| The irony is that most educated people living in small towns want to get out Doesn't seem like you know much about small towns. I grew up in one. The educated people are there because they want to be. That's sort of by definition, and follows from the fact that they're educated -- they have been somewhere else (you don't get "educated" in a small town, not in the way you mean), and they chose to go there. The ones who want to leave are the uneducated ones, who would love to have an opportunity to get "educated" in that sense. Your kids all else equal will be outsprinted by kids who live in more competitive cities Not everyone wants to be part of this rat race you're talking about, nor do they want their children to be. Having ended up at FAANG (despite my small town upbringing), I talk with a lot of young people (interns, new hires) who are products of this rat race. By and large my impression is that: 1. They haven't lived much. They haven't done many things. They've been too busy in their competitive classes in competitive schools trying to get into competitive schools. 2. They don't seem very happy. They tend to be high strung. Nervous seeming. Scared of failure. that decision will ripple through to future generations, e.g. your grandkids will be less educated. How would you even know this? How do you know parental education status isn't the real factor? |
"The educated people are there because they want to be" the parents, sure, but their children are there because the parents chose for them.
"1. [children from big cities] haven't lived much. They haven't done many things." Are you seriously suggesting that there are more things to do in Boise than Manhattan?
"2. They don't seem very happy." That certainly described everyone I knew who wasn't a cultist in Salt Lake City.
In my experience, the ones who want to leave are the smart kids who find their surroundings culturally stifling and intellectually decrepit.