Fairfax County opens Boston office to lure New England companies. (Alexandria: transfer, taxes)

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by pcity

Not a monopoly, but you'd be hard pressed to find somewhere other than Silicon Valley that has a more educated, better qualified labor force than we do here.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...apital-in-2012

Which metro areas got the most venture capital in 2012

Looks like DC is on the low end when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation.

edit/add (1) : I think you should be able to see the article a couple of times. Later, it might ask you to login. You can try this link as well.
http://browse.feedreader.com/c/Crain...mblr/291490794

edit/add (2): Qualified work force is a very subjective term.

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by FromGA

Qualified work force is a very subjective term.

Whole-heatedly agree. It really depends on what type of work you are looking for your work force to do. Venture capital is certainly one metric to use. Another is simply the amount of education people in a given area have received. In that respect, I think many articles/studies have suggested the DC metro area to be either the highest in the country or one of the highest. Here's a couple.

Cities with the Most College-Educated Residents - Graphic - NYTimes.com

Study: D.C. is the best-educated big city in America

I suspect DC metro would be lower on the venture capital rankings, in part, because many of these highly educated individuals in the DC area are either employed by or connected with the federal government, and venture capital doesn't really mix well with such positions - venture capital in the govenmental/political context is probably more appropriately labeled lobbying!

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by airjay75

Whole-heatedly agree. It really depends on what type of work you are looking for your work force to do. Venture capital is certainly one metric to use. Another is simply the amount of education people in a given area have received. In that respect, I think many articles/studies have suggested the DC metro area to be either the highest in the country or one of the highest. Here's a couple.

Cities with the Most College-Educated Residents - Graphic - NYTimes.com

Study: D.C. is the best-educated big city in America

I suspect DC metro would be lower on the venture capital rankings, in part, because many of these highly educated individuals in the DC area are either employed by or connected with the federal government, and venture capital doesn't really mix well with such positions - venture capital in the govenmental/political context is probably more appropriately labeled lobbying!

That is fair airjay. pcity said: "more educated, better qualified labor force." I did not dispute the more educated part. After that, it takes a certain different types of ambition, and personal skills to do different types of things. So qualification is indeed subjective. A high school grad is more qualified to run certain types of things than certain PhDs.

At least, that analysis on venture capital funding is informational.

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by FromGA

Which metro areas got the most venture capital in 2012

Looks like DC is on the low end when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation.

I happen to be familiar with the VC business, but it's hardly an accurate indicator of overall entrepreneurship and innovation as it is a funding practice for a very narrow and specific type of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Evaluating a given area's level of entrepreneurship would require looking at overall business formation (not just the types of businesses that attract VC money) in context of existing capital and population level. For measuring innovation, perhaps patent application or registration per capita might serve a better proxy.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Fern435

Fairfax County does not have a monopoly on "the best and brightest" in the country. High schools and colleges in other parts of the country are not automatically inferior to FCPS's enormous assembly line system.

The smile indicates that I am not bitter, angry, nor a crybaby as one person mistakenly claimed. It is amusing to see Fairfax County persist in believing their own hype--like Lance Armstrong.

Someone posted a link on another C-D forum to this recent article, describing DC's emergence as the nation's new "Second City":

Hail Columbia! by Aaron M. Renn, City Journal Winter 2013

It's not intended entirely as a compliment, since the punch line (last paragraph) is that the DC region is turning into an "imperial city" whose continued growth is not good for the country as a whole

I suspect you share that view, and view Fairfax County as 1/2 "imperial county" and 1/2 "mean girl" writ large.

I don't disagree with this entirely. One of the things that has always distinguished our country from many others is that we don't have a single city/area that dominates the nation socially, politically and economically. The DC region isn't remotely close to doing that yet, but it's moving in that direction. And, of course, we are quite competitive around here, in ways that are sometimes good, but often bad. I got literally screamed at by an apoplectic, 20-something kid at a Whole Foods in DC a couple of years ago for not recognizing where the express check-out line started. Really, where else can you go to find people with such attitudes? Maybe Paris, but at least they have good crepes and the Louvre.

But I also have to temper that view with the reality that, when you're talking about Fairfax County, you're talking about a large county that, on balance, has done a reasonably good job of creating conditions that have allowed most of its over 1 million people (natives of many regions and countries) to have a decent, if not ideal, quality of life. And part of what that entails is facilitating job creation, recognizing that employers come and go, acknowledging that employment is heavily dependent on defense-related spending, and looking for ways to diversify the employment base. Whether you call it a "race to the bottom" or a "race to the top," the notion that individual counties in different states are going to play nice with one another, and not actively compete for jobs, seems almost other-worldly to me. I mean, I guess we could have "Central Planning" decide exactly which jobs are going to be based in which states, but then if we had "Central Planning," it would probably be based in DC and Fairfax would have even more people.

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Someone posted a link on another C-D forum to this recent article, describing DC's emergence as the nation's new "Second City":

Hail Columbia! by Aaron M. Renn, City Journal Winter 2013

It's not intended entirely as a compliment, since the punch line (last paragraph) is that the DC region is turning into an "imperial city" whose continued growth is not good for the country as a whole

I suspect you share that view, and view Fairfax County as 1/2 "imperial county" and 1/2 "mean girl" writ large.

I don't disagree with this entirely. One of the things that has always distinguished our country from many others is that we don't have a single city/area that dominates the nation socially, politically and economically. The DC region isn't remotely close to doing that yet, but it's moving in that direction. And, of course, we are quite competitive around here, in ways that are sometimes good, but often bad. I got literally screamed at by an apoplectic, 20-something kid at a Whole Foods in DC a couple of years ago for not recognizing where the express check-out line started. Really, where else can you go to find people with such attitudes? Maybe Paris, but at least they have good crepes and the Louvre.

But I also have to temper that view with the reality that, when you're talking about Fairfax County, you're talking about a large county that, on balance, has done a reasonably good job of creating conditions that have allowed most of its over 1 million people (natives of many regions and countries) to have a decent, if not ideal, quality of life. And part of what that entails is facilitating job creation, recognizing that employers come and go, acknowledging that employment is heavily dependent on defense-related spending, and looking for ways to diversify the employment base. Whether you call it a "race to the bottom" or a "race to the top," the notion that individual counties in different states are going to play nice with one another, and not actively compete for jobs, seems almost other-worldly to me. I mean, I guess we could have "Central Planning" decide exactly which jobs are going to be based in which states, but then if we had "Central Planning," it would probably be based in DC and Fairfax would have even more people.

Very good!

I have been concerned for a long time with the phenomenon of an "imperial city." I think economic diversification and de-Beltway-ization, if you will, will combat that phenomenon in NoVA. If not, I am pretty handy with a reflex compound bow and a pre-64 Winchester 70 in .30-06. (Yes the bow thing was a Hunger Games reference to the whole imperial city and oppressed periphery theme.)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by BMOCCC

California used to be a paradise before it was overrun by immigrants.

Mainly those of the domestic variety. I never minded the Mexicans as I considered them our neighbors. It was the hordes of Easterners and Midwesterners i didn't particularly care to see moving in.

[BMOCCC]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Mainly those of the domestic variety. I never minded the Mexicans as I considered them our neighbors. It was the hordes of Easterners and Midwesterners i didn't particularly care to see moving in.

If you're saying it, I believe it. I feel like that here. Especially in the last decade with more trains, airplane shuttle flights, and cheap bus trips from New York. Also, the total exodus from New York state. We're getting far more people from the Northeast. Not a small part of my concern over bringing in people from Massachusettes.

[Fern435]

Interesting article, JEB77. Thank you.

It seems that all is fair in competition for companies/agencies--when Fairfax County feels they have the dominant position. But when Metro submits a proposal for its 78 acres at the Greenbelt station for the new FBI headquarters, Fairfax County says that is not fair:

Fairfax official says Metro is playing favorites in fight for FBI headquarters - The Washington Post

[BMOCCC]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Someone posted a link on another C-D forum to this recent article, describing DC's emergence as the nation's new "Second City":

Hail Columbia! by Aaron M. Renn, City Journal Winter 2013

It's not intended entirely as a compliment, since the punch line (last paragraph) is that the DC region is turning into an "imperial city" whose continued growth is not good for the country as a whole

I suspect you share that view, and view Fairfax County as 1/2 "imperial county" and 1/2 "mean girl" writ large.

I don't disagree with this entirely. One of the things that has always distinguished our country from many others is that we don't have a single city/area that dominates the nation socially, politically and economically. The DC region isn't remotely close to doing that yet, but it's moving in that direction. And, of course, we are quite competitive around here, in ways that are sometimes good, but often bad. I got literally screamed at by an apoplectic, 20-something kid at a Whole Foods in DC a couple of years ago for not recognizing where the express check-out line started. Really, where else can you go to find people with such attitudes? Maybe Paris, but at least they have good crepes and the Louvre.

But I also have to temper that view with the reality that, when you're talking about Fairfax County, you're talking about a large county that, on balance, has done a reasonably good job of creating conditions that have allowed most of its over 1 million people (natives of many regions and countries) to have a decent, if not ideal, quality of life. And part of what that entails is facilitating job creation, recognizing that employers come and go, acknowledging that employment is heavily dependent on defense-related spending, and looking for ways to diversify the employment base. Whether you call it a "race to the bottom" or a "race to the top," the notion that individual counties in different states are going to play nice with one another, and not actively compete for jobs, seems almost other-worldly to me. I mean, I guess we could have "Central Planning" decide exactly which jobs are going to be based in which states, but then if we had "Central Planning," it would probably be based in DC and Fairfax would have even more people.

You mention central planning. You have heard of MWCOG, right? Fairfax county deserves much credit for not only being helpful to other counties but contributing the most money. A few years ago, DC refused to pay anything for the Metro. Guess who had to pick up the tab?

As far as Metro playing favorites with the FBI HQ, Metro is supposed to represent all of the local governments that fund it, so there should not even be the appearance of favoritism. In the case of the EDA office in Massachusetts, Fairfax County funds its own EDA, so naturally it should look out for Fairfax County, not DC, Massachusetts, New Zealand, or any other political entity other than Fairfax.