Anchor of Blackbeard Found

Archaeologists recovered the first anchor from what's believed to be the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard's flagship off the North Carolina coast by Knightdale Homes Friday, a move that might change plans about how to save the rest of the almost 300-year-old artifacts from the central part of the ship.
Divers had planned to recover the second-largest artifact on what's believed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge but discovered it was too well-attached to other items in the ballast pile. Instead they pulled up another anchor that is the third-largest artifact and likely was the typical anchor for the ship.
Apparently, pirates had everyday anchors and special anchors just as the rest of us have everyday dishes and good china in our Morrisville Homes.
It's the first large anchor that divers have retrieved; they earlier brought up a small, grapnel anchor. The anchor is 11 feet, 4 inches long with arms that are 7 feet, 7 inches across. It was covered with a mixture of shells, sand and other debris attracted by the leaching wrought iron. Its weight was estimated at 2,500 to 3,000 pounds.
The anchor's size is typical for a ship the size of the Queen Anne's Revenge, while the two other anchors probably were used in emergencies, such as storms.
Archaeologists had planned to remove the second-largest anchor, which is 13 feet long with arms that are 8 feet across, from the top of the ballast pile. But it was too well-attached, so instead the divers went in from the side to retrieve the everyday anchor. That means that future dives may involve going in from the side of the shipwreck rather than the top.
State officials hope the anchor and other artifacts will attract tourists out of http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftheir Raleigh Homes. The largest exhibit of artifacts from the shipwreck, which was discovered in 1996, will be shown starting June 11 at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. There are plans to recover all the artifacts by the end of 2013.
And the timing of the recovery of the anchor couldn't be better for North Carolina officials, trying to increase tourism interest in the shipwreck. The Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" starring Johnny Depp was released earlier this month and features both Blackbeard and the Queen Anne's Revenge.
In 1717, Blackbeard captured a French slave ship and renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard, whose real name was widely believed to be Edward Teach or Thatch, settled in Bath and received a governor's pardon. Volunteers with the Royal navy killed him in Ocracoke Inlet in November 1718, five months after the ship thought to be Queen Anne's Revenge sank.
The Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, has already yielded more than 250,000 artifacts.
The only remaining parts of the ship are the wooden hull structure, ribs and a plank that are at the bottom of the pile, protected by ballast that kept the ship upright. Six cannon and three other anchors are also in the pile.
Divers went in the Atlantic to hook up the anchor for its lift to the ocean surface. One diver stated that the anchor lifted great, and was glad to see the result of the 9 year project. This is good news for those living nearby in their Triangle Homes.

FeatureTel Named Among Top 100 NC Small Businesses

TMCnet

The Business Leader magazine has recognized FeatureTel, a hosted business VoIP telephone system solutions company in North Carolina as a Top 100 North Carolina Small Business for 2010.

Business Leader provides information, tools, and resources for business executives/owners. The magazine is found on newsstands worldwide with local editions available in certain markets.FeatureTel ( News - Alert) is a fully managed and Hosted VoIP, voice and data communications service company. The company provides businesses across the Carolinas with a cost-effective, feature-rich alternative to traditional voice communication solutions.

FeatureTel earned this recognition mainly because of its implementation of a new telephone service with upgraded functionality for the City of Durham, the establishment of its Channel Partner (News - Alert) program, and its community service. Apart from sponsoring events to benefit Hospice of Wake County, Habitat for Humanity and breast cancer research, FeatureTel provides free phone service to the Triangle Autism Society.

“We are pleased to have been recognized with this award for our business achievements,” said FeatureTel Founder and CEO Paul Levering (News - Alert), “but we are especially proud of our community involvement and what we do to give back.” Levering, a supporter of educational concerns, personally participated as a panelist at the North Carolina School of Science and Math Alumni Forum & Lecture Series last year.

The list of Top 100 North Carolina Small Businesses from Business Leader includes companies with 100 employees or less that do the majority of their business in North Carolina. During the selection process, Business Leader evaluated each company's one-year and five-year revenue growth, business achievements and community involvement. FeatureTel was honored June 24 at an awards dinner in Raleigh real estate, N.C.

In October 2009, the company announced that it recently completed the installation of phones and related services for 1,815 users across the City of Durham’s operations, including police and fire rescue. This is deployment is part of a $1.63 million contract that also includes network equipment upgrades and a three-year service agreement. The previous telephone system of the city required 67 different key systems.

IBM To Hire 600 Workers In RTP For Service Center

Raleigh Telegram

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue announced this week that a subsidiary of IBM (International Business Machines) will hire around 600 workers during the next two years in Research Triangle Park.

The governor’s office says that the company will invest $3.7 million to open a managed business process service center in Research Triangle Park.  The jobs are being located here thanks in part to tax incentives being offered by state and local governments that could total as high as $7.79 million if IBM hires all of the 600 workers.

“IBM has been a major employer in North Carolina providing thousands of skilled jobs for more than 30 years. We value this company’s ongoing commitment to North Carolina and Research Triangle Park,” said Perdue.

With thousands of workers, IBM is one of the largest employers in Research Triangle Park and one of its first tenants in the facility that was created by the government decades ago to draw high-tech firms to the area.

According to the governor’s office, the salaries for the 600 new jobs will be around $50,000 a year, while the Durham County real estate average is $57,772.

“The new services operation furthers our commitment to the state of North Carolina and our ongoing presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Bob Greenberg, senior state executive, IBM North Carolina in a released statement.

“These are exactly the sort of highly skilled jobs that North Carolina needs to be recruiting in the 21st century economy, and we’re especially pleased that IBM is expanding its presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Rep. Mickey Michaux, (D-Durham) in a released statement.

$40 Million Development Project Planned in Raleigh

News & Observer

A Charlotte developer that has spent the last three years assembling property at the edge of downtown is moving ahead with plans to transform an abandoned industrial area between N.C. State University and downtown Raleigh into a mix of apartments, townhouses and shops.

In a rezoning request filed with the city of Raleigh this month, FMW Real Estate outlines plans to redevelop a 6.67-acre site just west of the intersection of West Morgan and Hillsborough streets.

The $40 million first phase would include a 5-story, 240-unit apartment building, 32 townhouses along Ashe Street and 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office along Morgan Street, Wakefield Avenue and Tryon Street.

 Jim Zanoni, who owns FMW along with Walker Wells, said the company hopes to break ground by next spring.

FMW paid about $14.5 million total for four different parcels of Raleigh real estate. The largest piece was once home to the Bolton Corp., a family heating and air condition company that ceased operations on the site several years ago.

FMW also owns the property where the IHOP on Hillsborough Street is located, but that site would be part of phase two of the redevelopment and exact plans for that portion have not been finalized, Zanoni said.

Siemens Moves Power Unit to North Carolina, Adds 825 Jobs

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG is consolidating production of gas turbines for electric utilities in North Carolina to position itself for an expected boom in electricity demand in the Southeast and around the world.

A subsidiary of the Munich-based company, Siemens Energy Inc., said Thursday it plans to invest $135 million to build a new manufacturing plant for 60-Hertz gas turbines in Charlotte. The company was promised a package of tax breaks, grants and low-interest loans worth up to $154.75 million to make the move.

Siemens will close a similar plant in Hamilton, Ontario, that employs about 450, though it's not yet clear how many will lose their jobs and how many transfer to North Carolina over the next 18 months, spokeswoman Melanie Forbrick said.

The turbines will be shipped to utilities in the Americas, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

"Over the next five years, we expect employment at the Charlotte site to grow to nearly 1,800 people, with more than 1,000 of those positions new to Charlotte. With this move we're pushing ahead with our growth strategy in the U.S., which is our most important single-country market," Siemens AG chief executive officer Peter Loescher said in a statement.

The move is expected to create 825 engineering and manufacturing jobs in Charlotte within five years, paying an average wage of almost $64,000 a year. Production in the expanded plant is scheduled to start in the fall of 2011, the company said.

State and local governments promised up to $35 million in tax breaks and grants. A county development entity is also prepared to lend Siemens up to $120 million in low-interest loans, with funding coming from bonds created by last year's federal stimulus package.

Siemens said the move to Charlotte was in part driven by a need to be closer to customers. Siemens-built power plants supply one-third of North America's electricity, the company said.

"I think that they're seeing that the American market has been slow but will be rebounding," said William Schmalzer, an analyst for market research firm Forecast International Inc. The North Carolina move "also puts them closer to their markets in Brazil, especially, and Latin America, which are probably also going to increase in the near future."

Forecast International predicts that worldwide demand for gas turbines will be almost $140 billion by 2018, with Siemens holding about 18 percent of the market behind General Electric's 43 percent market share.

About 780 Siemens workers in Charlotte already manufacture and rebuild gas turbines. The company last spring announced an expansion of 200 jobs in Charlotte and construction of a 75,000-square-foot office next to its manufacturing plant.

Siemens employs about 64,000 workers in the U.S., including 10,000 in its energy sector.

Raleigh Named 3rd Best Market for Young Adults

Triangle Business Journal

A new study ranks Raleigh as the third best metropolitan area in the country for young adults seeking to establish themselves in a recessionary economy.

The Raleigh metro area ranked high in the categories of population growth, employment growth, share of total population and the jobless rate for people ages 18-34. Raleigh also boasts a large number of households led by people under the age of 45 with incomes of more than $100,000 and residents with bachelor’s degrees between the ages of 18 and 34, according to the new report from Portfolio.com/bizjournals.

Raleigh real estate was bested in the rankings only by No. 1 Austin, Texas, and No. 2 Washington, D.C.

Charlotte, the only other North Carolina municipality listed, ranked No. 28.

Portfolio.com/bizjournals analyzed the 67 U.S. metros with populations above 750,000, searching for qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s.

The study’s 10-part formula gave the highest marks to places with strong growth rates, moderate costs of living and substantial pools of young adults who are college-educated and employed.

The least desirable market for young adults, according to the Portfolio.com/bizjournals study, is Detroit, which is saddled with the nation’s worst unemployment rate for young adults, the slowest rate of income growth, and the biggest decline in overall employment.

Here’s a quick look at the top 10 metros for young people.

1. Austin: Its attractiveness to young adults is broadly based, and it ranks among the 10 leading markets in five of the categories that were analyzed. This isn’t the first time Austin takes top honors in a Portfolio.com/bizjournals analysis. Earlier this year, the city was named the best city in which to launch a small business.

2. Washington: Educated young adults flock to the nation’s capital, where 35.8 percent of all 18-to-34-year-olds hold bachelor’s degrees. The study group’s median is 23.2 percent. Per capita income ($56,510) is well above average.

3. Raleigh: This is the fastest-growing major metro in the nation. The population of the Raleigh area is increasing by 3.9 percent per year. That’s more than triple the pace for the typical market, 1.2 percent.

4. Boston: Elite universities such as Harvard and MIT give Boston its intellectual cachet. The local share of young adults with college degrees (37.6 percent) is the highest in the country.

5. Houston: Employment opportunities abound in Houston, where the job-growth rate (1.7 percent per year) ranks among the five best in the nation. And so does its annual upswing in per capita income (6.6 percent).

6. Oklahoma City: The unemployment rate for young adults is lower here than anywhere but Salt Lake City and Tulsa. Oklahoma City also enjoys the nation’s third-best pace for annual income growth, a rapid 7.2 percent.

7. Dallas-Fort Worth: The recession caused some backsliding in 2009, but Dallas-Fort Worth still has 206,000 more jobs than it did five years ago. Local population is zipping higher by 2.4 percent per year.

8. Tulsa: Here’s an area that’s a true bargain. Median rent is $508 per month in Tulsa, the third-lowest figure in the study group. Compare that to such budget-breakers as San Jose (median rent of $1,334) or Honolulu ($1,227).

9. Seattle: This high-tech metro offers a wide range of good-paying jobs. Seattle ranks among the 10 markets with the largest per capita incomes ($50,471) and smallest unemployment rates for young adults.

10. Baton Rouge: Louisiana is on its way back from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, and this is one of its success stories. Baton Rouge boasts a high concentration of young adults (26.1 percent) and a strong rate of income growth.

North Carolina League Moving to Raleigh

Credit Union Times

Bolstering its advocacy role, the North Carolina Credit Union League announced Monday it is moving its headquarters from Greensboro, where it has been since its 1934 founding, to Raleigh, the state capital, by April 2011.

“The move is designed to enhance the trade association’s ability to serve members in legislative and regulatory advocacy,” said a statement by John Radebaugh, president/CEO.

The 21-employee league currently has four staffers in Raleigh and the relocation “will create greater synergy” on regulatory and legislative advocacy, said Radebaugh.

The staff will be offered relocation packages and no positions will be cut in the move, said Radebaugh.

“The board and management looked carefully at this decision over several months and with our Greensboro lease expiring next year the board decided that now was the right time to act,” said the statement.

From an historical perspective, Greensboro, located in the central part of the state and 80 miles west of Raleigh, served the league’s primary original function of chartering CUs but the times have altered the league’s job to high profile lobbying.

The league said it is evaluating office space and downtown Raleigh real estate for its headquarters “and expects to open the new space later this year.”

 "Headquartering downtown puts the entire organization in the heart of our state’s political system,” the statement concluded.

Northeast Foods to Open New Plant in N.C.

Baltimore Sun

CLAYTON, N.C. - Northeast Foods, a Maryland company that bakes hamburger buns for McDonald's restaurants and other commercial customers, plans to open a new plant in North Carolina, creating about 80 jobs.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's office said Monday that taxpayers will contribute $350,000 to lure the company into spending $25 million on a new plant in Clayton.

The company says on its Web site that it's supplied burger buns to McDonald's fast food restaurants since 1965. The privately owned company has five plants along the East Coast from Connecticut to Virginia, including one on Commercial Avenue.

Perdue's office says wages at the Northeast Foods bakery south of Raleigh will top an average of $41,000 a year plus benefits, compared with the Johnston County's average of $31,000.

As Many as 1300 to Attend Biotech 2010

News Observer

 

Attendance at the state's annual biotechnology conference passed 1,000 people for the first time last year.

This week's 19th annual conference in Raleigh is expected to draw a bigger crowd, despite the down economy.

Sponsored by CED, the N.C. Biotechnology Center and others, Biotech 2010 will bring together corporate leaders, university researchers, investors and policymakers to discuss an industry that's become a foundation for this region's economy. North Carolina's biotech industry ranks third in the country, employing more than 58,000 people, with many of those in the Triangle.

The conference's speakers, including Allen Roses, a genetics expert at Duke University, and Talecris Biotherapeutics CEO Lawrence Stern, are only part of the allure.

Another attraction is the chance to network, mingle and make deals, say the conference's co-chairmen. Arthur Pappas, founder of a Durham venture-capital firm, and John Russell, a partner with the Research Triangle Park office of the K&L Gates law firm, discussed Biotech 2010 with staff writer Alan M. Wolf. Here are edited highlights of that conversation:

On what makes Biotech 2010 a draw:

For starters, CEOs and other successful executives who will discuss how to get deals done and attract financing during a downturn. And some of the region's top university researchers will show off new developments.

Investors and larger pharmaceutical companies can begin to identify promising startup companies or products. And smaller companies can connect with larger partners that can pay for further research and hiring.

"We need to bring people together and help businesses that need funding get through this tough time," Russell said.

One example is Roche, a Swiss drug company that will hold a private session where it will outline what types of investments it's seeking and what types of companies it's interested in buying, Pappas said.

"The [conference] programming is substantive and I'm proud of it," Russell said. "But over time, the social aspect of it and making contacts has become just as important."

On holding a conference during a recession:

Organizers started planning this year's conference shortly after last year's, Pappas said. And they initially worried about a drop in attendance. But local companies, law firms and venture capital firms stepped up as sponsors, and the conference is expected to draw about 1,300 people, he said.

The increase is another symbol of the biotech industry's importance to North Carolina and this region, Russell added. And it's a big change from its roots two decades ago "with 10 of us sitting around a card table drinking coffee out of paper cups."

On the industry's outlook for 2010:

Pappas and Russell are optimistic that this year will bring an uptick in financing activity for small medical companies. In addition, large pharmaceutical companies continue to seek promising products and smaller firms they can buy to bolster their business, Pappas said. That bodes well for a region like the Triangle, which is home to fledgling companies.

Another positive sign: As larger players like Glaxo SmithKline cut more jobs, some former employees will try to start their own companies.

"These cycles tend to produce more entrepreneurs coming out of large companies," Russell said. "We need to help find homes and Raleigh real estate for these people and get them busy with startup companies. That could be a powerful driver for this area."

On 2010's challenges:

Wall Street volatility could dampen investors' appetite for initial public offerings of stock. That traditionally has been a growth engine for the biotech industry.

That trend also could hurt the flow of venture capital, money that fuels most smaller companies' research and hiring.

"We have a backlog of promising drugs and medical devices that need funding," Russell said. "There is venture money that is looking for opportunity."

And unlike previous recessions, this region hasn't seen a huge increase in the number of business failures, Russell said. That makes the area more attractive to outside investors.

"I like to think it's because we're smarter, but it might be because we're lucky, too," he added.

Triangle Home Sales Dip, But Positives Emerge

Story from Triangle Business Journal

The number of Triangle homes sold in April was down year over year, but new data from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service show a couple of welcome trends.

First, while the 1,623 homes sold last month represented a 30 percent drop from the 2,324 sold in April 2008, it is the highest monthly total posted in six months. The triangle remains strong for those seeking Chapel Hill, Durham, or Raleigh relocation services.

Even better, the number of houses on the market represented a 7.5 month supply, down almost half from a high of 14.9 months in November. April 2008 featured a 6.9 month supply.

The median price for houses sold in April dipped 4 percent, to $177,600, from $184,922 in the same month last year. While a negative number, it’s still much better than the double-digit declines seen across much of the U.S.

The MLS figures, which are supplied by Stacey Anfindsen of research company Metrostudy, cover the Raleigh-Cary and Durham metropolitan areas. The numbers also are broken down by county.

• In Wake County, the number of homes sold dropped 35 percent, to 862. The inventory for sale represented a 7.3-month supply, up from 6.3 a year ago. The median price fell 2.5 percent, to $195,000.

• In Durham County, the number of homes sold slipped 20 percent, to 245. The inventory for sale for each Durham real estate agency represented a 4.9-month supply, down from 5.2 a year ago. The median price rose 3 percent to $170,000.

• In Orange County, the number of homes sold plunged 48 percent, to 57. The inventory for sale represented a 6.5-month supply, up from 5.9 a year ago. The median price fell 11 percent to $258,000.

• In Johnston County, the number of homes sold dips 22 percent, to 173. The inventory for sale represented a 8.9-month supply, up from 8.1 a year ago. The median price fell 5.6 percent, to $150,100.

Raleigh-Cary Tops Nation In Growth

Originally Posted to The News & Observer

The metropolitan area is home to more than 1 million people after growing by more than 4 percent from 2007 to 2008. But that is slower than in previous years.

As the national economy lost steam last year, the Raleigh area continued to attract residents, becoming the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country.

According to census numbers released today, the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area, which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, grew by 4.3 percent from July 2007 to July 2008, and is now home to close to 1.1 million people. It well outpaced its closest rival, the Austin, Texas, area, which grew by 3.8 percent.

The national average was just under 1 percent.

The Triangle has been near the top of the nation's growth chart for more than a decade, as newcomers poured into the area to take jobs in technology, tourism and academia. The resulting building boom, and the jobs that came with it, drew hundreds of thousands of new residents.

Much changed in recent months as the economy fell into a deep recession. While the downturn took longer to arrive in North Carolina, the state's unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is now well above the national average of 8.1 percent.

Next year's figures may show a darker picture for the Triangle.

Even this year marks a slowdown for the area, despite its place at the top of the list. The growth rate was nearly half a point lower than the two previous years, when it was 4.7 percent.

The Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area, which includes Durham, Orange, Chatham and Person counties, didn't make the Top 10, but its population continued to swell at a steady 2.5 percent, up slightly from the year before. Just fewer than 490,000 people live in that area.

Raleigh Home Prices Off 2.5% For 4th Quarter

Originally Posted to Triangle Business Journal

Home prices in the Raleigh area dipped by 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter, according to new data from real estate company Zillow.

The median value of a home in the region was $199,365.

At the local market’s peak in the first quarter of 2008, the median price of a home in Raleigh was $209,204. The market has dropped by about 5 percent since then.

Some 61.6 percent of Raleigh-area homes have lost value in the last 12 months, Zillow says. The company estimates that of all home sales, 15 percent involved homes that were sold at a loss.

Foreclosed homes represented 10 percent of all transactions in the Raleigh area, compared to about 20 percent across the country.

Across the U.S., Zillow says, the price of a home dipped by 11.6 percent during 2008. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year depreciation.

The number of U.S. homeowners with negative equity, or those who owed more on their homes than the property was worth, rose to 17.6 percent from 14.3 percent in the third quarter.

American homeowners saw $3.3 trillion erased from the value of their real estate in 2008, Zillow says. In the fourth quarter, homeowners lost $1.4 trillion, or 42 percent of the annual total.

Raleigh Voted # 1 City For Young Homeowners

Youthful spirit and economic vitality go hand in hand. Communities with large concentrations of young adults are more likely to prosper, according to a new bizjournals study. The correlation is driven home by the study's comparison of metropolitan areas that skew young or old.

Group No. 1 consists of the 11 major markets where more than 25 percent of all residents are 18 to 34 years old. Group No. 2 contains 14 metros where fewer than 22 percent are young adults. Here's how they match up:

-- The young markets have been experiencing population growth of 2.1 percent per year since 2000. That's seven times the growth rate of 0.3 percent for the old markets.

-- The annual rate of job growth is 1.9 percent in the young metros compared to 0.4 percent in their older counterparts.

-- Personal income is climbing at a median pace of 3.4 percent per year in the young markets. The corresponding figure is 2.8 percent on the old side.

It's clear that having a high percentage of young adults can be an indicator of economic success. It tells marketers where to concentrate their efforts, entrepreneurs where to start businesses, and college graduates where to look for work. Raleigh is also the number one city for Raleigh Web Design, Web Design Raleigh, SEO Raleigh, Web Development Raleigh and Raleigh Web Development.

But which markets offer the best prospects for people in the 18-34 age range these days? Bizjournals sought the answer by analyzing growth patterns, income levels and other key statistics to rank the nation's 67 largest metros as BEST PLACES FOR YOUNG ADULTS. These are the five places currently offering the best job opportunities for young adults:


-- 1. Raleigh: This is the only market to finish in the top 10 in three key categories: population growth, job growth, and the percentage of young adults with college degrees. Raleigh is also blessed with a relatively low cost of living.


-- 2. Austin: Twenty-nine percent of Austin's residents are between the ages of 18 and 34. That's the heaviest concentration of young adults in any major metro.


-- 3. Washington: The District of Columbia can be an expensive place to live, but paychecks for workers in their 20s and 30s are among the highest in the nation.


-- 4. Las Vegas: The economy has slowed in Las Vegas in recent months, yet it remains the national leader in job growth since 2002, averaging 4.9 percent per year.


-- 5. Phoenix: The unemployment rate for 18- to 34-year-olds in Phoenix is 5.4 percent. That's three full percentage points below the U.S. average for the same age group.


Rounding out the TOP TEN in bizjournals' rankings of employment prospects for young adults are Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Seattle, Orlando and Houston. Bizjournals analyzed 67 major metropolitan areas, searching for qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s. THE FORMULA gave the highest marks to places with strong growth rates, moderate costs of living, and substantial pools of young college-educated adults with jobs.


The Sunbelt dominates the upper echelon in the national rankings. Eight of the 20 best markets for young adults are in the South, and seven are in the West.


Four of the five remaining slots are occupied by Eastern communities, while Minneapolis-St. Paul is the only Midwestern metro to make the top 20. The competition to attract new and recent graduates to these labor markets is intensifying, partly because young adults are getter choosier. "College-educated young people are looking for greater control over where they live," concluded a 2006 study by The Segmentation Co., a national research firm that surveyed 1,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 34. All of these respondents held college degrees and had lived in at least two communities since leaving school.

Quality-of-life issues are of prime importance to these mobile young workers. They told The Segmentation Co. that they're looking for places that offer strong professional opportunities, have good schools, and are affordable and clean. The same factors were important components of bizjournals' 10-part formula, which analyzed each market's job-growth rate, education levels, and median rents, among other indicators.


The least desirable market for young adults, according to bizjournals, is New Orleans, sitting dead last in 67th place. New Orleans, which is still struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, has the worst long-term rates of job and population growth in the study.