Seattle tied with Washington, D.C., as the most desirable destination for "the new generation of young, restless grads," according to an informal poll by a Wall Street Journal columnist.
Panelists were asked which 10 cities will emerge as the hottest, hippest destinations for highly mobile, educated workers in their 20s when the U.S. economy gets moving again. Those who were polled picked their cities based on criteria they deemed most important, from economic diversity to lifestyle.
Seattle's allure included its diverse high-tech sector, cultural life, strong university presence and access to rugged natural terrain. Also mentioned as plusses were its reputation as "home to a lot of brainy people" and relatively low joblessness.
The WSJ columnist asked panelists, who included demographers, economists, geographers and authors on urban issues, to discuss what cities, in the wake of the recession, offer the most to young professionals.
New York emerged as the third-place pick, followed by Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas.
Commenting on the rankings, Sue Shellenbarger, who writes the Journal's "Work & Family" column, said panelists believe today's recession-scarred young people are more pragmatic, and "will value finding high-quality, high-paying jobs over access to the funkiest music or the biggest rock-climbing wall."
The young are likely to be more restless than usual when the recovery comes, according to Shellenbarger, noting the recession has stalled migration.
Fewer people moved across state lines in 2008 than at any time since 1950, according to William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit Washington research organization.
Shellenbarger noted cities once lauded as youth magnets fell of the radar. Naples, Fla., cited in a 2003 Census Bureau Report on cities that are alluring to young adults was bypassed by panelists. Another past favorite, Las Vegas, did not make the most recent list, with its housing collapse cited as one reason.
NWREporter November 2009