Coming Home: a Quiet Success Story

During the summer of 2008 I was running errands in downtown Canton at lunch. It was a lovely summer day, sunny and warm. Passing the park I saw someone I recognized, his wife, and young children, picnicking in the park. I knew their story. The family had been away and dreamed about coming back home to live and work in the North Country, and here they were. It was a poignant moment.

The young family in the park is not alone. After leaving the area to attend college, a young woman comes home to work in a county office and works tirelessly to improve the local economy. Another young woman from Ogdensburg came home. She had attended college locally and left to take a job. Now she is back in the area, with valuable experience and marketable skills, and happy to be here. A male reader is finishing up his education downstate, but is already looking ahead to coming north again. He will have no trouble finding a job in the health care field.

The return of some of the brightest and mostly likely to succeed young people is one of the region’s quiet success stories. From personal experience, there are many other people who have come home and more will be arriving in the years ahead. They have obtained an education, and a few years of experience that make it possible for them to step in good paying jobs that have become vacant or recently created.

Both St. Lawrence County and St. Lawrence University have started “Coming Home” programs to assist those who are making plans to return to the region. Over time, perhaps, some returnees will bring their business or business ideas with them as well. That is the hope, anyway.

The reasons for coming home are probably as varied and numerous as the returnees. Some are coming back to be close to family, while others want to raise their families here. Others like small towns or wide open spaces. They have seen what has been presented as the good life in the media, and found it wanting. They understand that there won’t be as many dining, shopping, entertainment, or career options, and decided the trade-offs are worth it. Kudos to them, and lucky for us. Their presence, and their skills make our region a better place.