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‘Too many old people’: A rural Pa. town reckons with population loss
(www.washingtonpost.com)
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this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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This rural Pennsylvania town could get a huge population boom if they had a "we welcome queer people and migrants and we don't tolerate hate" policy they announced to the world.
But of course, that's way too far for them.
I don't think rural towns are depopulating due to hate or discrimination... it's mostly because of job prospects, no?
Obviously my own experience is entirely anecdotal, but I think relevant to the point. I work 100% remotely, I just need a decent Internet connection. I currently live in a moderately sized city, and keeping up with the finances can be a struggle compared to the lower cost of rural living. However, I’m also a gay man, pro choice, I don’t care what two or more consenting adults do in the privacy of their home, etc. etc. etc. with all the usual liberal stuff.
The job prospects aren’t why I left the rural southeastern US, and they aren’t the reason I’ll never go back there.
These people were warned about the brain drain their bullshit would cause. I have no sympathy for them or their towns’ dwindling tax revenues.
Rural people also vote for the political party that helps to make sure that the devil high speed internet never comes to their town.
So they can put what drugs they want in their own body?
Oh, never mind.
Most liberals I know are fine with legalizing most drugs so long as theyre regulated for safety reasons. But I cant tell if youre a dumb anarachist, a tankie or what so I dont get the point of your comment. Maybe elaborate if ya dont want to come across as... vapid I guess is the best word?
Likely a Tankie.
Is that supposed to be a gotcha?
I ONLY want Adults to put FDA Bribed drugs in their bodies!
With WFH I just need a small town with high speed internet. However, with kids, rural schools do not rank well.
I don't have kids at home anymore, but have online schools become a thing yet?
Seems to me like that's a huge opportunity to tailor school to every kid's ability, though the socialization would suffer. But plenty of kids come out of homeschooling just fine.
As long as the kids have other outlets for social interaction. We did online during covid and I wouldn't do it again.
My daughter is in online school, a public school in fact, and a WFH job would be difficult for me to hold because I have to spend all day supervising her, which is exhausting enough, and the job would have to be one I could do in the evenings.
So you just don't work at all?
They sure do post a lot on Lemmy for being a stay at home parent supervising their kid... 1670+ posts, 34500+ comments in 12 months. That's about 4 posts and 95 comments per day.
No, both because of that and because of a serious illness. But even if I didn't have the illness, I would be doing two jobs and not getting paid for one of them.
There are two sides to the equation though - depopulation and repopulation. Hate and discrimination may not be causing (most of) the exodus, but inclusion and acceptance could be part of the solution. I've known more than a few people who have wanted to move to rural areas but have avoided them for exactly that reason. The braver ones have made the move, but only as a group able to support and protect each other.
It’s a combination of both. Young women don’t want to stay in these places because they all vote Republican and all republicans are hate filled bigots who view women as property.
The women leave for greener pastures, and the young men are left with no job prospects and no one to date. They get up and leave as well.
Since all these towns are hate filled trash heaps, no money gets invested into them. The farms are all corpo owned and don’t need the town, the Dollar General employs two people, and the used car lot has not sold anything in four years. There is nothing to do in these places except lie about being disabled (this is very different than having a real disability) sponge off the government, then watch Fox News all day and mald.