Recruiting young tech workers to revitalize small towns in America's Heartland

Are you a maverick who wants to relocate to an area with tons of space, low rent offices and housing, and solid American values? The small towns of America's Heartland could be for you. Long shrinking, many are now revitalizing and changing with an influx of young people (some returning) and also immigrants.

Joel Kotkin documents that you *can* locate a tech company in remote small Heartland towns, thanks to connectivity in communications and economy via the internet. In the chapter "The Resurgent Heartland" of the visionary book "The Next 100 Million." He sees the Heartland as a key region for US future population growth--vast livable space, which many other major countries don't have as an outlet for population growth.

The Bloomerg article below discusses "rural-sourcing" i.e. recruiting young tech workers to revitalized small towns. Entrepreneurs can essentially build a whole company and carve a big niche in a small town. Many towns have perks for newcomers like tax breaks and student loan repayment. Commuting times? Not even a factor. Backyard sizes = huge.

Average rent for a 1 br apartment in Lincon, Nebraska = $635, less than half Washington, DC $1375.

Tocqueville noted how important America's frontier was in the 1800s as an outlet to relieve population pressures. Later, in the 1900s the US declared the American frontier "closed." No more free land through the Homestead Act. But now, the Heartland is, in a sense, re-opened thanks to a new level of livability through internet connectivity.

Interestingly, Kotkin sees a change in the role of towns on the future Heartland map: small towns were originall waystations on the pioneer and farm roads that criscrossed America, but in the future Kotkin sees these towns forming an "archipelago" of individual communities connected by technology and internet, thriving on industries not necessarily related to farming.

The Heartland Will Play a Huge Role in America's Futureby Joel Kotkin
http://www.newgeography.com/content/001504-the-heartland-will-play-a-huge-role-americas-future

longer treatment found in Kotkin's book "The Next 100 Million"
Youthful Migrants Lured by Perks to Shrinking U.S. Areas|by Jeanna Smialek
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-18/youthful-migrants-lured-by-perks-to-shrinking-u-s-areas.html

Re-shoring manufacturing jobs links

Bringing manufacturing (secondary sector) jobs back to the US is a big goal of many politicians and businessmen. It is actually already happening, but the jobs are more high-tech manufacturing not the older basic goods manufacturing that probably will not come back soon.

There are several good books and articles in the past couple years on "re-shoring" manufacturing jobs:

The Economist article: Coming home
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21569570-growing-number-american-companies-are-moving-their-manufacturing-back-united

Time articles:

Cover story: "Made in the USA"
http://business.time.com/made-in-the-u-s-a/

How "Made in the USA" is making a comeback
http://business.time.com/2013/04/11/how-made-in-the-usa-is-making-a-comeback/

A New Chinese Export: Jobs
http://business.time.com/2012/04/12/a-new-chinese-export-jobs/

Re-Made in the USA is a great book by Todd Lipscomb a US business representative who worked over a decade in Asia. He makes a clear argument that it makes sense to bring manufacturing jobs home. Reasons include proximity of producers to customers which cuts delivery time and allows more flexibility; better quality and craftsmanship of American-made products; and US companies' lack of ability to adequately supervise production overseas and having to rely on local managers.

China trying to move millions to cities... but it's not pretty

China is trying to create viable cities for its world's-largest rural-to-urban migrants who numbe in the hundreds of millions. It wants to avoid the slums of other developing countries like India and Brazil. So China's government has moved thousands of people to cities and also built new "ghost cities" for future migrants. But unfortunately a) nobody lives in many of the new cities and b) of the cities people have moved into many are busted--poor quality construction, lack of jobs. In other words, they're Made in China. The old villages people lived in are being "gutted and demolished."

China's ghost cities - Australian 60 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ZsVUB_-qg

New China Cities: Shoddy Homes, Broken Hope
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/world/asia/new-china-cities-shoddy-homes-broken-hope.html?_r=0
-"These buildings look modern on the outside, but they're not. It's the worst quality."

Overcoming food deserts in South Central LA

Overcoming food deserts in South Central LA

"Growing your own food is like printing your own money." He got a warrant for planting food in a vacant lot.

"I'm an artist. Gardening is my graffitti... You'd be surprised what you can do if you let the soil be your canvas."

Ron Finley: A Guerilla Gardner in South Central LA
http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html

Map of personality type trends in the US

Two articles on a new study mapping personality trends across the US.

http://science.time.com/2013/10/22/the-united-states-of-attitude-an-interactive-guide-to-americas-moods/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2470551/Mapping-Americas-personalities-Scientists-chart-friendly-conventional-relaxed-regions-U-S.html

Geography of independent music - Billy Corgan

Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins believes the future of music lies in other regions like China, India, Africa because of the way the US music industry is structured.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C7NCpfUC90

China's Territorial Claims

China's Territorial Claims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JS4VZbCWj8

China vs India - Race to the Top of the World

BBC - China vs India - Race to the Top of the World  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4NT9yVRRxg

UCLA tracks record Arctic melt in Greenland

UCLA tracks record Arctic melt in Greenland 

Laurence Smith - author of "The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping our Northern Future"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJbUbuPXDGs

Europeans emigrating to Africa in herds

Europeans moving to Africa in herds - Deutsche Welle
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2oxe0j

China's Ghost Cities

Video: Chinese Ghost Cities http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InqAzvX6UrI