This week, I want to take a few looks at a problem several states are suffering. The issue at hand is the loss of young talent to other markets after graduation. In the North East, this is a pronounced problem. States with everything going for them academically speaking (RI: Brown, PC, RISD, etc and MA: BU, BC, Harvard, MIT, etc.) are having trouble keeping that talent in town once they receive those degrees.
Today's article sparked my interest: The real reasons young people leave Massachusetts. Now as a prime example myself, I found the article to be lacking. Specifically it focused on why Massachusetts is a great place (but expensive) to raise a family, but brushed off the jobs and cost of living aspects more or less as complaints of people who stay there. This problem can be solved by marketing (which BTW doesn't seem to be working for Michigan - my condolences to Jeff Daniels).
Do you know why the people who leave don't complain about the cost of living? Because they did something about it! Why waste your time complaining about the high cost of housing in a place that you will never live? Most people who leave spend their complaining time on the areas that they currently live in. Most apparently in New York City.
So let me break it down from a more personal level. I grew up in Massachusetts. I went to college in Rhode Island. When I graduated and set about to start my career, I wanted to live in Boston. I didn't. I must have sent out hundreds of job applications over the course of 2 years after graduating. I had one interview. The most I was ever able to land in my field was a 6 month gig that vanished when the money did. I wasn't getting paid much. I didn't see myself having a future.
I struggled through those years working part time retail jobs and feeling like a failure. Most people I worked with were also college graduates. There's nothing like going to college, getting that degree, and working for under $9 an hour in a job that is essentially a dead end for your career. Most people I knew who were doing well were making $40k/yr. That was the top end for most of them. All college grads. Many with years of work experience.
Even the cost of an apartment was beyond reach. A good apartment in Boston cost a minimum of $1,100 a month (For reference, the same apartment costs $1,400 in Brooklyn). Boston and New England in general offered no way to start or continue your career and costs of living were just a little below New York City. Oh, and add boring bar scene - and boring people in general - to the mix. Do you like sports? Well I hope so because nobody in Boston knows how to talk about anything else. EVER!!
Nitpicks aside, I decided to move on to New York City primarily as a career move. My prospects were far greater here. I started making the top end New England salary. Within a year, I was making $70k. The avenue paths for my career were numerous. I had options. Back in Massachusetts, being a graphic designer was like trying to get into the NBA. No one believed in me. Today I have an established career. How do you like them apples?
Today, I've grown older and have started a family. New York is now too expensive to raise a family in and my career has hit a permanent plateau. Why? Back in 2009 when the market imploded, it stopped our salary growth. For 4 years, nobody got raises and jobs dried up. Simultaneously, cost of living spiked. Food was more, rents were more, the MTA fee cost more. Salaries froze and the cost of living shot up. And who do we point the finger at > BEN BERNANKE/CONGRESS/PRESIDENT. But that is another article.
Bottom line is New York is losing its appeal to a good amount of its established talent. This opens the door for Massachusetts to capture some veteran talent. They will lose here too. Why? Cost of living and wages. If you live in New England, you more than likely don't make a lot of money. The jobs pay very little. The houses cost a fortune. This is a lose/lose scenario. If my choices were limited to New York vs Boston (or New England in general), New York wins every time.
However those aren't my only choices. As it turns out, I will be taking my skills and most of my salary to Austin TX. Why Austin? Why not New York or Boston? Cost of living. In Austin, I can afford a house and I can make a good amount of my New York salary. I will be able to save and give my daughter a stable place to live without being house poor.
So for the brain drain story, the story just gets worse and worse for Massachusetts. They can neither deliver on higher salaries/career opportunities nor on lower costs of living. Those who figure this out are moving out to greener pastures for their own benefit. If the states can't figure out how to compete in either category, they are doomed.
I say this to Massachusetts: You can't attract talent - PERIOD. Young or older. Until you get your costs of living under control and/or raise your average salary, you will never solve this problem. Also, I don't believe you can solve this problem because you are mostly blind to it. I mean just look at the article full of non-solutions you posed. All the Jeff Daniel's magic in the world won't help you.
