CMV: Many New England towns are slowly collapsing demographically, and older homeowners are ignoring the consequences because they are insulated from the school closures, service cuts, and economic stagnation that follow
New England is a beautiful region, with some of the strongest communities and kindest people in the country. However, in many towns, that community increasingly stops with the older generation. Outside of Boston, Providence, and a few college towns, New England is becoming a region of retirees, shrinking school districts, and towns that are slowly losing the ability to sustain themselves.
This is not just some right-wing talking point about fertility or “decline.” It is a real institutional problem. When there are not enough young families, schools close, businesses lose workers and customers, the tax base gets weaker, and local governments are forced into a downward spiral of service cuts and consolidation. The only growing sector in many places cannot just be healthcare and elder care forever.
New England cannot survive as a living region on nostalgia, old housing stock, and retirees alone. If these states and towns cannot find a way to make it easier for young people to stay, move there, buy homes, and raise families, then many of these communities are not going to be renewed. They are going to fade into memories.