The grass isn't always greener in the big city

I would love to see the actual study, because the titles they give to the students is similar to other developmental theories. I also disagree with the findings. In order for me to understand where I belong and where my "home" is, I needed to move away. I needed to live in and travel around Europe. I needed to go to school away from my parents, to live in a city, to learn about myself and my real beliefs. I came home, I still live with my parents a few days a week. Peter and I have a home in Batavia, and for the most part, are happy in Batavia. However, given a chance I would move. It's cold, the roads aren't taken care of between Rochester and Batavia well enough, the city has stupid rules I hate and will refuse to follow. With my BA and future MA, I will be able to live just about any where. This state, and city, needs to prove that there is a reason to stay, other than my family. I can find a small town, working at a college, and raise a family anywhere in the US, so, why should I stay in NYS?

There are studies that show students with certain cultural background (specifically Native American students) who succeed when they attend school close to home or continue their strong connections with home. However, there are also studies that show college-aged people develop more independently (cognitively and morally) when away from the family unit. And it was organic for me. I was homesick, but I learned to deal with it. I learned how to get lost and ask for directions, how to find new things, how to interact with people I wasn't comfortable with, etc. If I had the opportunity to call my dad every time I got lost, would I have developed into the same person who functions the same way? Probably not. Moving away and coming back home also increases the diversity of small towns, both culturally and intellectually, which small towns need. If educated individuals did not "move back" there would be fewer businesses and other opportunities available in those small towns.

But not all small town college students move to "big cities". While there is a percentage of students from small towns who move to large cities, a lot of them either move home or to other small-ish towns. There are few possibilities of going to college while staying in small towns. Upstate New York is lucky, you can live almost anywhere and be near a college within 30 minutes, in the mid-west things are very different. Don't get me wrong, I do think we, as a society put too much emphasis on big cities on the opportunities there. But, in reality, going to college increases so many opportunities, moving away is sometimes the only option.

It isn't just kids fresh out of school. Many adults, who experience "reinvention" due to jobs that no longer exist also face this problem. I agree with Dave, not everyone is in the position to start a business in order to stay in this area. When I came back to Batavia, I knew that there would be no job available for someone who's most recent experience was in the realm of the dot.com industry. I left there as a project manager/online moderator. I had many interviews and all ended wth the fact that I was "over qualified" and that I would be "bored" with whatever jobs were open here (translation, we're afraid that you will leave shortly after you are hired for greener pastures). My good fortune was that my former employer, in California, hired me as a remote employee. Not everyone has that opportunity. Yes, I could have opened my own shop and worked as a consultant in the field of project management/quality assurance but I didn't feel that there was a niche for this in Batavia and surrounding towns. The belief that everyone, regardless of skill sets, can make an opportunity here in Batavia is a warm and fuzzy thought but not rooted in reality.

Howard, the line I’m speaking about is between localism being an idea or a religion. Usually, you are on the idea side of the line. As for thebatavian being about Localism, nothing is perfect. :-)

These banks know if they can get these young kids over extended, they will see windfall profits for years to come. People complain about taxes, but how many people pay 20% of their incomes to banks.

Mark-Where I go to college, there are no teaching assistants and Canisius gets a good chunk of change because of it. I don't feel that my professors are overpaid either.

Mark, we as a nation need to compete in a global market place. To do that we need an educated work force. A collage degree isn't an option like it was when we were growing up. Education is a matter of national security. Yes, it should be paid for by banks, CEO's and the rich. You know, the same people that milk us dry every day.

Charlie..How many kids go to college get there high cost degree and do nothing with it..all these companys and banks that are on the verge of collapase are run by college educated over paid people...When you say global market place you mean third world labor rates...Those jobs are over there because college educated people deceide that is how you make more and more money..And what Charlie, should we be trained to do..We need more plumbers,electricians,carpenters ..The world has enough bean counters..We need to be manufactoring products.. So i guess the way you see it is any one that rich should pay for health care and college for those that don't have has much... The people that milk us dry every day is goverenment ..they are the only ones adding jobs and getting raise's. You say Education is a matter of national security.If that is the case and inner city school graduation rates are at 50% we are in melt down mode..Must be the government isn't doing its job again..It is there job to educate..And it is free to go to school K-12..How do you figure these kids will do in college..They won't because the school system let them down..

The media is playing a huge role in this discussion, and I wanted to point out some facts. I'm getting my Master's degree in Higher Education Administration, essentially I want to work at a college working with students. My BA is in "Politics", I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but found out I didn't want to do that after all. I could own a Porche with my OWN loans. While I am not set for "a job" I COULD do almost anything. I can read, write, communicate and critically think about things. I was accepted into every Master's program I applied to. If more people sent themselves to school or parents set up proper savings accounts, fewer people would need private loans. The amount of people who actually need private loans is not nearly as large as the media plays it out to be. The government subsidizes loans, which are much safer and lower-interest, but most people don't know or aren't interested because they don't educate themselves about it. I do not have a universal credit card (I do for individual stores, simply because using coupons they send is cheaper, especially since I pay them off the first bill I receive). Students DON'T NEED credit cards, work study jobs and part time jobs can fund the daily needs of students as long as they know how to save and budget. Raising kids and teaching them they can have whatever they want whenever they want it is not teaching them how to be fiscally responsible. This is not the banks' fault. There are many careers where people do not have the choice to live in a small town like Batavia, but many people do have that choice. However, for most of us we cannot "create" opportunities in our work fields. I cannot establish a university or college, or create an office where I can work at GCC. As for students of different nations attending our schools, higher education is one of our strongest exports in this country. And the programs that are applied for by these students are not of interest to many domestic students. Want more American engineers? Convince more people that a 5-year degree and continuous education is worth getting in that specific field. They then need to be paid enough to pay for that degree as well as regular living expenses.

Amen to that Howard....

Howard, why would you believe teachers are telling kids to leave their homes to go find jobs in big cities? Is there a conspiracy? Or are they being trained for jobs that don't exist in rural settings? The whole idea of this post is silly. Your saying if I send my kids to school, they will leave town because, they will be brainwashed into doing so. I'm saying it is a loan from a bank that will take them away. Not a plot from teachers. Telling people they can create opportunity here when they have skill sets that requires larger companies is a fantasy. Creating a company is not a skill set a lot of us have.

Don't forget the small handful of "kids" who don't qualify for any loans or financial aid, grew up in the big city, and haul ass here in Batavia to make due on tuition, rent, and bills.

Here are some other factors. If somebody goes to a 4 year college, it will be out of town and out of Genesee County. If they go to say, RIT or UB, they will tend to look around there for a job when they graduate. Remember, they have lived there more in the past 4 years than here. Many, if not most, of their friends are now there, not here. Job fairs at those colleges will not often have companies from Genesee County. Another loss of young people is the military. Except for Fort Drum, most military posts are out of NY. Many are in warm weather areas with better economies and lower taxes. Texas and Florida are examples. They may come back later in life, but it was estimated that 9 out of 10 never come back. t

Posted by Howard Owens on October 26, 2009 - 9:19am Bea, it doesn't take much to start a business, if you really want to start a business. And my statement about wide array of choices was exactly about including a start-up among your options. Don't just think that you have to move away to have a career (yes, as I said, in some fields, that's the only choice). That's narrow thinking. Expand your options by thinking differently. Why is that such a controversial idea? Howard, I have no problem with the option of starting a business, if one has the product or service that is needed - and if one can generate a market to make it successful. But, that is just one choice. You stated there is a " wide array of choices", in Genesee County, that should keep people with marketable skills here. You are blaming the school system for indoctrinating students to move away and not look at that 'wide array of choices'. I asked for examples (other than starting a business) of that wide array of choices that will provide a living wage here in Genesee Co.

Howard, we are talking about young people leaving rural areas for the bigger city...and how society, namely schools, are promoting this action. College is the last step of schooling before that young person makes the decision to either stick to his / her roots or leave home for a bigger city. It is only fair that we factor this stage into the equation.

Howard, it’s obvious that you didn’t intend to say what I perceived you said. It’s not “bull”, it’s an opinion. This is also no different than any other discussion we have had on this site. You started the debate and said some things that struck a nerve. I’m sure I am not alone in my feelings or perceptions about what you said either. I think starting your own business is an option only if that is your skill set, you like what you are about to do and have the financial wherewithal to do it. It’s a life choice and not any more or less good than any other career choice. As for why kids leave the area for work. There are many reasons as we have seen here. All of them are viable. The only one that isn’t in my book is this idea that teachers tell kids they should live somewhere else. That’s just silly. Having a teenage boy who is about to go to college and just might have to leave the area for work, hits a nerve with me. You also hit another nerve, driving takes up a good part of my week because, there really isn’t an option for me other than changing what I do or downgrading my lifestyle. You have to understand it’s a choice to create your own business, not an “option” for many, many people.