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Our Blog-FriendsFor some, this may be old news. With all this great blog fodder to work with I have fallen a few steps behind in reporting the big news: Savannah is a great place to do business.
According to Inc. Magazine’s Best Cities 2008, Savannah ranks as the number three mid-sized city in America to do business and number fifteen city all-around. The ranking has been around since 2004 and reflects economic trends and employment data in 335 regions nationwide. In 2006, Savannah appeared on the list as the 49th best small city (top 50, baby) and 74th overall. The following year, Savannah made the leap from “small” city to “mid-sized.” (The qualification for mid-sized being 150,000 to 450,000 area jobs.) At just over the 150,000 mark, we jumped to the number 10 mid-sized city, 42nd overall in 2007.
Recognize a 46-place and 59-place jump, respectively, in two years time? So, what gives? What have we done so right to see ourselves kicking butt and taking names?
To start, we’re creating jobs. Here’s how the results are amassed:
The list focuses on short- and long-term job growth. It tells us precisely not just where jobs are being created — a sure sign of economic vitality — but where the momentum is shifting. For entrepreneurs, this suggests what may be the best places to locate or expand your business.
Then consider what a declining housing market and an impending recession can do to other more vulnerable communities. The “sunshine boys,” as Inc. calls them, have taken a sharp fall off the chart with communities in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada falling victim to the housing crunch.
Since the list’s inception, Florida has been the standout state in each of our size-based categories — small, midsize, and large. But not this year. Now, Florida is the state that fell back to earth. Stung by plummeting construction employment and the mortgage finance crisis, many of our former highfliers across the state are hurting.
If this trend continues to play out, California’s problems could be worse than those in Florida. When the bubble corrects, Florida still can boast relatively low costs, no income taxes, and a favorable business climate in addition to warm weather. By contrast, California’s land use laws, high taxes, and massive $20 billion state deficit don’t bode well for the future of the state…
Now, for the important question: who’d we beat out?! In our middle-weight class, we ranked ahead of neighboring Charleston, mountainous Asheville and both Columbia and Greenville. Overall, we placed in advance of Charlottesville, Salt Lake City, Durham, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, New York City, Washington, Miami, San Francisco and, yes, Atlanta as a preferable place to do business. Go ahead and read through that one more time…
Feel like celebrating? You should. We’ve all been hard at work making Savannah a more livable and workable community. Let’s keep it up… #1 in ‘09?!
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12 Responses to “Ahh, life at the top. A city could get used to this…”
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One would have to understand that there are a few reasons for being tagged as a great city to do business in. Cheap labor is one (poverty levels are not something that makes you a great city to live in). Another is the lack of regulation on businesses (no impact fees, just SPLOST), and a MPC that grants every variance requested (say goodbye to canopy trees). Bicycling lanes and sidewalks cost money so historically we didn’t require builders to put them in, good for business bad for living. Until recently, we burned our trash, good for business, bad for living.
For every action there is a reaction and balance is what this community needs. Let’s celebrate and strive for balance, not being at the top of the “easy to business” list.
Ooouch! There’s truth to what you said Mr. Mc Masters. But won’t accolades like this prompt, inspire, motivate, stimulate further improvement in areas like the ones you mentioned? It seems the more unexpected guests you have pop over to your house for a friendly visit, the more of an effort you make to keep your house tidy. So the more outsiders we have looking in on us to pat us on the back, the more compelled City leaders will be to initiate improvements for a better Savannah. Like you said, we once burned our trash. Well, no we don’t. And that’s a big step for Savannah in the right direction. The improvements may come slow here, but I confident in the sureness they’ll eventually come. Let’s just hope they’re within my lifetime. : )
And that’s supposed to say “Well, NOW we don’t”
Well I guess you’re right except I kinda wished more folks and organizations would work towards balancing the picture. I’m delighted curbside recycling is replacing burning trash, you’re right that is progress and we sure need a whole lot more.
Consider this. What if we worked to really improve our public policies. Sure that would be a lot harder assignment than kinda whitewashing the town. The amount of creativity that gets invested in the spin is no way equal to the heavy lifting that would/could result in meaningful change. Building bike paths and sidewalks in new subdivisions shouldn’t be a wishing game. Hope is not a strategy. It’s important but on its own will likely fall short of goal. Collecting impact fees on new construction goes on in every county around us and has been going on for quite a while. Here, we choose to tax ourselves with the poorest people paying for the infrastructure demands resulting from people who moved here. Talk about an injustice, SPLOST is pulling every chatham county citizen down. The same amount of revenue could have come from those who moved here and who created the need. Really balanced equation.
So yes, let’s have the accolades and let’s speak to the underlying structural public policies issues too.
Angel, you are my hero.
Fitz, you are a hero too (even tilted).
I wanted to say SCORE 1 for Angel, too! I see points from both sides, but I tend to be a little more glass-half-full kinda girl.
I uderstand why the CC staffers have to see the glass 1/2 full. Those who see it the other way are doing their best to improve things around here along with you and others. Opposing LNG expansion, pushing for higher wages, job creation verification when public/tax payer subsidy occurs, lower taxes through impact fee collection, and general accountability for our public policies, (call it best practices), is time well spent because think what might occur without this oversight. Not too long ago, 1970’s, Union Camp had 3 employess on the county commission. As late as 2001, the company (IP) had an employee on the Board of Assessors (while the company’s 11,000 acres of growing land was being skillfully undervalued for tax purposes for over a decade). You might want to read The Water Lords to get a feeling for how poorly Chatham County public policy was handled. I like to imagine what can come from improving it, the upside is huge.
Let’s keep it balanced, both are important and should not become mutually exclusive. I know that’s a fine line for those who draw their paycheck from government.
John,
I can’t help but wonder: are you campaigning on the basis of “there is no such thing as bad PR” or playing devil’s advocate (or both)? Before you soapbox on why Inc Mag ranked Savannah, did you consult how they actually calculate said rankings?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for opposing points of view and bringing “reality” to these kind of discussions. I think econ dev orgs as a whole are more often guilty of rolling out the “rah, rah sis boom bah” than most, but in my experience the “CC staffers” are the least of these offenders and quite frankly, I find your comments a little contrarian for contrarian’s sake.
I wonder how we rank on Richard Florida’s creative cities scale. Anyone know?
I just looked at how they calculate the ranking and they do seem to be all business oriented with no quality of life or labor oriented measures (like the ratio of wages to cost of living or whether most workers have good health benefits). Personally, I think John’s points are all well taken. With regard to glass half full versus glass half empty perspectives, the fact is that people are more motivated to take action for change when they see a problem than when they see things as relatively rosy. So, I don’t find this contrarian at all.
TCCa is hardly a complacent cheerleader, though. In fact, they have played a big role in making Savannah a place where people want to come. I also know many of the staff who are personally committed to various aspects of social justice. However, I think a lot of other folks in this town are a bit complacent as a result of our growth. As a result, certain structural issues with how things are done in this town are swept under the rug and many pressing problems are not addressed in an effective, efficient way (like poverty and crime and education, to name three). For example, rich folks just all send their kids to private schools and resist the revenue streams (like impact fees) that would be necessary to fix the public schools. The public schools end up being breeding grounds for crime and prepare kids for a life of poverty. It’s all bound up together.