Rankings bode well
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 13 years, 9 months AGO
Wiggling your toes in the sand on City Beach or buckling down to another day of work in the Coeur d'Alene area, you've counted your blessings. Admit it.
You live and work in a place others around the globe spend small fortunes just to visit. Doesn't mean our region is perfect. It's just a perfectly fine place to live.
That's why you can't help but feel some pride when publications recognize what you've known all along. Yahoo!Travel and Forbes Magazine just marveled at our magnificent region, joining many others over recent years in trumpeting the virtues of the greater Coeur d'Alene area as an outstanding place to live, work and play.
But there's more than pride at stake in such proclamations. There's optimism that our area's difficult economic times won't last forever.
The Forbes article lauds a number of the things that make the Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area 18th among its Top 25 small metros in the nation, one of the most significant being the low cost of doing business here. Forbes estimates our business costs as 26 percent below the national average. With projected job growth of 2.8 percent, Forbes says this is the place to be. "Outdoor recreation is a big component of the area," the magazine says, "with 3 ski resorts, more than a dozen golf courses and the world-class Coeur d'Alene Resort."
Well, you already know about all that. And as much as some among us would like to keep this one grand secret, our economy depends upon others finding out.
While quality of life isn't the main criterion for some employers in determining where to set up shop, it's a key factor for the very best companies. They understand that the happier and healthier their workforce, the more productive and profitable the business will be.
That's why the July sun glistening on gorgeous Lake Coeur d'Alene isn't the only bright spot around here. Our future is fairly dazzling, too.