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The South economically is fools gold. Your wages are likely gonna decrease with a few exceptions. You're fleeing high costs to soon realize the money you're saving in rent/housing they'll get you in other ways. Florida is a prime example of this. SC has a high income tax. Tennessee's lack of an income tax is made up for a crazy sales tax and a tax on groceries. Nashville isn't cheap. Neither is Atlanta, Charlotte or Raleigh, a city which has poor blue collar wages but crazy rents--hard to find a 1br or even a studio for under $800 in a decent area, but you can in Chicago, Milwaukee and even parts of the northeast. With utilities included.
To me, Houston and maybe Greensboro are the only cities in the South that have a better economic balance. Affordable rents, wages that aren't that bad for the area and no crazy sales/income taxes.
You're right. Wages are lower overall. Not every job, but many are. And, high rents and housing can make that lower wage more difficult. Just a trade off of this or that when you move. Depends on the city, state, too, w/ all of that. I lived in Central Florida in the 90's and the wages for me, personally, were great. For some other person or job, they might not have been. I found the highest wages and best working conditions in Arizona. You could always get another job, too, if you hated the one you had.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 01-22-2019 at 12:39 PM..
As a transplant from the north myself, part of the reason I moved south vs. west is because of weather (outside of parts of Florida and the immediate gulf coast, you get still 4 seasons) and COL.
Out west, the choice is sunshine all the time versus clouds/rain (Portland/Seattle) all of the time, which gets old/boring. Plus, good luck ever buying a home if you're not making at least 6-figures.
Right. Some parts of the West are very expensive. Some not as much. Some like it more humid, some like it bone dry. Some like a bit of snow, some never again. It's all so individual.
Because that's generally considered the North when the US is the subject. How would you define North?
Post 35 used California as his North. I don't consider LA North, but I get where he's coming from... but since you list Mexico City as your location, I guess LA would definitely be "the North" for you.
When I think of the North I think of the Union states- which includes the Northeast AND the Midwest states.
There are ton of nice neighborhoods all over the south so I'm not sure how those people could be any better off living in the north. You might want to get on a website like Zillow and check out some neighborhoods in the south.
It is true that income tax on higher income people in SC is pretty high but property taxes are much lower than up north.
I think Duke University has little to do with the general economy in Raleigh-Durham. The primary reason Raleigh grew is industrialization / manufacturing which then brought in engineering firms and other companies. I would say NC State is the strongest STEM related university in that metro. It has one of the largest engineering programs in the country.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 01-22-2019 at 05:32 PM..
Right. Some parts of the West are very expensive. Some not as much. Some like it more humid, some like it bone dry. Some like a bit of snow, some never again. It's all so individual.
I can't stand the humid Subtropical climate of the South, way way too much rain- even in the winter you never get a break. Even the Ohio Valley is becoming much wetter over time, with flooding on a yearly basis. 72.00'' of rainfall last year and 20.00'' of snowfall. I'll take a colder, snowier, and drier climate any day of the week over swampy mold land.
I think Duke University has little to do with the general economy in Raleigh-Durham. The primary reason Raleigh grew is industrialization / manufacturing which then brought in engineering firms and other companies. I would say NC State is the strongest STEM related university in that metro. It has one of the largest engineering programs in the country.
You would be quite wrong about Duke and the role of industrialization/manufacturing in the Triangle. RTP is the Triangle's primary reason for its rapid growth which began in the 70s/80s and it was conceived in the 50s to give the state an economic path forward based on seminal/future industries as the state's traditional sectors (textiles, tobacco, furniture, etc) weren't providing the widespread prosperity the state wanted to see. Raleigh itself had a couple of mills but was never particularly strong in any of the state's traditional sectors. Durham was a bit different as a center of tobacco production in particular. However, RTP essentially served as the replacement for those sectors in the Triangle area once they began declining and the region basically bypassed the establishment and strengthening of the mass/advanced manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, etc. sectors that came in the wake of the decline of the traditional sectors in other parts of the state.
As far as Duke's role in the region's economy, not only is it the most elite institution among the collaborating research institutions of RTP, but the university is also responsible for a large chunk of the region's healthcare sector. And that's not mentioning the more traditional ways universities contribute to their region's economies.
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