Which Metros will gain Counties???

[Greenville]

Originally Posted by seabass08

The "huge" geographical span from Charleston to Myrtle Beach north, or Charleston to Hilton Head/Savannah south is no longer than the span from Spartanburg to Anderson. And there are vast rural areas all over SC, on the coast, in the upstate, all over.

Lots of people commute to Charleston for work who live closer to Savannah or Myrtle Beach. LOTS live in Charleston who work in Hilton Head and vice versa. And a lot live in Charleston and work in Myrtle and vice versa (note: many are strippers haha just a joke). The food and beverage industry is massive on the coast, and the large number of employees work up and down the coast, same with the hotel community. Hell, a lot of folks commute from Charleston to Columbia or v/v. Not as many as the coastal cities though.

"Lots" of people don't commute from Charleston to Hilton Head or Charleston to Myrtle Beach for work. I'm sure some do, but this is a very very small percentage of people who live in the Charleston metro area.

Far more people who live in Spartanburg commute to Greenville...just in case you're wanting a reference point.

[southbel]

Originally Posted by Greenville

"Lots" of people don't commute from Charleston to Hilton Head or Charleston to Myrtle Beach for work. I'm sure some do, but this is a very very small percentage of people who live in the Charleston metro area.

Far more people who live in Spartanburg commute to Greenville...just in case you're wanting a reference point.

Having previously lived in the Greenville-Spartanburg are and now living in the Charleston area, I think this is a very true statement. The furthest you will see people commute from down here is the Summerville area. Charleston has Francis Marion to the north and ACE Basin to the south, so the area is naturally hemmed into a certain geographic area.

[Woodlands]

As far as whether or not N. Charleston is a suburb or a City.. I would venture to guess that both of you are right. N. Charleston WAS a suburb that is now developing..(and maybe it has for the last 20yrs or so) to become its own Central City. As in the case of most cities.. they evolve or 'devolve' depending on their respective economies, leadership and the impact of other cities on them...... In terms of their own Manifest Destiny.. I would venture to guess that if you asked the Mayor and most N. Charlestonians if they consider themselves as a suburb of Charleston.. they would say without hesitation "NO"...even if it is only from a purely civic pride perspective....

[Columbiadata]

I get tee'd every time the census estimates come out and The State reports that the coast is the big gainer in population. It's not a population gain on the coast so much as it is a population gain in places that are on the coast, so I don't see why they don't report on how many people each MSA along the coast gained instead of lumping them all into one "coastal" category, when inland MSA's have gained as many or more people than any one of the coastal MSA's. Just sayin'.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by seabass08

The "huge" geographical span from Charleston to Myrtle Beach north, or Charleston to Hilton Head/Savannah south is no longer than the span from Spartanburg to Anderson.

Flag on the play. You're calling for a coastal metro area spanning from Myrtle Beach to Savannah, and then say it's justified because the distance to each from Charleston is the same as Spartanburg to Anderson. Do you not realize that one is TWICE as long/spacious as the other?

Lots of people commute to Charleston for work who live closer to Savannah or Myrtle Beach. LOTS live in Charleston who work in Hilton Head and vice versa. And a lot live in Charleston and work in Myrtle and vice versa (note: many are strippers haha just a joke). The food and beverage industry is massive on the coast, and the large number of employees work up and down the coast, same with the hotel community. Hell, a lot of folks commute from Charleston to Columbia or v/v. Not as many as the coastal cities though.

What is "lots"? I'd like to see stats.

But since you asked for statistics, I'd be interested in seeing your stats on how many people commute to Spartanburg from Anderson and vice versa.

I doubt there are very many people commuting from Spartanburg to Anderson, but this shows that you're not aware of how CSA's work. The fact of the matter is that the city between them, Greenville, is pulling somewhere between 15% and 25% of the workforce from both the Spartanburg and Anderson areas, which is why they are all included in one CSA. That's the very definition by which counties are included in a CSA, so that's your statistic right there. Now I'm waiting for yours.

[smithgn]

When will Newberry officially be incorporated into Columbia's MSA? I would think that would be a next added county if any... But thats just an opinion of mine.

[Columbiadata]

Originally Posted by smithgn

When will Newberry officially be incorporated into Columbia's MSA? I would think that would be a next added county if any... But thats just an opinion of mine.

Speaking of that, the Central Midlands Council of Governments and the S.C. Department of Transportation are going to be hosting open houses for discussion of improvements in Newberry-Columbia commuting connections. Commuting patterns play a big role in determining whether a county comes into the fold in an MSA. Between commuting and cultural exchange, as in the Newberry Opera House and Columbia's cultural venues, Newberry could very well be included after the area's 2010 census figures have been analyzed. It took a couple of years after the 2000 census before Kershaw and other counties were added. Also, the majority of Newberry County's growth is occurring around the Prosperity-Lake Murray section, while the town of Newberry's population has remained flat. This is the same pattern as Kershaw County saw, with the majority of population growth occurring in Lugoff and Elgin while Camden's population remained flat. And Harbison is a shopping destination for Newberry County residents.

Newberry-Columbia commutes studied - Local / Metro - TheState.com

[smithgn]

Originally Posted by Columbiadata

Speaking of that, the Central Midlands Council of Governments and the S.C. Department of Transportation are going to be hosting open houses for discussion of improvements in Newberry-Columbia commuting connections. Commuting patterns play a big role in determining whether a county comes into the fold in an MSA. Between commuting and cultural exchange, as in the Newberry Opera House and Columbia's cultural venues, Newberry could very well be included after the area's 2010 census figures have been analyzed. It took a couple of years after the 2000 census before Kershaw and other counties were added. Also, the majority of Newberry County's growth is occurring around the Prosperity-Lake Murray section, while the town of Newberry's population has remained flat. This is the same pattern as Kershaw County saw, with the majority of population growth occurring in Lugoff and Elgin while Camden's population remained flat. And Harbison is a shopping destination for Newberry County residents.

Newberry-Columbia commutes studied - Local / Metro - TheState.com

What a coincidence! Very interesting... So you're saying Newberry could possibly be included as early as the 2011 MSA population estimates (the one coming out this spring)?

You make a lot of good points. The Lake Murray area of Newberry is certainly seeing growth, is this the same reason why Saluda is incorporated into the Columbia MSA? Other than the Lake Murray growth, I dont see much of a case for a significant increase in both of these counties. For some reason I just dont see it in or around Prosperity, although I havent been out there in a while.

With Chapin growing at a pretty good clip and it being right on the border of Newberry, I still see it being several years before Newberry sees any sort of major growth via home construction, major subdivisions etc... What do you think?

[Columbiadata]

A lot of addresses on Lake Murray that are in Newberry County are Prosperity addresses. The way I understand it is counties get added to MSA's based on data from the official census every ten years. If Newberry County gets added soon it will be because of what the 2010 census revealed. If the 2010 census doesn't put the county in the Columbia MSA, it will be 2020 before it will have another chance to be added. Again, this is based on my understanding of how it works, and I think I'm correct. An official told me once after the 1990 census that Kershaw County barely missed getting added to the Columbia MSA as a result of what that census showed, or actually what it didn't quite show. I think Saluda County got added after the 2000 census because of the large percentage of commuters to Lexington and Richland Counties, and because of the county's Lake Murray development link.