We rural people share a common understanding when it comes to our young: that it is essential for them to leave home after high school, to go away to college or work. This understanding comes from witnessing the stagnation of those who stay, the narrowed horizons and expectations, the dead-end life goals and plans.
Those who grow up here in Tahoe often do return, having seen what’s “out there,” and preferring what they know here. It then is a choice for something, rather than an absence of choice based on ignorance. Unsurprisingly, these “returnees” seem to find greater happiness and purpose than those who have never left.
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