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I agree with all of your points Grand Strand Family.
Everyone is right on.
I'd have to add stop building the "towel shops," Eagles, Whales, etc. All winter long there is not a soul that goes in them. They are empty. How the summer can sustain so many is beyond me. There are just too many. Besides that it makes the area tacky. I hear those words all the time. I tell people that I close my eyes to them and look beyond.
Beyond all that tacky is quite a nice place with family fun and great times for the golfers who come here.
That won't clean up as long as they keep building them, and they do. Another is on its way soon.
I choose to have a blind eye to that, the benefits of living here out weigh those shops.
But, your list is well done and would make this a better place.
Thank you for starting this thread. It's good to see a young person trying to affect some positive change in the area. I owned an IT Consulting firm for 20 years in Cleveland. It started with me and it had 55 employees when I sold it. These were all very high paying jobs and it's a clean industry. Sadly, there are no Fortune 500 companies in MB that would sustain a growing IT firm. Sure, there are lots of small businesses that can be served but revenue will top out well under $1M. There is plenty of land outside MB and it would be great to see clean industry attracted to the area. Call centers, IT firms, distribution centers, etc. I understand that the problem is lack of an interstate as well as lack of a qualified workforce. A local business owner pointed out to me that MB has a layer of upper class residents, usually people who either made their money up north, or got in early on the real estate boom here, and a layer of lower class (I'm not identifying the quality of the people, just income level). Very, very small middle class. MB is a great town to bring a family on vacation. I did it for many years. However, living here is entirely different. There's a serious lack of culture (yes, yes, I know about the symphony, the art gallery, and the cultural calendar at CCU). Overall there just isn't much to do after you run through all the tourist traps 20 times. One thing that is disturbing to me is every time I return from a city rich in culture I turn on the radio and hear commercials for strip clubs, happy hour, and bail bondsman. Honestly it's demoralizing. We seem to attract all the drunk golfers who are down here to get drunk, grab some ass and cheat on their spouses. With some vision, a master plan, some deep pockets, and government support, this area could be transformed into something special. Market Common was a good start. But it's already been into receivership because MB does not yet have the demographic to support those kinds of upscale stores. In Carolina Forest we had to beg and plead to get a satellite library that's only open part time. Seriously? It's because county leadership would rather support any project that promotes tourism. More cheesy upside down buildings, more strip clubs, more shops selling beach kitsch. To the person who started this thread...keeping going, keep pushing forward, and be an agent of change here. Encourage your colleagues to do the same. It's good to see!
I admit to not wading thru this entire topic but the last couple pages wonder why MB is the tourist trap and not a technology or mfg center, close ?
Do any of you all remember Oct, 1989 ? How many of you were living here at the beach when Hugo came to town ? How many tech / mfg centers want to pay for the insurance to cover a hurricane and surge ? Sound investment ? Starting over ?
Check out our inland opportunites (as a state of SouthCarolina) and see if the Greenville area is up to yer hopes and expectations of what an area can be in growth.
MB does just fine with all the rooms, the towel shops, and the golf courses. Bottom line, MB pays the taxes for the state with these visitors and more taxes than industry that is lured to the state with tax loopholes. of course, this is just my opinion.
Oh, and as a gamechanger for the beach ? It was probably this very event in Oct, 1989. Hugo wiped out most of the family-owned beachfront houses (google it on youtube if you want to see total devestation) and county codes prevented them from re-building. Thus, a lotta resorts claimed the space and added thousands of rooms and tax-paying visitors to the strand along with the relocation / retirement promotions.
Last edited by burr; 09-22-2013 at 08:16 AM..
Reason: add to my point
I admit to not wading thru this entire topic but the last couple pages wonder why MB is the tourist trap and not a technology or mfg center, close ?
Do any of you all remember Oct, 1989 ? How many of you were living here at the beach when Hugo came to town ? How many tech / mfg centers want to pay for the insurance to cover a hurricane and surge ? Sound investment ? Starting over ?
Check out our inland opportunites (as a state of SouthCarolina) and see if the Greenville area is up to yer hopes and expectations of what an area can be in growth.
MB does just fine with all the rooms, the towel shops, and the golf courses. Bottom line, MB pays the taxes for the state with these visitors and more taxes than industry that is lured to the state with tax loopholes. of course, this is just my opinion.
Oh, and as a gamechanger for the beach ? It was probably this very event in Oct, 1989. Hugo wiped out most of the family-owned beachfront houses (google it on youtube if you want to see total devestation) and county codes prevented them from re-building. Thus, a lotta resorts claimed the space and added thousands of rooms and tax-paying visitors to the strand along with the relocation / retirement promotions.
I was born in 1988, so I do not remember 1989. That said, if you bothered to "wade" through the thread you would note that the majority comments are about MB diversifying its economy not necessarily wondering why MB is a "tourist trap." Yes, we get that tourism will most likely be the dominant sector in the region, but there's nothing wrong with diversification. If the argument is that the prospect of a devastating hurricane is a deterrent for the tech industry expanding in the area then how do you explain Charleston and the rapid tech industry growth it has seen in the last few years? What about the many Floridian cities with vibrant tech industries? Are they not at just as much risk for a hurricane as we are?
The reality is regardless of where you locate you can't escape Mother Nature. This year violent thunderstorms blew through key data center hubs in suburban Chicago and northern Virginia. Many states like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas have seen a boom in major tech companies opening data centers despite the fact that those states have issues with tornadoes occurring frequently. So many companies choose to construct data centers that are F5 tornado resistant and from what I read the buildings can withstand winds up to 400 mph. Apparently the incentives being offered by those states offset the extra structural costs to build a building that will withstand an F5 tornado. Newly built data centers in hurricane sensitive areas meet or exceed the current minimum standard known as the “Miami-Dade standard." And Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the tech world is located in California which is prone to earthquakes. It’s all about analyzing risk, making an informed business decision and preparedness for a natural disaster. We're not in 1989 anymore.
A small section of beach where topless sunbathing was permitted would attract European tourists, but would need to have direct international flights in & out of Myrtle.
A small section of beach where topless sunbathing was permitted would attract European tourists, but would need to have direct international flights in & out of Myrtle.
Disagree. But I do agree with the previous poster that MB needs to get back to being the family beach it once was and get rid of the smut. If MB has to have a topless area to lure European visitors then let them stay home.
Someone mentioned above that we need to get rid of the smut joints and close down the bars earlier and I agree with that.
Family destination with good paying jobs for those who live in MB is a must.
Tax incentives, land deals, labor concessions and more (seaport) lured Boeing 3,000 miles from home, and Charleston happened to be the hungriest of a bunch of bidders.
I dont have the answers to yer reply about tornado alley, Florida business or the west coast fault line BUT here, they drive poles down in the ground and build on poles. Building in sand (not to mention one road in, one road out)
And besides 1989, 29 years earlier it was 'Donna' in 1960, another direct hit. Besides these, majors skirt the coast of the Strand almost annually. May be a miss, but it's a chance of one.
as I said before, this is only my opinion. The topic is over two years old and revived apparently; I'll see whats new and go from there, K ?
2013 West Texas fertilizer plant explosion. 2010 Connecticut power plant explosion. What's your point?
Seriously what do nuclear power plants have to data centers or attracting or growing the next Google, Netflix, or Apple. That said, as far as nuclear energy goes Fukushima was just 1 of 3 significant accidents in the 50-year history of civil nuclear power generation. The others being Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986. Statistically speaking nuclear power plants are safer than others like gas and coal. It steers clear of fossil fuels, releases less radioactivity than coal-fired power plants(Coal releases 100 times more radioactivity than nuclear per same amount of energy produced). If you compare it to the amount that coal has killed per kilowatt hour nuclear power is significantly way less. Coal is directly responsible for far more than 1 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization.
Yes, Fukuushima was tragic but the reason it made news is because it's statistically extremely rare, essentially a freak event. You wouldn't say Newton, Connecticut is more dangerous than murder capitals Chicago or Detroit because of the Sandy Hook shooting.
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Tax incentives, land deals, labor concessions and more (seaport) lured Boeing 3,000 miles from home, and Charleston happened to be the hungriest of a bunch of bidders.
I'm not talking about Boeing but projects like the Charleston Digital Corridor. Which is a creative effort by the city to attract and grow knowledge-based enterprises. Because of their efforts Charleston's tech industry has seen the greatest growth in the city's history in the last few years. You only prove my point that being in a hurricane sensitive area doesn't deter tech companies so long as the pros outweigh the risk.
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I dont have the answers to yer reply about tornado alley, Florida business or the west coast fault line BUT here, they drive poles down in the ground and build on poles. Building in sand (not to mention one road in, one road out)
It's not matter of you having answers. The point is companies analyze risk, make informed business decision including preparedness for a natural disaster. Myrtle Beach's lack of a diversified economy has little to do with being in a hurricane sensitive area but mostly to do with the local government and their general disinterest in anything not tourist related. Furthermore, I find it odd you can wrap your head around a multi-million dollar homes, hotels, resorts, malls, lifestyle centers and outdoor shopping outlets being built in the area but creating a tech hub or data center is crazy talk.
[quote]And besides 1989, 29 years earlier it was 'Donna' in 1960, another direct hit.{/quote]
So progress should stand still because of hurricanes 24 and 53 years ago?
Anything new or any progress with the Myrtle Beach ITAP?
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