Jacksonville fights to keep fleeing young professionals

[thelakelander]

By David Bauerlein 

Paige Calvert had an “I’m out of here” attitude toward Northeast Florida after graduation from Clay High.
After she earned a business degree at the University of Florida, she headed to New York City.

But last January, Calvert returned to Jacksonville. Now 28, she is the community curator at Cowork Jax, a new venture that lets professionals and entrepreneurs share snazzy space in a downtown building.

“There is this sense that something is about to happen,” Calvert said. “I said OK, this is exciting.”

For Northeast Florida, decisions by young professionals about where they live would help overcome one of the region’s biggest weaknesses — a shortfall of residents, particularly younger ones, who have earned at least a bachelor’s degree.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-04-17/story/jacksonville-fights-keep-fleeing-young-professionals

[Anti redneck]

It's not hard to keep young professionals in a city. It just requires one simple concept: Make a city interesting, entertaining as well, to live in! I don't know why Jacksonville finds it so hard to do that. Instead of working with those who hold it back, stand up to them and say, "Fxxk you! We're doing this how we want it!" Does anyone know that Jacksonville is in ranked.com as "one of the most boring cities in the US"? I mean, if they learn, articles like this won't be published!

[thelakelander]

At times it does seem that we forget the impact of a community's quality of life on these decisions.  Several cities have rivers and beaches.  At some point, you can't just rely on your natural assets.

[BillKillingsworth]

I've tried to stay offline in the past because of my position with the City and now to keep my nose clean; but, this is something I feel strongly about.  Capital is more mobile than it has every been. It's not just mobile regionally or nationally, but globally. Today's young professional is more likely to make a location choice based on lifestyle issues than ever before. It doesn't take much research to figure out they are locating in cities that offer a dynamic urban lifestyle with a variety of mobility choices.

CEOs for Cities published a report they call the Talent Dividend. Their research indicates that for every %1 increase in college attainment there is a $763 increase in per capita income. Some simple math indicates that just striving for average would net 2.5 billion dollars for Duval County annually.  That's a powerful argument for Jacksonville adding a vibrant urban product to it's real estate portfolio.

However, there's more.  This is a group that clearly values education. I leave it to you to discuss whether we provide a market that values education ...

Bill

[sheclown]

It's not hard to keep young professionals in a city. It just requires one simple concept: Make a city interesting, entertaining as well, to live in! I don't know why Jacksonville finds it so hard to do that. Instead of working with those who hold it back, stand up to them and say, "Fxxk you! We're doing this how we want it!" Does anyone know that Jacksonville is in ranked.com as "one of the most boring cities in the US"? I mean, if they learn, articles like this won't be published!

The voice which shouts  POWER TO THE CORE needs to be louder than all the others.  The urban core has to compete against the interests of suburbia.



A good place to start is with the Hemming Park discussion. 

[Jdog]

Young professionals want a green city, mass transit options, walk-ability, density, entertainment / arts.  Kudos: hours after the article everyone here is pointing that out (seemed to be relatively absent in the newspaper article).   

[thelakelander]

It has remained relatively absent in most recent economic development topics regarding downtown and Jacksonville as a whole.  It's a shame because Jacksonville has so much potential in being a place that can attract and retain educated young professionals, which in the long run, will also help the public education situation.  It's a "best practice" that I really hope our leaders don't underestimate and ignore in the upcoming months.

[Jimmy]

I'm 35.  I'm a native of Jacksonville.  I came home 11 years ago after law school in Tallahassee.  Ever since I was 18, I've watched wave after wave of friends leave Jacksonville for college, for jobs, for love - for opportunity.  Few have returned.

There is just not much opportunity for educated and adjusted people in this town.  It's a painful thing to admit, since I've been a civic cheerleader for going on two decades.

Of the many friends who've left without looking back, most fled Jacksonville, among other things, because of perceived intolerance of difference in this town.  And it's not just a perception.  Jacksonville remains the only major city in Florida without the very most basic of nondiscrimination protections.  We're watching as places like Daytona and Venice bypass us.  A discussion of "diversity" in this town means only race, and then, only black and white.

Any discussion about economic development, and keeping our talented young people, or bringing them back, needs to consider that cities with a high concentration of the creative class are cities that don't merely tolerate difference, but embrace it.  I will admit that it's one of many factors - but it should be considered among them.

[finehoe]

Read what someone posted at www.creativeclass.com:

Drab sprawl
"Except for a couple of neighborhoods bordering downtown and three or four blocks near the beach (20 miles out from downtown), everything in Jacksonville is drab, ugly office-park suburban sprawl. Distances are such that more people drive more miles than even in other Sun Belt cities, let alone the rest of the world. Almost everyplace looks the same. Crime is not the worst in the United States, but not great either. The closest thing to a research university here is the University of North Florida, which is basically a local school. People are not at all well educated; generally very working-class and politically to the Right of Attilla the Hun (unless they are black). The only positives: 1) a few beautiful old neighborhoods near the St. Johns River near downtown2) cheap real estate (though not by Rust Belt standards- you can get a house in a decent inner-suburban area for under 0K, but just barely)- and of course the weather is a positive for some.

I live here because my work is very specialized and so its not easy to switch jobs."

Sent by Settling from Jacksonville, FL

Posted in Florida, Jacksonville

[Bridges]

I think this is possibly the biggest problem Jacksonville has.  The attrition of its educated or more talented youth.  Of course, a variety of larger problems are causing this, but I think in order to make effective and lasting change, we have to stop the outflow of youth. 

When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to leave Jacksonville.  It was something I always thought was a given for me.  I went to a private high school, and just like there was an expectation that you go to college, there was an expectation that you leave Jacksonville.   I can vividly remember having conversations about it.  In fact the phrase used was something along the lines of, "Jacksonville is a good town to raise a family in, but that's way down the line, I wouldn't come back until then".  Problem is that by "then" you've already got an established family in a better city. 

I'm 30 now, and if it hadn't been for a family business, I wouldn't have come back.  It's really funny, but when I meet new people not originally from Jacksonville, one thing they say to me is "You don't meet many people from Jacksonville"...which I always think is a weird statement, but if that's been their experience, then I give it some credence. 

[cline]

I feel like the Jax area is a mecca for the late-30 and 40 somethings with young kids.  Only problem is the vast majority choose to live in gated communities in NW St. Johns County where they can send their kids to A-rated schools.  The younger single professionals and the DINKS (who I believe we are all talking about here) leave Jax because they're not interested in A-rated schools.  They're interested in the things JDOG mentioned:  "a green city, mass transit options, walk-ability, density, entertainment / arts".  We have some of those things...however we're woefully behind most other cities.  Because of this, most young professional don't come back to Jax after graduation or don't relocate here from another city.

I have friends from Jax that left for Boston, Chicago, NYC and Charlotte after college.  Now that they are starting to have kids many are considering moving back down here for various reasons.  That's not a bad thing, but we need to be able to attract a wider spectrum of young people-not just young families.

[tufsu1]

I've tried to stay offline in the past because of my position with the City and now to keep my nose clean; but, this is something I feel strongly about.  Capital is more mobile than it has every been. It's not just mobile regionally or nationally, but globally. Today's young professional is more likely to make a location choice based on lifestyle issues than ever before. It doesn't take much research to figure out they are locating in cities that offer a dynamic urban lifestyle with a variety of mobility choices.

CEOs for Cities published a report they call the Talent Dividend. Their research indicates that for every %1 increase in college attainment there is a $763 increase in per capita income. Some simple math indicates that just striving for average would net 2.5 billion dollars for Duval County annually.  That's a powerful argument for Jacksonville adding a vibrant urban product to it's real estate portfolio.

However, there's more.  This is a group that clearly values education. I leave it to you to discuss whether we provide a market that values education ...

Bill

welcome Bill!

[peestandingup]

I'm not exactly the toast of the town & have tons of friends, but I honestly don't know anyone in Jax that came here because they actually wanted to. Seems like it's always by some default, they have some ties here or got stuck in a job. I mean, I'm sure they exist, I just don't personally know of any. And that includes myself & my wife.

Young pros aren't stupid. They can do the math & Jax just doesn't add up to be a good deal for most. There's no transit, no walkability/bike-ability, no downtown to really speak of, not a whole lot of functions & stuff going on in general, etc. And if you're coming with a young family (or planning on one), then you're probably gonna have to pay for private schools since most the public ones are awful, have 2 cars & a long ass commute anywhere you go in town. All that stuff makes it pretty unattractive & not worth the overall cost for what the city gives you in return. And the leaders don't seem like they understand these things at all & are still living in the 70s & 80s.

Seriously, having nice weather, rivers & beaches are great & all, but you can only brag on that stuff so much. Its not like you can really do anything in the river, and you can't eat the weather. So there has to be more things of real substance.

[fieldafm]

Some simple math indicates that just striving for average would net 2.5 billion dollars for Duval County annually.  That's a powerful argument for Jacksonville adding a vibrant urban product to it's real estate portfolio.

+1 and thank you for speaking out Bill!!!  Your voice is needed.

[Tacachale]

I've always wondered if part of our dearth of college educated residents is due to the lack of higher education options. This is a statewide issue: we just don't have many colleges, let alone a diversity of college environments, compared to literally every other state this side of the Mississippi.

In other states the pattern involves a diversity of state and private colleges of different sizes and specialties all across the state. In North Carolina, for instance, it seems that every other town has its own college; the bigger cities have four or five or more. Both public and private colleges vary in size, specialty, and learning environment, and are spread across small towns, classic college towns, and major metro areas.

The options are much more limited in Florida. We have our two "big name" schools, but otherwise there's a much smaller proportion of colleges in small towns, and the bigger cities rarely have more than about two colleges of size. Instead of offering a variety of environments, the majority of our state universities are cultivating the same type of environment: enormous, heavy on research, and of course, football-equipped. Not everyone thrives in a school like that.

I imagine a lack of local options contributes to our best and brightest so often looking not only out of town, but out of state for college, and then not returning.