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.
Again, I said in the context of this discussion, which is about the average education level of the people in those communities. Duke, UNC and NCST have thousands of PhD faculty members. Statistically, their spouses would likely be college educated as well. UNC and Duke operate research hospitals which adds many thousands more nurses, doctors, administrators etc, with college degrees (again, along with their spouses). A lot of the graduate students at the schools would get counted in the catchall "25 or older with bachelors degrees" criteria this study used for ranking. Over 50K people work in RTP, with the vast majority of them having at least a bachelors degree. I don't see how anyone could argue that the schools and the research park don't bring up the average education level for the communities.
Most people here don't go to Clemson, Wofford or Furman, and don't work at Michelin, GE or BMW (or their numerous local suppliers), but they're certainly amenities for the Upstate.
That wasn't my point. My point was that most people in Raleigh do not attend those 3 universities and they have students from all over the state and country and other countries. In my view, it doesn't make sense to associate those colleges with Raleigh specifically when discussing education.
I don't agree that companies that don't pay me or colleges that I don't attend are an amenity for me. I didn't move to Greenville because of BMW, GE, Michelin and those colleges.
This is surely not the only factor at play here, and there are several exceptions, but I would bet that "Most Educated Cities" is strongly correlated with a list of "Highest Cost of Living Cities."
Greenville, SC has incredibly low housing costs and other costs of living. It is easy to live a decent life here without being fabulously wealthy. This is the opposite of the case in some of the cities on top of this list, like San Francisco or Boston, where absurd housing costs have driven away less-educated lower income people.
That wasn't my point. My point was that most people in Raleigh do not attend those 3 universities and they have students from all over the state and country and other countries. In my view, it doesn't make sense to associate those colleges with Raleigh specifically when discussing education.
I don't agree that companies that don't pay me or colleges that I don't attend are an amenity for me. I didn't move to Greenville because of BMW, GE, Michelin and those colleges.
You don't agree that the fact that Greenville already has BMW, Fluor, GE, Michelin etc. doesn't create an attractive environment for other businesses to potentially relocate or build new offices here, thus providing jobs and a boost in the local economy? Or the fact that several of those companies are large supporters of the community financially?
The same can be said in the Triangle - there are a wealth of qualified graduates in the area, directly due to the colleges, thus a big reason all those companies (and thus jobs) have made the decision to move headquarters or regional offices there which in turn boosts the local economy and makes the area more attractive to even more businesses.
I think these items are clear amenities to a city. Note that posters aren't saying an amenity for you/any one specific person, but an amenity to a city or a region as a whole.
Also, the Triangle has an extremely high retention rate of graduates from the local Universities (especially NC State). It actually is one of the higher rates in the country. WSJ had a good feature on where students move after college recently, but it is behind a pay-wall now.
Last edited by Sunbather; 08-02-2018 at 08:45 AM..
You don't agree that the fact that Greenville already has BMW, Fluor, GE, Michelin etc. doesn't create an attractive environment for other businesses to potentially relocate or build new offices here, thus providing jobs and a boost in the local economy? Or the fact that several of those companies are large supporters of the community financially?
The same can be said in the Triangle - there are a wealth of qualified graduates in the area, directly due to the colleges, thus a big reason all those companies (and thus jobs) have made the decision to move headquarters or regional offices there which in turn boosts the local economy and makes the area more attractive to even more businesses.
I think these items are clear amenities to a city. Note that posters aren't saying an amenity for you/any one specific person, but an amenity to a city or a region as a whole.
Also, the Triangle has an extremely high retention rate of graduates from the local Universities (especially NC State). It actually is one of the higher rates in the country. WSJ had a good feature on where students move after college recently, but it is behind a pay-wall now.
Having these large companies in the area also helps set a base for pay and benefits that other companies need to meet or come close to if they hope to attract talent in the area. When we lived in the triangle, I didn't work at RTP but worked for an employer in an industry that had to compete with RTP employers to get employees. That drove up our pay and benefits. It also tends to drive up housing costs a bit as well.
Having a large university in the metro area also provides opportunities for continuing education and collaborative research that might not otherwise be available. A number of local companies collaborate with Clemson on research that Clemson is more suited to do than the companies are with their internal resources.
They are comparing apples with oranges. You don't compare big cities like Raleigh - Durham with Greenville, SC, Mauldin and Anderson. Come on! LOL. Also the liberals which typically have attained the highest education levels are more apt to be attracted to bigger cities with the amenities only big cities have.
This is the comment that I was responding to.
Raleigh has a higher quantity of poor and uneducated people than Greenville. A larger metro is going to have more of everything.
Greenville and the Upstate also has some people who have attained 'the highest education levels'. There are a lot of engineering companies, hospitals, colleges, etc in Greenville and the Upstate.
I don't agree that companies that don't pay me or colleges that I don't attend are an amenity for me. I didn't move to Greenville because of BMW, GE, Michelin and those colleges.
Think of those companies (and others) as peices that all together help to make Greenville/the Upstate what it is. While I don't work for any of those companies either, lots of people do and there are lots of opportunities and resultant amenities in Greenville because they are here.
As an analogy, look at pieces of downtown; Peace Center, Falls Park, Croc Center, Condos, the new Unity Park, etc. Few people would move here just because one of those amenities are there, and many people will never utilize at least one of them, but it would be incorrect to say they do not offer amenities to or enhance the community simply because one does not personally partake.
If someone never visits Caesar's Head, Table Rock, Lake Jocasee, waterfalls, the Chatooga, or other outdoor attractions; would it be logical for them to conclude that they don't contribute to the Greenville and Upstate experience?
Think of those companies (and others) as peices that all together help to make Greenville/the Upstate what it is. While I don't work for any of those companies either, lots of people do and there are lots of opportunities and resultant amenities in Greenville because they are here.
As an analogy, look at pieces of downtown; Peace Center, Falls Park, Croc Center, Condos, the new Unity Park, etc. Few people would move here just because one of those amenities are there, and many people will never utilize at least one of them, but it would be incorrect to say they do not offer amenities to or enhance the community simply because one does not personally partake.
If someone never visits Caesar's Head, Table Rock, Lake Jocasee, waterfalls, the Chatooga, or other outdoor attractions; would it be logical for them to conclude that they don't contribute to the Greenville and Upstate experience?
You are not really responding to the comments that I've made on this topic.
My original comment was in response to emilybh's comment. She said Raleigh has more amenities than Greenville that attract educated people. If she's only talking about number of white collar employers, then I would agree with that. Raleigh is a larger metro.
I would say the proximity to the mountains and downtown Greenville are amenities that attracted many educated people to Greenville. In my view, Raleigh doesn't have amenity advantage over Greenville unless you are only talking about quantity of employers.
Generally a job offer is the primary reason a person moves to a city unless they are retired. Hartsville has two of SC's best employers in my view, Duke Energy and Sonoco, that attract college educated people yet Hartsville doesn't have much going on.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 08-02-2018 at 09:33 AM..
Correct, which is why I quoted the very specific comments I WAS responding to!
How many people do you think moved to Raleigh because the RTP is located there or those 3 universities are located there. I'm talking about people who don't work for a company in the RTP or work for one of the universities.
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.
