Re: (erielack) Former EL Cities on This Sad List

["Paul Brezicki" <doctorpb_@_bellsouth.net>]

I'll add my 2c worth on this increasingly OT subject. Personal anecdotes 
aside, census figures indicate that western upstate NY and Northeast Ohio 
have been losing population. Meanwhile, the Charlotte region has been 
enjoying a net gain of approx 40,000 people annually. Metro Phoenix AZ has 
surpassed metro Philadelphia in population. The migration south to cheaper 
labor, lower taxes and warmer climate is a secular trend that has been going 
on for decades. More recently, the northward migration of Hispanics favors 
more proximate southern states. Sociologically, we are a relatively 
itinerant people that places living among extended family behind individual 
opportunity in importance. Visits to the hometown have been facilitated by 
cheap fuel. This trend may have largely played out, at least temporarily, 
particularly if fuel prices stay high and the recession deepens. People will 
be less eager to move away from family if they think visits may become 
prohibitively expensive. Already, the efflux from northern states has slowed 
considerably due to the credit crisis: people can't sell their homes without 
incurring a large loss.

"Dying" is an inappropriately strong term designed to attract the attention 
of potential readers; it implies eventual extinction. "Downsizing" as an 
adjustment to changed economic and societal conditions is a more accurate 
way of looking at the situation. It's similar to what's happened to the RR 
industry in the past half-century: it's become smaller (in a relative 
sense), but it's healthy and still with us.

Paul B 


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