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Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#637281
Like many of you, I have been astonished by the population changes during the pandemic. I live in rural Texas and have seen a flood of New Yorkers and Calfornians buying up every house and building thousand sof new ones around my little community over the past twelve months. Obviously moving away from places like NYC, LA & SF as we move to more remote work is the big driver.

But even before the pandemic, we are a nation were making some pretty incredible population shifts. The 2020 Census has revealed some incredible changes over the past decade since the 2010 Census. While many of the MSAs saw slight to minimal growth in the past decade, there were some that saw explosive growth:

4. Dallas-Fort Worth +19.96
The DFW Metroplex was the ebenficiary of a bunch of major corporations moving their headquarters from states like Illinois and Ohio. It also benefited from the elevation of the energy industry over that decade. Technology growth has been surprisingly strong in light of TI's poor decade.

5. Houston +20.30
I am obviously very familiar ith the growth drivers her in my hometown. While the space industry was hammered by the Obama Administration, energy became a massive driver of growth. In addition to oil & gas that everyone that attracts the most attention, public utilities also has generated a ton of growth. In the past few years the city has also become a haven for Cali companies seeking markets with tons of talented engineers.

6. Washington DC-NOVA-MD +13.02%
The bigger the government the more growth for the area. The growth is expected to continue at a more rapid rate with Amazon's HQ2 generated direct jobs and all of the ancillary work that spills off of it. See Seattle.

9. Atlanta +15.19%
All of that marketing for being the Capital of the New South has proven to be legit. In addition to massive industries in aviation and logistics, the city has proven to be a strong incubator for new tech economies.

11. Phoenix +15.57%
It is not just a retirement center any more. The business-friendly environment has proven to be a boon for comapnies looking to find a warm weather location for manufacturing and technology. The downside is that clean mountain air that drove so many to retire to the area is long gone.

15. Seattle-Tacoma +16.83%
Over the past decade Amazon went from a cool e-commerce business into the biggest tech company on the planet. That drove massive growth into Seattle while Redmond was doing just fine with Microsoft. Watch for the growth to slow down a bit as Amazon's battles with the city leadership are leading to massive growth in places like Boston, DC, Nashville & Austin in the next decade.

18. Tampa-St. Pete +14.49%
The business friendly environment of Florida has benefited all fo the major cities including Miami & Jax. But Tampa-St Pete seems to be leveraging the shift of Rust Belt evacuee companies better than most. It remains a massive retirement mecca like Phoenix. But the Bay Area seems to be really seizing upon the new economy opportunities.

19. Denver +16.53%
A rare cold weather location seems a boom in growth. If you listen to the locals, the big drivers are oil & gas as well as Californian taxes. One way or the other, Denver has gone from a cool city at the front range of the Rockies to full-on urban sprawl in just a couple of decades. Let the record show that the mounatins remain just as cool as ever.

22. Orlando +25.25%
The middle of the Sunshine State experienced the 3rd most explosive growth along the Top 100 markets over the past decade. While retirees are obviously a contributing factor, the city's growth is also built on manufacturing, techonology and financial services. There also is the Magical factor that attracts Yankees.

23. Charlotte +18.56%
This comes as know surprise to the Carolinians on the board. few cities have leveraged their culture and financial services industries as well as the CLT. Being in a business-friendly state certainly has led to jobs being pushed south from the Midwest & New England.

24. San Antonio +19.40%
The once sleepy military mecca in South Texas has seen a spill over from its neighbor to the north resulting in a technology, logistics & manufacturing boom. Once among the poorest economically of the major cities in the nation, its fortunates have changed dramatically over the past couple of decades. And it is primed for even more significiant growth moving forward.

Just outside the Top 25 comes what are not only the fastest growing cities of the last decade but like up through 2030. Here the cities with 20%+ growth:

28. Austin +33.04%
Curious why the growth in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area has been relatively weak? Look no further than Central Texas. Californian companies fleeing the taxation back on the Left Coast are moving in droves to the Capital of Texas. Tesla & Cisco have moved their HQs already to the area and Apple's largest campus outside of Cupertino is in Austin. Tesla is not only moving its HQ but also its new gigafactory to build the new Tesla trucks to town. Samsung is also building another major manufacturing site in the city that will bring well over 10k high paying jobs to the area. Business-friendly and tech savvy.

36. Nashville +20.86%
The country music & hot chicken culture hasn't gone anywhere. But the tech economy is now booming in the Music City. Once again, a business-friendly state is reaping the rewards of the Rust Belt oppression. Amazon has just built new Ops HQ across the street from the Ryman. It is essentially their HQ3.

42. Research Triangle 25.08%
Once again, tech and research are the big drivers. The ability to turn so quickly away from Big Tobacco into Big Research is exceptionally impressive.

74. Charleston, SC +20.32%
The Charleston mystique is seeing spillover over in the business community. Living in Charleston sounds romantic and their economic development commission is banking off of it.

77. Boise +24.03%
The Californian exodus is not limited to Texas & Colorado. Idahoans are being overwhelmed by Calis seizing upon the awesome Boise lifestyle. Some of you may have had little to no exposure of Idaho. But suffice it to say it is ridiculously blessed with beauty and hip vibe.

78. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL +22.96%
No place has benefited more from the oversaturation of Tampa-St Pte & Orlando than SW Florida. It has become the new destination of choice for retirees and businesses benefiting from all that disposable income.

81. Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL +20.42%
Snowbirds! Snowbirds! Snowbirds! Oh yeah, it has become a logistics hub for Florida.

89. Provo-Orem +27.41%
The secret is out. The Mormons have one of the coolest places to live in America. It is also the northern gateway to the Mighty 5 National Parks. It is used to just be a bedroom community for SLC. Not any more.

In summary, the largest apparent drivers in growth are heading south and to the Rockies. Business-friendly states like Texas, Florida & North Carolina are reaping the benefits of the oppressive environments of the Rust Belt, New England & California. Obviously tech is a massive driver of growth and the markets that are primed to benefit moving forward in the new economy are likely to continue to benefit. Past-pandemic, I suspect the numbers in California & NY in particular are going to be even more stark.

Where do you see you and your family moving in coming decade?
User avatar
By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#637354
Once you marry a Texan, you are a Texan for life. At least that is my understanding. I am hoping to get to a place around retirement where I can have a cabin in the Rockies to spend summers. Montana & Idaho would be first choices but beggars can't be choosers.

I have zero interest in moving back up to the Rust Belt. Higher taxes. Terrible weather. I'll visit family but that's it.

Oh yeah, eventually everybody winds up living in Texas or Florida for a period of time. It is inevitable.
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#637356
Farmville - Richmond, VA area is where we're aiming to relocate to next as we look to grow our family.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#637357
ATrain wrote: December 12th, 2021, 11:14 am Farmville - Richmond, VA area is where we're aiming to relocate to next as we look to grow our family.
Getting fatter does not count as looking “to grow our family” :lol: :lol: :lol:
User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#637358
Purple Haize wrote: December 12th, 2021, 1:08 pm
ATrain wrote: December 12th, 2021, 11:14 am Farmville - Richmond, VA area is where we're aiming to relocate to next as we look to grow our family.
Getting fatter does not count as looking “to grow our family” :lol: :lol: :lol:
I resemble that remark.

Would love to move to Texas. I spend lots of time replicating their food already. :lol:
Sly Fox liked this
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#637361
Sly Fox wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:47 am Once you marry a Texan, you are a Texan for life.
I married a Texan in El Paso 35 years ago, and I've never heard that quote before. But I do watch Dallas Cowboys football with her (and pretend to care).
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#637362
Purple Haize wrote: December 12th, 2021, 1:08 pm
ATrain wrote: December 12th, 2021, 11:14 am Farmville - Richmond, VA area is where we're aiming to relocate to next as we look to grow our family.
Getting fatter does not count as looking “to grow our family” :lol: :lol: :lol:
The important thing is, I'm still better looking than you :P

But seriously, planning on having mom and dad within reasonable driving distance to help with things as we adopt
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#637364
Plus getting out of the DMV won't hurt!

T-minus 18 months for me until I'm out of the DMV...of course I was suppose to be out of here 5 years ago and here we are.

Tampa is the end game plan once my Air Force career winds down. Can not wait. That city continues to grow and evolve and I can't wait to take advantage of my contacts down there :D But that is still several years down the road so in theory, a lot could change.
LU 57, BlueBlood, ATrain liked this
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#637365
Cider Jim wrote: December 12th, 2021, 5:30 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:47 am Once you marry a Texan, you are a Texan for life.
I married a Texan in El Paso 35 years ago, and I've never heard that quote before. But I do watch Dallas Cowboys football with her (and pretend to care).
You got her out before she had time to lock you in. And I hate to be THAT guy, but El Paso may legally be in Texas but ...
User avatar
By BlueBlood
Posts
#637366
thepostman wrote: December 12th, 2021, 5:57 pm Tampa is the end game plan once my Air Force career winds down. Can not wait. That city continues to grow and evolve and I can't wait to take advantage of my contacts down there :D But that is still several years down the road so in theory, a lot could change.
Moved from Philly burbs to Tampa 12 years ago. Great move. Tampa is great - unique mixture of Northern influences, Southern influences and Latin American influences.

BTW - LU fall football weekends provide the perfect change of pace.
thepostman, ATrain liked this
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By Ill flame
Posts
#637380
I just need to get somewhere warmer than where I am now and more rural. I'm leaning towards eastern Tennessee but we'll see.
User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#637386
Fairbanks is too big for my taste but it's also too isolated. I would rather be in the middle of nowhere with a city within a few hour drive so I can have the best of both worlds.
flamehunter, Sly Fox liked this
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#637409
Sly Fox wrote: December 12th, 2021, 6:18 pm
Cider Jim wrote: December 12th, 2021, 5:30 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:47 am Once you marry a Texan, you are a Texan for life.
I married a Texan in El Paso 35 years ago, and I've never heard that quote before. But I do watch Dallas Cowboys football with her (and pretend to care).
You got her out before she had time to lock you in. And I hate to be THAT guy, but El Paso may legally be in Texas but ...
That is true. If Texas actually ever did leave the union (again), I could see El Paso applying to be annexed to New Mexico.
User avatar
By TH Spangler
Registration Days Posts
#637411
BlueBlood wrote: December 12th, 2021, 6:21 pm
thepostman wrote: December 12th, 2021, 5:57 pm Tampa is the end game plan once my Air Force career winds down. Can not wait. That city continues to grow and evolve and I can't wait to take advantage of my contacts down there :D But that is still several years down the road so in theory, a lot could change.
Moved from Philly burbs to Tampa 12 years ago. Great move. Tampa is great - unique mixture of Northern influences, Southern influences and Latin American influences.

BTW - LU fall football weekends provide the perfect change of pace.
Northern as in Canadian influence. Lighting game are a blast. I was surprised how many Canadian retire there.
User avatar
By BlueBlood
Posts
#637418
TH Spangler wrote: December 13th, 2021, 3:40 pm
BlueBlood wrote: December 12th, 2021, 6:21 pm
thepostman wrote: December 12th, 2021, 5:57 pm Tampa is the end game plan once my Air Force career winds down. Can not wait. That city continues to grow and evolve and I can't wait to take advantage of my contacts down there :D But that is still several years down the road so in theory, a lot could change.
Moved from Philly burbs to Tampa 12 years ago. Great move. Tampa is great - unique mixture of Northern influences, Southern influences and Latin American influences.

BTW - LU fall football weekends provide the perfect change of pace.
Northern as in Canadian influence. Lighting game are a blast. I was surprised how many Canadian retire there.
The Lightning are such a well-run organization, and they get amazing fan support. When I went to my first game - I pretty much expected to see 30% Bolts fans, 30% fans for the visitors (that are taking advantage of the warm weather) - with the remainder of folks probably just being super casual fans. Oh no - I walked into an arena where 90% had $150+ blue hockey jerseys on. Totally blew me away. I did not expect anything like that.

Bucs and Bolts run this town. Rays - oof.
TH Spangler liked this
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#637479
Well run orgaizations find a place to have their events occur that is appropriate and attractive to the marketplace in which they compete. But I the baseball ops does indeed do an amazing job.
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By BlueBlood
Posts
#637485
Sly, you are dead on. No one can deny what the Rays have done on the Baseball Operations side. They have mastered the art of doing more with less.

Now the bad stuff - The stadium is horrible, the location is horrible, their negotiations with St. Pete and Tampa have been an unending drama. They have pitted the two sides of the Bay against each other, etc. When they did come up with a proposal for a Tampa stadium, it was another dome (and not one that opens). They wanted to build a space saucer looking building in Tampa's Historic Cuban section of town (Ybor). Every other building in that area is brick or wood.

Basically - Baseball - good, Social Skills (being able to read the room) - bad.
User avatar
By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#637490
The younger generation has grown up with a society filled with cheap flights and more mobility and less restraint to family ties. So I suspect we will see even more movement in the coming decades.

Out of curiosity, how many of the hot locations above have posters on here experienced? I suspect the Carolinas, Florida & DC will be frequent. But everything else west of the Appalachians seems to be uncharted territory for many on here. Is my assumption completely off based?
User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#637493
Sly Fox wrote: December 15th, 2021, 2:58 pm The younger generation has grown up with a society filled with cheap flights and more mobility and less restraint to family ties. So I suspect we will see even more movement in the coming decades.

Out of curiosity, how many of the hot locations above have posters on here experienced? I suspect the Carolinas, Florida & DC will be frequent. But everything else west of the Appalachians seems to be uncharted territory for many on here. Is my assumption completely off based?
Went to western Nebraska a bunch when I was a kid. Typically we flew into Denver and drove over to visit family. Extremely rural an extremely flat, so I never had much interest other than an occasional visit.

Have been to central/Northern California a few times to vacation/visit family. Love Napa, Tahoe, and Yosemite. Who wouldn’t? But I would never consider actually living in the People’s Republic of California.

Been to New Orleans a couple times and Lafayette once. Really enjoyed Lafayette more to be honest. The food was incredible.

Been to Tennessee a bunch, mostly East, but I really enjoyed Nashville.

Chicago and NYC are cool places to visit, but too big, too cold, and too much crime to consider.

I liked Kansas City. Good BBQ.

Enjoyed Austin but it was a very short trip. Would love to go back.

Anyway, the 3 places I could really see us potentially relocating to are Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. Maybe Georgia. No way we would go north unless all our kids did.
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#637494
Sly Fox wrote: December 15th, 2021, 2:58 pm The younger generation has grown up with a society filled with cheap flights and more mobility and less restraint to family ties. So I suspect we will see even more movement in the coming decades.

Out of curiosity, how many of the hot locations above have posters on here experienced? I suspect the Carolinas, Florida & DC will be frequent. But everything else west of the Appalachians seems to be uncharted territory for many on here. Is my assumption completely off based?
As the younger generation begins to have kids, they may move to be closer to family for added support.

I also wasted a year and a half of my life in Dallas. Most people I know who have gone to Texas end up coming back east if they are originally from the East Coast.
By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#637495
Lived:
-Morgantown
-Lynchburg
-Charleston (SC)
-Daytona Beach
-Frederick, MD
-Asheville
-Philadelphia

Visited:
-DC
-NYC
-Chicago
-St. Louis
-Nashville
-Memphis
-Chattanooga
-Myrtle Beach
-Cleveland
-Cedar Point
-Phoenix
-Tucson
-Vegas
-Grand Canyon
-Atlanta
-Charlotte
-Greensboro
-Raleigh
-Pittsburgh
-Smoky Mountains
-Mammoth Caves
-Denver
-New Orleans
-Niagara Falls
-Buffalo
-Rochester
-Williamsburg

International: Costa Rica

Never been to west coast. Only traveled through TX.

Bucket List: Boston, San Francisco, train through Rockies, Alaska

I have no desire to travel internationally, but my wife does. So it’ll probably happen.
User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#637498
JK37 wrote: December 15th, 2021, 6:08 pm Lived:
-Morgantown
-Lynchburg
-Charleston (SC)
-Daytona Beach
-Frederick, MD
-Asheville
-Philadelphia

Visited:
-DC
-NYC
-Chicago
-St. Louis
-Nashville
-Memphis
-Chattanooga
-Myrtle Beach
-Cleveland
-Cedar Point
-Phoenix
-Tucson
-Vegas
-Grand Canyon
-Atlanta
-Charlotte
-Greensboro
-Raleigh
-Pittsburgh
-Smoky Mountains
-Mammoth Caves
-Denver
-New Orleans
-Niagara Falls
-Buffalo
-Rochester
-Williamsburg

International: Costa Rica

Never been to west coast. Only traveled through TX.

Bucket List: Boston, San Francisco, train through Rockies, Alaska

I have no desire to travel internationally, but my wife does. So it’ll probably happen.
Forgot to mention Boston. I liked it there, but again too cold.
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