(FORTUNE Magazine) – -- ''I'll take Manhattan'' seems to be a popular refrain among J.C. Penney employees. In July the giant retailer told the 3,800 staffers at its New York headquarters that it was moving to Plano, Texas, near Dallas, beginning early next year. Despite substantial inducements, many top executives and important middle managers are balking. ''No company has ever before tried to move this many jobs this far in such a short time,'' says Brian Moran, chairman of Moran Stahl & Boyer, a New York consulting firm specializing in relocations. Moran also thinks Penney may have erred in not making relocation assistance more uniformly available. For example, Penney says home purchase closing costs will be fully paid only for managers and above. Says Moran: ''The company risks wiping out part of the critical mass it will need to reestablish the corporate culture.'' If not Plano, where? Moran's firm has compiled a list of overlooked cities that companies might consider when moving. Some -- like Boise, Idaho; Spokane, Washington; and Fresno, California -- are shifting from an agricultural economy. Others are older cities with shrinking industrial bases that have underused infrastructures and substantial human resources. They include Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.