Look out Rural! Gen Y’s on the move

December 9th, 2009 by Mike Knutson

In an article titled “Green Acres is the Place to Be,” Gwendolyn Bounds of the Wall Street Journal hints that we might expect to see a movement of Gen Y to rural places. Motivated by an uncertain economy, the young people Bounds describes in her article are jettisoning their hectic urban lives by purchasing small tracts of land in Rural America. They are, in Bounds’ eyes, the young modern-day equivalent of “Mr. Douglas” of TV’s “Green Acres” fame.

But what’s really their motivation? Were they burned out by the fast paced Park Avenue life, like Mr. Douglas? Partly. Several do admit to aspiring to a slower pace of life.

But more significantly, many of these rural migrants feel burned by the Park Avenue investors who contributed to our country’s recent economy collapse by turning investment banking into something more akin to investment gambling. If there is any single factor linking all the rural migrants together, it would have to be fear over how quickly they saw investments disappear in the recent economic recession.

For that reason, many of the young people Bounds describes are purchasing land in rural places instead. They see it as a more stable investment than either the stock market or the overinflated urban housing market from which they emerged. And if things go really bad, at least they’ll still be able to grow their own food.

It’s tough to tell if the people highlighted in the article suggest a growing movement or a temporary reaction, soon to reverse course. Personally, I lean toward thinking it has a real opportunity to grow into a movement. But then, I’ve always been known as guy who believes “the glass is half full.”

Photo Credit: Jakesmome - Flickr

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