I have moved around the United States over the past few years, and
whenever I mention my hometown Gary, Indiana, two things come up no
matter what: The Jackson family and the economic downturn of the steel
industry of the 70s and 80s that also impacted the city of Gary. So
imagine my feelings after hearing about Hollowing
Out The Middle. Written by sociologists Patrick
Carr and Maria Kefalas, the book examines how the plight of
maintaining economic viability in small towns is too often overlooked. Given
the economic uncertainty of the country, the book’s appearance is
timely.
Who Stays Home, Who Goes Away
Hollowing Out The Middle focuses on the interviews of the young residents of “Ellis”, Iowa, a small town with a population of 2,000 and “eighty miles from the nearest Starbucks”. Carr and Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the migration motives; they note that “only West Virginia loses a larger percentage of college graduates to out-migration.” The authors divided their interviewed subjects into four separate groups;
- Stayers, those who feel their lives are best served staying in their town
- Achievers, those who leave for large cities and educational opportunities
- Seekers, those who join the military, unable to afford college
- Returners or “Boomerangs”, those who leave for large cities and later return, rejecting the lifestyle selected for personal reasons
To read the full, original article click on this link: Hollowing Out the Middle | Small Business Trends
Author: Pierre DeBois
