I’ve lived in the broader metro areas of Chicago, St. Louis, and Atlanta, and briefly in L.A. and NYC. They offer a lot, but I love the countryside.
I was raised in a rural area and prefer to live in a small farm area – but not too far from a city where there is a rich cultural life, which for me is mostly museums, entertainment, and college speakers.
Small Town USA Image, public domain, by Linnaea Mallette
Rural living has steadily faded. Can it be saved? The answer is yes. Small towns can be saved if you know the right things to do.
What happened to small rural towns?
In rural areas I've lived in, smaller towns have slowly but steadily lost ground since 1900 due to industrialization. As agriculture work was replaced by machinery people migrated to the cities to find work. One town dwindled from 600 people in 1950 to 478 today. It lost its movie theater in the early 1950s and my grandfather’s restaurant. Most downtown buildings have been demolished.
Rural migration trend reversal
I intensely studied the decline and revival of small towns a few years ago. The flight to urban areas is stopping. The reason is because people used to be able to go to cities to get jobs but 70% of jobs now require education beyond high school which many in rural areas don’t have because there is limited access to education or there is too little emphasis put on it because the jobs just aren’t there.
Another trend is that people want to move out of densely populated areas with all their problems with commute times, high cost of living, and lack of more pastoral settings and opportunities. Rural living in well-run communities is more pleasant. Working from home enables this trend without job loss, and this has been a major trend for many years. The pandemic accelerated it.
Preserving the economy in small towns
One of the major problems in small towns is that money is sucked out as fast as it comes in. People notice this because jobs and businesses are eliminated by retailers like Walmart and Amazon. But it’s much deeper than job and business loss. It has a more tragic effect.
This money not only leaves the area, it is transferred to the stock market for investors who don’t need it. Despite what people think they don’t put it back into the economy.
These retailers aren’t evil but there needs to be a balance for communities to flourish, and thriving can even be beneficial to these retailers.
The deeper problem of money leaving communities
The things people don't notice is that when you pay money to a national chain the money fails to circulate in the community. Money has a multiplication factor of 3x or more. So for every dollar spent into a local community, if it is spent again and again, it has an impact of around $3.00 in the community.
Getting the dollar to your beautician, restaurant owner, mechanic, and all the other local businesses and people that make a community thrive would be a major boost to the community.
The other thing that happens to deteriorating communities is that banks become less willing to invest in them. Businesses fail to borrow because they can't see opportunity or a healthy future. While borrowing money may seem counterintuitive, borrowing is very helpful to the economy. It has a 5x multiplier effect.
The other thing that happens to deteriorating communities is that banks become less willing to invest in them or businesses fail to borrow. While borrowing money may seem counterintuitive, borrowing is very beneficial to the economy.
For example, when John borrows money to build or renovate a house, he usually puts the money into a bank account. The bank can loan the money in that account until it’s used. The money that is loaned again gets deposited where it can be borrowed again. This pumps money into the community which boosts the economy.
Some communities even issue their own form of money or coupons that can only be spent locally. This keeps the money in the community.
Hope: Small towns may be the future of the US and other countries
It seems inevitable that some small towns will go away, just as they have for over a century. But those who find the courage and means to try have a high likelihood of succeeding. Those communities need to invite commerce into their areas. They have to ensure educational opportunities are available to their people. They have to diversify their businesses instead of relying on one or two large ones that can fly away at the flick of a CEO or investor’s whim.
The difficulties faced by cities are making them prime sources of job and people migration to rural areas that offer a more pleasant life with additional opportunities. Many people, even some well educated such as nurses, simply can’t afford to live in them. Many people end up homeless and living on the streets. Los Angeles seems to have huge populations erecting tents on sidewalks, dwelling in squalor, and causing endless sanitation and other problems.
My book Preparing For The Future Of Work, Education, Economy, ($3.99) which is the result of three years of research and writing on these topics, explains how to prepare for the work of the future by getting the right education, whether trade school or college. Much of this can be done online and the book explains how through both individual and local initiatives.
The book Our Towns documents and explains the success of many towns across the US that have turned their towns around and are thriving. It also explains what people are looking for who want to move from major cities to rural areas.
My book Preparing For The Future Of Work, Education, Economy ($3.99) is also available on Amazon.
Another resource for rural communities is the Institute for local Self Reliance.
How to keep your hometown from becoming a ghost town - TED Talk
A plan for cities to survive Breaking the ‘urban doom loop’: The future of downtowns is shared prosperity - Brookings Institute
You can also start a local AIP Initiative in your area with the blueprint I created: AIP Initiative, Adapt, Innovate, Prepare.
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