CLEVELAND — There are certain corners of the country people flock to when they're pursuing a specific dream or career. Think Silicon Valley, for example.
But the pandemic has changed all of that while also giving those folks more options.
“The ability of companies like Twitter and others that have said that that employees can work remotely indefinitely, I think do provide an interesting window of opportunity for cities like Cleveland to attract talent,” said Michael Goldberg, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University.
Goldberg, who teaches entrepreneurship, said he doesn't think the shift to remote work will vanish post-pandemic, which could be great news for Cleveland where there's plenty to love.
“We have great housing stock. We've got a growing and emerging entrepreneurial community with access to capital and support, he explained. “We've got a great food scene.”
However, he thinks we do need to look beyond our borders to attract the world's top talent.
"This is a place that was once booming with immigrants when we were economically the fifth largest city in the us and an economic powerhouse.”
Goldberg is also not convinced Cleveland’s efforts to keep people out of the suburbs is in the region's best interest.
“I think our inner-ring suburbs and city are not served well when we compete for talent against each other, compete for companies against each other."
Governor Mike DeWine announced plans to use $50 million over the next two years in order to convince more people to move to the Buckeye state. The money is part of a $1 billion overall plan to help the state recover economically due to the pandemic. Though this all requires legislative approval.
Goldberg says many people fled to Cleveland from larger cities like New York to lessen exposure to coronavirus and ride out the pandemic. He says it will be up to the city to give them a reason and opportunity to stay.
