PQ Blog Central

Diasporonomics

By Jim Russell

Economics pushed them out and now economics entices them to return. The scales have tipped in Great Britain and savvy immigrants always on the lookout for an opportunity are heading home:

Chris Hurd, an Australian film-maker, returned to Sydney three months ago after a decade in Brighton. Hurd, 45, and his wife found new jobs easy to find. “We could never have raised a family in London – the cost is prohibitive,” he said. “You can’t get a rudimentary education in England without paying a fortune.”

Desi Domestic Diaspora

By Jim Russell

The Pittsburgh iPort project is increasing the economic TiEs between India and Southwestern Pennsylvania. But entrepreneurs of Indian descent can do more than connect the region to opportunities abroad (as well as connect Indian entrepreneurs to opportunities in Pittsburgh). They can help Pittsburgh network with innovation hotspots such as Dallas:

Staying Put and Job Creation

By Jim Russell

A few days ago, Mike Madison (Pittsblog) wrote about academic studies of entrepreneurs. Two hyperlinks deep reveals a study with a most provocative passage:

PUMP Promises

By Jim Russell

The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are great urban assets. I shouldn't leave out Duquesne University and Point Park. In fact, universities and colleges throughout the region draw thousands of young adults to the area each year. PUMP (Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project) wants to make sure these students stay once they graduate:

The Immaculate Migration

By Jim Russell

Pittsburghers still lose sleep over the people leaving the region. I keep tabs on all the American brain drain obsession. Where are your graduates going?

Yelp Pittsburgh

By Jim Russell

Yelp can help the Burgh Diaspora, but not in the way its founders intended. What is Yelp? The best answer to that question is why Yelp is out-performing other similar websites:

Burgh Demographia

By Jim Russell

Today, Null Space points to an article in the New York Times about a different kind of brain drain. Pittsburgh is out in front of an aging population trend that is now a demographic crisis:

Hockey Diaspora

By Jim Russell

Watching hockey in a Sun Belt city is a strange experience. How can one be a true fan if you grew up on roller blades instead of ice skates? If you live in the one of those places, then you know the answer to my question: Most of those fans grew up in the Rust Belt, on ice skates. As represented in today's Post-Gazette, the expatriate Pittsburgh hockey connection is strong:

Steelers Diaspora

By Jim Russell

Chris Briem (Null Space blog) noticed my reference to an academic article about Steelers Nation. The author is Jon Kraszewski, a member of the Burgh Diaspora and assistant professor at Seton Hall University. I found the full publication at the University of Colorado at Boulder library and I was delighted to discover that Dr. Kraszewski's research is quite useful for the IntoPittsburgh networking project:

Californiaburgh

By Jim Russell

By way of a brief follow-up on the Pittsburgh party at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, the website of the film "My Tale of Two Cities" is tracking all the coverage of the event here: