Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
haha I've got my salt collectors out for all the Charlotte posters
Nobody is surprised that the Triangle has a larger concentration of STEM degree holders than Charlotte, nor would anybody try to say that isn't the truth. Charlotte is more of an MBA, Finance degree, Business Degree, etc... city. It is good for North Carolina that is has metro areas that are a major tech center, financial center, pharmaceutical center, energy center, etc...
It seems like NC has taken a step back, despite the anomaly of the Triangle, when it comes to wider gaps between the educated and prosperous areas of the state and the ones that aren't when we look at now compared to, say the pre- 1990's to now. That's not a good thing for the state as a whole and the big question, of course, is if and how can this be remedied?
That's life.
They push hard for tech in the Triangle, and finance in Charlotte. If you grow up in Goldsboro and get an education, but there are no opportunities. I'd say the two areas close together is part of the reason why. You can move 50 miles away, not be too far from family, or what you grew up with, but in an area with opportunities.
And the flip side is true, why in the world would a tech company locate out in Goldsboro. The land savings isn't enough, they need capable employees.
haha I've got my salt collectors out for all the Charlotte posters
There's more to the story than what the OP shared...
Quote:
Charlotte, N.C., is more often associated with banks than bots. Yet from 2006 to 2016, tech businesses in the Queen City expanded their job count by 62%, with 18% growth from 2014-16, the fastest clip in the nation. Meanwhile, over the past decade, the metro area logged a 23% increase in the number of workers in STEM occupations (science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related jobs). This rapid job growth and strong recent momentum, driven partly by health care and environmental technology, ranks it second on our list. In the past 10 years, the region has added 7,400 jobs in two key high-tech business services sectors, custom programming and systems design services, along with nearly 700% growth in software publishing employment. To be sure, the share of tech jobs in Charlotte’s economy remains one third that of Silicon Valley, and the tech and STEM workforces are far smaller, but quality of life, lower housing prices, as well as decent plane connections, seem likely to help it to continue to attract tech workers.
A recent study from student loan marketplace Credible found that those four cities — as well as Dallas, New York, Portland, Oakland and Washington, D.C. — had the most out-of-state graduates relative to in-state graduates among 20 large U.S. cities. The survey looked at 4,500 young Americans who have been out of school for an average of 4.5 years. Washington, D.C., and Charlotte see about 2.2 out-of state graduates for every one in-state graduate, the highest proportion in the group.
While it's well known that NC's Triangle has the state's highest concentration of PHDs; it should also be noted that Charlotte has an extremely fast growing educated population. Most booming midsized major cities in America do well at attracting people with brain power.
The real concern that I have is for rural NC; a place where Charlotte's most expensive apartments ($6,500/month) are unfathomable.
That's life.
They push hard for tech in the Triangle, and finance in Charlotte. If you grow up in Goldsboro and get an education, but there are no opportunities. I'd say the two areas close together is part of the reason why. You can move 50 miles away, not be too far from family, or what you grew up with, but in an area with opportunities.
And the flip side is true, why in the world would a tech company locate out in Goldsboro. The land savings isn't enough, they need capable employees.
That's life.
They push hard for tech in the Triangle, and finance in Charlotte. If you grow up in Goldsboro and get an education, but there are no opportunities. I'd say the two areas close together is part of the reason why. You can move 50 miles away, not be too far from family, or what you grew up with, but in an area with opportunities.
And the flip side is true, why in the world would a tech company locate out in Goldsboro. The land savings isn't enough, they need capable employees.
So is the answer to just forget about the counties/cities that aren't doing as well?
I totally get that some areas of the state like that Triangle and Charlotte are doing well economically and in job generation compared to the rest of the state (whether those are the "best" areas of the state to live in is a different question and matter of personal opinion).
And other communities that don't have the demographics, natural economic advantages, universities, or political pull are going to have a hard time competing with these two areas in everything, yes. But they each can figure out a strategy to improve their level or prosperity from where it is based on local conditions.
Take Greenville, for example. It's in a part of the state that's kind of in the middle of nowhere and poor all around it. Without East Carolina and all of the medical economy that it's built around, it would be much more impoverished and rundown than it is, which is an oasis of prosperity with lots of that. I realize we can't put a large University in every community like this, but there can be a vision to do some things to improve their localities without ceding every bit of prosperity to two metros that have become increasingly composed of people who aren't even from NC to begin with (nothing against non NC natives- just pointing out the peculiarity). Some of the these efforts, like the Global Trans Park in Kinston have flopped, but a place at least has to try to improve, and in some cases, try several different things before finding its hit.
Some of the these efforts, like the Global Trans Park in Kinston have flopped, but a place at least has to try to improve, and in some cases, try several different things before finding its hit.
The Global TransPark might've been more successful if it had the infrastructure already in place to support it when it first opened. The state made the huge mistake in thinking that the runway was all that was needed. It didn't occur them that the GTP would also need the right highway and rail infrastructure to support freight movement on the ground and the lack of those is a big reason that the companies that spared a few seconds to glance at the GTP immediately crossed it off their list. The p*** poor leadership didn't help, either.
It wasn't until the last 10 years that NCDOT finally decided to start upgrading US-70 between I-40 and Morehead City to interstate standards. They also built a rail spur that connects the GTP to the Port of Morehead City but it's hardly ever used. What it really needs is a rail connection to the Port of Virginia in Norfolk.
Allen Thomas resigned as mayor of Greenville this past summer to become the executive director of the GTP. Considering what he's done for Greenville during his tenure, all I can say is that if he can't turn that place around, nobody can.
haha I've got my salt collectors out for all the Charlotte posters
Is anyone surprised with the higher education and world class universities there? Those graduates actually choose to stay in North Carolina so Charlotte also benefits from the higher education....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
