You have described my experience almost perfectly. I am a Baby Boomer, born in 1950. My parents struggled financially after my birth so it was stressed for as long as I can remember to go to college, get a good job, and don't come back here to live.
With that idea in my mind, I graduated in December, 1971 and found the worst job market since the end of the Korean War. On a campus of more than 15,000 students, there were only three interviews conducted all semester. My fallback option was where I worked in the summer, a textile plant. It was a good starter job, especially since big companies weren't hiring. After a few months, I began to discretely look for another job. No luck.
I met the lady that I married and began looking for serious opportunities for advancement. That didn't come until 23 years later in 1997. During that time, I became involved in community activities with my wife and children. We struggled, especially financially, but we survived. All this time we remained in my hometown and are retired there now.
When Covid hit, I began to see my situation differently. We are in a small town (2,500 population) which is 50 miles from the closest small city. We weren't overburdened with rules about masking or social distancing. We just ignored them and got along just fine. Couldn't have done that in any city. As time passed, it became clear to me that this small town was the place to be. We were within an hour or two from decent shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.
I've ended up in my hometown happily, but my kids left after college and all my friends have died or moved away. I wouldn't trade where I live for anything. Yeah, the town is dying and my kids will never return here to live, but all my memories are here and I hope against hope that people can experience what I have by living here.
I am in my hometown and taking care of my elderly mother who is a stroke victim. So many are telling me to find a place for her and move away, I am going to hang in as long as I can though. It is hard and is taking a toll but I feel that it is the right thing to do.
I agree whole heartly with the push for the kids to go to college and for many it just wasn't the right thing to do. Now we are hurting for people in any of the trades from my understanding. It is hard work and I think we as parents were hoping for an easier life for our children. We didn't look at the school loans that bogged them down till they didn't know how to get their next meal.
Somewhere in all this people became a number and not an asset. It used to be if you took care of the company you worked for they took care of you and it just isn't the case anymore and this makes me sad. So to get further you have to jump around to get the "better" job instead of working your way up in one. I think this also leads to people moving out of towns.
I think one of the reasons my hometown has stayed together the way it has was keeping the local school, even if it does increase the property taxes.
I'm glad I was allowed to pursue a trade out of highschool. It's offered a lot of opportunities I wouldn't have found elsewhere. But I still think I want to go to college after I get my Journeymens Papers. The little manufacturing left around here is learning from the mistakes of the past, but they are dragging some people kicking and screaming into the future. And I don't know if I want to be around for that process.
Interestingly enough it's not a change forward but backwards to when local companies were part of the community, you actually cared about what you did, and doing the best job you could. But some people aren't ready for that.
I'm not exactly sure yet what I'd do at college, but afterwards I hope I can return to the valley I was born in.
My hometown is an accumulater of other places' children. Where they go after college instead of back to the farm. So small wonder that it increasingly has no sense of place.
I was pushed to get a degree i didn’t want. It took me two years to finally choose my major which was something bogus that got me out in 4 years. Then, I floundered for about a year before after graduation until I decided to become a paralegal, a profession that had nothing to do with what I had spent four years studying in school and one that i don’t think requires a bachelor’s degree to be an excellent paralegal.
There's something irreplaceable about living in close proximity to your immediate family. Yet, this desire to stay and contribute to the place that raised me is constantly in tension with the lack of local opportunities. As I've moved back home, I’ve found that it’s incredibly difficult to find meaningful work without having to commute two or more hours a day. While the decision to decline the corporate job in the city seemed like the right one, it’s a daily struggle to balance the practical need to provide for my family with the desire to build something better for my community.
I find myself grappling with the stark realities that come with trying to rebuild and reinvigorate local opportunities. Which leads me to the question we need to be asking:
How?
How do we recreate local opportunities? How do we reinvigorate communal connections? How do we encourage cross-generational collaboration? The list goes on and on.
These are the questions we should be talking about and ones I am actively trying to answer.
The trajectory of my hometown went in an opposite direction. It started as a sleepy coastal town where people from the nearest city would come for holidays. Gradually, with urban sprawl and the ability to commute to the city, people moved from that city to my hometown. My hometown now has a much bigger population and the vibe of it has changed dramatically. I go back there about once a year and I'm always glad to leave since it's gotten much busier and become depressing and impersonal.
You have described my experience almost perfectly. I am a Baby Boomer, born in 1950. My parents struggled financially after my birth so it was stressed for as long as I can remember to go to college, get a good job, and don't come back here to live.
With that idea in my mind, I graduated in December, 1971 and found the worst job market since the end of the Korean War. On a campus of more than 15,000 students, there were only three interviews conducted all semester. My fallback option was where I worked in the summer, a textile plant. It was a good starter job, especially since big companies weren't hiring. After a few months, I began to discretely look for another job. No luck.
I met the lady that I married and began looking for serious opportunities for advancement. That didn't come until 23 years later in 1997. During that time, I became involved in community activities with my wife and children. We struggled, especially financially, but we survived. All this time we remained in my hometown and are retired there now.
When Covid hit, I began to see my situation differently. We are in a small town (2,500 population) which is 50 miles from the closest small city. We weren't overburdened with rules about masking or social distancing. We just ignored them and got along just fine. Couldn't have done that in any city. As time passed, it became clear to me that this small town was the place to be. We were within an hour or two from decent shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.
I've ended up in my hometown happily, but my kids left after college and all my friends have died or moved away. I wouldn't trade where I live for anything. Yeah, the town is dying and my kids will never return here to live, but all my memories are here and I hope against hope that people can experience what I have by living here.
Happiness is found where you least expect it.
Thank you Curtis. This was heart wrenching to read but I’m glad you shared it.
I am in my hometown and taking care of my elderly mother who is a stroke victim. So many are telling me to find a place for her and move away, I am going to hang in as long as I can though. It is hard and is taking a toll but I feel that it is the right thing to do.
I agree whole heartly with the push for the kids to go to college and for many it just wasn't the right thing to do. Now we are hurting for people in any of the trades from my understanding. It is hard work and I think we as parents were hoping for an easier life for our children. We didn't look at the school loans that bogged them down till they didn't know how to get their next meal.
Somewhere in all this people became a number and not an asset. It used to be if you took care of the company you worked for they took care of you and it just isn't the case anymore and this makes me sad. So to get further you have to jump around to get the "better" job instead of working your way up in one. I think this also leads to people moving out of towns.
A lot of wisdom here, and you’re doing incredible work, thankless work. You are so good.
Thank you so much!
I think one of the reasons my hometown has stayed together the way it has was keeping the local school, even if it does increase the property taxes.
I'm glad I was allowed to pursue a trade out of highschool. It's offered a lot of opportunities I wouldn't have found elsewhere. But I still think I want to go to college after I get my Journeymens Papers. The little manufacturing left around here is learning from the mistakes of the past, but they are dragging some people kicking and screaming into the future. And I don't know if I want to be around for that process.
Interestingly enough it's not a change forward but backwards to when local companies were part of the community, you actually cared about what you did, and doing the best job you could. But some people aren't ready for that.
I'm not exactly sure yet what I'd do at college, but afterwards I hope I can return to the valley I was born in.
everything you wrote resonates with me. We often decry property taxes here but…
My hometown is an accumulater of other places' children. Where they go after college instead of back to the farm. So small wonder that it increasingly has no sense of place.
Sounds like a bedroom community
Yes. Part of a midsized metropolitan area in the Midwest.
I was pushed to get a degree i didn’t want. It took me two years to finally choose my major which was something bogus that got me out in 4 years. Then, I floundered for about a year before after graduation until I decided to become a paralegal, a profession that had nothing to do with what I had spent four years studying in school and one that i don’t think requires a bachelor’s degree to be an excellent paralegal.
Almost brought me to tears.
Almost? I need to try harder.
There's something irreplaceable about living in close proximity to your immediate family. Yet, this desire to stay and contribute to the place that raised me is constantly in tension with the lack of local opportunities. As I've moved back home, I’ve found that it’s incredibly difficult to find meaningful work without having to commute two or more hours a day. While the decision to decline the corporate job in the city seemed like the right one, it’s a daily struggle to balance the practical need to provide for my family with the desire to build something better for my community.
I find myself grappling with the stark realities that come with trying to rebuild and reinvigorate local opportunities. Which leads me to the question we need to be asking:
How?
How do we recreate local opportunities? How do we reinvigorate communal connections? How do we encourage cross-generational collaboration? The list goes on and on.
These are the questions we should be talking about and ones I am actively trying to answer.
The trajectory of my hometown went in an opposite direction. It started as a sleepy coastal town where people from the nearest city would come for holidays. Gradually, with urban sprawl and the ability to commute to the city, people moved from that city to my hometown. My hometown now has a much bigger population and the vibe of it has changed dramatically. I go back there about once a year and I'm always glad to leave since it's gotten much busier and become depressing and impersonal.