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Actually of the economies listed above, DFW is the most stable based on the numbers. Oil and energy is a part of DFW's economy, but its not huge up here.
However, DFW doesnt get huge economic booms the way Houston does.
In terms of the article itself...it seems a bit...slanted...especially towards the Red States. It suggests the only thing preventing cities like Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego from becoming "fancy versions of Detroit" is the fact that there will be demand for high tech products. At the same time it applauds Texas cities like Dallas and Houston. This isn't to say cities like Houston or Dallas don't have diversified economies...but to suggest Boston & San Francisco (I don't know enough about SD to include it in this argument) are alive only because of the tech industry would be like saying Houston and Dallas are only doing well because of the oil industry.
Both Boston and San Francisco (SD too) are epicenters of biotechnology and nanotechnology. I suppose those fall under the high-tech umbrella, but they're also ranked as the #3 and #4 financial centers in the nation (both in the Top 15 (http://www.zyen.com/long-finance/global-financial-centres-index-gfci.html - broken link) on the planet among cities like Paris, Shenzhen, Toronto, Frankfurt). They're also ranked the #1 and #3 life sciences centers in the country. Pair these factors with the fact that Boston & the Bay Area are arguably the #1 & #2 centers for higher education and you can draw the conclusion that Boston and the Bay will continue to be powerful because of more than just demand for high tech products. Also note that Boston's unemployment rate is lower than that of Houston and Dallas (San Francisco's is much higher).
I feel that this article also seems to take a snapshot of current conditions, and then just projects what the future will be like if nothing changes. I suppose that's why the Red States may be seen in a much better light in this article too. Overall, I'll take this article with a sizable grain of salt.
Not to mention that Philly actually has one of larger oil cos in the world headquartered within the City - Sunoco
Underlying all this though is the health of the overall economy - When this gets better most if not all places will also do better
Exactly. That's also my problem with the article. They seem write off a lot of very powerful areas. The only major non-Texas/non-Red metros that they seem to defend are New York, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and NoVA (which is a mix of Red & Blue). They ignore areas like Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Seattle, among others. Those are strong cities which with well-diversified economies behind their primary industry.
Some of those metros have been hit hard by the recession (Chicago, Atlanta) but others are still below national averages (Philly, Seattle)...and Minneapolis is killing it with a 6.7% unemployment rate...I think that may be the lowest among major cities in the country outside of DC.
As you've hinted at, it's hard to write off so many areas when nearly the entire country is down. Just because Salt Lake City is thriving doesn't mean it's the new Silicon Valley.
P.S. How many times did this article refer to a metro as some form of new Silicon Valley? As far as I can remember, they said Utah, Austin, Raleigh, and NoVA, and maybe Iowa? That's a lot of Silicon Valleys.
I wouldn't call Raleigh a Silicon Valley. I think the RTP is an unique phenomenon in its own right. I think we also need to recognize that oil (or should I say petroleum) is an integral part of the NATIONS economy. It is used for making pharmaceuticals, plastics, fragrances, as well as gas. Gas is only one aspect of pertoleum refinery. If you have a problem with the fact that Houston does well because of this, then advocate different energy technologies and ways of producing products.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Anyway, highlights from the original article:
THE TEXAPLEX
For sheer economic promise, no place beats Texas. Though the Lone Star State’s growth slowed during the recession, it didn’t suffer nearly as dramatically as the rest of the country. Businesses have been flocking to Texas for a generation, and that trend is unlikely to slow soon. Texas now has more Fortune 500 companies—58—than any other state, including longtime corporate powerhouse New York.
THE NEW SILICON VALLEYS
Although Massachusetts and California are lauded as the places “where the brains are,” neither ranked high in the growth of tech jobs over the past decade. More important is where the brains are headed. A lot of them are going to North Carolina, Virginia, and Utah.
THE HEARTLAND HONEYS
The oft-ignored center of the country boasts a thriving economy that seems poised for further expansion. [Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa] The region is well positioned to take advantage of growing markets for agricultural commodities and farm machinery in fast-growing countries such as India and China. The Great Plains and parts of the southern Midwest have also attracted new investments in manufacturing, both from domestic and foreign firms.
THE TEXAPLEX
For sheer economic promise, no place beats Texas. Though the Lone Star State’s growth slowed during the recession, it didn’t suffer nearly as dramatically as the rest of the country. Businesses have been flocking to Texas for a generation, and that trend is unlikely to slow soon. Texas now has more Fortune 500 companies—58—than any other state, including longtime corporate powerhouse New York.
THE NEW SILICON VALLEYS
Although Massachusetts and California are lauded as the places “where the brains are,” neither ranked high in the growth of tech jobs over the past decade. More important is where the brains are headed. A lot of them are going to North Carolina, Virginia, and Utah.
THE HEARTLAND HONEYS
The oft-ignored center of the country boasts a thriving economy that seems poised for further expansion. [Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa] The region is well positioned to take advantage of growing markets for agricultural commodities and farm machinery in fast-growing countries such as India and China. The Great Plains and parts of the southern Midwest have also attracted new investments in manufacturing, both from domestic and foreign firms.
Great summary. Does the article go into detail with regards to which metro area are growing? NC, VA, Utah, OK, Indiana, and Iowa are latively huge comapred to metro areas.
THE NEW SILICON VALLEYS Although Massachusetts and California are lauded as the places “where the brains are,” neither ranked high in the growth of tech jobs over the past decade. More important is where the brains are headed.
A lot of them are going to North Carolina, Virginia, and Utah.
Yeah, good luck with that.
Silicon Valley's biggest competitors are not even in the US-they are the likes Beijing, Bangalore etc.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adavi215
Great summary. Does the article go into detail with regards to which metro area are growing? NC, VA, Utah, OK, Indiana, and Iowa are latively huge comapred to metro areas.
Specifically mentioned were:
The "Texaplex" - DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio
Raleigh-Durham
Salt Lake City
"Urban Northern Virginia"
Oklahoma City
Indianapolis
Des Moines
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