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the southern US just offers more time outside between those temps than the northern US.
From my experience of living in the deep south, "upper" south, and upper midwest, the upper midwest had as many if not more ideal-weather days as anybody.
Usually, those days came in the summer for the north, whereas they were in the fall in the south. Some spring days are good down there, when it wasn't humid or raining. Humidity can be quite unpleasant down into the 70's or even upper 60's to the point outdoor activities are just not enjoyable.
From my experience of living in the deep south, "upper" south, and upper midwest, the upper midwest had as many if not more ideal-weather days as anybody.
Usually, those days came in the summer for the north, whereas they were in the fall in the south. Some spring days are good down there, when it wasn't humid or raining. Humidity can be quite unpleasant down into the 70's or even upper 60's to the point outdoor activities are just not enjoyable.
Even still though, having the nice days scattered through the Spring and Fall could be seen as an improvement over having them all stacked to one side of the year.
Also, for a lot of people it's not even about how nice it is for my activity, it's how nice is it for my 10 minute walk over lunch and to and from my car. Hot and humid doesn't smack you in the face like -10 F does, where it takes seconds, not minutes, to get miserable in inside clothing. For people who actually do activities outside, the cold weather isn't so bad because you can dress for it. You don't dress for it just to walk to your car though.
That being said, It really doesn't get that cold in the continental US outside of the Canadian border area.
I wonder how long this migration south will last...probably for a decade or 2, perhaps 30 years?
I agree with the many factors brought up on why people are moving to the south (lower cost of living, subjectively better QOL, cheaper rent/housing, and healthcare costs). Its why you see black people having a reverse great migration from the north and the west back to the south and why white Baby Boomers and others moving down south as well.
Why I don't believe it will last is because 1.) I think there's a chance that southern cities will become tech hubs and drive up the COL forcing many to leave or 2.) Climate change/Global warming/whatever you want to call it will make many southern, sun belt, and coastal cities unlivable and force people to migrate to the Midwest and other cities that can mitigate the changing climate and weather conditions.
All to say, I think people living in the midwest owning property will have the last laugh in the end. the Jobs and the tax money will come their way at some point, they just need to make the welcome mat nice and ready for it.
If you're white collar, maybe. Not blue collar. My current hourly wage in the same type of job would probably be at least 2-3 dollars less per hour in the southeast. Maybe it'd be the same in DFW or Austin but housing costs tho.
Cheaper housing is a bigger factor, and even then it's not that cheap with the exception of a few metros. When you factor in utilities it can be worse. For the flak I give Philly and Pittsburgh you don't have to struggle to find a studio apartment for $600, even in the burbs. Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Dallas, you'd be lucky to find one for that amount that's not in the hood.
Yep, I don't see why people ignore this.
Back in 2013, my pay had sunk to $11/hr here in northeast TN. I really tried to get on in Nashville. Were there openings? Absolutely, but I think the best one I had was in the mid $30k range. It's hard to find a 1BR in decent parts of Nashville now for under $1,000. My guess is that wages are also generally lower than somewhere like Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
I wonder how long this migration south will last...probably for a decade or 2, perhaps 30 years?
I agree with the many factors brought up on why people are moving to the south (lower cost of living, subjectively better QOL, cheaper rent/housing, and healthcare costs). Its why you see black people having a reverse great migration from the north and the west back to the south and why white Baby Boomers and others moving down south as well.
Why I don't believe it will last is because 1.) I think there's a chance that southern cities will become tech hubs and drive up the COL forcing many to leave or 2.) Climate change/Global warming/whatever you want to call it will make many southern, sun belt, and coastal cities unlivable and force people to migrate to the Midwest and other cities that can mitigate the changing climate and weather conditions.
All to say, I think people living in the midwest owning property will have the last laugh in the end. the Jobs and the tax money will come their way at some point, they just need to make the welcome mat nice and ready for it.
Well, these are good estimations, but they aren't certain. What is certain is that in 20 years, there will be a demographic shift with lot less retirees compared to working age population. When that happens, high QOL and good employment cities will grow fastest, while high QOL poor employment places will stagnate.
So the non farmville midwest will most likely rebound pretty good while Florida will probably slow down significantly in growth. However, places in the south like Texas, with good economies will likely continue to grow like the have been (assuming no natural disasters).
Back in 2013, my pay had sunk to $11/hr here in northeast TN. I really tried to get on in Nashville. Were there openings? Absolutely, but I think the best one I had was in the mid $30k range. It's hard to find a 1BR in decent parts of Nashville now for under $1,000. My guess is that wages are also generally lower than somewhere like Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
That info is available here at city-data. Nashville has higher household income and higher per capita income than both Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
That info is available here at city-data. Nashville has higher household income and higher per capita income than both Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
If you go by Average Annual Wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics(May 2017), it goes $47,110 for Nashville, $48,580 for Pittsburgh and $48,920 for Cleveland for all occupations. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm
I’m not sure what the numbers would look like for the median annual wage though.
Even still though, having the nice days scattered through the Spring and Fall could be seen as an improvement over having them all stacked to one side of the year.
Also, for a lot of people it's not even about how nice it is for my activity, it's how nice is it for my 10 minute walk over lunch and to and from my car. Hot and humid doesn't smack you in the face like -10 F does, where it takes seconds, not minutes, to get miserable in inside clothing. For people who actually do activities outside, the cold weather isn't so bad because you can dress for it. You don't dress for it just to walk to your car though.
That being said, It really doesn't get that cold in the continental US outside of the Canadian border area.
This Southern shift by the native population (and increasingly with immigrants to certain areas) is nothing new, it's been happening since the end of WWII.
It shows no signs of slowing down, and seems to be increasing lately - again. The Recession slammed a lot of areas in the South, but that seems like a distant memory in most places now.
People are starting to realize that the South is not as bad as the Elitist coastal people think. I used to have a bad vision of the South until I visited here and found the people to be more down to earth, welcoming, helpful and outgoing than other US regions. Granted I have a different experience than most working in a hospital making a very good salary and living in the richest suburb of every city I stay in. When I lived in Boston and NYC people would always brag about the new car they bought or always talk about something materialistic and I would tell people, sorry not to be rude but I do not care. I found Nashville people more down to earth and happier people than the Northeastern people in general. Now if you live in a rural town in the South and do not have many skills you will struggle because they don't have as many social programs to help the poor in the South but overall it is a great region to live in.
That info is available here at city-data. Nashville has higher household income and higher per capita income than both Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
For any one person, the headline numbers are actually fairly meaningless - it is all about what you can command as an individual.
At that time, I didn't have the skills I do now, so I couldn't command as much. I'm also involved in health IT now, so I'd probably be more in line with the Nashville market. The unemployment rate is also lower today, so that should help.
With all of that said, the best offer I had in Nashville was probably 20% below the first offer I had Indianapolis. The cost of living in Indianapolis was less. I changed jobs in Indianapolis for a 20% raise over the first job's salary. Would that have happened in Nashville or another Southern city? Maybe, but that level of pay was pretty common in Indianapolis, Columbus, and other Midwestern cities. At the time, I don't think I had an offer for over $50,000 in a Southern city. I came back in 2016 and make quite a bit more than that now here in Johnson City, but I don't have a lot of confidence that I could make the same amount in Nashville easily. I could probably make the same as I do now in Indianapolis or Des Moines without that much effort.
I haven't seriously looked for work since late 2015. The market is tighter now. Pay should be a bit higher.
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