Who's a bigger finance hub. Boston or Charlotte (Lexington, Bedford: how much, houses)

[bostonguy1960]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Charlotte Ranked The #1 City In America Where Millennials Are Moving To - Charlotte Stories

Yes it is.. I think the prices are reflecting this. Home prices and rent have shot up.. Average rent is now around $1300 or so for a 2 bedroom. For any decent house in a liveable area (not under the flight path of Charlotte Douglass and in an ok school system) you're probably looking at $225,000-$250,000 for a house. Thats up a good amount from years prior. Our rent has gone up nearly $150 in just the past year we've been here and we're still at the lower end of what I'd consider "affordable" for our place at about $1200 a mo.. Our neighbor bought his 2/1 townhouse next door 5 years ago for $60k and hes getting ready to retire. He just put it on the market for $159,0000. I think int he next few years with the growth its seeing it wont be as affordable as people want it to be. It may rival some smaller cities (or major ones depending) price wise. We'll have to see if wages keep up.

Regardless, Charlotte's desirability to some young professionals is inferior vs. Boston.

Picked up an Uber passenger from a fancy South Boston building going to Logan recently. He chooses to live in Boston but has commuted to Charlotte for the work week for awhile. He's a young Japanese (?) fella who's lived internationally.

He complained that his 2-bedroom Charlotte apartment isn't so cheap...and that his office is filled with "good "ole southern white boys" culture (whatever that means..white frat bros?). Maybe not a diverse or interesting enough environment for him vs. Boston?

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Charlotte Ranked The #1 City In America Where Millennials Are Moving To - Charlotte Stories

Yes it is.. I think the prices are reflecting this. Home prices and rent have shot up.. Average rent is now around $1300 or so for a 2 bedroom. For any decent house in a liveable area (not under the flight path of Charlotte Douglass and in an ok school system) you're probably looking at $225,000-$250,000 for a house. Thats up a good amount from years prior. Our rent has gone up nearly $150 in just the past year we've been here and we're still at the lower end of what I'd consider "affordable" for our place at about $1200 a mo.. Our neighbor bought his 2/1 townhouse next door 5 years ago for $60k and hes getting ready to retire. He just put it on the market for $159,0000. I think int he next few years with the growth its seeing it wont be as affordable as people want it to be. It may rival some smaller cities (or major ones depending) price wise. We'll have to see if wages keep up.

No doubt that the Charlottes, ATLs, Dallas', Rahleigh-Durhams are attracting large amounts of the young workforce. Decent pay, cheap COL, better weather.

It doesn't really answer the OP question of "who's a bigger finance hub". There's a fairly substantial domestic migration pattern, but Boston has not been hit quite like a New York. Either way, does that diminish NYCs place as a global leader in finance and general business? No. It simply means there's a ceiling for desirability, and once the COL=X and the wages only=Y, folks with entry level pay will continue to look for greener pasture to stretch their dollar and join like-minded individuals.

It really means nothing more than that. It's good news for Charlotte, just not sure if it's really even bad news for a Boston or NY. End of the day, these are fairly dominant, established metros who continue to flourish. The make-up of the cities will continue to evolve though, which is certainly ugly news for some of the populous.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Regardless, Charlotte's desirability to some young professionals is inferior vs. Boston.?

I mean, Winchester is more desirable than Littleton. That doesn't mean first time buyers are going to move to Winchester, unless of course they have the means to do so. So, more young families buy in Littleton than in Winchester.

It's the same comparison, to some degree, between Boston and Charlotte. I think, as a %, the majority of Americans would rather live in BosWash or the Bay Area, but that doesn't mean they won't call Charlotte home if the standard of living is higher based on income vs. COL.

Two separate conversations. It all comes down to what makes sense for the individual, and in this case, for entry level workforce.

[SunnyinBoston]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Purely discussion purpose here. Who do you think has a larger (or faster growing/more opportunity) hub for finance? Boston or Charlotte, NC? Hubs and I have been in discussion about this for a few days and can't come to a conclusion.

Charlotte imo is a faster growing city for young people but I wouldnt count them mostly as finance employees. Plus the bathroom bill caused a small hit as far as companies second guessing coming here.

Boston is more establish as a city itself and therefore I think a larger hub for more established finance companies and employees. I feel like Charlotte would be a more transient city for people trying to get in then transfer out.. Maybe I'm way off lol... what are your opinions.

I can add some benefit here. I am in Finance I work in Boston, my significant other lived in CLT and I at one time or another looked at Finance jobs in CLT.

Boston has way more finance jobs then CLT, Boston is more "accepting" of people from different towns/states/areas than CLT. CLT def has a "southern boys network" feel; Boston has its own challenges but you DON'T have to go to BU/BC or Harvard to get a job here.

Obviously pay in Boston is higher than in CLT. Uptown in CLT (Which is actually their downtown) is much smaller than Boston, it's basically the same size give or take of just Boston's Financial District.

The COL IMO and quality of life in CLT is better, you can get a home in say Myers Park or Providence High school district for much cheaper than the equilvant school district here in MA.

If I was a kid out of college CLT would be the place to go; cheaper, young people.

IMO the city(Uptown) CLT isnt' that great, but the suburbs are nice......weather rocks as well.

EDIT: as a previous poster mentioned, CLT has alot more back office Finance Jobs. I guess you can get more granular and really define what you mean by Finance jobs? Internal Finance for a Corp or Finance as in Investments/Banking/etc

[tysmith95]

I think Boston is more desirable then Charlotte when disregarding housing prices. But because of the desirability (along with strict zoning in many suburbs) real estate prices have gone through the roof.

Young people are moving to Charlotte versus Boston because that is what they can afford.

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

Young people are moving to Charlotte versus Boston because that is what they can afford.

Do you have statistics to prove that?

I think most young people born in the US generally stay near where they grew up or where they get any job after college, regardless of affordability.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Do you have statistics to prove that?

I think most young people born in the US generally stay near where they grew up or where they get any job after college, regardless of affordability.

Here's Why Charlotte Became The Fastest Growing City in The Country Over The Past Decade - Charlotte Stories

GDP growth, substantial workforce added (especially as a % of the city), decent annual salary, low COL.

What particular statistics are you looking for? Domestic migration is very, very real, and largely effects entry level workforce. Chicago, NYC, even Boston feel the affects of that. Fortunately, Boston being a tech/bio/education hub helps water down those numbers as millennials in those fields are payed well and tend to stay/come from other parts of the BosWas corridor.

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Here's Why Charlotte Became The Fastest Growing City in The Country Over The Past Decade - Charlotte Stories

GDP growth, substantial workforce added (especially as a % of the city), decent annual salary, low COL.

What particular statistics are you looking for? Domestic migration is very, very real, and largely effects entry level workforce.

No where in that article does it say young people are moving to Charlotte in larger numbers than Greater Boston. It cites Greater Charlotte's growth overall for the past decade but it makes no mention of the age or career level of the people moving to Charlotte. I ask again, where are the statistics that show that more young people - let's say ages 22-30 - are moving to Greater Charlotte than Greater Boston?

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by gf2020

No where in that article does it say young people are moving to Charlotte in larger numbers than Greater Boston. It cites Greater Charlotte's growth overall for the past decade but it makes no mention of the age or career level of the people moving to Charlotte. I ask again, where are the statistics that show that more young people - let's say ages 22-30 - are moving to Greater Charlotte than Greater Boston?

My point has been, and continues to be, Boston is more desirable, Charlotte is more affordable.

So, folks in Biotech/IT and graduates of Harvard, MIT, and BC make the money, and stay local. And, you'll never see a small % of millennials in Greater Boston for that very reason.. The city will always retain graduates. But, as far is MIGRATION is concerned, do you believe more millennials are moving to Boston or Charlotte? How about as a % of the respective metro populous?

If you include 18-22, I'm sure Boston is top 2-3-4 in the country. 75 schools in Greater Boston will do that. But, 25-34? Highly unlikely that the growth in Greater Boston higher than Greater Charlotte.

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/wher...als-are-moving

[495neighbor]

Might this be a better thread for city vs city?