Let your young people go. Create opportunity for other young people

I live in a rural area. Granted, it’s the biggest town in this rural area, but it’s still quite small and surrounded by lots of “not much in between”.

“We need more young people”, and “We need to keep our young people here” are common refrains I hear in meetings. No we don’t.

Many of us left for the big city and bright lights at a young age. Why deny local young people the opportunity to grow by exploring new opportunities? Yes, communities need young people, but a fixation with keeping the homegrown bunch just doesn’t make sense. Large numbers of young people will always leave for somewhere else. It’s what they’ve always done and will continue to do. It’s partly by choice and partly by economic necessity.

Attracting young people to move here

Rather than lamenting young people moving away, create opportunity for others to come to you.

Are there learning opportunities? Are the courses worth studying? Is decent affordable housing available? Is there plenty of work, some of it flexible? Are you a low wage region with very small businesses or do people have a change to get promotions? Is transport decent for day to day commuting and for getting away for weekend trips?

What about those who don’t want to leave?

Not everyone wants to leave. That’s fair enough and I hope it’s indicative of strong community ties. But for those that choose to stay and are not already part of a family business, making your way can be hard and one of the crucial factors is the availability and cost of housing. Community Land Scotland published the Perth Declaration in 2024, article 4 of which was the following:

The Right to Live in your community. We need recognition that young people have the right to live in the community that they grew up in. Depopulation, the housing crisis and transportation issues are all undermining this right. We need an integrated and interventionist approach to the rural housing and depopulation crisis.

You can find out more about Community Land Scotland and the Perth Declaration here (PDF)