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This is the battle if the mid-sized metros. All 5 of these areas have similiar city and metro stats. Which one is the most business minded, economically developing, growth oriented, better skyline, higher education, civic engagement, etc. Also, which city do you think will be the first major city out of the bunch, and major city is based on your definition. Here are some stats for fun:
Austin: city(758k) metro (1.71m) urban area (1.07m) GDP $80b
Charlotte: city(687k) metro (1.75m) urban area (953k)GDP $118b
Columbus: city(755k) metro(1.8m) urban area (1.19m)GDP $90b
Indianapolis: city(798k) metro (1.74m) urban area (1.28m)GDP $96b
Sacramento: city(464k) metro(2.1m) urban area (1.49m)GDP $94b
I'm from Sacramento ( now live in SF ) . I like what Sacramento is doing. It's definately an underrated place, but to me, Charlotte and to some extent Austin have already made the jump into another tier. Charlotte has the advantage of being a banking capital, alot of the major banks are headquartered there, so they have the capacity to attract outside businesses to the city. As a result more money flows into Charlotte than the other three. It also has the best skyline of the group.
I'm from Sacramento ( now live in SF ) . I like what Sacramento is doing. It's definately an underrated place, but to me, Charlotte and to some extent Austin have already made the jump into another tier. Charlotte has the advantage of being a banking capital, alot of the major banks are headquartered there, so they have the capacity to attract outside businesses to the city. As a result more money flows into Charlotte than the other three. It also has the best skyline of the group.
I have heard that Sac-town is doing pretty good and being the capital of Cali, albeit in rough times right now, has got to be a plus.
I would have to say that Charlotte, despite it's recent troubles with the demise of it's banking industry is still poised to make that final leap to the ranks of unofficial "BIG CITY STATUS". I would also certainly believe that Columbus and Austin would not be far behind in attaining an "unofficial status" as a "BIG CITY"
One has to remember that all of these cities mentioned in this particular thread are already quite sizable, they're also important for various and respective reasons, and they're all experiencing further growth and continued levels of prosperity.
I also believe that Sacramento and Indianapolis will continue to see progress as well, but to a lesser degree than the aforementioned cities.
As far as skylines are concerned, Charlotte is the easy winner! Austin has an ever evolving and semi impressive skyline.
Columbus, Sacramento and Indianapolis have "pleasant" skylines with some changes coming in the not too distant future.
As far as economic development, I see Charlotte, Columbus and Austin as the clear "front runners" of this thread.
Again, I believe that Sacramento and Indianapolis will make strides with regards to their respective economies, but to a lesser degree than the others.
For education, I have to say that Columbus is the clear winner. Ohio State University, the largest in the U.S. is located in the city. Columbus also boasts nearly 20 other recognized universities and colleges in the metro area, and the city schools are highly acclaimed and well operated.
I would have to say that Charlotte, despite it's recent troubles with the demise of it's banking industry is still poised to make that final leap to the ranks of unofficial "BIG CITY STATUS". I would also certainly believe that Columbus and Austin would not be far behind in attaining an "unofficial status" as a "BIG CITY"
One has to remember that all of these cities mentioned in this particular thread are already quite sizable, they're also important for various and respective reasons, and they're all experiencing further growth and continued levels of prosperity.
I also believe that Sacramento and Indianapolis will continue to see progress as well, but to a lesser degree than the aforementioned cities.
As far as skylines are concerned, Charlotte is the easy winner! Austin has an ever evolving and semi impressive skyline.
Columbus, Sacramento and Indianapolis have "pleasant" skylines with some changes coming in the not too distant future.
As far as economic development, I see Charlotte, Columbus and Austin as the clear "front runners" of this thread.
Again, I believe that Sacramento and Indianapolis will make strides with regards to their respective economies, but to a lesser degree than the others.
For education, I have to say that Columbus is the clear winner. Ohio State University, the largest in the U.S. is located in the city. Columbus also boasts nearly 20 other recognized universities and colleges in the metro area, and the city schools are highly acclaimed and well operated.
As far as higher ed goes, I wouldn't automatically say that Columbus is the clear winner. Austin has UT which is a pretty sizeable institution. I'm not familiar with Indianapolis and Sacramento but I'm sure they have decent sized institutions as well.
I did vote for Austin though because I feel like Austin is the most popular of the cities mentioned. Charlotte has a lot more things to do and better shopping than any of the other cities and by far has the best skyline. I think Austin is the nicest/cleanest most progressive of the cities. Columbus is the most urban with the best neighborhoods. Indy and Sacramento just dont seem like they have nearly as much going on for them as the other three.
As far as higher ed goes, I wouldn't automatically say that Columbus is the clear winner. Austin has UT which is a pretty sizeable institution. I'm not familiar with Indianapolis and Sacramento but I'm sure they have decent sized institutions as well.
UT Austin is very much an acclaimed and well known university, but it lacks the "Power House" status, credentials and universal recognition of Ohio State University in Columbus.
O.S.U. is enormous, it also plays a very prominent role in this city, region and indeed the entire state.
UT @ Austin doesn't have the same scope of broad reaching influence.
Also, academically speaking, Ohio State is one of the best universities in the entire country.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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I voted for Charlotte because of its fast growth rate, enormous finance presence, great colleges in the state and climate. Despite the fact that Austin is growing faster, I think Charlotte's potential as an economic powerhouse will make it a more significant "player" in the overall economy.
As far as higher ed goes, I wouldn't automatically say that Columbus is the clear winner. Austin has UT which is a pretty sizeable institution. I'm not familiar with Indianapolis and Sacramento but I'm sure they have decent sized institutions as well.
Sacramento has Sacramento State within the city limits, but UC Davis is only 10 minutes away in Yolo/Solano County.
UC Davis is a Tier 1 school (according to US News, the 11th best public university in the US : Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report) with around 31,000 students. UT Austin is 15th, while Ohio State is 18th. However, I don't really like US News rankings, so take that with a grain of salt.
The problem with Sacramento is that its located way too close to the Bay Area to allow for any economic growth to occur. It's still heavily dependent on the California government for jobs. However, its diversifying as companies begin to move out of the Bay Area to places that have an educated workforce AND a cheaper cost of living. In addition, its one of the more diverse metro areas and cities in the US, but doesn't seem to make a big deal about it.
There is something about Sacramento that I like and I can't put my finger on it. However, I haven't been there in the dead heat of summer, so I shouldn't say anything.
Anyways, for this thread I vote for Charlotte and Austin, since both are making strides into really high paying industries (Charlotte with Banking, Austin with Technology). I don't know much about what's going on in Indianapolis or Columbus, so if someone could educate me, I'll be receptive to it.
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