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.
Another absolute statement that demands supporting evidence. What are you going to say about the person in his/her mid-30's who just posted in the Greenville-Spartanburg subforum regarding a family relocation to Greenville for work? There have been several others as well who have been attracted by jobs, climate, amenities, and other opportunities. Just read the comments and then attempt to prove that there is absolutely no attraction for young professionals in SC - but this time please use real evidence, not a statement without any support.
You are nobody to demand anything! You don't own this website or control the statements made on it.
Lets not be idiotic........as you already know I transferred from NYC to live in Greenville so there was something that attracted me. I was attracted here because I was transferring with a company to take a job opportunity.
If it was not a transfer that resulted in me having a job already waiting for me.......then NO I would not have moved to the south until I saw some progress being made with job opportunities. As a young professional who is also in my mid 30's I would not have been attracted to Greenville if I had to come here and look for a job.
There is a complete difference between someone transferring and having a job waiting for them.........and someone relocating here looking for work in a city that has limited job opportunities. Of course there are mid 30's professionals transferring from other places........like a waiter in one of the restaurants located in downtown Greenville said to me recently.........we are transferring down here because in many cases we are able to keep the same salaries we had in other cities, which means not only do we come down here with a job already waiting........but we will be able to live like royalty here because the cost of living is a lot lower!
Last edited by NewYorkBorn; 07-29-2009 at 10:54 AM..
If there were progress being made here in Greenville to diversify the job opportunities.........then we would not see these high unemployment numbers!
That makes no sense. If a recession hits an area that's working to diversify the local economy, naturally that area would have higher unemployment than areas that have already had a fairly diversified local economy in place for years.
That makes no sense. If a recession hits an area that's working to diversify the local economy, naturally that area would have higher unemployment than areas that have already had a fairly diversified local economy in place for years.
Exactly my point. If there was a focus on creating job diversity here before the economy went bad.......then maybe we would not see these high unemployment numbers right now. Because we are a small city and dependent on only a few industries........we are hit harder with high unemployment then a city that is already established. Therefore when I see people try to mention some stores closing in Manhattan (just because I am from NYC and they have a problem with people from the north) in an attempt to hide behind our unemployment problems in the south.......that makes no sense comparing apples to oranges!
Let's face facts, people; the entire State of South Carolina has relied on low-paying jobs for way too long. Yes, some of us have good, high-paying jobs, but most South Carolinians do not. I have long railed against our state's reliance on tourism and other service-related jobs because they barely pay a living wage. We have got to put a higher emphasis on cutting edge technology and other jobs of the future or we will continue to lose ground.
Let's face facts, people; the entire State of South Carolina has relied on low-paying jobs for way too long. Yes, some of us have good, high-paying jobs, but most South Carolinians do not. I have long railed against our state's reliance on tourism and other service-related jobs because they barely pay a living wage. We have got to put a higher emphasis on cutting edge technology and other jobs of the future or we will continue to lose ground.
Good for you, someone on here that is willing to be honest and face the problems in South Carolina head on. As you said most of the people in South Carolina do not have high paying jobs. My experience since moving here has been that most of the people who have high paying jobs in South Carolina..........have those jobs because like me they transferred from another city and brought that high paying salary with them to the south.
The problem is that many of the towns in the south are old mill/textile towns and when those jobs dried up the dependence on manufacturing/factory and hospital jobs started. The progress should have happened in the south 20 - 30 years ago someone should have looked at where the south was heading and done something about the problem. I have a lot of family members that were born and raised here in the south........they can't stand change and this mentality is what has caused the south to drag its feet on making progress towards creating diversity.
Yeah I said it and whoever does not like it.......you know what you can do!
I'd like to chime in because I think this is excellent dialog and just the type of exchange that helps to promote progress. I think that most of us can agree that there was definitely a lack of preparation for the transfer of manufacturing jobs overseas. While that crisis is just now hitting higher profile industries and garnering national attention, it began to impact South Carolina's textile industry in the 70s and 80s. We need to learn from past mistakes, yes, but we have to spend MORE time focusing on what impact we can make short term to improve the ecomonic future of SC. I've asked before on another forum, with no clear answer, but how do WE as individual citizens impact the direction of this state in ways other than casting our vote at election time? There are quite a few of us in this state, outside of the political machine, with leadership abilities. One person can make a difference. Any ideas on how we can do something important to impact the state's ability to create jobs, which must come FIRST? I have loads of ideas with regards to improving our educational system, etc... but increasing employment here must be the first priority. The first thing that comes to my mind is legalizing gambling in the Myrtle Beach, SC area. One casino, maybe like Harrah's in NC, right in the middle of the strip of MB.
I have loads of ideas with regards to improving our educational system, etc... but increasing employment here must be the first priority. The first thing that comes to my mind is legalizing gambling in the Myrtle Beach, SC area. One casino, maybe like Harrah's in NC, right in the middle of the strip of MB.
I respectfully disagree w/you on that, a casino will be mostly more of the same as far as low-paying tourist type jobs. Very few people that work in the casino make good money. Would it add more jobs, sure, but the state already has plenty of low-level/low-pay jobs as it is.
To answer your question I think we need to start by defining what types of companys and jobs we want to attract to the area.
We already have a lot of manufacturing related companys located here (BMW, Michelin, Lockheed Martin etc.) Therefore we don't need to attract anymore. I feel the focus should be on attracting larger companys to locate their offices here. However the only way to attract larger companys to the state is through incentives like tax breaks in exchange for locating here and hiring a significant number of local residents. One thing companys understand is the bottom line, profits and saving money. One thing we have in South Carolina that is an advantage is open space (undeveloped land).
We could capitalize on the fact that it is cheaper for companys to have locations here then it is for them to have locations in the north where rents and taxes on buildings are a lot higher.
The purpose here is to create jobs for local residents so we don't want them to transfer people from other states to fill the positions. There is already a lot of transferring going on........in fact I know a few people that work over at BMW and they have told me that a large part of their workforce was transferred from other places.
The other thing that I see as a problem here in South Carolina and more specifically Greenville is that a lot of the companys that already exist here do not do a lot of direct hiring for permanent positions.........they use a lot of staffing agencys to fill positions that will only be temporary.
I think an excellent place to start would be the chamber of commerce here in Greenville for example. They could take a more active role in creating an effective campaign that will attract larger companies and diverse industries.
Exactly my point. If there was a focus on creating job diversity here before the economy went bad.......then maybe we would not see these high unemployment numbers right now.
There was a focus, but it's been rather recent (i.e., too little, too late). The effort to diversify, particularly in the state's major metros, is still in its infancy. So there ARE efforts being made, and incremental progress, but nothing near enough to stop massive job losses in a recession--such as what we're seeing now. Hopefully one day that will change.
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.
