Rob Pitingolo · Winning the Hearts of Young People

December 30th, 2008

Rob Pitingolo is a local college senior planning to graduate in December 2009. He is the author of the blog, Extraordinary Observations, which explores topics from progressive politics to economics to urbanism

In the next few weeks, thousands of young people will arrive in Cleveland from dozens of states and a handful of countries. No, there isn’t anything out of the ordinary happening this January, merely the students who attend Northeast Ohio’s colleges and universities returning from winter break. Regrettably, few of my peers tend to be outspoken about their attitude toward Cleveland; many out-of-towners feel unrepresented by local civic leaders; and having attended two of Cleveland’s universities in the past half-decade, I hope to shed some light on the mindset of other young people in our region.

I’m often told about how great Cleveland will look when I’m established in my career and ready to settle down and start a family. Between the affordable housing, numerous suburban neighborhoods with respectable schools, and cultural amenities that appeal to that particular crowd, I’ll be hard pressed to find a better mix elsewhere. I can’t deny that Cleveland does have a lot to offer. The time I spent living in Texas recently led me to appreciate Cleveland more than perhaps I’d ever imagined. I love Cleveland as much as the next person, but I hope it is clear that the region’s shaky ability to retain smart, young, talented individuals hurts. It hurts a lot…

Notwithstanding Cleveland’s appeal to established individuals and families, there is a growing gap between the time young people like me finish college and the time we are ready to settle down. Where do we go in the meantime? And why does Cleveland seem so tolerable to let us go now and so content on luring us back later? I’m not against micro-analyzing public policy or controversial projects like the convention center or medical mart; but sometimes I wonder if we need to take a big step backward and consider the implications more holistically. Young people are primarily looking for is a decent place to launch a career, a fun atmosphere in which to live, and other like-minded individuals to meet and spend time with. It isn’t particularly complicated; the environment just feels relatively lacking to other cities (including a few of Cleveland’s neighbors).

As I sat in a half-empty downtown Winking Lizard on a recent Friday night, a friend of mine told me all about his first year living as a college graduate in Cleveland. On a night when the Cavs were playing out of town, the downtown Winking Lizard certainly didn’t feel like a hopping place to be. My friend explained that the walk back to his Gateway District apartment building would probably be on a completely deserted street, even at 10pm on a Friday night. Is it surprising that during the course of the conversation he talked about several specific cities he would like to relocate to if a good opportunity came along? Or that he was secretly hoping to get transferred to one of his company’s offices in one of those cities?

Theoretically, the problem with politics at any local level is that leaders need to appeal to their political base. True enough, it is the constituents who live in a place now who decide whether or not to grant these leaders another term in office. Likewise, any business that relies solely on repeat customers to succeed will eventually find itself struggling to stay in business. The challenge that any local leadership faces is convincing the existing constituency that bringing in new customers is in their own best interest. This type of leaderships requires major political risks, which our region’s leaders sometimes appear unwilling to take.

Even so, with so many fresh young people coming to Northeast Ohio for college every semester, it’s a wonder that they hardly feel Cleveland marketed to them at all. When out-of-towners graduate, many will move back away, we can probably conclude that they hadn’t been sold on our city, and winning them back will be a serious uphill battle. Then there will be those, like me, born and raised in Cleveland, who move away too; some will come back eventually, but others will be lost forever. Whether due to career, friends, or just plain finding a place they like better, banking on eventually winning these people back feels like a losing strategy.

I don’t have the answers – nor do I think I even fully comprehend most of the challenges facing the city and the region. I can only offer a perspective that few of my peers typically voice, but which I hope provides clarity as to why so many smart young people are slipping away. I give incredible credit and have enormous respect for the many grassroots organizations committed to keeping young people in our region. Unfortunately, I’m concerned that grassroots efforts can only go so far, and without cooperation from official leadership, the effort might not be enough.

Ideally, simple questions should be perquisites before engaging in any specific public policy; asking, “will this encourage Northeast Ohio college graduates to stay in Cleveland?” would be a good start. And most importantly, before our leaders assume to know the answers to these questions and push forward anyway, is it too much trouble to check with the people who are ready to pack their bags and leave town?

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Category: Cleveland, Economic Development
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