Statesman.com reports that 30 CEOs from Austin are gathering in the Bay Area to recruit technical talent. Interesting proposition.
This is hardly a new idea – recruiting Bay Area workers to come (in our case) to Bend. But I’ve always been somewhat skeptical. It’s a tough sell, although it does happen. As I recently told Lloyd Fasset, CEO of Azteria, you have to find people who place an exceptionally high value on the one thing Bend offers: quality of living. And even then, you have to sell them on Bend, from among all the other communities that offer similar value propositions; Aspen, Boulder, Austin, Portland, Nashville… it’s not a short list.
‘Not saying it can’t be done, but it’s an uphill battle for sure. Hat’s off to the Austin crew for doing something innovative. If nothing else, they’ll get some good press and raise awareness, so it’s worth a shot.
Very interesting. Consider me among the list of those seeking higher quality of life. In fact, the reason I follow this blog is that I hope to one day find myself living and working in Bend.
Mobility is a key factor here too. Often those seeking higher quality of life have already made a move the suburbs… areas hard hit by the housing downturn. Not being able to exit a bad home ownership situation makes relocating very difficult.