The Brains Are Coming To Pittsburgh

A much lamented statistic that has plagued Pittsburgh for many years may be finally turning around in our favor. The migration out of the city by young adults in their mid-20s has for the first time in many years turned in our favor with Pittsburgh actually seeing a .30 increase in retention for the 2007-2009 period as reported in a recent study from the Brookings Institution by researcher William Frey. That's up from a .83 decrease in the years of 2005-2007.

Since young adults are most likely to move, this statistic is especially important because "brain drain" sets a city up for problems in the future while positive inflow leads to people who may eventually stay, build companies, buy houses, have families and and contribute to growth their communities.

A number of theories for this change are presented in the study including the need for young people to stay a home in the tough economy and the lack of jobs and affordable housing in some of the countries major metros that previously were posting gains.

I personally prefer the reason that many of the so-called rust-belt cities that showed gains like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Buffalo and Baltimore have spent the last decade or more transforming their economies and concentrating on quality-of-life issues which has begun to pay off.

I am sure that is at least part of the reason we are seeing the turn around here in Pittsburgh and as a former boomerang resident myself I am happy to call the city home!

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