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Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

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Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#71

Post by drharby »

psadauskas wrote: post #47

I did not ever expect to see my old hometown of 30k people on HN. Growing up there in the 80s and 90s, it was a nice enough place, but basically 0 tech jobs outside of doing basic IT or support. My parents still live there (my dad an EE at the mentioned Cummins), but the fortunes of the town are tied to Cummins' stock price. They've done a lot to revitalize the downtown in the last decade, it used to be pretty run do…

Im mexican american, and grew up in a similar town in Missouri. I was 'normal' as I practiced good English and had no accent. But the casual racism was real, and I have trouble explaining it to those who think racism is only an explicit hatred. Its a lifestyle habit for much of America and rather than discuss it I see people just bark and bark about how ignorant it sounds.

Tangential rant, but to circle the wagon to the point, these towns have some ways to go and will need a transformation culturally

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#72

Post by rayiner »

aantix wrote: post #58
selectodude wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wealthiest school districts in the country tend to be the worst.

Citation?

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-05-21/news/bs-md-ci-ce...

Out of the top 5, only Montgomery County has a high-income student population.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#73

Post by s0rce »

AndrewGaspar wrote: post #65
Nelkins wrote: post #21

I think about this a lot, mostly about Rochester, NY (where I went to college). It has world-class universities (and a renowned music conservatory[1]!), great history, festivals, relatively low unemployment[2] and the housing is dirt, dirt cheap[3]. The thing is, right now I make a pretty great salary in NYC and I don't know that anything in Rochester could come close, even taking into account cost of living. Even if…

I wrestled with the same thing recently, moving from Seattle-area to Santa Fe, NM to be closer to my in-laws. It only worked because there was a singular employer who paid approximately what I had grown accustomed to. I think it is going to work out, especially since my wife has better prospects than she did in Seattle, but there's definitely a risk working somewhere that has few other competitive employers in the ar…

I hope it works out for you. I moved to place with a singular employer, ended up strongly disliking my job and eventually moved to the SF Bay Area.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#74

Post by blacksqr »

It's funny how deeply they buried the lead in this article. The real story of Columbus is: stable manufacturing jobs + corporate commitment to community = good quality of life.

This story is so alien to us now in America that we don't even recognize it when it's staring us in the face.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#75

Post by eric_b »

jknoepfler wrote: post #42
sitkack wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

School funds should be distributed equally across the entire population. If we were a democracy, rich neighborhoods wouldn't have better schools.

That's not precisely true. Because we live in a democracy, citizens of local governments can collectively vote to levy additional funds for local schools. I agree that federal and state funding should obviate this, but there's nothing intrinsically undemocratic about the current system. (Unfair or badly designed != undemocratic). Some of the best public schools in the nation exist where I grew up in the Minnesota sub…

Minneapolis spends an obscene amount per pupil on students, with the number getting HIGHER in the bad districts: http://www.startribune.com/where-minneapolis-public-schools-...

North Minneapolis has bad outcomes not because of lack of money, that's for sure.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#76

Post by nulagrithom »

5ourpuss wrote: post #46

I'm from the Midwest, from the Cedar Rapids area, moved to Chicago, and I have to say I would NEVER EVER move back there. People from these areas are extremely conservative and xenophobic. The restaurants and any business you might frequent are of lower quality. These cities are not world class cities. Claiming that they are is just ignorant. You end up trapped in a little bubble with nowhere to escape to, surrounded…

I grew up in a town with 30,000 people (much smaller than Cedar Rapids) in the PNW. It's rabidly republican. Also 30% Hispanic. Sure, there's racists around, probably more than your average city, but it's not an intolerable amount.

> Additionally: Their nature sucks. I hope you're fine with never hiking through any interesting terrain, going skiing, or rock climbing, or really doing any interesting outdoor activities. ( I guess hunting is popular? )

That's a pretty broad generalization. Around the edge of my hometown we had tons of hiking trails in the foothills. If you were up for a short 30 minute drive you could get to some real interesting terrain. If you were determined enough and wanted to invest a whole day or a few days in to it you can trek through a literal wilderness.

It's also 45 minutes from a ski resort, and about the same distance for two great rock climbing spots. Oh, plus there's a 10 mile paved trail at the waterfront that loops around the entire center of the city. Lots of biking, mountain biking, plenty of good water, etc etc...

We have people from Seattle move here all the time for the nature, enough to have an effect on the housing market even.

> What if your kid wants to start a rock band, or be a painter, or do anything creative or interesting?

Oddly enough, I did start a rock band in my hometown. We had a great little punk scene. Someone would throw down the money to rent out a building then we'd pass out flyers around school and charge $5 a head. Usually got between 100 to 200 kids to show up. A couple of my friends went on to build careers in the industry, and actually do work for big names in Seattle now.

> Also.. where are you going to work? I'm a software developer: Where am I going to work in Cedar Rapids, IA? Some insurance firm doing meaningless banking bullshit?

You can work remotely, number one. Bu there's actually a lot of businesses in rural areas that have a really, really hard time getting software developers, to the point where they sometimes just stop looking. You're not gonna have job offers in spades, but you can definitely find something.

You paint a really ugly picture of small towns, but I think it might be clouded by whatever negative experience you had in Cedar Rapids.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#77

Post by sscarduzio »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #40
sscarduzio wrote: post #37

Just open your own business (products or freelance) and move to Mexico to work remotely for US customers. Super cheap, better food, tropical climate. 90% of HN readers would be smart enough to do this and sustain themselves beautifully.

Is that the same Mexico with 100k+ killed in the drug war since 2005? Maybe it's an unreasonable fear, but conducting business and sticking out as a foreigner seem like a risk.

I’m saying to conduct a 100% online us/eu based business. You get 6 months visa for Mexico anyway.

Get yourself an American style condo in Cancún and that’s it. Mexico is not all uniformly violent, unlike US.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#78

Post by 5ourpuss »

shostack wrote: post #59
5ourpuss wrote: post #46

I'm from the Midwest, from the Cedar Rapids area, moved to Chicago, and I have to say I would NEVER EVER move back there. People from these areas are extremely conservative and xenophobic. The restaurants and any business you might frequent are of lower quality. These cities are not world class cities. Claiming that they are is just ignorant. You end up trapped in a little bubble with nowhere to escape to, surrounded…

Oddly enough, I lived in Chicago most of my life and moved up the Bay Area. I'd be hard pressed to ever move back despite the network of family and friends there. The weather is beyond awful. The crime rate is through the roof. Rents and house prices have gone through the roof, while comp has not. The city is broke and horribly corrupt. Don't get me wrong... There's a lot of amazing things about Chicago and it will a…

I agree with you, Chicago is brutal. I'm actually moving out west in a few months for the exact reasons you listed! But, as I said, I grew up in the rural midwest. I would caution people against considering it a cheap-land utopia.

Also, I would not equate moving to a small city in the midwest to moving to a small city in the Bay Area. You have at least a proximity to larger cities, and there is beautiful nature and weather to enjoy, along with better culture in general.

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#79

Post by Mz »

FiveSquared wrote: post #20

What about Sacramento? The city is seeing more and more people moving to it, due to the warm climate and the location close to the Bay.

Sacramento is nearly a half a million people. The article seems to be talking about cities that are roughly a tenth that size, with populations around 40k-60k. (I have checked a few of them, but not all of them.)

Its estimated 2016 population of 493,025 makes it the sixth-largest city in California, the fastest-growing big city in the state,[11] and the 35th largest city in the United States.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California

Re: Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come

#80

Post by s0rce »

Apocryphon wrote: post #61

I'm wondering where's the equivalent for California. Sacramento is too significant and big a city to be comparable. I'm thinking Bakersfield and Elk Grove. http://kedc.com/kern-county-fast-becoming-a-mecca-for-millen... https://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-cities-where-millennials...

There are plenty of affordable smaller cities around California. I'm not sure if any of them are attracting younger people. I haven't spent much time in Bakersfield but it wasn't that bad, and the mountains are close. Palmdale/Lancaster might be good, some tech/aerospace out there, you have to like the desert though. Vacaville seems to have industry, mostly manufacturing. There are also plenty of smaller communities in the north state, not sure about jobs, probably none.
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