Assorted Links Thursday

Tokyo's Manuscript Writing Cafe only allows writers on a deadline, and won't let them leave until finished:

A cafe located in the Koenji district of Tokyo that's been causing a buzz online has a different way of keep you busy. It's called the The Manuscript Writing Cafe, and is designed to operate as a safe haven and base for writers who need to get in their work up against a deadline. But it's not just a theme of the cafe--those are the actual rules!

Texas is the future - California can't compete with a new American Dream:

Some observers lament the fact that the vast majority of Texas’s metropolitan growth — nearly 100% — has taken place in the suburbs and exurbs. But this has its benefits, not least the fact that its cities haven’t been turned into rabbit warrens that only provide high living standards to the rich. Over the past decade, Texas has built three times as much housing as California. This has allowed its cities, despite massive demographic and economic growth, to keep housing prices significantly lower than in coastal Californian cities such as San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles.

Census data show an exodus from big cities in 2020-21; pandemic, living cost, remote work, politics all played roles:

The donut effect: How the pandemic hollowed out America’s biggest cities:

Even in a hot economy, wages aren’t keeping up with inflation: Tight labor markets aren’t as good for workers as D.C. economists imagine. High demand raises prices, too.

The Memphis region’s innovative approach to economic development metrics: Center for Economic Competitiveness.  Here's more.

Netflix’s most popular shows:

Welcome back to the office. Isn’t this fun? Tech companies really want their employees to be happy — or at least less annoyed — about returning. So they’re providing concerts, food trucks and other perks.