Why Millennials Are Avoiding Small-Town America

[GBCW 397]

... small-town America ... has for decades bled citizens ... to the more glamorous metropolis. One might have thought technology would stanch the flow, at least among millennials: With Wi-Fi and telecommuting, young people could theoretically pass on overpriced real estate and ugly commutes and opt, instead, for a spacious house with a big yard and a broadband connection.

But it turns out the millennial generation is only accelerating the demographic shift. In fact, this may be the most “bright lights, big city” generation in history. While the number of millennials is ticking slightly upward in small towns and rural areas, it’s nothing compared with the growth of their numbers in suburbs and cities. “At this point, the prognosis does not look good for much of small town America,” writes William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

...

They “continue a multigenerational pattern of young adults preferring more expensive urban areas over lower-cost rural ones because the lifestyles and opportunities in such places make the extra burden of cost worth it,” says Robert Lang, professor of urban growth and population dynamics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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Small towns will have to hustle to recruit and retain millennials, experts say. The American Planning Association urges local planners to mimic the appeal of city centers by creating “density.” That means keeping the walkable neighborhoods and traditional town centers that millennials say is key to making a community a desirable place to live.

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But without economic opportunity — that is, good jobs — the most charming downtown in the world can’t attract permanent residents.

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But all is not lost. The numbers that point toward the decline of small towns also show a positive narrative for millennials, and perhaps a sunnier economic outlook than you’d expect. Notwithstanding student-loan debt and the stereotype of living in their parents’ basements, a RealtyTrac analysis released in September showed that this generation is moving where the rents and mortgages are high.

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From 2007 to 2013, the 10 counties that gained the most millennial residents had a median home price of $406,800. And the average population of those counties was 587,522 — a far cry from small-town living. Baby boomers filled out the other side of the equation by flocking to counties with average populations of 261,232 and a median home price of $144,875.

So the best answer as to why millennials are moving away from smaller towns may be simple: because they can. And small towns will have to rev up their sales pitch to convince young adults that they can live not just cheaply but also well in the places that older generations called home.

http://www.ozy.com/acumen/when-antisocial-behavio-u-r-becomes-a-crime/30205

[GandD 5,966]

~~Title edited to match article~~

[GBCW 397]

Wrong title, GanD... because I had the wrong URL.

This is the correct URL.

http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-millennials-are-avoiding-small-town-america/34058

[Dakine10 5,452]

I'm confused now. I think the next step is to edit the article to match the title.

[GBCW 397]

[GandD 5,966]

~~Title edited to match actual article ~~

[Curmudgeon 227]

Is the answer 'because they can'?