Society Talk

Small towns are emptying out and nobody seems to have a plan

I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Every time I go back there's another closed storefront. The hospital merged with one an hour away. The school combined with the next town's.

I get why young people leave, I did. There are no jobs in my field there. But it feels like the conversation is always about big-city housing, and almost never about the places being left.

I'm trying to see both sides: maybe some towns just won't survive and that's okay? Or is there something that actually works to keep them alive? Remote work was supposed to help. Did it, anywhere?