Personally, I believe it is better to age than the alternative. But for our communities, not so much. We are not leaving much of a legacy, even if the generations that follow are less numerous.
The aticle is excellent.also thanks for reminding citizens that their elected, should represent voters and join the campaign. One little piece that says , Golden Years, should be changed to rusty years.
I have two solutions. One is a high speed rail from NYC to Canada and the second is fixing the internet access in the north country. That would give access to jobs and invite more folks to move north. No one lives without internet/cell phone access any more and young folks won’t even consider moving north without it. I would LOVE my children to move back and they would love to come back. The jobs aren’t here to support their student loans and a mortgage.
Perhaps we should embrace the graying, like Florida and Arizona, and establish ourselves as a retirement mecca. Our winters are getting less harsh, and we don’t have the crazy summer weather problems they do. Yet. But we would definitely need that high speed rail and internet, no matter what.
I look at Glens Falls and Lake George handling their mascot change with grace and good will, and then look at Cambridge acting like the Hatfields and McCoys, and I say to myself, “See how much misery is caused by people getting on their high horse and refusing to budge.” I’m sure there were people in both GF and LG who didn’t want to change mascots, but instead of taking it as a personal insult and making the community take sides, they decided to go with the flow and work together to find something everyone could agree on. The whole country should take note!
I think in many ways the community has already embracing the graying and it has been a boom to the health care business. But how do you get the young to settle here if they can’t find affordable housing and good jobs?
Good question! I don’t know…maybe just the health and home care, and the ancillary supporting service jobs will be available. They will have to pay well enough for it to be a possibility.
Good article! I wonder if any of the local Offices for Aging are working on this problem. I live in Washington County and I think we have the same problems. Retirement communities would be a good first step if they were decently priced and geared towards moderate incomes.
The Warren County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board had our first meeting last week. Our goal is to understand and address the challenges facing the County through citizen input and community involvement. I highly recommend residents follow our progress and provide their thoughts and ideas through our survey and focus group process. You can get an overview here:https://warren-county-2040-warrencountyny.hub.arcgis.com. Yes this is an issue for our politicians, but I also suggest that we as residents need to drive solutions. If you're not already doing so, I also suggest receiving the weekly County Newsletter published by Don Lehman.
Start making way and opportunity for the tousands of asylum seekers waiting in NYC. They will answer all of the challenges that you claim our county is facing. Just adhere to the foundamentals of our twentieth century success in our twenty-first century. It isn't complicated.
The aging of our county was entirely predictable and as you noted people have been predicting it for decades, a result of Baby Boomer aging. What’s more, we are a very attractive area for many people who have had 2nd homes to retire - because (here’s the good news) NY state has the highest per capita GDP of any state! We have good quality of life here and fairly low cost of living. It is a balance between expenses and amenities, and smart people are finding that the benefits far outweigh the negatives - if we discount the constant negative attitude of many locals.
What we suffer most is not from physical aging of our population, but from the old and tired ideas of our elected leaders - the GOP old guard follow people like Stec, Stefanik, and Trump who embrace the message that people should leave NY. Read this: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/nyregion/trump-new-york.html
I meet a lot of people who move here for opportunity and for quality of life. We have good schools, friendly and safe communities, and lots of recreation and cultural assets. A couple of examples? Claudia Braymer and Dr Diana Palmer and their families.
I’m sick of hearing elected leaders complain about what they can’t do, what can’t be done, people who complain about ‘Albany,’ or ‘downstate,’ or ‘New York City,’ ‘Cuomo’ or ‘Hochul,’ and never talk about what they can get done. We need new leadership. We need people who will help expand opportunity not just go through the motions and collect their government paycheck like Dan Stec and his ilk.
Young families have been priced out of the market in Lake George adjacent towns. Consider a lovely home on Kings Rd in LG - a perfect family neighborhood - would’ve been under 300k 5 years ago is now priced over 500k. Local salaries can’t sustain this.
The trailer for #2 is very professional. It would have been better if more local and less stock footage were used. I assume your publisher created the film; they might have contacted either Mark Behan or Peter Pepe and gotten some good local material.
I grew up in Florida and it was always a place where folks came to retire to. I think you need to research average age there. Here are a few stats from the 2020 census. Broward County average age- 40.7, this is the Miami area, which always has been an area for the retired to go. Orange County- Orlando area has an average of 34.9. Hillsborough County which is the Tampa area which has Clearwater and St. Pete...retirement area is 37.4 and Duval County which is the Jacksonville area is 36.3. Average age of NYC area is 36.9. Average age of Seattle is 35.2 another large area where tech jobs are. The point I am making is Florida is a large retirement area for years figured out how to also have young people because of the entertainment and hospitality industry. All of Upstate NY has an aging problem because of the exodus of industrial base starting in 1970 starting with Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton and Utica/Syracuse area. Upstate NY has lost 75% of its manufacturing jobs that paid well since the 70's. Looks at all the medical device industry that has left the Warren County area, GE and now the paper industry. You think Elise Stefanik can change that? This ship has sailed since taxes are just too high in NY to bring back good paying jobs. What does Florida, Texas and Washington State have in common where all the great tech jobs and young people flock to? All of those states do not have a state income tax. I have just moved to Seattle to live near my daughter who left after she graduated college in 2001 to move to Seattle. It is so different to see young people everywhere here. Seattle almost went down the tubes in 1970 when Boeing moved their headquarters to Chicago. They put up a billboard in 1971 on I-5 next to the airport that said, Will the last person leaving Seattle, turn out the lights. They offered business tax breaks in the 80's and again it is a state with no state income tax, and they were able to turn it around and it is the headquarters of most of the tech companies. NY is now a complete democratic state as is Washington state. The difference is this state still believes low taxes brings jobs.
Your analysis fails to acknowledge the role of diversity in areas that have experienced high growth and lower average age. While it is true that a lot of people retire to Florida and the rest of the Sunbelt the real story is that in the last 40 years Florida (for example) went from almost 77% white in 1980 to 51.5% white in 2020. Washington state is experiencing a bit of a boom right now, it is also rapidly becoming more diverse with non-Hispanic whites accounting for about 65% of the population. Compare that to Warren County at nearly 93% non-Hispanic white population in 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Florida
Immigrant populations tend to be younger and have larger families, and that creates vibrancy in communities that most people desire.
While NY is not growing as fast as some states blaming high taxes for driving away business is missing the fact that NY state’s economy is thriving. We are the highest GDP state per capita and until recently was #2 in the nation behind California in total GDP. Texas overtook us but they have a much larger population. The problem we have with taxes is that so little of what we have paid in to the federal government over the last several decades has come back to NY. Instead we have subsidized smaller, poorer states, low wage states, states that do not regulate businesses that abuse workers and pollute the environment. The federal minimum wage is still at $7.25 and plenty of businesses take advantage of workers with that abusively low wage.
Yet we are still growing. True that 3 states (California, Texas, and Florida) account for about 33% of the nation’s population growth, but NY grew at nearly 1.5% over the last decade which is above the average of the remaining 47 states and the territories. So the image of massive flight from NY state is just plain wrong. People have been leaving NY and populating other states since the beginning of our nation. We have long donated the vigor of our population to other states. No big deal.
Recently we have seen the federal government correct some of the past misuse of NY state providing infrastructure investment that will help revitalize upstate NY. Thank you President Biden, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and our Democratic delegation in Congress. But even without that investment NY itself has reinvigorated the industrial economy of the 19th and 20th centuries that made NY the Empire State. We are scraping the rust off our Rust Belt and we are in the forefront of the new industrial economy, the information economy, and more.
What NY doesn’t need is low wage jobs that trap people in poverty. In fact nobody needs that.
Washington state has a $15.74 minimum wage, increase the federal minimum to $10/hr or more and we will all benefit.
There are thousands of people, industrious, hard working and ambitious people, looking for the opportunity to come here and fill those employment, personal service and community needs of our graying population, looking to come here to get a foot on the first rung of a ladder to achievement and success in America.
Those people came in earlier generations to build our cities, our national infastructure, our industry and economy to make America the greatest country in the world.
All we need to do is welcome them and set the floor for their contribution to our economy and society.
Get one thing clear. The children of the North Country will be staying here to do those things that an aging community requires, only if they are not otherwise prepared to succeed in the global economy. That's the objective of MAGA Republicans like Stefanik. Don't bother to call on her or others of her ilk for answers because the answers are contrary to their conspiratorial politics.
New York has been declining relative to the rest of the country since the 1950s when we had 45 members in the House of Representatives. We are down to 26, and unless something changes, by the year 2050 we will be below 20.
Some ideas:
I think everybody agrees that high speed Internet across the region is essential.
More senior housing, assisted living facilities, substance abuse rehabilitation centers.
Enrollments are way down so we could be spending less on education.
Consolidate school districts and municipalities
Politics:
Dan Stec and Matt Simpson are doing a great job. They are doing what they can. This state is controlled 100% by Democrats. What are they doing to turn the situation around? Chuck Schumer is the leader of the US senate. What is he doing to turn things around?
Half the people in the country will not move to New York State because of its radical woke culture. The other half will not move here because of the weather and the lack of opportunity.
While I understand Stec and Simpson are in the minority in the Legislature, what I hear from them tends to mirror national GOP talking points so I don’t see where they are standing up for local folks.
I agree with some of the other commenters- how do we welcome the legal immigrants and help them get established in the North Country? We have jobs to fill, schools with declining student bases and an aging population. There are few stores without a help wanted sign in the window. A bit unrelated, I am impressed by the thoughtful and respectful discussion in these comments.
Personally, I believe it is better to age than the alternative. But for our communities, not so much. We are not leaving much of a legacy, even if the generations that follow are less numerous.
My mom always used to say getting old isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative. It does give you the right perspective!
The aticle is excellent.also thanks for reminding citizens that their elected, should represent voters and join the campaign. One little piece that says , Golden Years, should be changed to rusty years.
I have two solutions. One is a high speed rail from NYC to Canada and the second is fixing the internet access in the north country. That would give access to jobs and invite more folks to move north. No one lives without internet/cell phone access any more and young folks won’t even consider moving north without it. I would LOVE my children to move back and they would love to come back. The jobs aren’t here to support their student loans and a mortgage.
100% correct, and thanks...
It’s that the young people go to college and don’t come back. They want to live in an area that’s not just about Dollar Generals and tractor pulls.
Perhaps we should embrace the graying, like Florida and Arizona, and establish ourselves as a retirement mecca. Our winters are getting less harsh, and we don’t have the crazy summer weather problems they do. Yet. But we would definitely need that high speed rail and internet, no matter what.
I look at Glens Falls and Lake George handling their mascot change with grace and good will, and then look at Cambridge acting like the Hatfields and McCoys, and I say to myself, “See how much misery is caused by people getting on their high horse and refusing to budge.” I’m sure there were people in both GF and LG who didn’t want to change mascots, but instead of taking it as a personal insult and making the community take sides, they decided to go with the flow and work together to find something everyone could agree on. The whole country should take note!
I think in many ways the community has already embracing the graying and it has been a boom to the health care business. But how do you get the young to settle here if they can’t find affordable housing and good jobs?
Good question! I don’t know…maybe just the health and home care, and the ancillary supporting service jobs will be available. They will have to pay well enough for it to be a possibility.
Good article! I wonder if any of the local Offices for Aging are working on this problem. I live in Washington County and I think we have the same problems. Retirement communities would be a good first step if they were decently priced and geared towards moderate incomes.
The Warren County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board had our first meeting last week. Our goal is to understand and address the challenges facing the County through citizen input and community involvement. I highly recommend residents follow our progress and provide their thoughts and ideas through our survey and focus group process. You can get an overview here:https://warren-county-2040-warrencountyny.hub.arcgis.com. Yes this is an issue for our politicians, but I also suggest that we as residents need to drive solutions. If you're not already doing so, I also suggest receiving the weekly County Newsletter published by Don Lehman.
Start making way and opportunity for the tousands of asylum seekers waiting in NYC. They will answer all of the challenges that you claim our county is facing. Just adhere to the foundamentals of our twentieth century success in our twenty-first century. It isn't complicated.
The aging of our county was entirely predictable and as you noted people have been predicting it for decades, a result of Baby Boomer aging. What’s more, we are a very attractive area for many people who have had 2nd homes to retire - because (here’s the good news) NY state has the highest per capita GDP of any state! We have good quality of life here and fairly low cost of living. It is a balance between expenses and amenities, and smart people are finding that the benefits far outweigh the negatives - if we discount the constant negative attitude of many locals.
What we suffer most is not from physical aging of our population, but from the old and tired ideas of our elected leaders - the GOP old guard follow people like Stec, Stefanik, and Trump who embrace the message that people should leave NY. Read this: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/nyregion/trump-new-york.html
I meet a lot of people who move here for opportunity and for quality of life. We have good schools, friendly and safe communities, and lots of recreation and cultural assets. A couple of examples? Claudia Braymer and Dr Diana Palmer and their families.
I’m sick of hearing elected leaders complain about what they can’t do, what can’t be done, people who complain about ‘Albany,’ or ‘downstate,’ or ‘New York City,’ ‘Cuomo’ or ‘Hochul,’ and never talk about what they can get done. We need new leadership. We need people who will help expand opportunity not just go through the motions and collect their government paycheck like Dan Stec and his ilk.
Change can’t wait.
Young families have been priced out of the market in Lake George adjacent towns. Consider a lovely home on Kings Rd in LG - a perfect family neighborhood - would’ve been under 300k 5 years ago is now priced over 500k. Local salaries can’t sustain this.
The trailer for #2 is very professional. It would have been better if more local and less stock footage were used. I assume your publisher created the film; they might have contacted either Mark Behan or Peter Pepe and gotten some good local material.
Not a big time publisher. I provided much of the Glens Falls photos. It’s the plight of publishing on a small budget.
I grew up in Florida and it was always a place where folks came to retire to. I think you need to research average age there. Here are a few stats from the 2020 census. Broward County average age- 40.7, this is the Miami area, which always has been an area for the retired to go. Orange County- Orlando area has an average of 34.9. Hillsborough County which is the Tampa area which has Clearwater and St. Pete...retirement area is 37.4 and Duval County which is the Jacksonville area is 36.3. Average age of NYC area is 36.9. Average age of Seattle is 35.2 another large area where tech jobs are. The point I am making is Florida is a large retirement area for years figured out how to also have young people because of the entertainment and hospitality industry. All of Upstate NY has an aging problem because of the exodus of industrial base starting in 1970 starting with Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton and Utica/Syracuse area. Upstate NY has lost 75% of its manufacturing jobs that paid well since the 70's. Looks at all the medical device industry that has left the Warren County area, GE and now the paper industry. You think Elise Stefanik can change that? This ship has sailed since taxes are just too high in NY to bring back good paying jobs. What does Florida, Texas and Washington State have in common where all the great tech jobs and young people flock to? All of those states do not have a state income tax. I have just moved to Seattle to live near my daughter who left after she graduated college in 2001 to move to Seattle. It is so different to see young people everywhere here. Seattle almost went down the tubes in 1970 when Boeing moved their headquarters to Chicago. They put up a billboard in 1971 on I-5 next to the airport that said, Will the last person leaving Seattle, turn out the lights. They offered business tax breaks in the 80's and again it is a state with no state income tax, and they were able to turn it around and it is the headquarters of most of the tech companies. NY is now a complete democratic state as is Washington state. The difference is this state still believes low taxes brings jobs.
Your analysis fails to acknowledge the role of diversity in areas that have experienced high growth and lower average age. While it is true that a lot of people retire to Florida and the rest of the Sunbelt the real story is that in the last 40 years Florida (for example) went from almost 77% white in 1980 to 51.5% white in 2020. Washington state is experiencing a bit of a boom right now, it is also rapidly becoming more diverse with non-Hispanic whites accounting for about 65% of the population. Compare that to Warren County at nearly 93% non-Hispanic white population in 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Florida
Immigrant populations tend to be younger and have larger families, and that creates vibrancy in communities that most people desire.
While NY is not growing as fast as some states blaming high taxes for driving away business is missing the fact that NY state’s economy is thriving. We are the highest GDP state per capita and until recently was #2 in the nation behind California in total GDP. Texas overtook us but they have a much larger population. The problem we have with taxes is that so little of what we have paid in to the federal government over the last several decades has come back to NY. Instead we have subsidized smaller, poorer states, low wage states, states that do not regulate businesses that abuse workers and pollute the environment. The federal minimum wage is still at $7.25 and plenty of businesses take advantage of workers with that abusively low wage.
Yet we are still growing. True that 3 states (California, Texas, and Florida) account for about 33% of the nation’s population growth, but NY grew at nearly 1.5% over the last decade which is above the average of the remaining 47 states and the territories. So the image of massive flight from NY state is just plain wrong. People have been leaving NY and populating other states since the beginning of our nation. We have long donated the vigor of our population to other states. No big deal.
Recently we have seen the federal government correct some of the past misuse of NY state providing infrastructure investment that will help revitalize upstate NY. Thank you President Biden, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and our Democratic delegation in Congress. But even without that investment NY itself has reinvigorated the industrial economy of the 19th and 20th centuries that made NY the Empire State. We are scraping the rust off our Rust Belt and we are in the forefront of the new industrial economy, the information economy, and more.
What NY doesn’t need is low wage jobs that trap people in poverty. In fact nobody needs that.
Washington state has a $15.74 minimum wage, increase the federal minimum to $10/hr or more and we will all benefit.
No easy answers here?
There are thousands of people, industrious, hard working and ambitious people, looking for the opportunity to come here and fill those employment, personal service and community needs of our graying population, looking to come here to get a foot on the first rung of a ladder to achievement and success in America.
Those people came in earlier generations to build our cities, our national infastructure, our industry and economy to make America the greatest country in the world.
All we need to do is welcome them and set the floor for their contribution to our economy and society.
Get one thing clear. The children of the North Country will be staying here to do those things that an aging community requires, only if they are not otherwise prepared to succeed in the global economy. That's the objective of MAGA Republicans like Stefanik. Don't bother to call on her or others of her ilk for answers because the answers are contrary to their conspiratorial politics.
New York has been declining relative to the rest of the country since the 1950s when we had 45 members in the House of Representatives. We are down to 26, and unless something changes, by the year 2050 we will be below 20.
Some ideas:
I think everybody agrees that high speed Internet across the region is essential.
More senior housing, assisted living facilities, substance abuse rehabilitation centers.
Enrollments are way down so we could be spending less on education.
Consolidate school districts and municipalities
Politics:
Dan Stec and Matt Simpson are doing a great job. They are doing what they can. This state is controlled 100% by Democrats. What are they doing to turn the situation around? Chuck Schumer is the leader of the US senate. What is he doing to turn things around?
Half the people in the country will not move to New York State because of its radical woke culture. The other half will not move here because of the weather and the lack of opportunity.
While I understand Stec and Simpson are in the minority in the Legislature, what I hear from them tends to mirror national GOP talking points so I don’t see where they are standing up for local folks.
No living wage jobs or affordable housing...issues not easily solved... especially in a red congressional district...
I agree with some of the other commenters- how do we welcome the legal immigrants and help them get established in the North Country? We have jobs to fill, schools with declining student bases and an aging population. There are few stores without a help wanted sign in the window. A bit unrelated, I am impressed by the thoughtful and respectful discussion in these comments.