Northern Virginia is no longer the world's most desirable place for a data centre. For the first time this year, it is tied with Portland for the top spot.

Northern Virginia is a region in the state of Virginia that is considered to be a subset of the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. It borders both Maryland and the District of Columbia and is found in the northeastern corner of Virginia (see map). 

Planning District 8 of Virginia is another name for this area. The total size of the region is about 1,304 square miles. Approximately 2.5 million people call Northern Virginia home. Diversity and population growth have made this area one of the most exciting places to live in America.

In a ranking of cities around the world, Portland moved up nine spots and tied with Northern Virginia, which had been the star performer in the three older iterations. This is based on a 2023 annual report by Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate firm. Singapore and Hong Kong currently rank third and fourth, and they were the only Asian-Pacific markets to make it into the top 10 overall.

Cushman & Wakefield said that Portland's advantages in the global centre markets are 'the rapid growth of hyper-scale activity in the Hillsboro submarket, as well as relatively good pricing, sustainable development options, low environmental risk, and more land.'

Other US cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle make up the rest of the top 10 markets. This year, Johor, Manila, and Hyderabad, all in the Asia Pacific, were added to the list. Middle Eastern data centre markets are also getting more attention because they are close to major technology and government hubs.

The financial report ranks data centre hubs around the world based on 13 factors. Market size, fibre connectivity, and cloud availability are given more weight. Other things to think about are incentives, political stability, and long-term effects.

The China Meteorological Administration says that many parts of Heilongjiang will be close to record-low temperatures until Wednesday because of the cold air. 'Year to date, outsiders have net sold RM142. Other things to think about are incentives, political stability, and long-term effects. On Monday, the country's Department of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism told people not to go outside if there was a lot of snow and told drivers to be careful.