Will you choose Michigan?

When I graduated from college, my husband and I made a conscious decision to stay in Michigan. Less than a year after graduation and securing my first job, we made another conscious decision: to buy a house in the city of Grand Rapids, in a diverse neighborhood that’s close to the growing Medical Mile and a thriving downtown.

Since then, between mowing the lawn, establishing a career, replacing the windows on the house, paying the bills, and watching friends graduate from college, I’ve experienced a nagging frustration: am I the only 20-something worried about the flight of young, talented, passionate people from Michigan?

It’s a fear that distracts me when I’m driving sometimes, especially when I’m on the road to Lansing for a meeting, wondering about how our state is going to reinvent itself as the sole means of sustaining itself. I think about it when I brush my teeth in the morning. I think about it when I’m at my husband’s lacrosse games. He coaches middle school students… kids who are two blinks away from college and perhaps only a degree away from leaving Michigan.

I feel an incredible sense of urgency about this problem of Michigan’s fleeing young talent. It seems so tangible–it’s not a slowly leaking faucet that’s easily ignored. It’s a broken water main that’s threatening our infrastructure.

A recent Detroit Free Press article only confirmed my anxieties–in fact, it made my stomach hurt. Fifty three percent of more than 600 students surveyed at Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan said they do not plan to stay in the state after graduating.

Fifty three percent. Imagine half of MSU’s student body simply disappearing from the state over the next few years–about 20,000 people (when considering the total undergraduate student body). Social workers, doctors, teachers, writers, actors, philosophers, leaders… a myriad of people–resources–who are gone.

Imagine if even 10,000 of them chose to stay and bought a home. Imagine if only 500 of them became engaged in their local community. Imagine if 100 of them made a commitment to stay forever, invest in their local community, and become leaders personally and professionally. How would Michigan be different in 10, 20, or 50 years?

The answer always seems to be that this is irrelevant because there are no jobs in Michigan. Times are tough–everyone can agree on that. But I can’t submit to the notion that jobs are the end-all, be-all. Most of my peers who have left Michigan did not even try finding a job here. Most of them were talented and well-networked, meaning that there job search would have been difficult but probably not fruitless.

And some friends of mine who do have jobs–and good jobs, in their desired field–still insist that they are leaving Michigan soon. Some talk about going to school, others want to just get out and try something different.

I ask them to buy a house in Michigan and travel everywhere instead. I tell them about the incredible rates MSHDA offers on mortgages to first-time homebuyers. I remind them of economic progress, like the Medical Mile. And I believe fervently… if there was ever a time when thinking globally and acting locally was critical, this is it. If there was ever a time for ambitious 20-somethings to authentically imagine themselves as social entrepreneurs, this is it. (I’m talking about incredible people like my friend Social Citizen–I’m not afraid to name names!)

In short, it’s time to ditch the flight for some fight. The departure of talent from Michigan is not just an economic development problem–it’s a social one. It’s not just a trend–it’s the pulse of our state’s future.

And let’s get this perfectly straight: it’s not just about jobs. That’s a short-sighted excuse for a bigger question about what motivates people to invest in Michigan. This is a conversation about communities–not just jobs. I expect that unless there is some response to the departure of Michigan’s young people, the flight will continue regardless of an improvement in the job market.

This is about pride. And choice. And the opportunity to shape something bigger than yourself… beginning in your local community–maybe just the home you own–and influencing the bigger picture. Maybe it’s not the allure of Sex in the City, but it’s not just homespun simplicity, either.

Michigan is my home, but more importantly: it’s my choice. Who else will choose? If we’re not asking the question, then we’re not doing enough.