this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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There is a deepening sense of fear as population loss accelerates in rural America. The decline of small-town life is expected to be a looming topic in the presidential election.

America’s rural population began contracting about a decade ago, according to statistics drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A whopping 81 percent of rural counties had more deaths than births between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis by a University of New Hampshire demographer. Experts who study the phenomena say the shrinking baby boomer population and younger residents having smaller families and moving elsewhere for jobs are fueling the trend.

According to a recent Agriculture Department estimate, the rural population did rebound by 0.25 percent from 2020 to 2022 as some families decamped from urban areas during the pandemic.

But demographers say they are still evaluating whether that trend will continue, and if so, where. Pennsylvania has been particularly afflicted. Job losses in the manufacturing and energy industries that began in the 1980s prompted many younger families to relocate to Sun Belt states. The relocations helped fuel population surges in places like Texas and Georgia. But here, two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties have experienced a drop in population in recent years.

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 6 months ago (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Were about to move to a smaller but more queer friendly town for this exact reason. My city seems indifferent at best, and I'd like to live somewhere that actually likes us.

We're DINKs, we pay taxes, were good neighbors pretty much any way you look at it, but were visibly queer & barely feel tolerated here.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

In what state is this 'smaller but more queer friendly town?' Because I'm guessing it's not rural PA.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Its not haha, its Bloomington IN. I cannot believe how queer that lil town is, its amazing

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Really? I grew up there. Seriously. Born in Bloomington Hospital, went to BDLC, then Bloomington Montessori, then Batchelor Middle School, then BHS South (graduated in '95), then IU (dropped out because I'm a dummy). My mom still lives there, as do a ton of my friends.

It is definitely more queer friendly than a lot of towns, but you go over to the west side of town, a place like Highland Village, and you walk down the street holding hands with your boyfriend, you'll probably still get harassed at the very least.

There's still a ton of redneck townies there.

That said, I have the misfortune of living in Terre Haute and we're planning to retire in Bloomington (unless Trump wins, in which case we're using my dual citizenship to get the fuck out of here) and my daughter is queer, so I'm glad we'll be retiring in a place where she can basically feel safe.

What floors me is that Terre Haute got a Pride Center and had its first Pride celebration after fucking Spencer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Well to be clear were in Ohio now, so my standards for 'queer/trans friendly' arent high, but the area we hang out in has been nicer than our current place, more affordable, everything we want.

Its no west Hollywood haha but its a start

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Please don't tell me you are in Chillicothe, because I was there for a while too. (And North Hollywood rather than West, which is on the other side of a mountain range).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Further south, right on the KY border

It suuuuuuuuucks

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Chillicothe sucked too. One bar and it was all country music and cowboy hats. Dudes, you're in fucking Ohio.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Are you from rural PA?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 months ago (7 children)

Really? That's your go-to glib answer? No discussion about education opportunities or job prospects? No question about why the downturn was really noted in 2014? Just immediately jumping to the conclusion that rural people MUST be hateful?

Disappointing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

That was true of the small Ohio town I grew up in. Tons of anti-semitism, racism, hatred of non-straights, hatred of non-christians, etc. Most of the jobs were in agriculture and manufacturing. I no longer live in the US but, if I had to move back, I don't think you could pay me enough to live in that place again.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 6 months ago

Uhhhhh, I don't care much for their response either but like a solid 80% of rural houses are flying trump flags, even in states like new york. You can pretty safely assume that old rural people are hateful.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time...and every time after.

These assholes don't change.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago

I left because of the bigotry and hate. I work remotely and don't have kids. That is the only thing stopping me.

Diversity leads to education opportunities and jobs. Hate and discrimination are the reason there are no jobs and shitty education. Please stop white washing our society. The hate is a cancer.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Look I'm from such a small Pennsylvania town. Rural Appalachian. Coal mines and specialty steel production most notably.

Both of you are right, and the problems feed back into each other to some extent.

After my family migrated west more than a decade ago, every single time we go back to PA to visit family, attend a funeral and so forth — it just keeps looking more and more run down. Honestly the place is a shit-hole nowadays. I'm sad to see my old county went for Trump by 70%. You couldn't pay me enough to move my family back.

The young, educated, smart, and compassionate folks leave and GTFO asap — both for jobs, and for more diversity and tolerance. The sad part is I remember watching a slew of documentaries in the early 2000s forewarning of what would happen to these small-towns...

  • Because of shipping manufacturing off elsewhere.
  • Because of big box corporate eating up local shops, eroding community and draining out the money.
  • Because administrations were unwilling to break the hard news that things like coal mines wouldn't last forever and we'd have to help retrain and get them to new modern job sectors.

No doubt these communities feel the pressures they're complaining about; they've just been exploited by right-wing media about who is responsible: the southern migrant more desperate than them, the trans, the homosexuals, the liberals, etc...

@FlyingSquid is also right that there is FAR more bigotry among these communities as well; and that ties back to not being well-traveled, our education system collapsing, and the right-wing fearmongering machine.

Edit: Shit, Inside Out 3 should be about being inside the head of a MAGA supporter.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

Knocked it out of the park with this comment.

Sincerely,

Someone originally from the same town as you, basically.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Inside Out 3 should be about being inside the head of a MAGA supporter.

Pixar doesn't make horror movies.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It would just be five Rage characters screaming at each other.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 months ago

You're right, it's probably one of those rural Republican-voting towns full of residents who love queer people and migrants.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I don't think rural towns are depopulating due to hate or discrimination... it's mostly because of job prospects, no?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Rural people also vote for the political party that helps to make sure that the devil high speed internet never comes to their town.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (1 children)

With WFH I just need a small town with high speed internet. However, with kids, rural schools do not rank well.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 months ago

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.