Akron and Murfreesboro

It was announced a short time ago [ohio.com] that the Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tech center will be moved to a brand new facility either in Akron, OH (where it is currently located) or in Murfreesboro, TN (near the corporate headquarters). The tech center currently employs somewhere between 600 and 1000 people in facilities that are nearly 100 years old.

Originally, there were several options on the table, including an extensive renovation of the current facilities, and building a brand new facility in some other locations. All of those other options have been eliminated from consideration.

Both Akron and Murfreesboro are located about an hour away from a major city. Akron is located near Cleveland, OH, and Murphreesboro is located near Nashville, TN. Other than that, I really did not know much about Murphreesboro (having never been there before). So, I decided to do some research. Here is a rundown of the two cities:

	Akron, OH	Murfreesboro, TN
Population:	209,704 (2006 estimate)	100,575 (2008 special census)
Population Density:	3,497.3 people per square mile	1,764.9 inhabitants per square mile
Racial Makeup:	67.22% White, 28.48% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.50% Asian (source)	79.85% White, 13.89% African American, 0.28% Native American, 2.69% Asian (source)
Median age:	34	29 years
Median income/household:	$31,835	$39,705
Average Temp:	49.6F (Cleveland, OH)	59.1F (Nashville, TN)
Nearby Professional Sports Teams:	Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns	Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators
Sales Tax:	6.25%	9.75%
Job Growth	-0.66%	17.85%
Median Home Price	$74,900	$142,000
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	9.6%	18.5%

In summary, it appears that Murfreesboro is whiter, more affluent, and booming. Whereas Akron is suffering from the malaise of much of the industrialized northeast US. From my point of view, the biggest minus of Murfreesboro (other than it being far from family and friends) is the average temp. Does any of this make up for the fact that I would be totally useless in the summer because of the heat?