Raleigh, North Carolina.  Kiplinger’s Top 10 Best Cities for 2008 Ranks Raleigh Near Top.  Well, surprise, surprise.  There is another top 10 list and again Raleigh is on it.  This time it comes from the top flight Kiplinger’s magazine.  They teamed up with the Martin Prosperity Institute to devise the formula used to determine which cities are currently the best places to live and work in.  The Martin Prosperity Institute is a think tank operation that studies economic prosperity.  Some of the key items they looked at in making their rankings were the availability of creative people in a broad section of activities; science, architecture, the arts, writers, etc.  They also looked at the affordability of homes, cost of living, income, the job market and fun and interesting things to do. 

Houston garnered the number one ranking.  Behind Raleigh were Omaha, Boise, Colorado Springs, Austin, Fayetteville (Arkansas), Sacramento, DesMoines, and Provo.  If you are looking a great quality of life and high paying jobs in many fields you certainly want to make a serious search in the Triangle.  There is a lot of good information about Raleigh in the Kiplinger article so why not go to www.kiplinger.com/money/bestcities and see all that they have to say about us.  If you are thinking about coming to Raleigh, or already plan to do so, let me know the specifics of the kind of home you want and I will provide you with information on what is available. 

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Best Labor Market For Young Adults.  The American City Business Journals rated Raleigh the best job market in the nation for young adults 18 to 34 years old.  In arriving at their positioning of these best cities they ranked 10 factors in the nation’s 67 largest metropolitan areas.  Yes, we are back to another listing of the 10 best this or that!  At any rate, among these 10 factors were the percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree, per capita income, growth rate of employment, median rent and unemployment.  Diversity of industries and night life variety were also important in the attracting of young people to any given area.  From 1990 to 2007 the Triangle’s population of young people in the 20 to 34 year old range grew by more than 92 percent.  The top 10 city ranks for Best Labor Market For Young Adults from 2 to 10 (after Raleigh) were: Austin, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Seattle, Orlando and Houston.  Come join us and see what all the hoorah is all about.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  New Aquatic Center In Buffaloe Road Athletic Park Will Cost $24 Million.  Of that total $8 Million has been allotted for the 13 acre Center.  It has not been determined where the balance will come from.  The Center will include a 6,800 square foot outdoor pool with swimming lanes and an indoor 50 meter competition pool.  There will also be water slides, locker rooms and seating for about 400 people.  The location of the Center is close to I-540, has ball fields and other recreation amenities.  The last city pool was built in Pullen Park in 1992.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  In its current issue, Forbes magazine does an article about the “Best Places for Business and Careers”.  It is based on job and income growth, business and living costs, the education of the work force, quality of life, cultural opportunites, crime rate and migration trends (forbes.com/bestplaces/).  Raleigh was listed as number 1 and Durham as number 7.  During 2006 42,742 people moved to the Raleigh-Cary area (which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin Counties) while Durham picked up another 4,542. Also,in its May issue, Black Enterprise magazine ranks Raleigh-Durham as number 3 among the 10 best places for African-Americans to work and play (blackenterprise.com). 

It is all well and good to toot our own horn but for those of you who read this blog or any of the many articles about the Triangle area being written in magazines, newspapers, etc. it should also be pointed out that we also have our problems.  The bond issues come in waves to try and keep up with the demand for new schools.  The roads in the area, while excellent, continue to bear the brunt of an ever greater assult wave of automobiles and trucks and while there are many fine jobs in the area there is also a tremendous demand for them.  The job market is, indeed, VERY competitive.  For those of you considering coming to this area you might want to check the following web sites: RelocateTriangle.com and city-data.com/forum/.  If you have excellent job skills you should certainly consider the Triangle but, as with all important decisions in life, consider carefully and approach with caution!

For information about housing in the Triangle area please call me or email me at the number or address given below.  The more precise your questions are the better the information you receive will be.  We have many fine homes in most price ranges.  As with any strong job market the demand for lower priced homes is the strongest, most competitive and, at times, difficult to fill the need for.  I also suggest that a good place to get a quick flavor of the Triangle area and its housing market is to check back postings to my blog. 

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com