Rural Communities

Across the country, rural areas have seen a steady influx of urban dwellers in the past decade, some of whom are suffering a bit of Green Acres-esque shock.

Researchers at Virginia Tech are looking at ways to attract companies considering moving overseas to relocate to low-cost rural areas of the U.S. — a concept dubbed "farmshoring".

Fewer and fewer parents are allowing their children to leave the house unattended. Citing safety concerns, nearly half of parents prefer to keep their kids home.

That’s right: telecommunication has evolved to the point that it’s possible to keep working, even from the roof of the world.

"The reason we are here in Tacoma is we want to be like you when we grow up," said Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson

Outsourcing has already trickled down from big corporations to small businesses, which now send everything from secretarial work to graphic design to back-end legal research overseas.

It’s hard enough for a small business to attract talent. It’s even more difficult when that business is located hundreds of miles from a major job market.

Helping to create affordable housing is the most important action the state government can take to improve the local business climate, according to 65 percent of the CEOs surveyed.

“Youth want to return to the community, but perceive a lack of opportunity,” Wall said. “With a large percentage of youth interested in staying or returning to the area, there is a great opportunity to work with them in creating opportunities that will help them act on this. Entrepreneurship education, meaningful youth community engagement and adult support could help shift this perspective,” he said.

Its website lists nearly 800 open positions in the San Francisco Bay Area alone.