I agree that attracting the boomerangs alone is not enough.
But I see no harm in trying to get some of the folks who really want to live in your city to come back. And if you can get some of those folks to invest in starting new businesses, there is a great chance that they will be able to find ways to attract others from outside the community to work for them.
It's also a lot easier to attract a Web audience of people connected to a community than to try to build a web site about Erie that is marketed to those who have no connection to the community.
If we can get those who lived in Erie to talk about what they're learning in their new homes -- and maybe share ideas with the hometown folks -- there is a real opportunity to circulate some new ideas into the community and create some change.
I don't think I have the whole solution. But I think I'm creating the kind of conditions where enough people can come up with enough ideas to push the needle a bit.
See my own comments on Mr. Panepento's response below.
1 comment:
I support Mr. Panepento's efforts to promote the return of expatriates to Erie. However, I’m a greater proponent of the benefits of the increased connectivity he describes. I also don’t see any harm in facilitating boomerang migration, but enfranchising the Erie Diaspora is much more critical to regional economic development.
GlobalErie’s motto is “Putting Erie’s Brain Drain to Use.” This policy innovation does not require a change in the current migration landscape. Talent can continue to leave Erie but the hometown will still benefit.
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