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What are the best strategies to attract remote workers to a location? * Utilities such as roads, water, high speed internet feel like table stakes now. Fiber

by gtop3 4y ago

What are the best strategies to attract remote workers to a location? * Utilities such as roads, water, high speed internet feel like table stakes now. Fiber internet is quickly spreading in rural areas, and I know people with septic tanks and a fiber line. Ten years ago Google Fiber was a major selling point for Kansas City. * Governments have little control over climate, nearby geographic features, time zone, and a million other details. They can highlight their strengths in marketing campaigns. * Cost of living only works for so long. We've seen areas in the last decades that have an influx of population and they usually see a corresponding increase in COL. There are approaches governments can take to slow down the growth of COL, but it seems inevitable. * Taxes and local regulations might help attract some workers. Cannabis consumers might be more inclined to move somewhere they can gain access legally. High income workers might be attracted to places without state income tax. Women might migrate to a state that aligns with their abortion politics. Motorcyclists might prefer places with lane splitting. * Large projects such as professional sports teams, well connected airports, large hospitals or ski lodges might play a role. Governments can attract these types of projects.

nerdponx 4y ago
> * Cost of living only works for so long. We've seen areas in the last decades that have an influx of population and they usually see a corresponding increase in COL. There are approaches governments can take to slow down the growth of COL, but it seems inevitable. This IMO is the big issue though. Governments need to be aware of long-term population trends as stay ahead of them when it comes to planning. I consistently feel like local governments find themselves surprised at demographic changes that have been obvious for several years.
- chasd00 4y ago
  yeah get behind on population growth and you'll never get caught up. This happened to Austin, the city just put its head in the sand and wanted to stay a small town forever. Now they're hopelessly behind building out the infrastructure to support a population growing at an ever faster rate.
ErikVandeWater 4y ago
> * Cost of living only works for so long. We've seen areas in the last decades that have an influx of population and they usually see a corresponding increase in COL. There are approaches governments can take to slow down the growth of COL, but it seems inevitable. COL increases because it is difficult or impossible to build new housing, and because single-use zoning requires creating massive amounts of infrastructure since it is illegal to build work and shopping near where people actually live. In addition, taxing property value disincentivizes developing land, leaving empty lots in even the most valuable places to build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqCaklMv6M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqCaklMv6M
- gtop3 4y ago
  While I agree this is a major component, I think it's an oversimplification. As construction increases in an area construction labor costs increase. Water prices might increase, as more residents draw from a finite supply. More schools, DMVs, grocery stores and strip malls need to built and new construction is more expensive. Liquor licenses might be a static amount and grow more slowly than the population. I would describe COL increases as local resources and infrastructure being put under more demand and investments into importing resources or building infrastructure is more expensive than using existing infrastructure. Property taxes are a large source of funding for these investments. Dense housing might reduce the additional load on infrastructure but it doesn't remove it.
  - ErikVandeWater 4y ago
    > Property taxes are a large source of funding for these investments. The idea isn't to get rid of property taxes and do without that revenue; the idea is to tax things that aren't beneficial that we want more of. I think our perspectives are different on how much of a handbrake bad policy is on the market's ability to create what people want.

by gtop3 4y ago

nerdponx 4y ago

> * Cost of living only works for so long. We've seen areas in the last decades that have an influx of population and they usually see a corresponding increase in COL. There are approaches governments can take to slow down the growth of COL, but it seems inevitable. This IMO is the big issue though. Governments need to be aware of long-term population trends as stay ahead of them when it comes to planning. I consistently feel like local governments find themselves surprised at demographic changes that have been obvious for several years.

chasd00 4y ago
yeah get behind on population growth and you'll never get caught up. This happened to Austin, the city just put its head in the sand and wanted to stay a small town forever. Now they're hopelessly behind building out the infrastructure to support a population growing at an ever faster rate.

ErikVandeWater 4y ago

> * Cost of living only works for so long. We've seen areas in the last decades that have an influx of population and they usually see a corresponding increase in COL. There are approaches governments can take to slow down the growth of COL, but it seems inevitable. COL increases because it is difficult or impossible to build new housing, and because single-use zoning requires creating massive amounts of infrastructure since it is illegal to build work and shopping near where people actually live. In addition, taxing property value disincentivizes developing land, leaving empty lots in even the most valuable places to build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqCaklMv6M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqCaklMv6M

gtop3 4y ago
While I agree this is a major component, I think it's an oversimplification. As construction increases in an area construction labor costs increase. Water prices might increase, as more residents draw from a finite supply. More schools, DMVs, grocery stores and strip malls need to built and new construction is more expensive. Liquor licenses might be a static amount and grow more slowly than the population. I would describe COL increases as local resources and infrastructure being put under more demand and investments into importing resources or building infrastructure is more expensive than using existing infrastructure. Property taxes are a large source of funding for these investments. Dense housing might reduce the additional load on infrastructure but it doesn't remove it.
- ErikVandeWater 4y ago
  > Property taxes are a large source of funding for these investments. The idea isn't to get rid of property taxes and do without that revenue; the idea is to tax things that aren't beneficial that we want more of. I think our perspectives are different on how much of a handbrake bad policy is on the market's ability to create what people want.