Charlotte's a smart city

[SmellyCat]

I just read this surprising little blurb from research from Rosen Consulting: "The proportion of the population with bachelor's and advanced professional degrees ranks Charlotte 7th among U.S metropolitan areas - behind Austin and Minneapolis but above Boston - in educational achievement of the local population." Nice!!

[ezcheese]

i find this hard to believe for some reason.

[SmellyCat]

me too, but it comes from a very credible research firm

[monsoon]

Hmm, I just saw someone at the boat ramp last night pulling a boat with a mini-cooper. Maybe they missed him in the survey.

[csedwards72]

Boston has a high percentage of (i) college students and (ii) riffraff, neither of which would have college degrees. The well-educated people who work and play in Boston live in the suburbs (including places like Cambridge, which isn't actually part of Boston).

[SmellyCat]

Boston has a high percentage of (i) college students and (ii) riffraff, neither of which would have college degrees.  The well-educated people who work and play in Boston live in the suburbs (including places like Cambridge, which isn't actually part of Boston).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe Cambridge would be captured here, because it is part of Boston's metro area.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Hmm, I just saw someone at the boat ramp last night pulling a boat with a mini-cooper.  Maybe they missed him in the survey.

how big was the boat? and was the car struggling?

[monsoon]

The engine on the minicooper was going "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"!

Well tonight, (just got back from mountain island lake) we discover an 8000 lb cruiser crashed into some pine trees at the Neck Road boat landing. Apparently the owner for some reason unhitched this boat in the parking lot and it decided to take off downhill to his surprise. He claims the boat stopped because he was "smart" and ran and pulled the emergency brake chain. I personally think it stopped because of the pine tree that was bent under the boat trailer. You be the judge. haha He was going to try to pull it loose with a Chevy Avalanche.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I couldn't help it. Boat ramps are a source of endless amusement from otherwise smart individuals with college degrees.

[krazeeboi]

I just read this surprising little blurb from research from Rosen Consulting: "The proportion of the population with bachelor's and advanced professional degrees ranks Charlotte 7th among U.S metropolitan areas - behind Austin and Minneapolis but above Boston - in educational achievement of the local population."  Nice!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's interesting. In the Forbes 2005 "Best Places For Business And Careers" list, in the area of educational attainment, the Charlotte metro area ranks 55th for share of population over age 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher.

[ezcheese]

since boston has been pointed out, i will comment on what i have seen in my short time here. there are definitely a lot of people in school up here. no matter what little town you are in, there's probably a college or university nearby. the job market is flooded with college grads who went to impressive schools like harvard, mit, boston college etc... the thing is though that a lot of people who have masters and PhDs don't have any work experience. a lot of them have been in school full-time for 8+ years straight. that's fine if you're gonna go into the field you went to school for. you can usually get into your field without experience in some capacity.

i recently interviewed for a position doing building maintenance for a luxury apartment complex in cambridge and was informed that there were tons of resumes from people like one guy in particular the interviewer told me about who had sent in his resume and had graduated from harvard and had nothing but computer-related skills listed on his resume. the interviewer made some comment about how he didn't even think about calling that guy because although the guy was obviously smart, he had no experience with the job for which he was applying.

the situation in the boston area is that there are so many smart and qualified people in the area that it is super competitive. there are tons of people who go to school here and then get the hell out of here so they can actually get the job they want somewhere else where housing costs and weather are not nearly as much of an issue.

that being said, there are also tons and tons of uneducated people in the metro as well. i still have a very hard time figuring out what all these people do for a living that allows them to live here. it is so expensive that i imagine a lot of people are just barely able to pay rent and buy the bare necessities. it really blows my mind.

well, looks like this is the second hijack of the night. sorry for babbling.

[SmellyCat]

That's interesting. In the Forbes 2005 "Best Places For Business And Careers" list, in the area of educational attainment, the Charlotte metro area ranks 55th for share of population over age 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Charlotte Near Top of 'Most Educated' List

hmmm I think I see a trend here of Charlotte getting slighted in Forbes articles... perhaps we're not really 40th out of 40 in culture afterall.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I agree. The editors are jealous

[ilektronik]

this doesn't suprise me. the workforce here is very competitive

[csedwards72]

I believe Cambridge would be captured here, because it is part of Boston's metro area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True-- good point; I hadn't noticed the "metro area" reference in the original post.

There's Cambridge, but then again there's Downtown Crossing, Jamaica Plain, etc. as well; lots of less-affluent areas.

[atlrvr]

Downtown Crossing and Jamaica Plain are both within the city limits (does anyone even live in Downtown Xing?) There are plenty of less affluent surrounding towns though....Lowell, Revere, Lynn, etc.

As an unrelated note....isn't Jamaica Plain becoming a gayborhood/artist district?

[Larryfla]

I just read this surprising little blurb from research from Rosen Consulting: "The proportion of the population with bachelor's and advanced professional degrees ranks Charlotte 7th among U.S metropolitan areas - behind Austin and Minneapolis but above Boston - in educational achievement of the local population."  Nice!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The report was from 2002. It was done by the Department of Vital Statistics after the last census. If I remember correctly, Charlotte and Minneapolis were tied for seventh place. If I remember correctly, Raleigh was number two. Also ahead of Charlotte were Seattle and San Francisco.

[Larryfla]

I believe Cambridge would be captured here, because it is part of Boston's metro area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually beside the cities on the survey, the word city was in parenthisis. I think that it means that it was within the city limits and not including the metro area. In the case of Boston, that would elliminate Cambridge which is a rocks throw away but not part of Boston (city).

[ezcheese]

Downtown Crossing and Jamaica Plain are both within the city limits (does anyone even live in Downtown Xing?)  There are plenty of less affluent surrounding towns though....Lowell, Revere, Lynn, etc.

As an unrelated note....isn't Jamaica Plain becoming a gayborhood/artist district?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there are parts of jamaica plain that are really trendy.