City shifts to younger work force, census says

[BrianTH]

Of course it makes sense that as a result of the wide disparity in home prices between interior cities like Pittsburgh and coastal areas like Silicon Valley and Boston (a disparity the recent dynamics of the housing market have not come close to erasing), those interior cities would be increasingly attractive to young middle/professional-class workers (specifically those who have yet to buy a home). And that effect is likely enhanced when you add in the growing preference for more urban lifestyles among younger Americans, since the price differentials in question are highest for such neighborhoods. Of course Pittsburgh is not alone in being a potential beneficiary of such effects, but it is certainly pretty high on that list.

Incidentally, I don't want to get deep into dueling with our resident negativists, but I did want to point out that I don't think it makes sense to view this as a lack of adventurousness on the part of such people, because in fact the rapid population increases in question depend in part on young people moving from elsewhere into Pittsburgh. In that sense, someone who comes from elsewhere to, say, attend CMU, then stays for a job, has already had their "adventure" by coming to CMU in the first place.

[BrianTH]

Along the lines of my last post, I thought this was an interesting and relevant excerpt from the interview with the outgoing head of the RAND office in Pittsburgh linked in another thread. He is discussing the decision by RAND to locate an office in Pittsburgh:

Q: Which places was Pittsburgh up against, and how did it land the office?

A: There were four criteria: The starting point was a significantly lower cost of living than Santa Monica or Washington, D.C., where we have another large office. Over the years we'd either lost some people we were trying to recruit or lost staff members who said, "I love Rand but I just can't afford a house anywhere near the office."

Second, we had key clients in Washington, D.C., so we wanted to be able to get in and out of Washington easily ... good air service so that in a 12-hour day we could get to Washington, conduct some business and get home that night.

Third, we wanted a major research university in the area that we could hopefully collaborate with. And we also looked at the philanthropic community and large corporate headquarters.

So that narrowed it down to eight cities: St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta, Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. We thought an office a little more in the center of the country would expand our recruiting base and we've done that. We've recruited from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and Ohio State. But we've also recruited from all over the country. We have people here from coast to coast as well as overseas. That's the key measure of success: We have attracted good people.

Obviously this hits some of the same basic themes: a base of good universities plus lower housing prices and a central location all mean Pittsburgh is well-positioned from a recruiting standpoint for companies like RAND. And they aren't just recruiting natives of the area, but newcomers as well. Anyway, here is the link:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08272/915465-28.stm

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Along the lines of my last post, I thought this was an interesting and relevant excerpt from the interview with the outgoing head of the RAND office in Pittsburgh linked in another thread. He is discussing the decision by RAND to locate an office in Pittsburgh:



Obviously this hits some of the same basic themes: a base of good universities plus lower housing prices and a central location all mean Pittsburgh is well-positioned from a recruiting standpoint for companies like RAND. And they aren't just recruiting natives of the area, but newcomers as well. Anyway, here is the link:

Talking with Barry Balmat: Outgoing director of local Rand office says city needs a better attitude

At the risk of revealing too much personal information, it is my dream to work at Rand after graduating with my Ph.D.

I am completely thrilled that Rand is located in Pittsburgh, and their location is one of the major reasons why they will be my first choice employer. As much as I want to work for Rand, I would not move to D.C. to do it, and probably not California either - for exactly the reason cited in your post - it's too expensive to live in those cities. I want to stay in Pittsburgh and still do what I love, and Rand's location here will allow me to make that choice.

So in that sense, you could say that I am a poster child for the "attracting qualified graduates" argument made in this thread.

I want to also say that should I fail to secure work with Rand, there are several other companies in Pittsburgh who hire people who do what I do. I think it is very likely that I will be able to stay here after I graduate, earning a very nice salary in comparison to the cost-of-living here.

[dugdogmaster]

Please do not push this if you do end up working there.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Financier of Temperance

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by dugdogmaster

Please do not push this if you do end up working there.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Financier of Temperance

While I have stars in my eyes for any group that wants to crush the alcohol industry (aka Big Alcohol), I guess Prohibition isn't the way to go about it.

I'm not saying you use illegal herbal products, but guess who is the biggest lobbyist against legalization? Ok, they have help (Big Pharmaceutical).

As an aside, the next time you want to induce vomiting, take a couple of tokes after you're drunk. They don't like it because it doesn't go well with their product. Something tells me the beer industry isn't afraid of cocaine.


Hmmm. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I hear the name on NPR every day. Who knew?