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I don't think smaller cities win on QOL by default. While that can be subjective depending on the individual (e.g., college grads, middle-age professionals with children, retirees, etc), there are also standard metrics that are often included in QOL assessments such as salaries, unemployment rates, crime rates, school quality, parks, municipal services, healthcare facilities, etc. For instance, just looking at NC, I think Raleigh offers a higher QOL looking at those standard metrics than several smaller cities in the state. For some reason, I think people are looking only or primarily at traffic when they say Charlotte has a higher QOL than Atlanta.
I think by default, bigger city “wins” on more amenities, infrastructure, etc. and smaller cities by default wins on QOL, cost of living.
Amazon is a clear display over smaller cities claiming lower crime rate, QOL, lower cost of living etc while larger cities point to their workforce, mass transit, etc.
For people like me, obviously a bigger city wins by default because I particularly happen to like cities, and, well... bigger cities generally have more toys.
But I think the vast majority prefer lower cost of living, a house with a picket fence, etc. in the USA. I prefer a studio, no car, etc. I believe I’m in the minority.
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You seem to be all over the place, lol. You say smaller cities win in QOL yet go on to make the case that for you QOL means something completely different.
Like another poster said, QOL is subjective. You just proved his point.
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"Amazon is a clear display over smaller cities claiming lower crime rate, QOL, lower cost of living etc while larger cities point to their workforce, mass transit, etc."
Sooooo....you're basically saying QOL is lower crime rates, lower cost of living AND mass transit and other big city amenities. In other words, Amazon sees QOL being any of those things, all of those things, and more as well.
Here are the Top 20 Amazon H2Q contender cities: Toronto, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Boston, New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Washington (D.C.), Raleigh, Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Miami.
The markets in bold are around 2 million all the way up to the biggest cities in the United States (Chicago, LA, NYC). Clearly Amazon thinks each of these cities and regions offer a QOL or they would not be the Top 20 Amazon contenders. "Picket fences" don't seem be given much sway in Amazon's QOL metrics for the talent and employees they are trying to attract. They seem to want education hubs, technology hubs, cultural hubs, entertainment hubs...."picket fences", probably not so much a QOL consideration for them.
Saddle some with a home in the burbs (outer burbs or rural) and their idea of QOL falls through the floor. For them QOL may be living in the heart of Chicago or NYC...or in your case, DC.
(PS: I don't necessarily like the term "crime rates" because some will use those words as code for cities and areas that have a lot of minorities. Progressive companies like Amazon are fine with minorities and often encourage their hire. Not sure if "crime rates" figure as high on the scales of companies like Amazon and Apple, or some of the cities on the Amazon finalist list might not be in the final cut. Where some may see "crime rates" as an undesirable metric, others may see "gentrification" just as undesirable preferring instead to be in a racially and culturally diverse area..again, QOL being subjective)
Last edited by Sebastian14A; 09-25-2018 at 01:54 PM..
Interesting discussion. There’s no right or wrong. We can see things differently, but that doesn’t make our opinions less valid. I’ll add my input as an outsider.
Atlanta feels like a big city to me. I don’t know quite what it is, but I know that living in Atlanta means that you have access to most everything that comes with living in a big city. And I mean big city on the level of NYC, Chicago, DC, Dallas, Boston, LA, Houston, etc.
Charlotte doesn’t feel like a big city. It feels like at least a tier down. The same level as Raleigh, Indianapolis, Portland, Tampa, and Las Vegas among many others.
That said, Charlotte and Atlanta are a lot alike for the average person living in either city. The housing stock looks the same. The lot sizes look similar. Seemingly more trees than people in most places. Traffic lights hanging on wires instead of on poles. They seem similar to me. Charlotte is Atlanta without the big city feel and many of the big city amenities (a subway for example).
Atlanta is much, much more like Charlotte than it is like LA or even Houston, despite the difference in size. Maybe it’s that piedmont thing, but whatever they’re a lot alike. No need to be offended by that.
Charlotte is much, much more like Raleigh than it is like Atlanta. In some ways Raleigh may be more like Atlanta than Charlotte is.
Interesting discussion. There’s no right or wrong. We can see things differently, but that doesn’t make our opinions less valid. I’ll add my input as an outsider.
Atlanta feels like a big city to me. I don’t know quite what it is, but I know that living in Atlanta means that you have access to most everything that comes with living in a big city. And I mean big city on the level of NYC, Chicago, DC, Dallas, Boston, LA, Houston, etc.
Charlotte doesn’t feel like a big city. It feels like at least a tier down. The same level as Raleigh, Indianapolis, Portland, Tampa, and Las Vegas among many others.
That said, Charlotte and Atlanta are a lot alike for the average person living in either city. The housing stock looks the same. The lot sizes look similar. Seemingly more trees than people in most places. Traffic lights hanging on wires instead of on poles. They seem similar to me. Charlotte is Atlanta without the big city feel and many of the big city amenities (a subway for example).
Atlanta is much, much more like Charlotte than it is like LA or even Houston, despite the difference in size. Maybe it’s that piedmont thing, but whatever they’re a lot alike. No need to be offended by that.
Charlotte is much, much more like Raleigh than it is like Atlanta. In some ways Raleigh may be more like Atlanta than Charlotte is.
I’ve always thought both Charlotte and Raleigh were both more like Atlanta than like eachother
I’ve always thought both Charlotte and Raleigh were both more like Atlanta than like eachother
That actually makes sense as Atlanta is basically like a combination of both (Raleigh: state capital, higher ed, tech; Charlotte: corporate HQs and operations, bigger city amenities and infrastructure).
Interesting discussion. There’s no right or wrong. We can see things differently, but that doesn’t make our opinions less valid. I’ll add my input as an outsider.
Atlanta feels like a big city to me. I don’t know quite what it is, but I know that living in Atlanta means that you have access to most everything that comes with living in a big city. And I mean big city on the level of NYC, Chicago, DC, Dallas, Boston, LA, Houston, etc.
Charlotte doesn’t feel like a big city. It feels like at least a tier down. The same level as Raleigh, Indianapolis, Portland, Tampa, and Las Vegas among many others.
That said, Charlotte and Atlanta are a lot alike for the average person living in either city. The housing stock looks the same. The lot sizes look similar. Seemingly more trees than people in most places. Traffic lights hanging on wires instead of on poles. They seem similar to me. Charlotte is Atlanta without the big city feel and many of the big city amenities (a subway for example).
Atlanta is much, much more like Charlotte than it is like LA or even Houston, despite the difference in size. Maybe it’s that piedmont thing, but whatever they’re a lot alike. No need to be offended by that.
Charlotte is much, much more like Raleigh than it is like Atlanta. In some ways Raleigh may be more like Atlanta than Charlotte is.
I agree with some of this, but Charlotte feels like much more of a city than Raleigh does, due largely to a more developed/denser core, light rail system, more advanced retail and amenities. Charlotte is basically a slightly smaller Atlanta, while Raleigh is a step or two behind.
I agree with some of this, but Charlotte feels like much more of a city than Raleigh does, due largely to a more developed/denser core, light rail system, more advanced retail and amenities. Charlotte is basically a slightly smaller Atlanta, while Raleigh is a step or two behind.
Could be. I haven’t been to Charlotte as recently as I have the other two, so I could be off. All three are similar to me except Atlanta is a big city. Perhaps Charlotte hits the middle spot between the two. But you wouldn’t know it based on population. Population wise it’s much more similar to Raleigh.
Could be. I haven’t been to Charlotte as recently as I have the other two, so I could be off. All three are similar to me except Atlanta is a big city. Perhaps Charlotte hits the middle spot between the two. But you wouldn’t know it based on population. Population wise it’s much more similar to Raleigh.
Yeah, i'm not even considering population numbers at all.
I agree with some of this, but Charlotte feels like much more of a city than Raleigh does, due largely to a more developed/denser core, light rail system, more advanced retail and amenities. Charlotte is basically a slightly smaller Atlanta, while Raleigh is a step or two behind.
Slightly? Besides geographical similarities, it doesn’t really feel that way. But even granting that point that two are almost similar (I don’t) , Atlanta almost 3x larger than Charlotte. That’s more than slight difference given that Charlotte itself is like a decade away from being considered a large metro area.
slightly? Besides geographical similarities, it doesn’t really feel that way. But even granting that point that two are almost similar (i don’t) , atlanta almost 3x larger than charlotte. That’s more than slight difference given that charlotte itself is like a decade away from being considered a large metro area.
I understand the population differences, but the key word in my post is "feels". Charlotte has many of the larger city amenities like major league sports, light rail, a densely developed urban core, etc. Obviously, Atlanta is bigger, but in the context of comparing Charlotte and Raleigh (which is what the poster I was responding to was doing) Charlotte has much more of an Atlanta "feel" than does Raleigh.
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