In a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled, The Midwestern Exodus Is Finally Ending, Jeanne Whalen and Paul Overberg report that the Rust Belt might be finally having a moment.
It may be too early to call a Midwest Renaissance, but for the first time in years, the numbers are pointing in an upbeat direction … Many of Akron’s recent arrivals are “boomerangers”—people returning to their childhood towns after living out of state.
The midwest has been in decline since the 1960s. As manufacturing moved off shore and residents who could do so followed the remaining jobs to the sunbelt and the coasts, tax bases dropped and our communities suffered. Most of us who grew up in the Rust Belt during these decades measured our success by our ability to get out of dodge, to find good jobs anywhere but at home.
Many of us did, indeed, succeed by this measure. We moved away for college and then used our degrees as stepping stones into jobs in tech, law, advanced manufacturing, and more. We bought houses, raised families, invested in 401ks, and vowed to never looked back.
But then the economy began to falter. Never mind that we’ve been contributing to a booming economy for years, growing our skills, and learning to adapt. Suddenly we found ourselves staring mid-life in the face, many of us with a couple of kids, a spouse, and a mortgage in tow, and unexpectedly unemployable in our once shiny, promising new communities. We were being put out to pasture at the prime of our careers, just as our earning levels were peaking, and our learning curve was dropping. We were being told we were no longer useful, that a robot can do our jobs better than we can.
It’s times like these that we need to take stock of the situation we find ourselves in, our wants and dreams, the realities and the possibilities in front of us. And then we need to choose a new path. One that allows us to use the mix of skills we developed over the years to once again contribute positively to our communities. To pay our bills and raise our families with dignity and pride. To work hard towards something that matters and to rest and recharge with those we love.
It turns out we can have all of this an more if we’re just willing to rethink our strategy. While getting out was our salvation at one time, getting home might be exactly what we need now.
As the population in our hometowns begin to rebound and the stranglehold big business has had on our locally-owned businesses begins to weaken, now is the perfect time to think about returning to our roots, to bringing our families home with us, and going into business for ourselves.
Those skills and experiences we’ve been honing for years as we designed, developed, marketed and sold technical products? They translate quite well to running a small business.
What might you do to support your local community if given the opportunity? Many of us chose our careers based on salary. We shied away from our passions and settled on jobs that would pay the bills. Now that those jobs no longer serve us, what could we do instead that would serve both us and our neighbors?
Where have you noticed opportunity to out-perform the services on offer in your town? As the Amazons and Walmarts of the world have consolidated, they’ve been left with little competition. This allows them to cut their services, reduce their stock, offer less variety, and force us to wait for an online order. Now is the perfect time to replace a service lost to big business. Which ones are lacking in your hometown?
How could your equity better serve you? If you’ve been paying on a mortgage in an expensive area for years, maybe it’s time to trade in that McMansion for a modest home where you grew up. If you’re still renting because you couldn’t afford to own, maybe you can finally pull together enough for a down payment. Imagine the many ways you could invest that money in a less pricey community, one that’s eager to have the support and services your investment affords them. (Bonus tip: choose a local bank if you need a mortgage or loan. The money stays in your community in the form of salaries, taxes, and more).
If you’re ready to come home, I want to help. I’m two years into my journey and ready to share my lessons learned. Let’s work together. Because it’s time to come home.
nicolederr.com 