Quote:
Originally Posted by Evergrey
The problem is... when you were in Chicago... you didn't run into the even greater number of people your age that moved away from Chicago... because they're in Denver or Seattle or Houston.
I think our perceptions of places like Chicago, NYC, LA, etc. are influenced by the massive migration flows these cities experience. St. Louis might be experiencing a net gain of young adults... but Chicago sees a lot more young adults moving in. However, there are even more young adults moving out of Chicago... hence the loss. Our largest metros are centers of major population churn.
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I've also found this to be true. I've met a lot of young entrepreneurial types from larger markets (Chicago, New York, California etc.) that have come to St. Louis to open up businesses, because they see it as an untapped market for certain trends, ideas, cuisines etc. (ex. there may be a over 100 sushi themed internet cafes in Chicago, but in St. Louis there may only be a few if any). I've also found that many transplants that actually move to St. Louis have a better appreciation for it than locals.
I will also say that this change is a result of two things primarily.
1) The Economy - Many young people just cant afford to leave St. Louis. So there stuck here until the economy improves.
2) Our Urban Revitalization that is 20 years late - Like most interior markets St. Louis is about 10-20 years behind the the coast on most perimeters of progress (including urban revitalization/gentrification), but now that St. Louis has been swept by the urbanist wave we are retaining a lot more of our young people. Downtown St. Louis is probably the fastest growing neighborhood in the region and its hard to keep rental apartments on the market.