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.
So what is this message you are speaking of? Suburban office construction is down while urban office construction is way up. KC is building more suburban office space than metro Chicago. Even the suburbs are competing with themselves now by building mixed use dense developments. Marriott is moving their HQ from a single use campus in outer suburbia to Downtown Bethesda, a "suburb" with a vibrant, dense downtown district with transit access.
Single use far flung office parks are struggling in many metros while companies are coming back to cities. I didn't say more companies are moving downtown than in the suburbs, nor did I say more millennials are moving to downtowns than to suburbs.
Downtowns are a small part of metros, so it's not likely that a majority of people moving to a given metro are going to choose to live downtown. But a LOT more are doing it now than have been for decades.
And companies like Sprint and Cerner that still think ti's 1980 may not be able to recruit or retain the necessary talent they need when people can go elsewhere.
I know first hand that Sprint absolutely had a difficult time recruiting young people to the Sprint Campus from other large cities. People were clueless and just don't realize that the Sprint Campus and surrounding area is just not all that impressive to younger people from Seattle or Austin or Boston or most colleges grads no matter where they went to school. And now Cerner is going down the exact same road. For a company that wants to hire 15,000 people, mostly from out of town and mostly young college grads, you would think they would be just a bit more tuned into the 2010's.
I don't have a "message" I'm peddling I'm just suggesting the article you posted, while interesting, and probably correct as far is it goes doesn't tell the whole story. I would also suggest that what is happening in mega cities like Chicago is not necessarily reflective of what is happening in the rest of America.
I think the hiring issues with metro companies come more from the fact that the only national news the metro makes on a regular basis is when it shows up on high crime city list. People do take those serious rather than do any research and find out that crime in KC is pretty easy to avoid and that there are more good school districts than bad.
Exactly. And that is just one reason why city data is useful for people checking out new areas to move to. It didn't take long for us to learn that bad crime was in certain areas of KC and those areas should be avoided. People need to seek this stuff out though, or it won't do them any good.
Plus, a lot of those lists include Grandview, KCK, Independence, etc. which makes things look worse than they are when most of the bad crime is centered around pockets in east KCMO and central KCK... St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit get unfair press as well because income inequality and remnants of segregation have created similar pockets of high crime areas when in reality their respective metros have plenty of safe and wonderful places to live. To be fair, the media has been picking on MSU, STL, and the state of the State of Kansas much more than KC because they've given media networks a substantially higher amount of issues to work with.
Plus, a lot of those lists include Grandview, KCK, Independence, etc. which makes things look worse than they are when most of the bad crime is centered around pockets in east KCMO and central KCK... St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit get unfair press as well because income inequality and remnants of segregation have created similar pockets of high crime areas when in reality their respective metros have plenty of safe and wonderful places to live. To be fair, the media has been picking on MSU, STL, and the state of the State of Kansas much more than KC because they've given media networks a substantially higher amount of issues to work with.
Yes, and my wife and I came here about a year ago with no knowledge of Kansas City at all, I found this house we're renting on Craigslist. It's turned out to be a really good house to rent - the neighborhood is not a bad neighborhood - it's is south Grandview, near where you go up the hill towards Belton - around the 150 Missouri Highway. I have lost my job, unfortunately. It has spurred me to get credentialed in my field, though, and I am actively looking for employment anywhere in the nation. The local fish just don't seem to be biting. I'm getting State of Kansas U.I. because my job here was in Lenexa, KS. So we may or not be leaving the area.
I wouldn't mind staying here in KC, it's a good city ta live in with loads of potential.
Prime example of how KC's spread out office parks on the fringes of the metro with little to no transit effect the quality of life of people moving to KC for jobs.
This person WANTS to live in the city and use transit and will likely either have to get a car and use it every day and find parking for the car in the city and or move to a suburban apartment exacerbating the sprawl problem in KC. If the person has a similar job offer in Denver or Seattle or Minneapolis would they pass on KC? I think it's quite possible.
While I know that somebody may pass on Seattle, Denver etc and move to KC for the exact opposite reasons, (the prefer living and working in suburbs), it comes down to what type of city KC wants to be. KC needs to at least offer this type of lifestyle in addition to the suburban office park lifestyle and right now KC is failing at this because there are so few jobs downtown.
I still can not believe that Cerner is not building at lease some major office presence downtown. It would go a very long way in their recruitment success.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorldPeas
I have lived in New York City for most of my life and have relied on the public transportation, so I never got a driver's license.
1. I am wondering if the buses are reliable enough to bring me from one of the apartments within a mile of:
Is this a good and safe place to live? In New York City, as long as I'm out during the day, there is safety in numbers, but in that area there doesn't seem to be many people even during the day. So, I'm not sure how safe it is to walk around that neighborhood, although there is a police department about a mile away. There is a bus lane that goes near to where I will be working. But there aren't any supermarkets around within walking distance so I would have to rely on carpooling, but commute time is a lot lower and I won't have to spend 2 hours commuting each week day like the first option. I would also like to get a driver's license while I'm there, so I would also need to enroll in a driving school, but the closest driving school is far away from there but closer to option 1.
Prime example of how KC's spread out office parks on the fringes of the metro with little to no transit effect the quality of life of people moving to KC for jobs.
This person WANTS to live in the city and use transit and will likely either have to get a car and use it every day and find parking for the car in the city and or move to a suburban apartment exacerbating the sprawl problem in KC. If the person has a similar job offer in Denver or Seattle or Minneapolis would they pass on KC? I think it's quite possible.
While I know that somebody may pass on Seattle, Denver etc and move to KC for the exact opposite reasons, (the prefer living and working in suburbs), it comes down to what type of city KC wants to be. KC needs to at least offer this type of lifestyle in addition to the suburban office park lifestyle and right now KC is failing at this because there are so few jobs downtown.
I still can not believe that Cerner is not building at lease some major office presence downtown. It would go a very long way in their recruitment success.
Cerner not building downtown is a whole different story than Sprint and AMC. I have no doubt that the location Cerner chose will hurt their ability to attract and retain employees because the employees can afford to live in nicer areas, but people these days want to live closer to work and we all know that Hickman Mills isn't going to provide them with what the employees will be looking for when it comes to housing quality and quality of education. Locating in downtown KCMO would have fixed the quality housing issue, JoCo would have fixed both without the need for private schools, and even downtown KCK would have provided something for employees children in having the option to apply to Sumner Academy. Cerner needs to get involved in that neighborhood... Maybe they should copy what Cabela's was doing in Sidney, Nebraska and start footing the bill for nicer homes, better schools, and retail/restaurant development to attract quality employees.
And you live in Pittsburgh? I feel for you, that is one depressing city.
I feel like someone living in a suburb-favoring state that the NAACP just issued a racially-motivated travel advisory for has no room to make fun of Pittsburgh.
There are far worse places than Missouri.
NAACP is just practicing poltical agitation. Apparently, the fringes of both sides have completely taken over.
So you are saying that people in KC are not chic or sophisticated enough to like working in urban areas even if they live in suburbs? That's what KCMO was saying. You are probably correct judging by your posts and you live in KC,MO!
Maybe, just maybe, people select their places of employment based on criteria other than whether it's urban or suburban.
I don't care if my employers are downtown, the Northland, Midtown, Lee's Summit, South KC, OP, wherever. I'm choosing them based on the job and my desire to work for them. As long as it's accessible to me distance-wise, I couldn't care less where in the metro they are located.
Maybe, just maybe, people select their places of employment based on criteria other than whether it's urban or suburban.
I don't care if my employers are downtown, the Northland, Midtown, Lee's Summit, South KC, OP, wherever. I'm choosing them based on the job and my desire to work for them. As long as it's accessible to me distance-wise, I couldn't care less where in the metro they are located.
Could be that I'm not alone in that.
You're not alone, but there are a lot of people in the other camp. Especially younger professionals.
Environment is very important to human beings, and the location of a business affects much more than the nature of your commute. It affects what you see and hear every day. It affects your opportunities to mix and interact with people of other backgrounds and worldviews, It affects whether all of your human encounters in a given day are with a predictable collection of co-workers, or a diverse array of people from other companies and other walks of life.
Not only do these factors have an effect on our psyches as humans, but they have an effect on our creativity, our problem-solving abilities, and our motivation to do big-picture results-oriented work.
These principles do not create hard lines between urban and suburban settings. Both types of environments feature the full array of work experiences. But all things being equal, urban locations are more likely to offer a culturally diverse and fulfilling work environment, and suburban locations are more likely to be one-dimensional and soulless.
You're not alone, but there are a lot of people in the other camp. Especially younger professionals.
Environment is very important to human beings, and the location of a business affects much more than the nature of your commute. It affects what you see and hear every day. It affects your opportunities to mix and interact with people of other backgrounds and worldviews, It affects whether all of your human encounters in a given day are with a predictable collection of co-workers, or a diverse array of people from other companies and other walks of life.
Not only do these factors have an effect on our psyches as humans, but they have an effect on our creativity, our problem-solving abilities, and our motivation to do big-picture results-oriented work.
These principles do not create hard lines between urban and suburban settings. Both types of environments feature the full array of work experiences. But all things being equal, urban locations are more likely to offer a culturally diverse and fulfilling work environment, and suburban locations are more likely to be one-dimensional and soulless.
Real-world translation: In the urban location, you're more likely to have to fight off aggressive panhandlers on your two-block stroll for lunch, whereas you're likely deprived of that enrichment in the suburban office park corporate cafeteria where there's no one to talk to but other soulless individuals who've never even spent a single night in jail.
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.
