DDN has a two page story on this....

 

Ending Exodus of Young Proffessionals Vital to Growth

 

Attracting and retaining young, educated professionals is a critical part of ensuring a bright future for the region.

 

That fact has not been lost on local leaders who have made it a priority to increase the number
of young adults by encouraging
companies to offer internships and incentives to attract potential
long-term residents off college campuses and into communities.

 

The number of 20- to 39-year-olds leaving the area has risen
dramatically for parts of the Miami Valley during the last decade. A comparison of U.S. Census data between 2000-2010, shows Montgomery County losing more than 22,000 residents in that age group, while Greene, Miami and Warren counties only seeing modest single-digit percentage gains.

 

...the article goes on with various interviews.  Some of which are familiar raps if anyone has followed the local discussion around this topic. 

 

Here is one that I notice too:

 

One challenge for Gillespie has faced since moving here is the negative attitude in Dayton about Dayton. “This has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with since I moved here,” she said. “I’m already dealing with the reality of the slow economy here in terms of the job market. The last thing I need is for people to tell me, ‘oh, you shouldn’t even be here.’ ”

 

 

I fall in to doing that quite a bit actually.  But there is, in some respects, more going on now than in 1988, when I settled in here.

 

And this comment proves there is a pretty big vacuum in the area in terms of the local power structure disappearing or withdrawing...."why the garden club couldnt save Youngstown" type stuff:

 

"“I’m only 24 and I’m on the board of the (Dayton) philharmonic,” said Lauren Hamer, a graduate student and music instructor. “That wouldn’t normally happen in the city where I came from, Cleveland. It’s absolutely fantastic.”

 

...even with the limited amount of stuff I was doing online here at Urban Ohio and with my blog it attracted attention and I could have been more of a local public figure on urban affairs issues & urban history if I wanted to be.  This town is wide-open for people wanting to do stuff and make things happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The negativity is one of my biggest pet peeves living in the area and this econom is not helping.  But I'm going to stay positive and that's all that matters ;).