The fate of the US Midwest?

The fate of the US Midwest?

The fate of the US Midwest is a major topic of debate today. In the last 50 years, millions of people have moved out of the Midwest as farming became more mechanized and fewer people were needed. This "brain drain" of emigrants has often left behind elderly people. Today there are many Midwestern towns where populations are so low the town has nearly disappeared.

There is actually a school of thought that believes the US should create a "Buffalo Commons" (Frank Popper 1987) by allowing the Continental Interior to return to its natural state, like a giant park or reserve. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Commons

But the Buffalo Commons idea is highly unlikely. In fact, one famous Geographer Joel Kotkin believes the Midwest will make a strong comeback because it offers a lot of space and lower housing prices that are attracting immigrants, and has the core of former farm towns that can be re-purposed into towns of businesses including high tech companies because Internet companies can really be anywhere. He says these revitalized towns will form a network across the midwest. He is talking about towns like Sioux Falls, Idaho, Fargo, North Dakota, and Oklahoma City. He sees these revitalizing cities as like an archipelago, a constellation of "islands" in the vast sea of the Great Plains which in the future will be connected by highways and telecommunications.

Kotkin also looks at the Midwest as a "zone of sanity" -- in a world of unaffordable housing and urban poverty, he sees immigrants and lower-income folks moving to the Midwest where they can find affordable housing, good schools, good business climate.

Midwest: Coming back?
http://www.joelkotkin.com/content/00365-midwest-coming-back

Midwest: A zone of sanity
http://www.csgmidwest.org/policyresearch/Kotkin-AM-Meeting.aspx

I live in Northern Virginia and am looking for any opportunity to get out... and actually was looking at Boise, Idaho which seems to be a good midsize city with lots of outdoor activities nearby.