Down is Up in Cleveland

A headline in the Plain Dealer sure got our attention. It reads Cleveland’s Inner City Is Growing Faster than Its Suburbs As Young Adults Flock Downtown (Robert Smith, Plain Dealer, April 27, 2012). Sure sounded good. But then we remembered that newspaper headlines concerning such matters are often much more optimistic than warranted by reality, and indeed more optimistic than the contents of the headlined articles. And so it is here. We read the article (click here) and came across the following passage:

“Meanwhile, the newcomers are too few to offset a larger exodus. Cleveland lost 17 percent of its people last decade as nearly one in five residents left the city.”

‘Scuse us for asking, but this is a rate of growth to brag about?

Not only that, but it says here that the Cleveland newcomers fall into the 21 to 34-year old age cohort. Nice to see the youngsters leave Mom & Dad’s digs and strike out on their own. But do you really believe that when they get around to getting married and procreating, they will remain in the center of Cleveland? Or is it more likely that they will head back to the suburbs where life is nicer, schools are better and safer, and where one can buy a family home rather than blowing money on rent?

Wait and see.