I moved to a small town in the desert after three years of unenployment. I was planning on moving off the grid and surviving by my own, but I ended up getting a job as a music teacher. Not even 6 months since I moved here and I'm already buying my own plot of land.
Cool speech. Disagree with one thing : the fact that less millennials migrate to big cities in the past 6 years do not bring rent price down. Rent is continue to raise and millennials simply can't afford it, therefore not as many are moving.
I just moved back to my small hometown from Seattle. Got a job that’s higher paying than my last job in the city and have several extra hours a week without all the traffic. Also, so much less expensive in many areas. Wahoooo!
exactly what i did as well. spent 7 years in 2 big cities. Traffic was only getting worse. I couldn't imagine having life like this forever that i only commute. Now for the price of monthly rent i can slowly renovate my old house in a little town and work mostly online from home, start my own business so i don't have to get up at 6 am anymore to catch a packed bus to get somewhere (because you won't park your car in the center), same thing back, and that's how life goes by. Leave the wheel to the hamsters. I'd rather have time for myself than highly earning job, mortgages, nice house and car. I can do with just ok job and old house, but relatively big freedom other people, especially with kids and loans and corporate employment don't have
From the Tri Cities area and can definitely say it’s got everything Seattle has plus dirt cheap rent. Money is starting to come in a lot faster though, who knows what will happen here in the next decade
Excellent talk this! It resonates with me very much. I'm from South Africa and our economy is a fraction that of the USA... I've always thought to myself one of the ways we can grow our economy is to end our over-reliance on a few of our big cities and stimulate the many prospect cities across the country. Thank you very much for the encouragement and firing me up again.
Im a millennial, 30, dutch/Amsterdam. I managed/coached/taught gen z and millennials for 8 years or so. There is some difference, yes. I personally found it easier to manage gen z. But my colleague's and other managers (millennials & gen x), had way more trouble coaching gen z. Currently, I'm a freelancer, but never fully figured out why that was the case.
@D. Right. I'm like the oldest of gen z, 21, born 1998. I only have 3 years in the real world. Not gonna have much, but I'm not doing bad lol. We're just getting started
> Talks about the opportunity > Says it's easier to find a job where's a lower supply Yeah, good luck finding an IT job in a small town, when there's a vacancy open one time a year and the pay is half of a one you get in a "metropolis"
In other fields, it could be different. When I was living a small town, HR people were making as much as Engineers. Also, most state jobs have the same pay statewide and some are located in cheap cost of living small towns. State Troopers in California are one example.
Gotta say, I live in Birmingham AL, and have jobs permanently thrown at me for my skillset. So does everybody else in my industry here, it just depends on the industry. (Software engineer)
If you have a good IT Job already, you could probably move wherever you want and work remotely.. depends what kind of work of course. My company has developers and project managers all over the world.
A lot of cities just don't have opportunities. If your city has a lot of entry level positions, that's great and should be advertised, but that's just not the case for a lot of smaller cities.
Damn I thought he meant like real small towns to move in. That’s where I wanna go with my family. The way he described “Prospect Cities” is exactly my town and I have to move out eventually because of rising prices. These cities seems better and cheap for these rich millennials that live in nyc but it getting too pricey for us poor people Who been here for decades, atleast my family and my neighbors, I’m only 21 in college. Like literally there has been new condos being built around town in recent years that on average 4K a month! When he talked about gentrification in big cities I wish he realized that it can happen in “Prospect Cities” too.
Read my recent post...i went on the road for a month...town to town...found a goodly number i could live in...same problem in every small town...no rentals....waiting lists...overpriced old homes for sale....not significantly cheaper....the old assumption that a small town in Kansas will be cheap...is about 20 years out of date...and if you found a rental....great 60 year old crapper house with no garage or parking...depressing....people are moving...doubt they will stay.
Its pretty normal actually. I'm a millennial that has to hire construction hands. Ill hire an older person over someone my age or younger every chance I get. Some millennial have a great work ethic... We are not the norm though.
The whole "lazy millenial" stereotype just came from boomers who grew up in a world where working for a job you hated was considered noble. Millenials don't want to adhere to that mindset anymore and want to do more fulfilling work.
@@jhart1979 that's the real point / problem. It's fine doing a humble job if it gets you were you want to be...but nowadays that's not possible anymore...
@@knucklehoagies The thing is that every generation after was actually raised to follow their passions a bit more. It's weird that generations think that they came up with ideas all by themselves and that people before them didn't instead of knowing that a lot of is trickle down and a switch in parenting generation to generation. Millennials may WANT to do that but as with the generations before them they may have to do what they have to do in order to get by until they can make other moves. We're not getting away from people working jobs that most don't love until you can finish up making high tech robots to take over the rest.
The problem that you run into in a lot of these smaller cities is that many do not want any “millennial innovations” or anything that might change their established way of life. You might be able to meet the mayor for coffee once a week, but local old money will have him or her on speed dial and if those people aren’t comfortable with these disruptive ideas, then you will have a steep uphill battle getting them going. My suggestion is focus on places with at least a city/community college nearby, they tend to be more open to change.
Here's a news flash. Your almighty "millennial innovations" and "disruptive ideas" are no more appreciated in large metro areas than they are in small communities. Keep your "innovation" and "disruption" and knock yourself out with it, but don't impose it on others. When you get a bit older you'll find things like inner peace and mutual respect for your neighbor to be far more rewarding.
@@ramonalejandrosuare You're making something out of nothing? People have gated communities for the same reason you lock your car, or your home at night before going to bed.
@@freeroamer9146 There's a distinct difference between putting up a barrier over one's privately owned property and an entire neighborhood with public spaces like sidewalks, roads, and parks. The fact you don't get that clear difference only makes my point for me.
@@ramonalejandrosuare You don't have a point. Only an idea. That's why you make reference to, but cannot define it. Ramon, stop thinking like your mother and think like a man.
I said “big cities are becoming obsolete” giving my senior thesis in architecture school a few years ago. I designed what you could call a prospect city around the principles of autarky and sustainability but I conceptualized it as stamp to repeatedly place in the middle of nowhere to make kind of an instant city at a small scale that grew its own food utilizing aquaponics, aeroponics and automation. It was a failure because I spent way too much time researching the concepts involved than designing it.
Tell me more... can I access it somewhere? Whats population, footprint and resources needed? What services are included, municipal property needed and so on?
Ive had the same idea! Well similar, i mean i want to design my own city in harmony and balance. What school did you go to? Which program did you like it? I was looking at one in Miami but idk about the area. You should pick back up your project and finish it to your liking even if the class ended! You didn’t get enough tome to do it all. Its not your fault. Press on! Would you make a video and explain what you learned and put together? I wana hear all about it ❣️ be my friend ❣️
UnfinishedRiot well then say “rich move to small towns, immediately price locals out” because most millennials aren’t rich and are just trying to find a place affordable to live.
@@suadela87 that's true, but millennials from urban areas are more likely to have a higher level of income than millennials in rural areas. More competition for land is gonna increase prices, now rural millennials can't afford a wortht offer
I think with increased globalization and the ability to work from home/anywhere will open up the possibilities of moving from city centers to either prospect cities, or rural areas. Millennial's have been profoundly effected by the recession, so I feel our generation will be more susceptible to the financial advantages of living in less populated city centers. The frills generally don't attract us as much. However, personally, the reason my husband and I have not taken advantage of prospect cities is because our families are in the city. The cost of childcare is much too expensive to relocate regardless of affordable housing and upward mobility in our careers. I think this is a challenge that many millennial's are facing. More-so a choice we are facing of what is more important to us, our finances or our family?
I guess but this isn't the first recession. We've gone through a whole depression in the past. I live 30 minutes from a big city and childcare is half and the cost of my house was 1/2 to 1/3 of what you get there for the size and the yard space. It's pretty doable if you like the proximity to things to do and a bigger job pool. The thing other friends did is chop down a lot of expenses prior to having their 2 kids so that they could live on one salary and waited until their 30s. They live in the burbs and she hasn't worked in 6 years so they pocketed all of that childcare money and have been doing just fine.
If those are undergrad students, he's talking to gen z.
4 года назад
Ok so maybe it’s because I’m French but 2 comments : 1. It’s the most cliche speech I ever heard in TEDx.... millennials like coffee shops and to have an impact while living next to a lake... not sure that defines this generation 2. Prospect cities is nothing new... it’s a concept that exists in urbanism for decades now... so instead of pretending to invent a new concept why not referring to research
Prospect cities aren't new, but for a country the size of the US, concentrating talent and jobs in 2-4 cities can have very negative effects on the country overall
Mr H, I think you missed his point. This speech doesn’t seem to help you. As for me, I got a job in a small town and it changed my life. The relationships are more authentic and the work culture has more opportunities for growth. There is great shopping and healthcare within 2-3 hours drive.
It's not for everyone. If you feel like you can make a change in a small town, then more power to you. Everyone doesn't have the privilege of just upping and moving to a small town. And half of us who live in major metropolitan areas are able to live below our means and be just fine. I'm good where I am. It's all about what works best for you.
Live in a big city u need 3 jobs to rent a studio apartment with a roomate, a small to medium size town u can work one job rent a condo style house, while getting paid more. And u might say u know fun by going to a club and drinking over priced beers, but u don’t know what fun is tell ur around a bond fire drinking telling stories and riding atv and utv in the desert. Then 3 weeks later u continue to meet all the cool new friends u found at the get together because ur city or town is small enough to meet up out of the blue
Many of the myths are true also... many millennial reject blind consumerism & are determined to make healthier choices for our lives & the planet.. we are pioneering the green & organic movements, spending less & traveling more.
Ya'll give yourselves a lot of credit but you tend to talk about millenials as a monolith. You're not all in the same boat. You're not all college grads. You're not all living in big cities and obtaining even mid level jobs. You also have a generation or two in between the boomers and you all that no one seems to mention much.
How is traveling more pioneering the green movement? Air travel is pretty much the single most damaging thing you can do wrt to the environment. Not saying u should never travel, but I hear this bit of cognitive dissonance from many young people. Talking about something (being green, saving the environment) is not doing.
Love to Learn by mentioning travel I was intending to highlight that millennial a have a broader cultural and environmental awareness than previous generations
I think this is decent advice, but it's very situational. I'm in a career where there aren't a ton of places I can pick up and move to, and many people with advanced degrees similarly can't just throw a dart on a map and move/start working there.
Maybe not for a specific IT job, but if someone with an advanced medical or trade degree threw a dart anywhere in North America, they could find a well-paying job almost anywhere. - especially in small to mid-sized cities.
how about leaving the USA? that's a much better solution. the key is to move to a small country. within a small country are even smaller towns and villages, where people farm, live off the land, ride bikes and barter.
a lot of people still go to nyc and la in particular cos they want to be/do their very best, and compete against the very best. nothing wrong with that per se. the internet has leveled that out at least somewhat. depending on your field, you can go head to head with someone in new york or tokyo from cheyenne wyoming. tho really, it's still all intensified if you're in the same city with them.
@@Elizabeth.Holiday I think both are true. Im glad I moved to a big city as a young person because I have grown so much and become so much stronger. But I also don't see myself living here for my whole life. I see myself settling down and raising kids somewhere quieter and calmer.
@@Elizabeth.Holiday I didn't read it like that. I feel like living in a big city (I was born and raised in NYC) and it's a crabs in a barrel mentality. There's a difference between applying to a Job with 40 other prospects and applying for a job and 1500 others apply. You have to work smarter, not just harder and that includes putting yourself in a position to succeed - and sometimes that means not having to compete with "the best" for scraps.
there are a lot of people who are simply not happy in cities, don't want to live there. no problem here; the last thing new york needs is for more people to move there. it's already expensive enough as it is. there are country people who move a couple hundred miles, or couple thousand miles from where they initially grew up, both to avoid the suffocation effect; as well as to test themselves; and force themselves to stretch and strive. they might still be in a small pond with a largely similar (preferred) lifestyle, but it's a different small pond where they don't have their childhood friends to run to for everything -or to remind them of That Time in Third Grade every ten minutes. different people need different challenges. the key is how well you're doing, whether you're thriving or not. what end result is one getting?
Live in Mobile, AL and making 90k with a career in a booming logistics field. Small cities are usually built around trade hubs or military technology. Don't think you can't find a job; that's just what they tell you. The best part is I'm free lance; I work when I want to. Also still have another 50k year before I'm tapped out. Feels good man :)
You are very lucky . I grew up in Mobile but live in Atlanta now. I am afraid to go back to Mobile because there are not a lot of good jobs there, especially in tech which was what I want to work in
I went to college in a small rural town, and it was awful. I know "Prospect Cities" aren't exactly rural, but the small town had that urban core and post-industrial history. Still sucked.
I want to say this too, I moved from a small town to a big city; the buzz and the activity for me in a motivating factor. I admit, it’s a machine here but I want to be a part of it for my own success here
I’m 21 years old and grew up in a classic small town...The quiet is nice, by there was absolutely NO “opportunity” growing up. There’s a reason small towns never get any bigger..everyone leaves.
My husband and I are leaving our big city (Auckland New Zealand, 1.7m people) to a beautiful lake town with 75k people next month. We have a son so it was hard to leave family, but we came to all the same conclusions as you mentioned in this video :)
Chattanooga TN is a post industrial city. Enough millennials have already discovered Chattanooga that it may not be a prospect city for much longer. Two hour from Atlanta. 2 1/2 hrs from Nashville, tucked between cities with fast growing populations spilling over into Chattanooga.
You know, I thought this guy made a great argument. I want to go onto a similar path politically as he does, and I currently live in chciago so I felt like this was relatable to me. I considered what he said, but then thought to myself, why would I want to leave a diverse city with so many different types of people, languages, and ideas? Why leave numerous friends and plenty of choice of who to have in my life, and job opportunities that may be more competitive, but will always be more abundant. If I were to move to a smaller town and hate my job, for example, I would immediately hate my decision and would then have to move again if there wasn’t a similar job. Chicago is very liveable in certain areas that are also close to the city center, like Bridgeport, where a 3 bedroom 1 bath house can be as cheap as $1,200. I don’t know about NY and LA, but I think many major cities in America can be affordable to live and work in. I know chicago isn’t affordable for some, but is very reasonable in my opinion. Small cities sound great for many, but I think that his argument doesn’t have quite as much substance as I first thought. He moved back and wanted to help the people, but if you’re from a major city like me, then why would you move somewhere to help that community? Why not stay and help? I can understand for the short term, but what about the long term? One point personally is that I like fast pace packed environments, I would hate to live somewhere with a boring atmosphere where no one goes out at night other than to a handful of bars playing older music. But that’s a bit of a lesser point. More importantly and if think most breaking for his argument is the fact that he doesn’t use any concrete data to back yo his claims. They make sense to me in theory, but quite simply wages are not only the result of “simply supply and demand”. If this was the case, I could simply argue that although Chicago has a huge supply of labor, we also have a huge supply of Jobs. Because of this we can have very high paying jobs with a higher net income than smaller cities. I don’t know if his claim is wrong, but there’s nothing he uses to indicate that is correct other than just sounding plausible. Remember, he’s not in business, and never has been, he’s in Politics making an argument for a small city that he represents. It’s not bad, but just something to consider when listening to his ted talk.
Wage set by supply and demand is a classic model in economics. The idea is that a shortage of workers means higher competition between companies for said workers. The companies then raise wages to get workers. Because of the higher wages more and more people train for that job, thus creating supply. Now workers need to compete, which may or may not lower wages. This model is seldom used for whole cities, but rather for observing specific branches of industry in a particular region.
I've lived in a small Ohio village all my life. I'm always shocked at the prices of homes in larger cities. I didn't realize until I visited a city that you have to pay more for a home to move away from the crime areas. This does not even exist in a small village. I live in a two story 2400 square foot century home with a wrap around porch that I paid 99k for in 2011. I do like the city though...to visit. I can see why a young single person would want to live there. I'm not sure why you would raise a child there.
I had to take less than minimum wage job as an accountant, because I don't have enough working experience to get hired or start on my own (local legislation). How am I supposed to own a car, have a mortgage and spend like there is no tomorow and save for retirement? This is Kobayashi Maru of home economics!
Someone need to make a research/yt videos on this matter. What is the actual job opportunity of the prospect city. What field is doing okay, what is great, etc. It should have categorizes of prospect cities by demographic, available jobs and earnings, and the prices in those cities. I am milenials myself, and I think we should consider the possibility that it might be better for us in the end, but we just couldn't see it the way things are now.
As someone living in a prospect city (how it was defined here, pretty much to a T), I very much enjoyed this. Cities like mine need more millennials and more educated folks, and there is a ton of opportunity here for them, if they'd only really open their mind to the possibility. I have friends who live in a larger city about 30 minutes to the North of here that would not even consider for a second moving here. I keep a diary of ideas I have for this city, both ideas for government and for businesses and startups I'm currently working on starting a local blog to get these ideas out and attract more people here. The only reason I don't act on many of my business ideas is because I just started a family, so stability is more important to me right now. In 5-10 years I may hop out of my current stable job to pursue some of these other projects. Gaining a foothold in a smaller city I would debate is easier than a large city because you have less competition, and it's easier to find novel ideas and business concepts.
And no, living in “small towns” doesn’t cost less. There are trade offs. For example: you WILL need a car to commute. You WILL pay high property taxes. And you will pay more for property in general. Nobody actually wants to live in a big city unless they’re a chef, actor, actress, or some type of celebrity.
For real. The city I live in compared to big city is cheaper but not cheap for what I get from it. Driving long commutes for decent paying jobs being one big trade off. Wish I moved to the country.
My town had 1,040 people in 2017. Got an ethanol plant, welding/fab shop, 2 tire shops, truck stop with a truck shop, 3 trucking companies, grocery store, dollar general, hospital, car dealer, 2 seed dealers, I'm pretty sure you could live here without a car. I bought a pick-up in May. I've put 1800 miles on it. As long as you're not afraid of dirt and sweat, and have a bit of mechanical aptitude, someplace like this, you'll never starve.
Millennials gotta quit believing the lies a lot of rural and small towns are fairly diverse in their culture. Its not the 1950s in rural Alabama anymore. Many rascists have turned into loving grandparents to their biracial grand children. We're definitely in a new age.
I’m an older mill and this is isn’t rocket science. I benefited so much during the housing collapse in 08 it’s what my life is propped up from. While it sucks many lost but I watched everyone around me take bad deals while I sat on my hands living easy. Just wait kiddos. There will be another failure coming so save your pennies. If it doesn’t completely plunge us back to the dark ages you’ll reap the benefits.
Very true. A lot of older millennials bought really cheap homes in 09'-14 in smaller cities and they are killing it today. My younger Millenial brother bought his home for 50k in 10' and it is now worth 150k.
I hate small/medium cities, I’m a hustler. People in smaller cities don’t move with urgency, I hate owning a car because I hate driving, and job markets lack diversity. Nashville is segregated. The city is booming, but it’s booming mostly for a specific group of people.
@C Burgess Let me use a better term, "redlining", and Yes, redlining exists in Nashville. Great city, but it is what it is. I'm born and raised in Nashville, I've seen what they do to people that live closer to the city that rents their property, I've seen when they tried everything in their power to get me and my family out of my house because I wouldn't sell it. All because I live closer to the city.
He doesn't understand that "just move to a smaller city" is a privilege afforded to few groups of people. In my state, I am safer in the large metropolitan area and my socioeconomic status fares better on average.
I've notice more people moving to my small village. We welcome it as many of us villages don't even have grocery stores anymore. More people...more commerce.....until we become the city we moved here to get away from....lol
I live in Baltimore but my company is based in Frederick, MD. A lot of the stuff he’s saying about cities that size rings true from my anecdotal experience
"Prospect cities" sound great, but landowners know about the prospects and often preemptively raise prices before a notable influx of people destroying most of the prospects.
I like the different perspective, but I disagree with much of what he has to say. First off, I don't think he has spent much time outside of the Eastern seaboard. There really aren't many towns like the ones he's advocating for outside of New England. Also, there is a big cultural component to this. Millennials, because many of them grew up in this context, realize the American dream of a suburban home and an auto-centric lifestyle is overrated. This sounds mostly like a ploy to resuscitate struggling small towns. I'm sorry, but redistributing millennials to these places is not the way to address this issue.
haverhill mass is basically just another neighborhood in metro boston. he has not done anything radical or earth shattering. while i don't think millenials want to live hardcore farm life, i could see a lot of them coming around to enjoy smaller town life if there were decent internet, which is something rural areas struggle with. it's hard to get benefits of 2020s economy via 1990s dialup, whether one is a townie or farmer ten miles out of said town. suspect the towns of 50,000 to 500,000 will benefit most from what this guy is talking about.
When I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s I wasn’t labeled as a specific generational name. I was a person with dreams and aspirations. If you look at yourself as a certain label of a group, you will follow everyone else. The “heard.” People need to think for themselves but there’s so much brainwashing in K-12 that it’s so easy to put them in a group and to tell them how to live, where to live, and where to work. If so many people didn’t go thru the public educational system, knew how to go after big dreams that they created, understood financial education and how to live free, not according to a time clock and a pay check, we wouldn’t have to constantly try to heard these millennials around like the biggest head of cattle that we make them to be. Be free! Stop thinking like you went to public school! But most just cannot help it. That’s the system we grew up in. Not me! Think different.
Well I don't know about where you are from, but in Michigan that doesn't seem to be true. When I think of small cities all across Michigan, like Traverse City (up north), Ypsilanti (greater Detroit), Marquette (Upper peninsula), etc. they seem to be very open. Again, maybe it's just a Michigan thing, but I think it's a stereotype that isn't necessarily true.
Wrong!!! The Generation X was the first to be worse off then their parents. It is just that Gen Y and Gen Z get all the attention. Gen X was and largely still pretty much ignored.
Can we keep the city political attitudes in the cities please? Please don’t try to move to small towns and then vote for the same policies that made the big cities hard to live in.
I thought this would be something a bit different. I’ve been trying to find people who want to “take over” a village in Europe but am struggling with finding creative and motivated people. I feel like people are so disconnected, living in big cities. We can’t have gardens, we can’t have space, we can’t have really important things. But right now, all the younger people are LEAVING these places for the big cities, and leaving ghost towns. Why can’t we encourage young people to go start their own businesses in little towns, start something new.... and not cram into “tiny houses” in really what I would call a big city. I thought maybe you would be encouraging this type of entrepreneurship and courage, to go to the REALLY small places and make them liveable and desirable again. How about we do that, rather than letting these places fall apart? In Sicily there’s a town selling homes that have been abandoned, for 1€. In Spain you can get a whole little hamlet of houses for the price of a house elsewhere. And the quality of life in a small place where you can know your neighbors and grow your own food....!!! Come on. Let’s do it.
As a French person living in rural South of France, I think your message sounds shallow. I don't mean any offense but that's just a feeling I have since so many Americans and British have already "taken over" much of the area where I live... These foreigners live a different life since as an American you are very rich compared to the average French person... especially in rural context. And I often see these foreigners just live between themselves in a para-society, which to me seems wrong, if you wanna live with Americans just travel to America lol. My two cents living in an area that has been taken over...
@@ConstanceBrown Plenty of foreigners have gone to America to call it their home as well. There are pockets of French, of Dutch, of Chinese, etc etc. People have always crossed borders and oceans seeking a better life than what they have where they are. Some of my ancestors fled their own country (well, they were banished and threatened with death or imprisonment. One returned and was sold to the French and died as a mercenary soldier) and eventually came to the US. The history of every country on earth is one of migration from other places. At one point, most people living in French didn't even speak French. I don't know about the average French person. I am self-employed, I don't have an employer or a retirement fund, no pension, I can't get unemployment if my income dries up, and living in another country, depending on my visa and the language, finding a salaried job is hard if not impossible. I have to create my own work. My friends are mostly in the same boat. The ones that dream about a better life include a self-employed friend who does tarot card readings and other odd jobs while hoping to earn enough money to someday start a bed and breakfast in a Victorian mansion somewhere. Another is a student with barely enough money for food, who is hoping to perhaps continue his studies in Spain. Another is a mother to two young children who is divorcing her husband and wishes for a safer place for her children to grow up, where she can afford rent and maybe also start her own business. Her dream was to move to Portugal based on her husband's nationality, but Covid threw a wrench in their finances, and the houses in Portugal have climbed in price beyond what she can afford, and she has given up this dream for the moment. My life in France consisted of moving every year, trying to get into a better, safer apartment, closer to Paris, because landlords wouldn't rent to a self-employed foreigner. I ended up in the suburbs, taking the RER and metro into the city, spending so much time in transit and rushing back home all the time to let my dog out. When money got tight, I moved back to the US so I could work, with the plan of returning, which I did. Then Covid hit, and I ended up in the Netherlands because of my Dutch boyfriend. I couldn't afford rent in France anymore and ended up living with him and his family. After 3 years here, still feeling isolated, I am desperate to live among English-speakers. I want to go to a book store and be able to read a book. I want to pick up a menu and read it without asking "what is this?" or holding up my phone to translate it. I want to communicate with people. But Dutch is not coming easy to me. However, we can't move back to the US. My boyfriend does not want to live there, because of the healthcare system (I already know two people who were slapped with nearly $100,000 of bills their insurance refused to pay), the guns, and the fight over women's rights. Not to mention prices. I left Los Angeles because I could not afford to stay. And even in my home town, the prices have soared, because the wealthy from NYC have come down and bought houses. All I want is to afford a decent life and be near friends. I am researching England, since I do have friends there, and it would be a compromise for my boyfriend. The history of the world has been filled with people moving from one end of the earth to the other. From city to city, country to country, and bringing family and friends with them. That is never going to change. The UK certainly seems to be trying to stop it though. ha. Part of their issue is that so many Brits live in places where they never interact with foreigners, they're afraid of them, and they voted for Brexit to keep them out. Which hurt so many more people than it helped. Just because they were afraid of the unknown. Afraid of change, afraid of people who were different to them. I personally would LOVE to live in a place where there were a range of communities around me. I might live in the one that makes me feel the most comfortable, but I'd rather be surrounded by variety than just a sea of people who looked, thought, and spoke the same.
Oh good he means cities of 40000+. We country folk are hoping the city folk don't find out how great and peaceful it is out here. Thank you for living in cities so we can keep our peace and quiet.
I was thinking about this today another great migration in America, but I think it'll be pointless once high speed rail eventually comes to America people will be working in places with low rent but high wages say like you wok in Chicago but catch an hour train to live in southern Illinois where the cost of living is 1/4 that's not possible now because that's a 6hr drive but with high speed rail it's just one hour but maybe I been drinking to much coffee
The car insurance industry makes too much money for high speed rail to ever take off here. Money and industry outweigh common sense and practicality in pretty much every sector. Planning for public projects is not a priority here unfortunately.
I'm 28 from Los Angeles would like to leave, too expensive/no opportunities since companies are going to smaller/cheaper cities/less taxes ect. I met plp from Northern CA moving to LA because of high rent that's no way to live lol. I'm thinking of going to the South !!!!!!
bruh you just "leave" and then but in the most expensive state to live in. Midwest, Southeast, Idaho, Montana, ect.. I live in indiana and pay 675/moth for 1bedrm/1bath apartment
If you leave California, leave the California attitude there too. To many people migrate away from California and bring the idiotic California personality with them. The Midwest accepts anyone but if you move to a rural community realize we don't like or want city life.
Dustin Knipfer It’s a sad reality, Californians and New Yorkers bring with them the same mentality that ruined their cities. They continue to vote for parties that increase taxes, increase immigration etc.
As someone who lives in the South, most of the jobs you're gonna find here are at least mid-tier; it's hard to find entry level work down South. Most of the hype about the South are professionals coming from more expensive cities who are already experienced that want to get married/buy a house/start a family etc. If you're trying to get a lower tier position, it's a lot more niche unless you work in tech.
This is pretty much great depression generation version 2. My great grandfather moved into small city after 1929, and he is lucky enough to buy house, building farms and poultry until my father moved into big city for high paying job at finance office but he told me to settle down in some little village for the sake of adapting some changes. I learned finance history from him, so i totally understand why, and living in village is pretty hard too.
This is easy to say, but a serious challenge to implement. Most jobs dont pay as high in rural areas. I work in a field where remote work is a possibility, so technically that solves that problem, BUT, we dont have high speed internet access everywhere in rural america. Thats a serious liability for someone doing remote work. So how about this? We start fixing this country. We start upgrading it for the modern age we are already immersed in. And then sure, ill gladly move. I hate cities.
He forgets what makes but cities appealing in the first place. Do millennials want to be "the big fish in the small pond?" Do they want to live above a coffee shop if that's the only one in town? Is it cheating to say the city is walkable when you can alwalk from one end to the other in 30min? Oh and where have rent prices gone down again?
Depends where you are I guess. I moved for a job. In my experience small towns/cities are boring. People come and go and it's hard to have long term friendships. To be with friends and family you will have to travel more. Companies don't care about you and moving is a big commitment to make for a job that can be gone at any time. You can end up laid off in a town with a mortgage. This whole talk seems to be about developing a career. Most people I know agree that when you get older you care about careers less.
He does have some actually valid points. I, like some of the people in the comments section are at first skeptic about “finding a job” in these prospect cities. However, he does talk about getting support and launching a business (might be red ocean in bigger cities) - which if thought about carefully is much bigger opportunity than a job. Still, the thought about migrating is a difficult one. We’re used to what we grew up with. Great talk though, will keep an eye out.
I work in IT and let me tell you....there are NO JOBS in small towns! The only thing, and I mean the *only* thing you could do is start your own IT Consulting Firm, which is perhaps a fantastic idea, but that comes with a ton of risks as well.
Pointless talk. People move to where the good well paid jobs are. Besides small towns have small town mentality with locals. Too conservative, everyone think they entitled to know your business. So it’s not for everyone. But maybe medium size towns works better
As someone who lives in a small town I do see your point, but I think what he is presenting is an opportunity for pioneering. Yes, technically one would get paid more if they lived in a larger area but cost of living would sky rocket. Think of the average persons day to day schedule, do they really need something new and exciting when they actually have the time and energy for leisure or do they spend it somewhere comfortable, familiar and fun. You fill an area up with enough like minded people and the culture can change.
something i've noticed in rural farm country: a lot of people go to the next county over to take care of their personal business, ie doctor, bank, etc. cos the small towns are basically a family of say six hundred to six thousand people. you would not want to go to your sister or cousin to talk about your unidentified swelling, or to deposit a large check. so you drive forty miles over to do it. a lot of people prefer doing business with strangers. that way you don't have to be nice to that family member over Christmas dinner after they screwed up your _______. small towns are not for everybody, THO they would have a much better chance if they can get decent internet. a lot of people would prefer to stay out of the metro areas, but 2020s economics are hard to navigate via 1990s dialup suspect the smaller metro areas with say 50,000 to 500,000 people are the happier medium.
Some people move to where the good jobs are, but a lot of people move to where they can live comfortably. And a lot of the time, they can live comfortably in smaller cities.
I'm not sure if your MLS or real estate listing websites/apps are like the ones in Canada but up here you can see the demographics of the area of the listings (ie. languages spoken, income levels, age, marital status, etc...) .
Forever Misguided un chosen characteristics that dictate a lot about your origins, your position in society, your safety, job prospects, education, etc. Your inherent personality and lifestyle is based on un chosen characteristics, and beyond obvious factors like finding community, more diverse populations are less monotonous and more engaging.
i have lived in citys of 1 mil+ people my whole life-- 5 years ago i moved to a city of 300k people -- i couldn't be happier, cheap houses, less then 20 min drive to work no matter where in city it is located... and he has a point about opportunity-- everywhere you look there is untapped potential, perfect place to start a business.
But this fails to point out the ecological problems with spread, and the cost to commute. It would be much better to improve the functionality of cities with public transit, green spaces, and more affordable housing.
Julian Johnson driving 5 miles by yourself vs busses or trains for that distance. Obviously not the way we're doing public transit, but still try to lessen the amount of waste.
Find a list of cities with populations from 30k - 200k in each state and start from there. There actually aren't too many in North America. There are only a few dozen or so here in the Northwest.
This is exactly what my boyfriend and I did after our degree! Moved to Saint-Jérôme (a prospect city) into a much much much cheaper house than it would have been in Montreal, but still a beautiful house! It's near everything, and our jobs pay the same or even more!! Love our life :)
As a millenial from one of these "prospect cities" that moved to a very large city. I have to disagree UNLESS you happen to be in a generic career and fit in with the click. I didn't fit in mentally and chose a career that simply doesn't exist in small cities. When it does its so incredibly clicky it's unlikely I'd get the job I want. Let's say I get lucky enough to get it, the stress of losing it would go through the roof. If I owned my own successful business I'd probably be ok long as the restaurant scene was good. I can't eat burgers every day.
As a millennial I rather be a nomad, why pay JP Morgan more money when my property costs me $100 a month and falling and I'm free to escape or venture in extreme weather, no, small town when I want a few months on a work/vacation trip (which will be every day of the year) and this freedom from a stake in the ground means I can meet millions more people than living in one city or small town
