Millennials to Small Cities: Ready or Not, Here We Come
I&#x27;m from the Midwest, from the Cedar Rapids area, moved to Chicago, and I have to say I would NEVER EVER move back there.<p>People from these areas are extremely conservative and xenophobic.<p>The restaurants and any business you might frequent are of lower quality.<p>These cities are not world class cities. Claiming that they are is just ignorant. You end up  trapped in a little bubble with nowhere to escape to, surrounded by boring white people.<p>There is NOTHING TO DO.<p>What if you want to go out on Friday night and see a rock show? Or get a decent dinner? I hope you like commuting to Chicago...<p>You will be surrounded by insurance salesmen with none of the diversity and vibrancy a larger city offer.<p>That is to say: These places have no culture. No diversity. They have nothing going on, nobody creating anything, no one performing anything. Just going about their little lives selling insurance.<p>Additionally: Their nature sucks. I hope you&#x27;re fine with never hiking through any interesting terrain, going skiing, or rock climbing, or really doing any interesting outdoor activities. ( I guess hunting is popular? )<p>Also.. where are you going to work? I&#x27;m a software developer: Where am I going to work in Cedar Rapids, IA? Some insurance firm doing meaningless banking bullshit?<p>&quot;But I moved there for my kids!&quot;<p>What if your kid wants to start a rock band, or be a painter, or do anything creative or interesting? Or, what if they are extremely intelligent and want to progress through a decent, competitive school system?<p>I can answer this one from personal experience: They will be completely alone surrounded by mediocre, extremely homogeneous racially and otherwise, people with no community of peers driving each other forward.<p>There will be no friday-night rock shows, no musical culture in general, no museums or after-school clubs or protests to attend. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Nowhere to explore.<p>So, after all I&#x27;ve said: What&#x27;s left to inspire you, or your kids, in these mediocre little cities?<p>So I guess if you&#x27;re willing to do nothing and be nowhere and be nothing, wasting your days watching television, moving to a smaller city is a great bet. Personally, I&#x27;d rather live in a decent city than slouch though a mediocre one.