Boise named a "Best City to move to"; What can Spokane do to land there?
Boise, Idaho, our perpetual rival and neighbor to the southeast, was just named by Simple Moving Labor as a "Best City to Move to in 2014." This comes as Boise has been making national waves for its high quality of life, low cost of living, and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities (sound familiar?). Men's Health, Livability.com, CNN Money, and the Brookings Institute have all recognized the city in recent years, and it's clear that businesses are taking notice. The Idaho Statesman frequently reports on companies from local startups to big data firms locating in Boise, all locating there partially based on its high quality of life and low cost of living, as well as Idaho's favorable business climate.
What can Spokane do to stay competitive?
"Boise embraces itself as a unique community," Maryanne Jordan told KTVB. "We focus on a lot of local business, a lot of homegrown business. I think it's a very diverse and inclusive community and that's important. And you know ... It's beautiful. How can you not love it?"
Okay. So our inferiority complex doesn't help. Better get off of that one. What else? Local business. We can do that. We have locally-grown companies big and small, from Boots Bakery all the way up to Itron. And Washington is frequently rated as one of the best states in the country in which to do business. We can provide some incentives. That might help. What about increasing quality of life? That might require some investment, but studies have shown that things like walking and biking trails, vibrant urban parks, and streetcar or light rail systems can spur long-term growth. These are obviously things that we need to start to look at.
But in the end, perhaps our inferiority complex looms even larger. We won't get anything done until our city accepts that it is worth revitalizing, and I hope that with four distinctly beautiful seasons, a low cost of living, world-class outdoor recreation, and one of the world's most beautiful urban rivers, residents realize the extreme potential which we are lucky to possess.