Indy a diamond in the rough

Just about every young, college-educated Midwesterner has given up hope and moved to the South or West, right? A story that appeared in IBJ over the weekend suggests
otherwise.

The Indianapolis area leads nearly all other large Midwestern cities in the share of residents who are young and educatedâ??making
the region, in a small way, a Seattle of the Rust Belt.

Reporter J.K. Wallâ??s story was based on new IUPUI
research that compares densities of different types of people, from the young, single, educated city dwellers dubbed Solo
Acts to wealthy High Society households.

Indianapolis scored particularly well among a group called Family Portraits, who are young, affluent and well-educated, with
children.

The findings might help explain why the Indianapolis-area economy has grown steadily for years even as other Midwestern cities
take hits.

Indianapolis could be expected to have a bright future if these people start businesses and help existing companies thrive.

The next step for researcher Drew Klacik is to find out what they want in order to make the region even more attractive, particularly
for the category where Indianapolis scores so strongly â?? educated people with children.

A couple of questions.

Are the experts correct in their belief that the young and educated are the most attractive demographic for economic development?

And what do young, educated people with children want that the region doesnâ??t currently offer? In some cases, that would be
good schools. But what else?