Forbes, please stop it, we're blushing.
OK, keep it coming, we really don't mind all the fawning and stroking.
The financial magazine last week ranked Raleigh No. 1 on its list of the 50 Best Places for Business and Careers.
This week, Raleigh comes in as No. 2 on its list of the Next Big Boom Towns in the U.S. Austin is No. 1 and Nashville is No. 3. Charlotte is No. 8.
For the latest accolade, Forbes notes the Raleigh metro area's population growth, job growth, jump in new immigrants and other factors. The magazine also ranks Raleigh as the No. 1 city for families with young children.
"The area is a magnet for technology companies fleeing the more expensive, congested and highly regulated northeast corridor," Forbes' "New Geographer" Joel Kotkin writes. "Affordable housing and short commute times are no doubt highly attractive to recent college graduates and millennials looking to start families."
Economic boosters cite such lists as powerful tools for bolstering the local economy. People and businesses review the lists when they're considering a relocation, and chamber types tout them when they're marketing this region.
"What is clear is that well-established patterns of job creation and vital demographics will drive future regional growth, not only in the next year, but over the coming decade," Kotkin writes. "People create economies and they tend to vote with their feet when they choose to locate their families as well as their businesses."
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or 
Comments
Everything is relative
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 00:11 — packman1I'm sure that if you live in Raleigh and don't have a job or you are underemployed you think this ranking is bogus. What you fail to realize is Raleigh really is one of the top cities by many metrics on an outright basis, and when compared to many other metropolitan areas there is no contest. In most parts of the country there is still a major and growing housing crisis while Raleigh and the surrounding areas have not only weathered the downturn, many neighborhoods have continued to see home values grow - even if modestly compared to pre-recession levels.
I live in southwest Ohio and things here are not in great shape and the economic forecast is tepid here and downright ugly in many other parts of the state. I expect things to eventually get better here because the state is fixing some major fiscal issues but my home in an upscale area has decreased in value 15% in the last 21 months. I hope to move back to Raleigh some day but with decreasing housing prices here and steady to rising in Raleigh that move will be tougher to make because I expect the gap to widen. I'll admit that rising property values in Raleigh isn't the best news for those folks in the market or people on fixed incomes due to higher property taxes but for most people increasing home values is a good thing.
See? Republicans are already taking us to the top!
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 21:40 — DukeMoneyWow! The Tea Party School Board and County Commissioners in Wake County have already taken us to the top of the rankings! And their policies haven't even taken effect yet. We'd still be mired at the bottom if the Democrats/America Haters were still running the state and the county. And word is we now have one of the top-rated state university systems, too. How great is that? Way to go GOP!
Haterade?
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 17:09 — hdog007Lots of sour grapes today... I love Raleigh. If all of you hate it so much, leave. As far as jobs go, there are plenty. Yeah, if you're holding out for a $100,000/yr job and you have no degree/no experience then you'll have trouble finding work. This is no different in any other city in America (except maybe DC). It may be worse here because people are willing to relocate to such a great place to live, so the talent pool is larger.
I suggest the other posters take one of the jobs that are available and then keep looking for that six figure salary while you are working. That's exactly what I did after the dot-com bust. I worked throwing bags for an airline for 14 months before I found a similar job (inside that airline). Of course back then they didn't extend unemployment benefits forever...
NOT EVEN CLOSE
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 13:08 — kiranmThe Forbes list is a joke, and is published to get more clicks on their web-site and boost their advertising rates. The Raleigh area has been dead for jobs since 2002. This area never really recovered from the dot-com slump. The few-and-far-between jobs pay meagerly and not worth pursuing anymore. The migration rates must be due to students arriving to study at the 3 major universities. The perpetual drought of jobs (and water!), combined with high taxes make NC one of the least desirable states to live in, let alone at the top of some superficial list in an irrelevant magazine.
Bitter?
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 14:13 — WhalerCaneYes, Forbes, that bastion of liberalism continues the conspiracy. Of course RM and the school board have done more to scare off jobs than can anything in 40 years in Wake County. At least Superintendent Tata gets it. Perhaps it is time to move.
Can we help you pack?
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 00:58 — FSandYOUYou continue to whine about this board, but the fact is you have done nothing and are doing nothing but continuing to feed your hatred of those who don't think like you, an outdated/out of touch cry baby who got his butt spanked royally in the last school board election.
I think it's great if we've run off a few losers. We needed a lot less growth around here anyway.
Don't let the door hit ya' big boy. I know, I know, you don't address anonymous posters.
Except the ones you don't agree with.
Bogus
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 13:08 — TheLibertineHow much did Purdue pay for this ranking? It smells like a hand-out from the corporate welfare kitty.
Questionable
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 12:56 — nancyncWhile we may rank 41st in business taxes in the nation, the personal tax burden is killer and not improving enough to make a difference.
North Carolina's personal income tax system consists of three brackets, with a top rate of 7.75% kicking in at an income level of $60,000. Among states imposing personal income taxes, North Carolina's top rate ranks 11th highest nationally. North Carolina's 2006 state-level income tax collections were $1,201 per person, which ranks 11th highest in the nation.
Jobs
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 12:27 — gamt67Sorry, but I must agree with the others who criticize the legitimacy of this list. My wife has been trying to get a job here for 6 months; she's the consummate professional, highly experienced and comes recommended by many very successful attorneys, surgeons, and bankers that she has worked for over 30 years. In this area (triangle, not just Raleigh), she's applied to over 460 jobs and gotten just 4 interviews - with no job. That is simply unacceptable in a town that is supposed to be Numero Uno on the Great Forbes list.
jobs
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 18:32 — MozarteanIf your wife has 30 years of experience, she's likely in her 50s.
That's a difficult job search for anyone. Age discrimination is a fact of life.
Additionally, it seems like she may have been an EA or executive assistant. If that's so, it's doubly hard not only because of her age (guys like 'em young) but becuase EA jobs are slowly disappearing. With today's electronic tools, there's less need for an EA or one can be shared.
"Applying to 460 jobs" is a waste of time. She needs to network and find openings through word of mouth. Sitting at home and doing endless "click to send resume" is what hundreds of other people are doing, too.
I don't think so
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 12:03 — mommy59These lists are made up.If this place was so good for working then my husband would not be working out of state as an EDI analyst.He took a job here on Novemember 1,2005 only to loose it on March 20,2006.It took 18 months t find a job a local job which was a 6 month contract then he took another 6 month contract job.He has not held a job n this state since January 9,2009.
Yee Haw
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 10:58 — stevemichaelsNow I moved from the western part of NC in 1984 to Raleigh. I have seen hundreds of these lists, rankings etc.... It seems all they are good for is the politicians and chamber of commerce. If you ask most of the residents that have lived thru a lack of planning in transportation, roads, hospitals, drinking water, schools... (this list would never stop) then these folks would simply roll their eyes at this news. Yes it will bring more folks into the area, heck we may even get more Applebees and Wal Marts - but in the end can we support these newly arrived folks with a poor infastructure and bad jobs situation? I am retiring and moving back to the family farm in 2012 so good luck to everyone who comes here looking for the "promise land"
You had better check first...
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 18:18 — peetiepup... to see if the family farm hasn't been sprawled over.
The powers that be in NC promise newcomers cheap land, and relatively few pesky regulations to protect natural resources. That's what "promised land" is here, it seems.
On the other hand, sprawl development is very popular, even amongst tree huggers.