College Towns Used To Be Recession-Proof. They've always ranked high on FORBES' list of Best Places for Business and Careers. Half of this year's top ten metros have big schools in their midst-with good reason, since the town-gown symbiosis makes for a solid economic footing. University jobs are stable, residents smart, students a renewable source of spending, and decent cultural offerings abound. Austin, Tex., Raleigh and Durham, N.C., Boulder, Colo, and Madison, Wis. all added jobs in the recessionrnyears of 1991 and 2001. That special relationship is being tested now. It doesn't matter how good your football team is or how many Ph.D.s you've got, no town can duck a contraction as broad and deep as this one. Boulder and Raleigh each had good job growth last year, but employment change in both is starting to turn negative. Madison will lose 9,000 jobs in 2009, predicts Moody's Economy.com.
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