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genuinely concerned

I would be very interested to learn if and when Seattle/Portland enjoyed our rank according to Forbes. Does this mean we're destined to "gentrify" in the same manner Seattle and Portland have, ultimately sliding back down the 'Business Opportunity' scale as our cost of living increases, etc?

Is there a way to craft economic policy that sustains long-term growth as opposed to merely exploiting our present position as an "inferior product city" in the national urban market?

P.S. And if 'Career Opportunity' is so great around here then why do I only have the option of 3 or 4 employers if I actually want to utilize my undergraduate degree?

Why does it seem so darn impossible to do the kind of community development work I want to do full time?

Why do the powers-that-be think all they need to do to solve our workforce development gap is sponsor a career fair and throw a couple of networking events?

Just wondering . . .

Andrew Waddilove

Congrats Spokane!
Deep down I always knew this city had the potential to gain national attention- in a good way.
Tomorrow I'm moving to San Francisco to start a new future there.
Thank-you Metro Spokane for allowing me to voice my opinions and concerns on here.
From time to time, I will continue to look on the Metro Spokane site to see how things are progressing in Spokane.
Again congratulations to the city for being #9.
Keep up the good work!

Contrarian

T'would accelerate the trend if WSU were to decide to build their new School for Global Animal Health in Spokane. Is anyone trying to persuade them how well it would fit on the SIRTI campus?

MK

This is a good thing.

Rachael

I am not sure I agree about the ranking of #9. From my experience, Spokane is not exactly a hotbed of top careers. It took me a while before I found a good job that wasn't in the medical field. I have been using http://spokane.konnects.com to network with other Spokane professionals.

Spokane is great if you are old or you work in the medical field. Tech wise, there isn't much in Spokane. I think Spokane could be a great city for somebody who has a lot of experience, but as far as young professionals go, I think it is terrible. I know a lot of recent grads from GU Law and tons of them had a tough time finding a job in Spokane.

Forbes is off its rocker on ranking Spokane #9.

MK

Forbes doesn't care if you found a good job in Spokane or not. They measured the following for almost every city in the nation:

1)Five-year historical job growth
2)Five-year historical income growth
3)Migration trends
4)A business cost index consisting of a mix: labor, tax, energy, office space costs
5) A living cost index consisting of housing, transportation, food, etc.

Out of that statistical analysis they found Spokane to rank as 9th best in the country. It's not up for debate. It doesn't mean you'll personally find a good job or that you'll love your job it just means that out of the criteria they chose Spokane was in the top ten nationwide. And I repeat, this is a good thing.

Transplant

CNN used remarkably similar data and placed Spokane at 77 on their 2008 “100 best places to start a business" list. Apparently, the position IS up for debate.

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