Virginia: The Best State For Business

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

Now no longer solely for lovers, Virginia is making a name for itself as the Best State for Business, according to Forbes.com.

In crowning Virginia the best! state! ever!, Forbes.com invokes everything from Jamestown to the Renaissance poet Michael Drayton, who called Virginia ?Earth?s only paradise.? (This, of course, was back in the 1500s. Las Vegas and Celine Dion?s nightly show weren?t even a twinkle in Rene Angelil?s eye at that point.)

So what gives? How?d Virginia fare so well in Forbes.com?s first-ever state beauty/business pageant? Well, according to the article, Forbes looked at ?30 metrics within the six general categories? — business costs, economic climate, growth prospects, labor, quality of life and regulatory environment ? and found that Virginia scored in the top half of all but three of them: high school attainment, five-year income growth, and cost of living. No mention of how Virginia faired in the bathing suit competition.

Following on Virginia?s heels were North Carolina and Colorado. Both mentioned goals that included ?ending hunger? and ?world peace.?