Cities Compete in Hipness Battle to Attract Young

NY Times ^ | Nov. 26, 2006 | SHAILA DEWAN

[seacapn]

ATLANTA, Nov. 24 — Some cities will do anything they can think of to keep young people from fleeing to a hipper town.

In Lansing, Mich., partiers can ease from bar to bar on the new Entertainment Express trolley, part of the state’s Cool Cities Initiative. In Portland, Ore., employees at an advertising firm can watch indie rock concerts at lunch and play “bump,” an abbreviated form of basketball, every afternoon.

And in Memphis, employers pay for recruits to be matched with hip young professionals in a sort of corporate Big Brothers program. A new biosciences research park is under construction — not in the suburbs, but downtown, just blocks from the nightlife of Beale Street.

These measures reflect a hard demographic reality: Baby boomers are retiring and the number of young adults is declining. By 2012, the work force will be losing more than two workers for every one it gains.

Cities have long competed over job growth, struggling to revive their downtowns and improve their image. But the latest population trends have forced them to fight for college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds, a demographic group increasingly viewed as the key to an economic future.

Mobile but not flighty, fresh but technologically savvy, “the young and restless,” as demographers call them, are at their most desirable age, particularly because their chances of relocating drop precipitously when they turn 35. Cities that do not attract them now will be hurting in a decade.

[durasell]

That's not quite true, but NYC is expensive.

[ladyjane]

I am not sure why you are saying it is not true. That is the number that homefair comes up with.

It is possible they are not looking at all five boroughs of NYC. Perhaps they're just looking at real estate prices. I do not know the algorithm they're using.

Having lived both places I can tell you the cost of housing and some services are about a quarter of the NYC cost.

[durasell]

$15k isn't a quarter of $100k.

I would guess the number is closer to double the $15k figure.

In any event, it depends on how old you are. A young person in NYC can still live relatively cheaply as generations of young people have done in NYC. On the other hand, if you "require" a good sized apartment and all the amenities,then the price jumps.

[ladyjane]

You should read more carefully.

I did not say 15k was a quarter of 100k. That number came from homefair, not me.

Additionally I provided you with anecodal information, having lived in both cities. I would say 25k is more accurate.

Yes, generations of young people have all piled into one small apartment in Brooklyn or Queens.

In Charlotte young folks live alone in 1300 sq.ft. units with 2 bedrooms, hardwood floors, granite countertops, fireplace, AC, swimming pool, and a garage to park their BMWs. They can buy these places for less than the cost of a parking space in NY.

[durasell]

In Charlotte young folks live alone in 1300 sq.ft. units with 2 bedrooms, hardwood floors, granite countertops, fireplace, AC, swimming pool, and a garage to park their BMWs...




The kids who come to NYC aren't usually interested in those things. In most cases, they're focused on their careers -- whether those careers are on wall street, law, the media or the arts.