• Wendy Daniels owns a real estate development consulting business and is a mom of three.
• She was drawn to Atlanta for entrepreneurial opportunities but later moved.
• She says living in Baton Rouge means less commuting time and better career opportunities.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Wendy Daniels, owner of Beechwood Residential, a Baton Rouge-based property development firm. It has been edited for length and clarity.

As a kid, I moved around a bit, living in New Orleans and Oakland, California, before my parents settled in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when I was in seventh grade. When I left home for college to study urban planning, I thought I'd never in a million years move back to Baton Rouge.

After graduate school, I was recruited for a position in Atlanta. It felt like the city chose me. I loved that I never had to search for something to do because so much was happening. Growing up, I didn't know a lot of Black entrepreneurs, but in Atlanta, I worked with the best and brightest people. When I became a mom, I liked my children being around that as well.

But over my 15 years in Atlanta, the city lost some of its appeal. One of the biggest drawbacks was the traffic. It was unbearable. I lived 10 minutes from downtown, but picking my kids up from day care and getting home could easily take over an hour on a Friday afternoon. That impacted my career because I needed to leave the office or client meetings by 2:30 to get to day care on time.

I felt a sigh of relief every time I left the city

When I visited my mom in Baton Rouge, I felt so relaxed. I realized I missed the social culture of Louisiana. In Atlanta, nine out of every 10 people I met were also transplants. My home became the house where everyone gathered on holidays and after work, but I was trying to create that neighborhood feel in a city that didn't have it.

By the time I had three young children, I knew we needed to leave the city. At that stage, it just didn't feel like the right fit for our family. I owned my own business and knew I could keep my clients. My husband found a job in Baton Rouge, about a 10-hour drive from Atlanta, and we packed up.

We settled on a short-term rental while we decided where we wanted to buy. Although I was from the city, so much had changed. Soon after we arrived, the rental owner invited us over for a glass of wine and said she wanted to get to know us. That's the exact community culture I was craving. It felt like I could breathe again.

We spent more on housing but much less on tuition

We sold our house in Atlanta and bought one in a hot neighborhood in Baton Rouge. Our housing costs actually went up, but it wasn't an apples-to-apples comparison. We were living in a much nicer area.

We saved money on preschool and private school tuition, however. In Atlanta, private Catholic schools cost about $20,000 per child annually. In Baton Rouge, I put all three kids in private school for that amount.

The biggest change in my life was the traffic situation. I could drop off all three kids and get to my office within 25 minutes, whereas in Atlanta, that could take an hour. I didn't realize how much stress it was causing me until that was gone.

At first, I had to commute to Atlanta every month for work. I could leave my house and be at my airport gate within 20 minutes. I've never flown private, but I can't imagine it's much better than that. While I could fly direct to Atlanta or Washington D.C., most other flights had connections, which was a change from Atlanta, where I could fly direct anywhere.

Moving boosted my career, too

I'm very good at what I do, but there was much more competition in Atlanta. Although I had a good network, it wasn't as deep as the networks of people who had family ties in Atlanta or went to college there.

When I moved, I was able to tap into a wonderful network. It's not just because I grew up here — it's because, in a smaller city, you can have a bigger impact. I have the mayor's number, and I'm confident I could get the governor on the phone if needed. Because of networking and less competition, my business has flourished.

Living in Baton Rouge isn't big city life, but it has everything I need. Sure, I might need to search more, but I can still go to the symphony, meet friends for drinks, and make professional connections, all without the stress I had in Atlanta.

Reactions to Mangione's arrest have polarized the nation after a significant amount of the American public indicated they may be supportive of the suspect.

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• Cameron Diaz has said her decadelong retirement from acting was "the best 10 years" of her life.
• Diaz stopped acting in 2014 but recently returned to star in "Back In Action" with Jamie Foxx.
• Diaz isn't the only celebrity to have walked back on the decision to retire.

Cameron Diaz has said the decade she spent in retirement from acting was "the best 10 years" of her life, but she thinks she is now ready to get back into the industry.

Appearing on "The Graham Norton Show," the 52-year-old actor reflected on her decision to take an extended hiatus from her career.

"Oh my God, I loved it. It was the best 10 years of my life," Diaz said. "I was just free to just say, 'I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm living my life.'"

She said that stepping back from acting "made sense for my family," and after a while, "people stopped asking" her to take on roles.

"It was so lovely," she added.

However, Diaz, who stars in the new Netflix movie "Back in Action" alongside Jamie Foxx, said she realized that getting to entertain people for a living is a "priviledge" which ultimately led her to unretire.

"I just said to myself, if I just let this go, all of this goodwill, all of this which I got to build over so much time, the passion that I have for entertaining people and making movies, if I don't engage in that again be grateful for it, I would be a fool."

As for whether her return to acting is permanent, Diaz said: "This is maybe the beginning, maybe I'll tiptoe in, maybe I'll go gung-ho, we'll see. It's here and I'm really grateful for it."

Per her IMDb page, she has two upcoming projects: She will return to voice Princess Fiona in "Shrek 5" and will also star in a new Jonah Hill-helmed film titled "Outcome."

A representative for Diaz did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, which was sent outside regular working hours.

Diaz isn't the first actor to have walked back on the decision to retire.

Jim Carrey, 63, announced in 2022 that he was retiring from acting after "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." But he returned to work last year, reprising his role in the third film.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Carrey said: "I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch. And I just, I bought a lot of stuff, and I need the money, frankly."

Diaz became one of Hollywood's biggest stars after making her debut opposite Carrey in the superhero comedy film "The Mask."

The film went on to become one of the top 10 highest-grossing films of 1994, making more than $350 million at the worldwide box office.

Over the next few years, Diaz landed more and more roles, starring in the likes of "There's Something About Mary," "Charlie's Angels," and "The Holiday."

Discussing how she spent the time since her last starring role in 2014's "Annie" remake, Diaz told the "Still Watching Netflix" YouTube channel that she had focused on raising her kids.

"That was what I was putting most of my focus on if I was doing anything other than just sort of being a mom and living my day-to-day," Diaz said. "And that was pretty much it. I'm just trying to stay alive, just like every other mother. I'm just trying to keep it going."

Diaz married Benji Madden of the rock band Good Charlotte in 2015. They welcomed their daughter, Raddix, in 2019 and their son, Cardinal, in 2024.

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Raleigh, North Carolina; Ogden, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah are this year's best-performing big cities, according to an annual report ranking metros across a range of economic factors.

Why it matters: The Milken Institute's yearly rankings highlight U.S. cities with job growth, affordable housing, economic equality and other big draws.

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The big picture: Cities have largely emerged from the tumultuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic and "remain at the center of economic activity," as the report puts it.

Driving the news: Raleigh moved up to the top spot this year after coming second in 2024 and third in 2023.

• "It's been a long time coming for Raleigh, which has performed extremely well in our rankings for several years, without ever quite landing on top before this year," reads the report, which credits the city's job and wage growth and "thriving high-tech sector."

Utah is also a big winner, with Ogden and Salt Lake City taking the other two podium spots.

• "Ogden's impressive rise from last year's ranking" — up 24 places — "stems from big improvements in its recent labor market performance."
• Salt Lake, meanwhile, combines "a robust job market, a growing high-tech sector, and widespread access to economic opportunities."

Rounding out the top 10: Huntsville, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Austin, Texas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Olympia, Washington; Palm Bay, Florida and Boise City, Idaho.

Zoom in: Some smaller cities are growing thanks to lower housing costs and better economic equality, per the report, which highlights job and wage growth in places like St. George, Utah (near Zion National Park) and Auburn, Alabama.

How it works: The annual rankings from Milken — a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank — are based on its Best Performing Cities index, which takes into account cities' labor markets, tech industry growth and economic access.

Reality check: The report doesn't explicitly look at other quality-of-life factors people may consider when picking a place to live, like traffic congestion, public transit access, park space, etc.

The bottom line: If you're searching for a booming city that isn't New York, Chicago or L.A., give this list a look.

• Microsoft and Meta say they plan to cut jobs, targeting "low performers."
• Layoffs can be traumatic for workers, and the added tag of "low performer" can make it worse.
• Such labels can also create additional barriers for those searching for new jobs, experts say.

Targeting "low performers" might seem like a logical tactic for big companies looking to streamline their workforces.

But when Meta and Microsoft recently announced performance-based cuts, it sparked a debate online about the potential impacts of publicly labeling someone a "low performer" — a term loaded with negative connotations.

Layoffs can already be traumatic for workers, and experts say such tags only compound the issue, creating new obstacles for those back on the job hunt.

"Here's the real deal — a 'low performer' at Meta could be a rockstar anywhere else," Jan Tegze, a Czech Republic-based tech recruiter, wrote in a post on LinkedIn. But now, these "people have to job hunt with this label hanging over them. Every recruiter, every hiring manager will see these headlines."

Jennifer Dulski, the founder and CEO of Rising Team and a management lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, said on LinkedIn that it was "reasonable to let people go for lower performance than others on the team, and to share that reasoning with them."

"However, publicly branding employees as low performers serves no one — not the individuals, not the remaining team, and not the company's reputation," she added.

"That will stick with and damage many people's careers. It's unnecessary and punitive," Jonathan Shottan, chief product and content officer at Tonal, said.

Previous research has suggested that finding a job may be more difficult for laid-off workers due to the stigma they may encounter among potential employers.

And with job seekers also facing a slowing job market and new hurdles such as the ever-expanding rollout of AI in workplaces, the added "low performer" tag may make the job search even trickier.

Others have defended Meta and Microsoft's announcements, however.

"Who would you fire? Your top performers?" One LinkedIn user wrote in response to Tegze's post. "There isn't a company in the world who would let go of anyone that they didn't think was their lowest performers."

"What if.... they 'are' actually low performers," another said. "Stop jumping on the let's bash Zuk bandwagon."

In an internal memo seen by Business Insider earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that he had "decided to raise the bar on performance management" and act quickly to "move out low-performers."

The cuts will affect 5% of the company's workforce, equivalent to about 3,600 roles. Microsoft has not announced the number of employees it plans to let go.

For those who do find themselves caught in the layoffs, experts have some tips to help ensure they give themselves the best chance of getting back to work.

Writing on X, Ethan Evans, a former Amazon vice president, advised those hit by cuts targeting low performers to carefully and openly explain their situation to hiring managers.

Evans said it can be natural for recruiters to wonder if an interviewee has performance problems that they should avoid and that "your ability to respond calmly and confidently will matter just as much as the actual content of your answer."

"If your entire team or division was cut, this is the strongest story. Be clear about that and say, 'My entire team was cut.' Point them to a news story that verifies your claim if you can," he said.

He added: "Never badmouth your old boss or company."

"Just like dating, no one wants to start a relationship with someone who isn't over their ex."

Business Insider contacted Meta and Microsoft for comment.

Shannon said her dog Gilbert is "such a people dog" that the lack of response left him completely stunned. He wasn't alone in feeling that way either.

The Knicks make a big swing with this trade proposal.

Former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said Judge Cannon is helping Trump "bury" part of Jack Smith's report.

The Lone Star State will be hit hard by an Arctic blast in the coming days.

The volcano continues to erupt as authorities and experts advise that it is so far safe and contained.

The Kings load up with a former first-overall pick in this new trade proposal.

"The Trump meme coin stuff is bad for the industry. Don't delude yourself," Anthony Scaramucci wrote on Saturday.

The Boston Red Sox looked to add to their bullpen by signing local, Boston-area pitcher Sean Newcomb, who was once a top prospect and first-round draft pick.

The New York Yankees are reportedly eyeing free agent lefty reliever Tanner Scott to team with Luke Weaver and Devin Williams for a dominant back end of the bullpen.

President-elect Trump launched his own cryptocurrency overnight and swiftly appeared to make more than $25 billion on paper for himself and his companies.

Why it matters: The stunning launch of $TRUMP caught the entire industry off-guard, and speaks to both his personal influence and the ascendancy of cryptocurrency in his administration.

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• It also speaks to the nature of the crypto industry that someone could have $25 billion worth of something that literally did not exist 24 hours previously.

Catch up quick: Friday night, while Trump was reportedly hosting a "Crypto Ball" for the industry in Washington, the president-elect launched his own meme-linked cryptocurrency.

• His website bills it as "the only official Trump meme."
• While a number of Trump-branded meme coins popped up in recent months, none had his official endorsement until now.

By the numbers: According to CoinGecko price data, $TRUMP rose more than 600% overnight and was trading just over $32 as of 11 a.m. ET Saturday.

• That gives the coin a fully diluted market capitalization just north of $32 billion.
• The meme website says 80% of the supply is held by Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital, and a CIC co-owned entity called Fight Fight Fight LLC. ("Fight fight fight" is what Trump said after being shot at a rally in July.)
• They are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, which means they cannot dump all of their holdings at once.

The intrigue: Trump has warmly embraced cryptocurrency as a concept and an industry, to the point that he is reportedly considering designating it a "national priority" as soon as this week, per Bloomberg.

💭 Brady's thought bubble: No politician has ever given their supporters a way to monetize that support -- until now.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The Russian president noted the possibility of building additional nuclear power units in Iran.

Legendary racer Martin Truex Sr., father of NASCAR champions Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Truex, has passed away at the age of 66.