2008-10-30 13:42:01 -

www.primacy.com/primacy_americas.asp - Relocation industry group Worldwide ERC(R) and Primacy Relocation today announced at ERC's Global Workforce Symposium that Boston/Quincy, MA; Nassau/Suffolk, NY; New Haven, CT; New York/White Plains/Wayne, NY/NJ; and Edison, NJ are 2008's Best Cities for Relocating Singles among U.S. metropolitan areas. (complete list at end of document)

In this fifth and final annual survey, the two organizations once again partnered with Bert Sperling's BestPlaces to identify the cities with the most to offer relocating singles. Using statistical profiles of the largest 100 U.S. metro areas, the survey focused on the criteria most relevant to singles, with the rankings reflecting the ease of transition during a relocation.

Unlike other "best" surveys, the ERC/Primacy Best Cities for Relocating

Singles survey measures the issues impacting a newcomer's experience in the weeks and months immediately following a transfer. This year's survey placed an increased emphasis on those economic factors most affecting singles, including an area's unemployment rate, percentage of recent job growth and availability of affordable rental housing. New data was also incorporated this year, measuring an area's arts and recreation opportunities and the overall population growth.

"Relocating to a city can be both exciting and overwhelming for an individual," said Michelle Vallejo, SCRP, GMS, Primacy's President, The Americas. "This survey identifies those factors that help ease the transition for singles, while helping HR professionals better predict the success rates of their employee transfers."

"It's well known that the success of a relocation is strongly reliant on the transferee's ability to assimilate into the new community and recreate his or her support, social, medical and lifestyle networks," said Cris Collie, CAE, Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide ERC. "Our newest 'Best Cities for Relocating Singles' survey provides substantive information for companies whose ranks of renters, a group largely comprised of singles, have been on the rise." -0- Statistics Used in Ranking the Best Cities for Relocating Singles: Population Criteria: Local single population aged 25-34 Male-female ratios Diversity and density Growth Economic Criteria: Cost of living index, rental rates and availability of rental property Job growth vs. unemployment rates Higher education costs, including in-state and out-of-state tuition requirements Quality-of-Life Criteria: Adventure index Prevalence of restaurants, bars, health clubs, sporting events and concerts Percentage of population utilizing online dating and subscribing to magazines geared towards singles Annual rainfall, snowfall and high/low temperatures Property and violent crime rates

Worldwide ERC is the membership association of choice for corporate and government relocation managers, real estate companies, goods movers, and a range of service firms and individuals from industries relocation-related workforce issues. Global workforce mobility trends information are at their site. (www.erc.org/)

Sperling's BestPlaces puts facts about cities and living in the hands of the public, so they can make better decisions about best places to live, work, retire, play, or relocate.

Primacy Relocation is one of the top third-party employee relocation providers in the world, and is the largest to focus all technology and resources solely on relocation and global assignment (expatriate) management. Primacy administers programs for employers throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia regions. Core services include home sales, destination services, household goods move management, and overall program administration. In addition to its Memphis headquarters, Primacy has offices in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Omaha, Sacramento and Washington D.C. (Government Services), as well as Amsterdam, Basel, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore and Zurich. Primacy is online, in nine languages, at primacy.com. -0- Worldwide ERC(R) and Primacy Relocation's 2008 Best Cities for Relocating Singles(TM) 1. Boston/Quincy MA 2. Nassau/Suffolk NY 3. New Haven CT 4. New York/White Plains/Wayne NY/NJ 5. Edison NJ 6. Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta GA 7. Raleigh/Cary NC 8. San Francisco/San Mateo/Redwood City CA 9. Santa Ana/Anaheim/Irvine CA 10. Newark/Union NJ/PA 11. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater FL 12. Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale CA 13. Orlando/Kissimmee FL 14. Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Newport News VA/NC 15. Camden NJ 16. Charleston/North Charleston SC 17. Providence/New Bedford/Fall River RI/MA 18. Washington/Arlington/Alexandria DC/VA/MD/WV 19. New Orleans/Metairie/Kenner LA 20. Philadelphia PA 21. Greenville SC 22. Jacksonville FL 23. Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown TX 24. Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach/Deerfield FL 25. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos CA 26. Miami/Miami Beach/Kendall FL 27. Baltimore/Towson MD 28. Charlotte/Gastonia/Concord NC/SC 29. San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara CA 30. Baton Rouge LA 31. Wilmington DE/MD/NJ 32. Oxnard/Ventura CA 33. Austin/Round Rock TX 34. Greensboro/High Point NC 35. Little Rock/North Little Rock AR 36. Seattle/Bellevue/Everett WA 37. Dallas/Plano/Irving TX 38. Colorado Springs CO 39. Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario CA 40. Oakland/Fremont/Hayward CA 41. Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro TN 42. Richmond VA 43. Portland/Vancouver/Beaverton OR/WA 44. Knoxville TN 45. Mobile AL 46. Fort Worth/Arlington TX 47. Birmingham/Hoover AL 48. Sacramento/Arden-Arcade/Roseville CA 49. Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton PA/NJ 50. Columbia SC 51. Honolulu HI 52. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Boynton Beach FL 53. Madison WI 54. Chicago/Naperville/Joliet IL 55. Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice FL 56. Denver/Aurora CO 57. Boise ID 58. Tucson AZ 59. Tacoma WA 60. Harrisburg/Carlisle PA 61. San Antonio TX 62. Hartford/West Hartford/East Hartford CT 63. Louisville/Jefferson County KY/IN 64. Salt Lake City UT 65. Wichita KS 66. Omaha/Council Bluffs NE/IA 67. Oklahoma City OK 68. Tulsa OK 69. Springfield MA 70. Memphis TN/MS/AR 71. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale AZ 72. Indianapolis/Carmel IN 73. Minneapolis/St. Paul/Bloomington MN/WI 74. Cincinnati/Middletown OH/KY/IN 75. Kansas City MO/KS 76. St. Louis MO/IL 77. Pittsburgh PA 78. Albuquerque NM 79. El Paso TX 80. Columbus OH 81. McAllen/Edinburg/Mission TX 82. Dayton OH 83. Milwaukee/Waukesha/West Allis WI 84. Las Vegas/Paradise NV 85. Albany/Schenectady/Troy NY 86. Gary IN 87. Buffalo/Niagara Falls NY 88. Bakersfield CA 89. Ann Arbor MI 90. Fresno CA 91. Syracuse NY 92. Akron OH 93. Detroit/Livonia/Dearborn MI 94. Toledo OH 95. Stockton CA 96. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre PA 97. Cleveland/Elyria/Mentor OH 98. Youngstown/Warren/Boardman OH/PA 99. Rochester NY 100. Grand Rapids/Wyoming MI

Primacy Relocation
Ashley Burton, 901-278-3773, ext. 216
ashley@creativeinferno.com
or
Worldwide ERC(R)
Anita Brienza, 301-847-3772
abrienza@WorldwideERC.org