The Rust Belt vs. the Sun Belt (pros and cons of each, as well as where you'd rather live)

[KellyXY]

Originally Posted by march2

The Rust Belt has suffered greatly from job and population loss over the years. The Sunbelt, in general, has had great job expansion and growth over the last few decades (including NC), much more so than the Rust Belt. These are just facts. Just off of the top of my head in the last couple of month, here in Charlotte we got 1500 new jobs at the Amazon facility here. Honeywell Electronics just announced it's moving its world headquarters from NJ to Charlotte, adding 750 new jobs. Fortune 500 Sonic Automotive is adding 500 new jobs to its customer service center here. Sprizzi Corp. High Tech facility 250 new jobs. Charlotte's airport is in the middle of a $2.5 billion dollar expansion. Charlotte's downtown is exploding with growth. The same can be said for Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, and Houston. So it's important to use a good number of stats and be able to interpret them properly to get an accurate picture.

On the other hand, if you're using job growth as a metric, you should factor in how many people will be applying for those jobs. Although I agree that the unemployment rate should be taken with a grain of salt, at least that ostensibly weighs both the supply and demand (and a lot of those people "not looking for work" would likely not be in the job market regardless of the economy, e.g. retirees, people on disability, stay-at-home parents, etc.). In fast-growing areas you'll likely face competition from others with the same idea to move there, while in slower-growing (but not economically depressed) areas you likely won't have as much competition (this point is especially applicable now and in the near future with the baby boomer generation retiring and jobs opening up that way).

The question should be which areas have the lowest number of job seekers per job opening if you're deciding on where to move based on how easy it'd be to find a job (not factoring any specifics based on your field of course).

ETA: A few years ago I made a post on "unfashionable/underrated cities" - someone looking to follow my advice may want to consider one of the places mentioned there (some are in warm climates, some in cold). ETA2: I found the thread I'm talking about (it's from 2017).

[Marv95]

Originally Posted by fromsuntorust

The Southeastern part of the Sunbelt, including Texas, continues to have a strong undercurrent that is resiliently anti-Northern, anti-academic, anti-liberal, anti-Yankee, anti-"coastal elite", and so on. To me (as a "Yankee") that's unacceptable and reveals a real lack of openness, as well as the source of the region's deep social fragmentation.

If lack of openness=not wanting someone's social agenda being shoved down their throats, not wanting a crapload of new taxes imposed upon them for "reasons", etc. then you do you.

That being said, I've said this before: the Sun Belt is overrated and fools gold especially if you're in a blue collar working class field. Housing(including rents) have risen to the point where you might as well stay up north or out west. I mention taxes, well there are states/areas that impose nonsense like a grocery tax. Traffic is a joke, and not in a good way. Same with wages. Weather is overrated because instead of blizzards/extreme cold you're likely to deal with more frequent severe weather and/or extreme heat/humidity.

Where I'm moving to next month ain't perfect(Fort Wayne), but at least there, from what I can gather, I can easily find studios/1BRs for under $600 with utilities included, cheaper groceries due to competition, as well as a job market where the wages aren't a complete joke for what I'm doing, and it's easier for me to find work if I lose my job vs the southeast.

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by Marv95

If lack of openness=not wanting someone's social agenda being shoved down their throats, not wanting a crapload of new taxes imposed upon them for "reasons", etc. then you do you.

I am not sure if you are referring to the "social agenda" of the North or the South?

Southern Baptists have a stranglehold on setting social agendas for state governments. In the south they go further than "shoving it down your throat" they make choices illegal, or just ignore things like Supreme Court rulings or federal mandates that they don't like.

[Nanny Goat]

Depends on which area in Rustbelt and which in Sunbelt, too. There's advantages and disadvantages to each. It depends on the person and their situation. I like things about Rustbelt areas, but like things about Sunbelt areas. It's a toss dependent on your individual situation.