[El Scorcho]

There's a very large list, but I'll post the top 15 and then link to the list.

1 Raleigh-Cary, NC
2 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
3 Jacksonville, FL
4 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
6 Salt Lake City, UT
7 Honolulu, HI
8 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
9 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL
10 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
11 Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD
12 Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL
13 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
14 Richmond, VA
15 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA

http://www.forbes.com/home/2007/02/15/b ... table.html

[TDDance234]

The Virginia Beach/757 area is really starting to boom. A lot of money to be made in that area. I'm kind of partial to it, myself.

[PeterParker]

The Virginia Beach/757 area is really starting to boom. A lot of money to be made in that area. I'm kind of partial to it, myself.

The 757 has been booming for 5-6 years now; the market has gotten pricy and I submit will begin to correct itself to some degree over the next 18 months. That being said, with the military paychecks and other industries, if the seven cities can actually work together (not a slam dunk) and lure more Fortune 500 companies then it will be able to continue to sustain its economic development outside of the tourist dollars down at the beachfront.

Unfortunately for housing, the cost run up is quite overpriced to the underlying fundamentals (buying versus renting cost analysis) and has outstripped the salary growth. While the economy may have heated up over the last couple of years, the wage earnings have remained relatively static. I would look for a correction on the horizon that will not be pretty for the overextended middle class who bought creative financing to get into the McMansions (the only thing they seemed to build during the housing 'boom'--$350K and above) but probably should have stuck with a more traditional approach and bought on a smaller scale. Of course, this point is up for debate among many voices, so this is simply my humble opinion.

Nonetheless, the area is a nice area and having the beach near is a nice perk (although the roads infrastructure has been showing its age and limitations.)

[TIMSCAR20]

Virginia has 3 different areas in the top 15 in Richmond, Alexandria area and the VA Beach area. I do like this state....Had a chance to pursue an opportunity in Raleigh and Tampa so it is good to know that both of those cities are good too. Charlotte seems like it would be good too. I haven't looked at the complete list yet.

[PAmedic]

SCAR- didn't see Abington on that list

[PAmedic]

the funniest part was that CAMDEN, NJ is 26th! (And they FELL to there from 11th ) are you kidding me?

SCHFOURTEENTEEN will note the A-B-E area is 42nd, down from 39th.

not bad. actually, a real rebound from the days of Billy Joel's hit song about Mack Trucking and Bethlehem Steel. But I digress.

oh- and Philly is 50th. Not bad, considering they had 400 some murders and a ton of fires/fire deaths last year. Hopefully this year will be different.

[PeterParker]

Virginia has 3 different areas in the top 15 in Richmond, Alexandria area and the VA Beach area. I do like this state....Had a chance to pursue an opportunity in Raleigh and Tampa so it is good to know that both of those cities are good too. Charlotte seems like it would be good too. I haven't looked at the complete list yet.

A guy I work with drove down to Charlotte to check out what was going on down there and he said that he found much cheaper housing around (of course he wasn't a local, so he did not have the requisite inside info on the local market.) They seem to have a burgeoning downtown.

[Cider Jim]

I love Abingdon! The Bartre Theatre is a must see.

[PAmedic]

I love Abingdon! The Bartre Theatre is a must see.

no, no, no- AbingTON (PA)

though I'm sure AbingDON (VA) is nice.

was sorta a Philly-burbs joke. evidently a bad one.

[TIMSCAR20]

Abington Township is a nice place to live outside of Philly. 4 of my brothers live in that area and one is a police officer. Its the only place I don't mind getting pulled over by the police If they read the last name, they usually ask if I am Syd's brother to which I proudly say yes and then I am let go (ok I only got pulled over up there once and I wasn't speeding but I gotta believe that it would be the norm). Camden NJ? That is a real head scratcher.

[PAmedic]

Abington Township is a nice place to live outside of Philly. 4 of my brothers live in that area and one is a police officer. Its the only place I don't mind getting pulled over by the police If they read the last name, they usually ask if I am Syd's brother to which I proudly say yes and then I am let go (ok I only got pulled over up there once and I wasn't speeding but I gotta believe that it would be the norm). Camden NJ? That is a real head scratcher.

oh I just BET he LOVES you name dropping while proned out

my family does the same thing though- and I cringe everytime I get the phone call.

yeah- the Camden thing- no way. Don't get it.

[Sly Fox]

Nowhere does this list say these are good places to live. It just notes their appeal from a job growth standpoint.

[PAmedic]

that could be.

if you sell plywood, nails and police line tape- Camden has GREAT growth potential

[4everfsu]

Charlotte area the taxes are too high so live outside Meckenburg County if you can. Also I perfer the Bradenton/Sarasota area over Tampa, I would not return to Tampa, crime is too high and property taxes are going thru the roof. Tampa is now a big ugly city, Charlotte reminds me of Tampa about 10 yrs ago.

[PeterParker]

Nowhere does this list say these are good places to live. It just notes their appeal from a job growth standpoint.

If this was in response to my post, then the region will have to pick up some more Fortune 500's and their Headquarters in order to make good on that growth pattern as most of the region is comprised of suburbia and exurbia (which relies heavily on the service sector for job growth.) As the housing sector softens, the local economy will take an ineveitable hit and the corresponding unemployment from construction, mortgage and financial jobs evaporate to some degree. Job growth is great but wage earnings growth is key for the workers who fill those positions to have a reasonably affordable place to live.

The one ace in the pocket the region has in tandem with its tourist dollars, which are largely spent in the Virginia Beach area toward the ocean front, is its strong military presence. The area needs to ride its current economic ace to lure in additional marquee businesses outside of the military as a buffer should the government continue to scale back its military presence. (As of now, they are in a battle over Oceana.)

[PeterParker]

Charlotte area the taxes are too high so live outside Meckenburg County if you can. Also I perfer the Bradenton/Sarasota area over Tampa, I would not return to Tampa, crime is too high and property taxes are going thru the roof. Tampa is now a big ugly city, Charlotte reminds me of Tampa about 10 yrs ago.

Is Charlotte like Tampa in that Tampa decided to move the residential sector out of the city to cut down on the crime rate and crowd control? I heard Tampa did that which is an idea norfolk started to pursue in the 80's...then realized it was the wrong answer and started to redevelop it and now the area has been experiencing a renaissance over the last 10 years.

[El Scorcho]

Nowhere does this list say these are good places to live. It just notes their appeal from a job growth standpoint.

For comparison, Money Magazine's 100 Best Places to Live for 2006.

1 Fort Collins, CO
2 Naperville, IL
3 Sugar Land, TX
4 Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
5 Cary, NC
6 Overland Park, KS
7 Scottsdale, AZ
8 Boise, ID
9 Fairfield, CT
10 Eden Prairie, MN
11 Plano, TX
12 Eagan, MN
13 Olathe, KS
14 West Bloomfield , MI
15 Richardson, TX

[Realist]

Charlotte area the taxes are too high so live outside Meckenburg County if you can. Also I perfer the Bradenton/Sarasota area over Tampa, I would not return to Tampa, crime is too high and property taxes are going thru the roof. Tampa is now a big ugly city, Charlotte reminds me of Tampa about 10 yrs ago.

Is Charlotte like Tampa in that Tampa decided to move the residential sector out of the city to cut down on the crime rate and crowd control? I heard Tampa did that which is an idea norfolk started to pursue in the 80's...then realized it was the wrong answer and started to redevelop it and now the area has been experiencing a renaissance over the last 10 years.

Charlotte is actually trying to develop more residential within the city. It is true that taxes are way too high though, and many are going south of the border to avoid them. That is why places like Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Tega Cay are experiencing exponential growth, it is all Charlotte commuters looking for lower taxes and better schools.

[Sly Fox]

That sounds like every metropolitan area in America.

[4everfsu]

Yes Tampa is trying to do that, right now there is a project the city is trying to run with in the Tampa Heights area. I think they want to develop that area which is mainly poor people, but I have not kept up with since I left. I don't read the Tampa Tribune online that often.

[TDDance234]

Ugh.. that township garbage. I did an internship in Ohio and they started talking about townships and I was like, "eh?" What ever happened to good ole' counties?

[Sly Fox]

When the State of Ohio laid out as part of the Virginia Land Grants, it was divided into Counties and then each county was subdivided into townships. That allowed some local forms of government in rural areas. I'm actually down with the concept.

OK, sorry for the momentary hijacking.

[PAmedic]

Come up here. You'll hate it.

every little township has ultimate local jurisdiction- as do individual Boroughs within the townships.

As PA is a Commonwealth- the lowest form of gov't has jurisdiction

therefore= nightmare scenario as described below

Governmental hierarchy flow chart:

USA
Comm. of PA
County of xxx
XXX Twp
XXX Boro
Mrs PAmedic
kids
anyone else
PAmedic

[TDDance234]

USA
Comm. of PA
County of xxx
XXX Twp
XXX Boro
Mrs PAmedic
kids
anyone else
PAmedic

I'm not even married yet and I'd be willing to add another tier.. the in-laws.

[jmdickens]

Cary, NC is one of the best places on the East Coast.......

Raleigh, NC is just getting out of control, a new business every 5 minutes