Which city in SC will boom next? (Columbia, Charleston: hotels, tax)

[mrpeatie]

Too be honest, Florence has one thign going for it that Columbia, Greenville, etc do not. A Representative in a top position in the party in control. Ditto Orangeburg. They also have access to more than one interstate.

Greenville is the easy the choice but I think it is going to have a couple of hiccups in the next few years.

[motonenterprises]

Originally Posted by mrpeatie

Too be honest, Florence has one thign going for it that Columbia, Greenville, etc do not. A Representative in a top position in the party in control. Ditto Orangeburg. They also have access to more than one interstate.

Greenville is the easy the choice but I think it is going to have a couple of hiccups in the next few years.

No disrespect to Florence, but its not on par with the big 3 in SC. The only time I've been there is going through it to the beach and I don't even remember what it looked like. But it definetly wasn't near as big as Greenville, Columbia, or Charleston. Felt more like my hometown Greenwood.

[Akhenaton06]

If we're talking about a "boom" a la Atlanta, Charlotte, or Raleigh, then I don't think it's going to happen for any city in SC anytime soon, mainly because it's still SC. State leaders are too busy grandstanding or holding on to the past to make any meaningful changes economically or educationally. They're too busy waxing nostalgic about the days when Charleston was king of the South and the 21st century has already caught them unaware. City and state leaders in Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, etc. had the foresight to invest in their futures and not continue to rely on low-wage, slow-growth industries that SC is still overly reliant on.

Furthermore, the state's metro areas are having a hard enough time managing the growth they're already experiencing. Get a handle on what you have before trying to get more. Rampant growth can wreak absolute havoc on an area that's not ready for it (and usually they aren't). This is one of the very few upsides to this recession as it regards my own city: slower population growth gives us some breathing room and allows infrastructure to catch up.

[NYC1DAY]

none of them have boomed and none of them ever will boom..... atleast not in my lifetime

[mrpeatie]

By what criteria would you say these areas never boomed. Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, the SC side of metro Charlotte and even Charleston have boomed by anyones definition over the last thirty and particularly the last ten years. May take a while to regain their footing but a simple look at increases in population shows a definite boom. The economic boom has been more local to the upstate aside from healthcare and construction.

And, no, I do not think Florence is on par with Charleston/Columbia/Greenville but in the current economic times it is most likely to get federal pork. Its also small enough/low enough down the totem pole in wealth that any job growth would have a bigger impact.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by mrpeatie

By what criteria would you say these areas never boomed. Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, the SC side of metro Charlotte and even Charleston have boomed by anyones definition over the last thirty and particularly the last ten years.

I tend to disagree. Charleston is one of the nation's first "boomtowns," but in terms of recent history, none of SC's cities can really be classified as such--although they have experienced above average growth. The closest would be Myrtle Beach, but it wasn't that big to begin with and it remains to be seen if its growth rate can be sustained in these tough economic times. Even then, the main group driving the growth of Myrtle Beach isn't young professionals or young families, but retirees.

Looking at this chart of growth rates of metropolitan areas from 1990-2000 and this one from 2000-2008, I'd say anything with a growth rate of over 25% from 1990-2000 and over ~20% from 2000-2008 could be classified as a boomtown. Myrtle Beach is the only metro area in SC that would qualify, but as I stated, it wasn't big to begin with.

[motonenterprises]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

I tend to disagree. Charleston is one of the nation's first "boomtowns," but in terms of recent history, none of SC's cities can really be classified as such--although they have experienced above average growth. The closest would be Myrtle Beach, but it wasn't that big to begin with and it remains to be seen if its growth rate can be sustained in these tough economic times. Even then, the main group driving the growth of Myrtle Beach isn't young professionals or young families, but retirees.

Looking at this chart of growth rates of metropolitan areas from 1990-2000 and this one from 2000-2008, I'd say anything with a growth rate of over 25% from 1990-2000 and over ~20% from 2000-2008 could be classified as a boomtown. Myrtle Beach is the only metro area in SC that would qualify, but as I stated, it wasn't big to begin with.

So this is just your opinion right? Just because these places aren't as big as Charlotte or Atlanta doesn't mean they can't or won't experience a boom. By some people's standards they are already booming. Just an opinion. Upstate SC is a hidden jewel that is rapidly becoming known about, as I'm sure these others are too.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by motonenterprises

So this is just your opinion right? Just because these places aren't as big as Charlotte or Atlanta doesn't mean they can't or won't experience a boom. By some people's standards they are already booming. Just an opinion. Upstate SC is a hidden jewel that is rapidly becoming known about, as I'm sure these others are too.

Opinion? I offered solid, hard-and-fast statistics. And I didn't say that because those cities weren't the size of Charlotte or Atlanta that they wouldn't experience a boom. I gave the reason for that earlier: state politics. SC's cities have great potential, but state leadership is just the worst.

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by motonenterprises

So this is just your opinion right? Just because these places aren't as big as Charlotte or Atlanta doesn't mean they can't or won't experience a boom. By some people's standards they are already booming. Just an opinion. Upstate SC is a hidden jewel that is rapidly becoming known about, as I'm sure these others are too.

I have to agree with you. Also, I think boomtown should be a term that is local. For example, the boomtown in NC is Raleigh, which is also the boomtown of the nation. I see Upstate and Columbia as the two best candidates for boomtown status with Charleston a strong contender but its "boomness" depends on leadership. I certainly hope SC produces a respectable medium-large city for its own sake. SC definitely doesn't get respect it deserves.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

If we're talking about a "boom" a la Atlanta, Charlotte, or Raleigh, then I don't think it's going to happen for any city in SC anytime soon, mainly because it's still SC. State leaders are too busy grandstanding or holding on to the past to make any meaningful changes economically or educationally. They're too busy waxing nostalgic about the days when Charleston was king of the South and the 21st century has already caught them unaware. City and state leaders in Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, etc. had the foresight to invest in their futures and not continue to rely on low-wage, slow-growth industries that SC is still overly reliant on.

Furthermore, the state's metro areas are having a hard enough time managing the growth they're already experiencing. Get a handle on what you have before trying to get more. Rampant growth can wreak absolute havoc on an area that's not ready for it (and usually they aren't). This is one of the very few upsides to this recession as it regards my own city: slower population growth gives us some breathing room and allows infrastructure to catch up.

I tend to agree with your comment on SC Leaders.. they march to the beat of their own drummer and have some definately opinions, beliefs, or dreams of what SC should become or not become and therefore the rest of the state is held hostage by their dogmatic ideology...As the state becomes more diverse with people moving in from other areas.. retiring..etc it may be interesting to see if the ideals of these leaders persist. Interestingly enough though the Cities.. such as the big three and even some of the smaller second tier cities in the state seem to be working towards making advances to secure their place in a more global economy