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Wow..so my Top 5 Worst Places to Have a Government Job really got people going. Some controversy of my five but such is life with any list.
Let’s switch it around and go to the Top 5 places to have a Government Job
1. Charlottesville, VA – You live in a classy, college town where you can actually buy a house on a gov’t salary. And when you are called up to DC, you can make it into a day trip
2. Denver – 2nd biggest federal government hub. A really cool, fun city close to the Rockies. Good sports, culture, and lots of other jobs if you want to switch.
3. Ann Arbor – You see a trend here. But how cool is it to live in Ann Arbor – home to University of Michigan, 30 minutes from Airport, and close to Detroit. Work for EPA here amongst others
4. Research Triangle – The Raleigh-Durham area has one of the highest rates of educated workforce. Two huge colleges, lots of natural outdoors, and plenty of culture. Lots of gov’t facilities here especially EPA.
5. San Antonio – Great town. Good food, good weather, affordable housing. Lots of military jobs and the Spurs are pretty cool.
Bonus – For the right person, DC is at the top of list. Tons of government jobs. You get to work with the decision makers. Lots of culture and opportunity for rapid promotions.
===> Check out some of my other “Top 5’s” ====>
– Top 5: Reasons You Didn’t Get the Promotion
– Top 10: What Works in Social Media
– Top 5: Ways to Handle a Boring Meeting
I would have said Nashville just last week… BUT, it is now flooded, so here may not be a good choice.
So, my next favortite would be HUNTSVILLE AL!!! I would love to move there!
If my husband and my retirement would not be taxed, I would move to Raliegh in a heart beat. I am from that area, and would love to work there. But, we would actually lose money to live in NC.
Being in the Triangle area of NC, I can confirm that it’s a pretty amazing place…and just 43 minutes from DC by plane!
If one likes Tequila, margarita and hang around Paseo del Río, it is San Antonio!!!
Even San Antonio home market got hit by speculators. Compared to DC, still an awesome place.
Any comments on Phoenix or Salt Lake City? Currently in Albany, NY and it is time to MOVE!
Ooh…
Huntsville is pretty sweet and one of the highest educated areas in the us. A big university, Nasa, and more
Personally I’m mixed on Phoenix – lots love it but they got crushed by housing collapse and it’s insanely hot
Actually a number of govt jobs in salt lake from IRS to Nasa – good weather, nature, and affordability. Many still say that it can be tough to meet people if not Mormon
Oak Ridge, TN, the historic Secret City! We are flanked by the Great Smoky Mountains to the east and the Cumberlands to the west. People are friendly, weather is wonderful, arts and culture of all kinds abound. Come live in the Technology Corridor! Check out the region at http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/oak_ridge_region.shtml.
Here in Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca the weather is typically 15-20 degrees cooler than Phoenix, which is usually perfect (mid-90s F at worst in summer, average 80 year round). Pop. 50k, so size is good. Cost of Living is very reasonable, housing is plentiful and nice. Outdoors activities like hiking, biking, are always possible. Tucson is an hour away (and 10 degrees hotter). No disasters, some occasional wind and a summer monsoon. It’s mostly a retired or close-to-retiring area… so it is slow. But if you want nice, and slow, this is the place.
Harrisburg-Carlisle MSA was just this week ranked as #5 on Forbes.com’s most livable cities list.
The federal government is the area’s #2 employer (15% of the workforce), just behind the Commonwealth of PA. And, while the federal presence is mostly DoD civilian (DoN, DLA, USA, USAF), there are other civilian agency field and/or regional offices (USDA, NPS, USGS, VA) within reasonable commuting distance (<30 miles).
The area boasts world-class education, culture, medical, and entertainment venues and proximity to major metropolitan areas and beaches (< 3 to 4 hours). GS-7/9/11 interns can afford decent homes in decent neighborhoods within their first 2 – 3 years of employment.
The weather is moderate (3 full months of each season) and except for the threat of nuclear annihilation (Three Mile Island) and rare, localized flooding, it’s relatively free from the threat of disaster (hurricanes, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.).
The overall government presence–local, state & federal governments employ 40% of the workforce–have insulated the region from much of the economic chaos felt elsewhere.
Huntsville AL in the news… If I could choose any place to live in the US, this would be it! When you go there, you will see, even the street names remind people this is a smart place to live. I am so sad whenever I am driving away from Huntsville. If I were a selfish person, I would move today to Huntsville.
USA TODAY HEADLINES…April 27, 2010
Huntsville, Ala., takes off
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The city that built America’s moon rockets is racking up accolades.
Forbes magazine just named Huntsville one of the top 10 places for business and careers. It was named America’s fourth-strongest building market by BusinessWeek in September, the nation’s top midsize city to launch and grow a business by Fortune Small Business magazine in November, and one of the world’s top 10 smartest cities by Forbes in December.
The area has one of the USA’s best job-growth rates, according to Moody’s Economy.com.
“I’m getting very good at ribbon cutting,” says Mayor Tommy Battle.
The unemployment rate has fallen to 8.4% after peaking at 8.9% late last year. City sales tax receipts, which were down 3% to 4%, are now off 0.1%, Battle says.
The city plans a new 470-acre office park. Extensive renovations are underway on the art museum and the sports arena. Downtown sidewalks are getting a face lift.
Defense spending is a major reason that Huntsville, home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, is rebounding.
The military is moving nearly 5,000 jobs here by September 2011, a shift that’ll eventually generate 10,000 jobs. Redstone and Marshall are the top employers, with more than 32,500 mostly civilian jobs. Redstone awards $32 billion a year in contracts. About $5 billion stays in the area.
Huntsville has diversified its economy. In the late 1970s, military spending accounted for 80% of the local economy. Today, it’s about 50%. Fifty Fortune 500 companies are here, says economic development director Joe Vallely.
The main industries are defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, information technology and life sciences.
Before 1950, Huntsville was indistinguishable from a hundred other Alabama farm towns.
Then rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun and a team of scientists moved to Redstone to build missiles for the Army. He later became Marshall’s first director and chief architect of the Saturn V rockets that carried Americans to the moon in 1969.
People here say the von Braun legacy of innovation and research fuels today’s success. Huntsville has the USA’s highest per-capita concentration of engineers. “You’ve got this community of smart people, and … they get involved,” says Rick Davis, director of Cummings Research Park.
From 1990 to 2009, metro Huntsville accounted for 24% of Alabama’s population growth.
“Once you come here, you see the energy of the place, and it’s a very easy place to sell,” says David Williams, president of the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
By Larry Copeland
Man, Denver would be awesome. So hard to get into an office there though.
Forgot Oak Ridge….Awesome
I wish there were more public sector jobs in NOLA. I would move there in a heartbeat! Yes, even with the flooding threat, its a beautiful city with amazing people and some of the best food in the world. I also liked Raleigh, I’d need to spend more time there to make a decision.
Personally, I don’t see the allure of living in a “college town”. I lived in one for 5 years, it gets old (This American Life did a show about life in a college town, “#1 Party School” and I’d say it’s pretty accurate). Not that I am opposed to living in a town with a college in it, but a town that is defined by a college and nothing else is really limited. (I personally do not consider Ann Arbor a college town, there is much more to it than UM, but East Lansing, State College…that is more what I think of as a college town)
They are opening a VHA hospital in NOLA – I met someone who works there.
San Antone is definitely rad, but I’d take Austin any day. Great state government programs to work for out there AND the town will rock your socks off.
I agree with both Texas & the Huntsville area being great places to work!!
Seattle all the way. Beautiful mountains, oceans, forests, never gets too cold or too hot. And many agencies have their Region X offices here.
I just left Raleigh-Durham — to make a correction: there are 3 big colleges there – UNC, NC State and Duke…not to mention one of the oldest HBCU’s NC Central. Cary/Morrisville are over priced – Durham is only recently being discovered. Great place to be – but the majority of jobs belong to scientists: EPA, NIEHS and USDA. I do love the area but have a hankering to see more of the US – I am from Harrisburg, PA – lived in Burlington, VT and Wilmingotn, NC (I have sworn off living in tourists areas — traffic and people during season are not fun). Right now, I am in Little Rock, AR – a beautiful state full of lakes, mountains and the recreation that goes along with. This town like Ral-Dur-CH, NC is full of medical research, had a top-notch symphony, great real estate prices, and a wonderful town if you have a family. However, this place has low grades on top of being on the ‘rest of the US’ pay scale. Agan on the plus side, I only have a 4 mintue commute. This is not my final stop, but I can tell, save for the tax burden, that this place, would make a great retirement destination…and slowly the word is getting out. Will probably head west in a couple of years.
Little Rock, eh? I can see that being a hidden gem.
Oh, yes – you’d be surprised. Currently, I am here with the Corps of Engineers…
Steve, thanks for the props to Denver: a beautiful downtown, big enough to have everything you want, small enough to walk everywhere you need to go, 20 minutes to the greatest outdoor concert venue, an hour to some of the best ski resorts in the country, and brilliant open government advocates!
I have been in New Jersey my whole gov career, but would be tempted by DC. There is something about the Northeast Corridor vibe that I love – so much to do and get involved in. Doubt I could make the move to any of your top five.
That being said, in reading the comments, Seattle would be a top pick if it wasn’t far from family – it is beautiful!
What you think are the top 5 places depends on what you consider important and what stage you are in your life. Young folks want the bright lights and the city, with the whole world ahead of them. Those that are nearing their retirement are looking for an easier places with a more affordable costs of living. Personal tastes also have a factor. When I think back to the good places over my career, I think of Wiesbaden, Germany as the #1, Oklahoma City was good, Wichita, KS was good, and Tennessee is nice. I will say that everyone on the East and West coast need to spend some time in the South and the Mid-West/Plains States, just to get the perspective outside the beltway/DC/Northern VA/Central MD area. I know being a Midwestern at heart, I found living and working in the DC area fascinating, some good, and some disillusionment (actually a lot of the latter). So many in the area are just so out of touch with the rest of the country.
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