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It seems Seattle and Portland are turning into the new Phoenix, Vegas and Dallas. If you go into the Oregon and Washington forums there are most moving to Portland/Seattle than skyline questions in the City vs City forum. I feel both will boom in population and soon Seattle will be talked about in the same breath as Chicago and Los Angeles
You realize that Dallas is still booming right? In fact it's the United States leader in raw population growth right now, followed by Houston, Miami, Washington, Austin, Raleigh, San Antonio, & so on.
And no, the Pacific Northwest is not turning into the "new sunbelt". It's booming- yes on a extremely fast clip but it has more to do with a resurgence in the technology economy & other such things. Seattle is reaping those benefits (like Austin & Denver). Congratulations, the town you grew up to love is long gone & embrace living in a vibrant large metropolis.
I don't think it is. This area is growing as it always has been, it seems it has consistently been in the top 20 metro areas for growth (Seattle area specifically), and will remain at that level. I just don't see the kind of "booming" growth like you see in the sunbelt. Sure there are new housing developments going up in lots of outer areas, but not at the clip you see in places like Dallas- where huge expanses of new developments are going up, almost as if it's a contest to see how many new houses can be built each year (which usually is a result of rapid population growth).
I think this area really just has good healthy, steady growth and will continue to be that way.
Portland and Seattle are top cities for young grads coming out of college due to their liberalism and hipster culture. There is quite a bandwagon effect going on right now in that most twentysomethings dream of living in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, or Austin. I imagine most who try will move away after a few years. A friend of mine just moved from Austin to Houston. He said Austin can't be beat in your early twenties when you want to party but Houston is a better place to settle. The sunbelt is still more popular for families.
Washington is getting up there in terms of growth rate, but still has a ways to go before even surpassing states like Utah and Colorado.
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Originally Posted by bchris02
Portland and Seattle are top cities for young grads coming out of college due to their liberalism and hipster culture. There is quite a bandwagon effect going on right now in that most twentysomethings dream of living in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, or Austin. I imagine most who try will move away after a few years. A friend of mine just moved from Austin to Houston. He said Austin can't be beat in your early twenties when you want to party but Houston is a better place to settle. The sunbelt is still more popular for families.
And you base this on what? If that were true, wouldn't there be a constant decline in population by now considering that there are less and less twenty somethings as time goes on?
Especially in a state like Washington, that has no income tax and plentiful high-paying tech jobs encouraging people to stay.
Washington is getting up there in terms of growth rate, but still has a ways to go before even surpassing states like Utah and Colorado.
And you base this on what? If that were true, wouldn't there be a constant decline in population by now considering that there are less and less twenty somethings as time goes on?
Especially in a state like Washington, that has no income tax and plentiful high-paying tech jobs encouraging people to stay.
If every twentysomething moving to the Pacific Northwest thinking it's going to be like Portlandia stayed the population would be exploding out of control. A lot of people who don't end up in high tech jobs and end up living in a small apartment with several roommates working a part time job probably aren't going to last. Several guys I knew from college moved up there and I'll be interested to see whether they stay.
If every twentysomething moving to the Pacific Northwest thinking it's going to be like Portlandia stayed the population would be exploding out of control.
Source?
The real world data doesn't really support your supposition
Exemptions usually refer to kids and the elderly, and exemptions by far outnumber the number of returns.
If what you were suggesting were true (not saying its not), then there wouldn't nearly be nearly as many exemptions moving to Washington or Oregon.
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A lot of people who don't end up in high tech jobs and end up living in a small apartment with several roommates working a part time job probably aren't going to last. Several guys I knew from college moved up there and I'll be interested to see whether they stay.
You're right, not everyone ends up doing high tech jobs, but there are other jobs and industries that places like Seattle can support. Portland is still a bit behind on this and it's reflected in its unemployment rate, but Seattle isn't some hipster, Portlandia outpost you make it out to be. Consider places like South King County, Snohomish, and Pierce County, all of which are growing extremely quickly.
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