From The Small Town Midwest: Resilience and Hope in the 21st Century
"A lot of people are tied to where they are from," Sara said. "But people who are professional think they have more options to go elsewhere. They think they are making a more conscious choice on their part based on what they think their options are." That makes them more mobile, she added, lending credence to the suggestion that once educated, people are more likely to leave their home towns and pursue other options. One thing that encourages people to stay is having the means to do so. "Money helps. Not having scads but having enough that you don't have to go outside the area to look for work, whether your goals are blue collar, white collar, or something else, you can find work here and not have to leave the area"
From Along the Sylvan Trail
The next morning was cold and damp, but Oren still rose at six o'clock to walk the fence line and inspect the dirt, as he put it. The Emersons allowed hunting parties on their property so Oren put an orange cap on his head and an orange vest over his Carhartt jacket and headed out the door. Maggie rose, showered, dressed in slacks and sweater for work, and put on a pot of coffee. She was having toast and her own canned peaches when Oren came in through the garage and into the warm kitchen. Guess who I just saw coming up the highway from town and turning toward the Burroughs' place?"
Maggie looked at Oren's eager face and couldn't help thinking what a gossip he'd become since he joined that men's coffee group at Fareway Foods. She was glad he was making friends and didn't like to criticize, so she said the second thing that came to mind.
"Who are the Burroughs?"