Richard Florida, an urban studies professor, has divided Americans into three groups: the mobile, the rooted, and the stuck. The mobile move around. They tend to be coastal or live in cities like Boulder, Lawrence, Atlanta, Austin. They have good jobs, often in high tech. They are living large, though often somewhat disconnected.
The rooted live in one place by choice. Linda and I would fit in that group. While we live in rural Carbon County, we are part of the community, or at least try to be. We occasionally visit New York and Philly and identify with the wider world, but we live here because we want to.
The stuck are people who don’t move, don’t have the social networks to move, don’t see alternatives. They are often employed in low-paying jobs and lack the funds or the experience or the skills to find better jobs in different locations.
Guess which category is growing, according to Dr. Florida. You got it. The stuck.
We are rooted. Primarily because of family. Wouldn't mind moving but we find travel helps to keep us somewhat mobile.
ReplyDeleteI feel for the stuck.
I do too. Unfortunately our economy is putting more and more people into that category.
ReplyDelete