The Ten Fastest Growing Cities Might Surprise You

Lists are always interesting and two of my favorite areas are the growth or decline of cities. I love to know which ones are going which direction and why. CNNMoney has recently listed the ten fastest growing cities. Not surprisingly, the Sun Belt dominated the list. People are going to the places that create jobs and economic opportunity, most of those places are in the South.

That doesn't mean there wasn't surprises. I was shocked by how few of the names I was familiar. Most of these cities are smaller, but they usually are very near large cities and they are all growing very rapidly.

The top ten list:

1) New Orleans. One of the few cities I am familiar with is also the fastest growing. This is no mystery. Short of Hollywood, there is no other city more loved by the celebrity set and it has gotten enormous attention since it became a ghost town after Katrina. It is some what easy to be one of the fastest growing when you start with almost zero. It had a 13.8 percent increase in population in the last year.

2) Victorville, CA. Less than two hours from Los Angeles, this heavily Republican area has grown over 80 percent in the last decade. A favorite for movie production and growing in popularity because of the high cost of living in LA. It has experienced a 9.5 percent increase in the last year.

3) McKinney, TX. This Dallas suburb has enjoyed an 8 percent increase in the last year and is one of three Texas cities on the list. This is no surprise since Texas has been a bastion of economic growth and is a beacon to the rest of the country.

4) N. Las Vegas, NV. In spite stories that the West's city that never sleeps recent decline, North Las Vegas has exploded with a 7.4 percent increase in the last year.

5) Cary, NC. This Raleigh suburb that is in the heart of the deep South has seen a 7.3 percent annual increase.

6) Killeen, TX. The second of three Texas cities is little more than an hour from Austin, but otherwise is in the middle of no where. It has grown 6.5 percent.

7) Port St. Lucie, FL. In beautiful Southern Florida and off the Atlantic coast, Port St. Lucie has enjoyed a 6.3 percent growth.

8) Gilbert, AZ. I have a friend who lives in this growing suburb of Phoenix and he loves it. It has enjoyed a 5.8 percent increase.

9) Clarksville, TN. Just an hour Northwest of Nashville, Clarksville has been another beneficiary of southern prosperity. It has seen a 4.8 percent increase in growth.

10) Denton, TX. This Dallas suburb is the third and final Texas city and rounds off the list with a 4.7 percent increase in population growth.

The common characteristics of these cities is that they are all in the South and West and they are all in states with generally pro-growth economic policies. Also, with very rare exception, they are all heavily Republican (by the way, the cities that have lost the most residents are dominated by Democrats, but we will cover that on a future post).

People continually vote with their feet. Bad policies and bad politics simply drive people to places that are better.

According to recent surveys on marketing, most advertising attracts sellers (others who want you to buy more ads) and not buyers. Do you want to know why? Email info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing audio" in the subject line and we will get it to you.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Bush Begins Celebrating Early

President Bush has begun celebrating early. Why? Because his days are numbered as President of the United States and he's beginning to think that someone in his party might continue at his job after he leaves in less than 12 months. Every President wants to leave a legacy. One of the most important parts of a legacy a President wants to leave is a member of his party staying in office.

Why the new sense of confidence? The people of Ohio and Texas gave Hillary Clinton a new lease on life instead of a knock out blow. If she had crashed and burned earlier this week, Democrats would be sending their money to one candidate instead of two and all of that money would be pointed to their collective enemy and not one another.

Simply put, this Democratic contest could easily go to August and the next Democrat nominee be chosen in a smoke filled room. The candidate will come out significant weakened after being pounded by a fellow Democrat and by a Republican who is running now unchallenged in his party (although he certainly has some fence mending with the rank and file).

Floyd Brown, who is a political expert I've known for over 20 years and an old friend of mine will soon be on the Houston Business Show. He argues in a recent post in his blog that he shares with his wife (Mary Beth Brown) that neither Obama or Clinton look very strong against McCain and he provides persuasive arguments that the Arizona Senator might very well be the strongest candidate the Democrats can face.

Floyd will be on my show in the next week (for more information visit the Houston Business Show site ) and I will discuss his unique views then. Regardless of how one thinks, we must be more impressed with Republican chances in 2008 than we were just a few months ago.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Who Should Conservatives Vote For?

There is a debate raging among Texas Republicans about whether they should vote in the Democratic Party in order to play a spoiler role. After all, the Democrats and independents did the same thing to Republicans in places like New Hampshire, which has led to us having a likely nominee like John McCain. The following are four options being weighed by Conservatives in Texas:

* Vote for John McCain in order to make him look like a stronger candidate as he goes into the general election. This seems to be the least attractive option among Conservative voters that I know.

* Vote for Barack Obama to protect voters from the Clinton machine. She is, without a doubt, the most polarizing candidate in the race for the presidency. Maybe the most divisive, ever. I believe that Obama is the biggest threat in November, however. He's articulate and has virtually no record to run from. Voting for Hillary was the conventional wisdom for some time. To me, it makes zero sense.

The two most logical options to this writer are:

* Voting for Hillary Clinton. I must admit, it is very strange to see that on my screen. However, a vote for Hillary will likely force Democrats to use the delegates voted for in Michigan and Florida in order to have a decisive victory. This means that Obama will be punished for obeying the rules and Hillary would likely come out the winner in a smoke filled room. It will be similar to George McGovern getting the nomination after a brokered convention in 1972 and his giving his acceptance speech at 3 AM. The nominee will limp along to November and Democratic voters will feel very disenfranchised.

* Voting for Mike Huckabee. A vote for Huckabee will remind McCain how hard he still needs to work to satisfy Conservative voters. It will make him weigh his choices for Vice President more seriously and take stronger positions on issues he has been soft on. Furthermore, there are many "RINOs" (Republicans in Name Only) running for office on Texas ballots. If one votes for a Democrat they will not be voicing their opinion on those other races, meaning that moderate Republicans (who would vote for McCain anyway) will determine Republican representation on those other offices. It is too important for RINOs to vote for Republicans.

It is that last argument that will likely have me cast a vote for Huckabee. It will be interesting to see what other Conservatives will be doing this Tuesday.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Google's Street View: A Very Strange Trip

Any frequent reader of this blog or listener of my show knows that I am from the Detroit, Michigan area. The suburb of Ferndale, to be precise. Growing up there, I had a relatively happy childhood and loved my neighborhood in particular. I have told my kids more than a few stories of my old home town.

The last time I visited was 1981 after living in Texas for around five years. My brother was there at the time and I thought it would be fun to visit. He was planning on coming back to Texas with me so I spent a few weeks catching up with old friends and visiting some of the sites and sounds that made Michigan home. I really thought I would visit again, but that has yet to materialize.

A few years ago Google Maps came on the scene with its nifty satellite and I finally got to see the old neighborhood. Sure, it was just the roof tops and really rough side views, but I got a sense of what it looked like. Then we got Streetview. I noticed it was only at a few locations at first -- none near the Detroit area -- but in no time it all it was in Pleasant Ridge, about a half a mile from where I grew up, and this week, it is along Hilton and zipped right down Goodrich, where I grew up. I saw the church at the end of the street that I went to, the tree I ran into playing football, and all the homes of my friends I grew up with.

It was interesting and, oddly, largely took away my desire to visit. I don't know if that was an intended result, but the travel industry may never be the same. I tell you something else it may have shot -- new websites designed to connect people to their old home towns. At least any such sites that would charge money.

However, Streetview is still cool and I'll keep watching for its expansion. I'm looking forward to seeing the park that I grew up (and often fell down) in.

Click the Google Map image above and you will find the map and a little guy standing on my street. Click Streetview, and then the little guy and you will see where I grew up. If you care. I liked it any way. You might like to go from there to some great places you want to remember.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.