Overcoming Locational Disadvantage

"While the great migration from Rust Belt cities to such Sun Belt giants as Phoenix and Houston has been under way for years, what's new is that the hottest places in America to find jobs are small and midsize towns, and not all of them are in the warmer latitudes....many smaller regions share characteristics that act as job magnets: lower costs, tax breaks for employers, funding for entrepreneurs and a deepening pool of skilled and educated workers....How do these towns come up with the jobs? Companies don't move to places like Fargo on a whim; it generally takes money in the form of incentives. Arkansas has spent $700 million on roads and airports around Fayetteville over the past decade. Cities like Fort Myers and Santa Fe, N.M., offer tax-abatement packages to businesses big and small in exchange for creating jobs. So do lots of places, including big cities. That's why livability is often the clincher."