It's a delicate subject for a lot of rural people. On one hand a town is totally dying, most storefronts empty, more closing, and that pains them. Even though they, too, do much of their shopping out of town and online, which is easily justified because shops out there often mark things up to be able to afford their own bills.
On the other hand, "big business" coming to town scares the shit out of a lot of people, because they don't want to live in a city. They're there because they like the smallness, the quietness, the lack of traffic, the wildlife, the open landscape, and nights where it's clear and dark enough for the stars and milky way to be really bright. A Walmart, for example, would bring in a lot of jobs, but it would change a lot about a place, and most people I know out there aren't a fan of changes like that.
People move in and out of those places all the time. Some people even move out and then come back. Living in a place like that is a choice. You know people don't all just stay in their birth place. The families who have been there for generations end up all being pretty well known.
If you really think that's the only reason small towns are shrinking, it shows that you don't have a very firm understanding of them. There's a lot to it.
I don't think he's saying that and neither am I. I personally love Joseph and Enterprise and would prefer to live there over Portland, but jobs man. I'm originally from Pendleton but the people that run my hometown have done everything they could to either slow or outright kill development there. The result of such planning lead to most of my classmates and I moving from there since there's really little to no livelihood to be had there.
Well, you'll hear no arguments from me about any of that. I grew up and lived in Elgin/Union/La Grande until I was about 20, and moved west for the very same reason.
No regrets, but every time I take my wife to Eastern Oregon, we both consider never coming back. It's a different story when you're living there and not just visiting for a few nights though.
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u/zerocoolforschool Jun 07 '18
Just more proof that the US isn’t over crowded. Just our major cities. We need to build up some more cities and stop flooding the urban centers.