06/05/2026
The kids aren’t leaving for the reasons you think they are.
Sure, a certain percentage of graduates will always want to broaden their horizons, get a college degree, or go live in the big city. That is normal and healthy. But plenty of kids typically also want to stay home, and that requires home to do its part. Most hometowns aren’t.
So many hometowns have failed so badly that the only people staying are the ones who are stuck. That is absolutely not good enough. I’m not saying everyone who stays in their hometown is trapped and doesn’t have options, but a town’s success or failure takes place on the margins. When the percentage of graduates who leave increases, towns begin to die.
If even a few more kids choose to stay after graduating, or a few more move back after their time away, that might actually save your town. Not everyone has to stay, but we need to make a compelling case for more to stay and more to return. What most towns need is just to hold their population or grow a little, and as the business world likes to point out, it is easier and cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to land a new one. Yet when I spend time in towns, so much effort goes toward attracting tourists and outside businesses, but no one is thinking critically about how to keep the kids at home.
Read the rest over on my Substack. Find the link in the comments
