What is the future of your city? (Columbus, Cleveland: 2014, home)

[dustin183]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

The US is certainly not pro-natal due to a lack of longer maternity leave policies or even paternity leave policies that are found in the vast majority of the developed world. People can't afford to take time off work due to leave constraints that many employers have. Throw in the inflated costs of healthcare and still rising, and the closure of MANY rural hospitals and you have a large number of counties across the country with a greater percentage of the population over age 65 than under age 18. This will become the norm in many areas due to the baby boomer population aging into their senior years over the next 8 years or so- by 2030 the entire cohort will be over age 65.

Yeah I guess you have a point, however policy obviously isn't the main driver of birth rates, as we see Europe and Japan with very low birth rates.

It's not a perfect system here, but we get by. If daycare is too expensive then usually the grandparents chip in.

Overall it seems that having kids is more encouraged in US vs Europe and Asia. We have about 2 kids per couple and they have less than 2 and in some cases less than 1. That's very low. The Euro's just want to enjoy life, kid's are too much work. And the Asians aren't having enough sex - not a joke - it's a crisis in Japan, many young people are not dating, not having sex, very alone. Kinda sad.

[Nomomo07]

Originally Posted by dustin183

Yeah I guess you have a point, however policy obviously isn't the main driver of birth rates, as we see Europe and Japan with very low birth rates.

It's not a perfect system here, but we get by. If daycare is too expensive then usually the grandparents chip in.

Overall it seems that having kids is more encouraged in US vs Europe and Asia. We have about 2 kids per couple and they have less than 2 and in some cases less than 1. That's very low. The Euro's just want to enjoy life, kid's are too much work. And the Asians aren't having enough sex - not a joke - it's a crisis in Japan, many young people are not dating, not having sex, very alone. Kinda sad.

It is utterly insane that I pay nearly double for childcare versus my rent.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Nomomo07

It is utterly insane that I pay nearly double for childcare versus my rent.

I think at the end of the day, a parent staying home is the simplest and probably more cost effective solution.

[Nomomo07]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I think at the end of the day, a parent staying home is the simplest and probably more cost effective solution.

That'd be great if wages had kept pace with inflation.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Nomomo07

That'd be great if wages had kept pace with inflation.

But as is, for the average person, you are spending basically the same amount as the salary you're making to pay for daycare and related expenses. Not to mention the logistical headache.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I think at the end of the day, a parent staying home is the simplest and probably more cost effective solution.

It is definitely the simplest, but the long term career costs to staying home for 5+ years can be very high.

[rickms55]

Covid is forcing telework onto the boomer management people who have always been in the office & small towns hopefully see the benefits as people move back to small towns for cheaper costs of living & higher quality of life.

It would be interesting to see the long term impact - how much work from home remains and what that means for say, Ohio cites and towns for that matter.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by rickms55

It would be interesting to see the long term impact - how much work from home remains and what that means for say, Ohio cites and towns for that matter.

Statewide, it has to be good right? Lots of Ohioans have moved elsewhere in the country, and I have to think a decent number of them will move back if they can keep their current employment.

On the downside, I think it could hurt a lot of urban revitalization efforts and lead to further sprawl since commutes won't matter as much. I expect to see not only with where people choose to live, and also with where companies choose to locate (presuming they still have some degree of physical operations, even if not a full time 40 hour on-site workforce)

[dustin183]

How is your city doing nowadays? Is it improving or declining? I think Columbus is improving. As are the surrounding counties. How about elsewhere in Ohio?

[Natural510]

Originally Posted by dustin183

How is your city doing nowadays? Is it improving or declining? I think Columbus is improving. As are the surrounding counties. How about elsewhere in Ohio?

Dayton has actually improved over the past few years with a lot of new dining, drinking and entertainment places opening up. It was in a pretty bad place 10 years ago and the outer neighborhoods need a lot of work, but things are improving.
Springfield has been declining for decades but it seems to be improving somewhat with a revitalized downtown area.
I expect the small towns in counties neighboring Columbus like Delaware and London will continue to grow as commuter towns. Not sure about the rest of the state.