Houston High on List for Young Workers

Portfolio.com, an online publication owned by American City Business Journals, put out this survey, as reported by the Houston Business Journal:

Opportunities abound for young workers and therefore ranks Houston as one of the top cities in America for that demographic, according to a ranking by Portfolio.com. Houston ranked No. 5 of 67 metropolitan markets in the United States for cities with the best opportunities for people in the 18 to 34 age group. Austin, Texas ranked #1 in the country, followed by Washington, D.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Boston.

Portfolio.com (http://www.portfolio.com/)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.

Houston’s estimated population stood at 5.7 million as of 2008. Of that total, about 24.3 percent of the city’s population was in the 18-to-34 year old demographic. In 2008, the latest year figures were available for the study, the jobless rate for the young working adult was 7.8 percent. However, the Bayou City did not fare well in terms of educational attainment. Only 18.8 percent of young adults in Houston had a bachelor’s degree, compared to Boston, which led the nation at 37.6 percent.

Forbes Reports Houston Coming Out of Recession

Forbes magazine (http://www.forbes.com)Houston is 4th on the list of top US cities where the recession seems to be easing. Houston, along with nine other metropolitan areas, are best surviving the downturn in part because they specialize in industries that are relatively insulated from economic volatility, Forbes said.

If one state is a poster child for economic recovery, said Forbes, it’s Texas, which is home to four of the 10 cities on the list. Houston was tied with Minneapolis for fourth place. Meanwhile, Austin was tied for first place with Washington, D.C. while Dallas came in third and San Antonio ranked No. 7.

“There’s more to why Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are faring well than just the state’s energy industry. The tech, government and education industries supplement the oil state’s riches,” Forbes said. “As for housing, cities in Texas didn’t see the same run-up in home prices and rampant speculation that led to the spectacular bubble burst elsewhere in the country.”

James P. Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said, “We didn’t have excessive overbuilding, so we don’t have a big overhang of unsold new homes, and because Texas has among most affordable housing in the country, the demand sustained.” Like Austin and Dallas, Houston is expected to experience a three-year, 7.03 percent rise in jobs. But nowhere are jobs projected to grow more than in San Antonio, where four military bases should help drive its expected 8.32 percent increase.

Houston Mid-Range Ranking in Forbes "Best Bang for the Buck" Cities

This from the Forbes.com (www.forbes.com) website:

Houston, TX came in 68th in the USA "Best Bang for the Buck" ranking on Forbes.com. Here's the link to the list:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/30/cities-affordable-cheap-lifestyle-real-estate-housing-foreclosures_chart.html

Dallas, TX was in 64th place, Austin came in at 45th, San Antonio at 39th, El Paso was 33rd, and metro McAllen topped the Texas cities at 7th.

Houston struggled in areas such as real estate taxes, travel commute time, and real estate vacancies. However, Houston was ranked 13th in the job forecast category.

Houston Named as #4 Best City for Retirees by Forbes Magazine

The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area ranks No. 4 on a new list by Forbes of America’s 40 “recession proof” retirement cities.

Forbes said it considered such factors as average income for seniors, current and expected home prices, job-growth predictions through 2014, the cost of living and median monthly housing cost.

The Houston area ranked 33rd for home price change predicted for 2009-2014, 21st for number of sunny days, 18th for income of residents 65 and older, 15th for median home price, 13th for median monthly housing cost and fourth for both cost of living and job growth predicted for 2009-2014.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. took the top ranking and was followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.

Austin-Round Rock shared the No. 5 slot with St. Louis, Mo., while San Antonio came in at No. 10.

New York finished last among the 40 cities, with Milwaukee and Boston rounding out the bottom three.

Houston Arts Alliance Announces Freebies

The Houston Arts Alliance is joining with the Theatre Communications Group for the first-ever Free Night of Theater in Houston.
More than 2,000 free seats will be available to theatergoers at performances from Oct. 8 to 18.
Participating organizations include: Classical Theatre Company, DiverseWorks Artspace, Encore Players, Ensemble Theatre, Express Children’s Theatre, Frenetic Theatre, Horse Head Theatre, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, InterActive Theater, Main Street Theater, Mildred’s Umbrella, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Stages Repertory Theatre, Texas Repertory Theatre, Theatre Suburbia, Theatre Under The Stars, Upstage Theatre and Voices Breaking Boundaries.
Performance information is available on the Houston Arts Alliance’s Web site at www.HoustonArtsAlliance.com and reservations can be made online through a national ticketing Web site at www.freenightoftheater.net.
Tickets will be made available Oct. 5.
The program began in 2005 in Austin, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Now it is in more than 120 cities across the country.
With a goal of attracting new audiences, Theatre Communications Group expects to offer 100,000 free tickets to theater companies this year. More than 65,000 tickets were distributed in 2008.

Houston, Texas Getting 6th Whole Foods Market

by Allison Wollam

Whole Foods Market Inc. has signed a lease with The Finger Cos. and will build a new store in Houston on the corner of Waugh Drive and West Dallas Street.
The developer said Tuesday that it has signed a long-term lease with Whole Foods, which will build a 40,000-square-foot grocery store in conjunction with a proposed new luxury apartment project being developed by The Finger Cos. at the Montrose location.

The project has yet to be named and an opening date for the new grocery store has yet to be determined.
Marvy Finger, founder and CEO of The Finger Cos., said the completion of the agreement is a definite, positive signal in the current marketplace.
The newest store will mark the Austin-based grocer’s sixth location in the local market.