Four Texas Cities in Top 10 of Forbes Magazine List of Next Big Boom Towns

Joel Kotkin of Forbes.com released a story on the next big boom towns in the United States and no surprise to anybody who pays attention to current political and business issues will see that four Texas cities are in the top ten list.

No. 1 Austin, Texas

Kotkin writes,

“This is no surprise. Austin consistently sits atop Forbes’ annual list of the best cities for jobs and scores highly in other demographics rankings. It is the third-fastest-growing city in the nation, attracting large numbers of college grads, immigrants and families with young children.”

I love Austin for many reasons and most of them nostalgic reasons. I love going to Waterloo Records on 6th and Lamar for an afternoon followed by a dinner at the original Hoffbrau Steakhouse down the street. Yes, most of the dope smoking hippies have become dope smoking yuppies with jobs, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. Plus, I hear there is some decent live music in Austin too. (See, I didn’t mention anything about the 40 acres.)

No. 4 San Antonio, Texas

“Like its other Texas neighbors, San Antonio boasts soaring population rates as well as a good job market and booming industry. One key factor in San Antonio’s favor: stable house prices — even by Texas standards. PMI Mortgage Insurance’s most recent risk index, which is a two-year measure, lists San Antonio as having the lowest risk from falling prices among large Texas cities.”

Alamo. The Riverwalk. The Alamodome. Eva Longoria’s ex-husband.

San Antonio has a lot going for itself and with a burgeoning job market, a sub-community of colleges and universities in the area, and a culture that is almost as old as Texas itself. San Antonio will be remembered years from now for more than just Alamo mission or for hosting the second best NBA team in Texas.

No. 5 Houston, Texas and No. 7 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

With a large port near Houston and two of the largest airports in the world, its no surprise that we see these two cities here.

Kotkin states,

“With its strategically located airport, Dallas is emerging as the ideal place for corporate relocations. And Houston, with its burgeoning port and dominance of the world energy business, seems destined to become ever more influential in the coming decade. Both cities have emerged as major immigrant hubs, attracting on newcomers at a rate far higher than old immigrant hubs like Chicago, Boston and Seattle.”

The common thread for all of these Texas cities is that private industry and business have been let loose the past decade under a strong pro-business philosophy from Governor Rick Perry and mostly from the legislature when it can pull its head out from its… well you get the picture.

I like that people from California, New York,  and the “Rust Belt” are making their way down to Texas because of the ridiculous and regressive policies of forced union membership and taxation beyond the point of necessity. A lot of the so called, “elites” in these areas where jobs are scarce and Statism is rampant disparage Texas, but they haven’t realized yet that their plebeians and serfs have left for greener pastures in Texas and much of the South.

Texas will be for the next few decades at the very least the last bastion of free markets and individual rights in the United States.