Aside from more people and more traffic, there’s one solid indicator of the impact of the influx of people and companies to the Southeast — and the Interstate 85 corridor linking Atlanta and Charlotte through the Upstate — that is a bit arresting to contemplate: the scale of the region’s economic output.
The Southeastern U.S. (including Texas) is the third largest economy in the world, and the “Charlanta” portion alone generates $1 trillion in economic activity each year, according to John Lummus, president and CEO of Upstate SC Alliance.
What he and other economic-development experts rely on in making their case for the 10 counties of the Upstate is a range of competitive advantages the area enjoys — among them a comparatively low cost of living, excellent transportation infrastructure and a skilled manufacturing workforce.
But an important reason people and companies are moving here is quality of life.
‘A happy employee is a good employee’
While the transportation infrastructure will always play a significant role for the businesses and manufacturers who call the region home, quality-of-life considerations are increasingly important to those companies as they compete to recruit and retain skilled workers, according to Burriss Nelson, director of economic development for Anderson County.
He said companies consider a range of factors that support a simple truth: A happy employee is a good employee.
“It is critically important to these companies that their employees are happy,” Burriss said. “The quality-of-life issues are a big component of that.”
The competitive advantage the Upstate enjoys compared to neighboring regions is the range of options available to both the companies looking to move here and the employees they rely on, Lummus said.
“Quality of life has certainly emerged as one of the keys to economic development over the last few years,” he said. “It used to be maybe 10th on the list…
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