It’s an epidemic — young people are leaving our small communities. Young, highly skilled, motivated, people are leaving us to pursue their dreams in the “big city”.
It’s not just Tennessee…
“We were trying to address a loss of young population,” Harris said. People drawn to the state through the program will reinvigorate local economies by bringing families with them and buying houses, he said.
via Student Debtors Find Much Forgiven in Move to Small Towns – Bloomberg.
I’m one of only a handful of “young professionals” in Dyer. Most of the others are my friends. Our town will continue to wither and die without an investment of “under 40” capital. We need young families, young taxpayers, young home-buyers. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we need people who aren’t “settling for less” to come here, but we need young people who want to live here because of our great neighborhoods, schools and services.
But we don’t have those things necessarily. Local government and community organizations need to focus on making our communities attractive for “young investment”.
What can we do? I’ve got my own ideas, but I’m looking for your. Share them with me.