places, but in CT a lot of my daily traffic was to one of the most incredible cities in the world, and here it's traffic between multiple clusters of suburban sprawl caused by underinvestment in infrastructure. The culture outside the triangle is lukewarm at best, I'm black and enjoy visiting the mountains, but the number of confederate flags seems to have a very strong correlation to the elevation I'm at... I don't know, maybe I'm just salty I fell for the hype, but I really see no redeeming value for coming to this part of the country.

aphextron 7y ago

I moved from the bay area to Charlotte NC this year, and it's fantastic. A big brand new apartment in a walkable area downtown is $1200. I'm making the same salary and brand new houses can be had for $300k in a nice neighborhood. It's the number 2 banking capital in the US after New York, so there's endless growth potential for someone interested in fintech. We're on the same line of latitude as San Francisco so there's plenty of sun and the winters are extremely mild with little to no snow. I really can't think of any reason other than chasing FAANG positions why anyone would stay in the bay at this point.

scarmig 7y ago
See, that's the type of thing that's intriguing! And it seems like it should be possible to capture in the statistics (at least so that Charlotte appears above Jacksonville), but it seems like this report is more about advertising for Emsi to try to make potential clients (municipal governments in currently unpopular places to live) feel like there's hope if they just hire the company to consult with them.
sudosteph 7y ago
Charlotte is my hometown. I actually considered moving back after 5 years in Seattle doing the FAANG thing, but it's not really comparable to other big cities in some ways. It's still a great place for the right type of person, but I wouldn't have been happy there. I ended up taking my remote job with a Seattle-salary to Raleigh instead, and am really digging it. The main issues I had with Charlotte are: - The banker culture downtown is too formal - The live music scene is in a bad spot (the gentrification of the southend area + NoDa killed off the best venues) - Calling any neighborhood "Walkable" is kind of a stretch. It would be hard to live in Charlotte without a car. Even downtown is littered with huge blocks of parking lots. It really kind of terrible to walk down those blocks in the summer due to the heat and lack of shade. But it's still a pretty solid place with lots of opportunity, even if it's not everyone's scene. Also, the light rail has been a great addition to the city and the walkability issue around rail stations is definitely improving.
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  I moved to Durham last year, which outsiders consider to be part of Raleigh-Durham (despite them being separated by almost 2hrs of traffic at peaks). I hate the Triangle and am already leaving. A particularly nasty type of sprawl here, out of control real-estate market, serious crime problems, no proper "downtown" where you can live and walk to everything you need, hours away from mountains or beaches. The crime is what really angers me, maybe Raleigh is better off, but both Durham and Charlotte manage to be less safe than the worst parts of most cities, which is incredible to me considering just how many people seem to be selling the area as great for families and "settling down". I actually considered Charlotte for having more of a "downtown", but decided to leave the South. The weather is marginally better than where I came the Northeast, the heat is worse and I feel more oppressive. And sure my tax burden is reduced... but so is my salary. There's tons of traffic in both places, but in CT a lot of my daily traffic was to one of the most incredible cities in the world, and here it's traffic between multiple clusters of suburban sprawl caused by underinvestment in infrastructure. The culture outside the triangle is lukewarm at best, I'm black and enjoy visiting the mountains, but the number of confederate flags seems to have a very strong correlation to the elevation I'm at... I don't know, maybe I'm just salty I fell for the hype, but I really see no redeeming value for coming to this part of the country.