Cost Of Living As A Factor In Business Relocation
Author: Jonathon Hardcastle

According to the United States Census Bureau, 40 million
Americans move each year. There are no hard statistics on the
number of businesses that relocate, but there is a growing trend
towards businesses relocating outside of major metropolitan
areas to cut costs for themselves and their employees.

There are five main reasons why companies decide to relocate,
according to economic development researchers. They are: access
to a quality labor pool, the need to upgrade facilities or
equipment, the need to reach new markets, the wish to lower
costs and overhead and finally, quality of life issues.

It is this last item that affects employees most directly. Cost
of living has a large impact on the quality of life for the
average American. For example, the cost of living in
Springfield, Missouri is estimated to be just 60% of the
national average. Compare that to a large metropolitan area like
Miami where it costs 113% more that the national average. Larger
cities like New York, Boston and Los Angeles are almost off the
map compared to the national average.

Quality of life isn't just about money, either. Commuting time
and costs in larger metropolitan areas can seriously affect the
mood and morale of workers as well as lead to lower productivity
over time. The cost of housing can also affect the ability of
companies to attract and retain quality employees. For example,
some employers in Palm Beach County, Florida, where the median
home price is over $450,000 have had trouble recently in
recruiting employees from out of state.

However, when businesses consider relocating to less expensive,
less congested areas of the country they have to consider access
to a quality labor pool. There are many cities in the Midwest
and South that are large enough to support a corporate
headquarters, but often do not have the highly trained workforce
required. Community colleges and local workforce development
agencies are working to correct this imbalance but it may be
many years before skilled labor is available in those places.

There are certain cities that have thrived due to their
combination of high quality of life and available skilled
workforce including Austin and San Antonio, TX; Orlando, FL; and
Nashua, NH. These cities continue to grown economically while
larger cities like New York, Boston and Los Angeles continue to
lose businesses to either suburbs or smaller cities.


About The Author: Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for
http://businessworldnow.net/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes
articles for http://irealestatecentral.com/ and
http://thebusinessbuzz.net/