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Community Corner

Where Did All the Young People Go?

Many Of The Best And The Brightest Are Leaving Madison Now, But Will They Return?

The established success of Daniel Hand High School and Madison’s elementary and middle schools has long drawn young families to the town of Madison. The small-town feel, picturesque location on the Shoreline, and friendly residents help make Madison one of the most desirable places to live in Connecticut--but not if you’re between the ages of 19 and 35.

In a town with over 18,725 residents, only 7.4% of the population is in its twenties and early thirties, according to the 2010 United States Census. Madison’s median age is 44.6, and more than 60% of town residents are over 35. For a town that prides itself on producing the best and the brightest students, we have to ask ourselves: Where are they going, and will they come back?

Leaving Connecticut for college

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The results of Daniel Hand High School students on the 2009 Connecticut Academic Performance Test, administered to students in the tenth grade, ranks Madison’s high school in the top ten of high schools statewide in the subjects of reading, writing, and science. In the 2008 school year, over 66% of juniors and seniors enrolled in courses for college credit. In the same year, the school offered 15 Advanced Placement courses; 82% of students received a score of three or higher on the Advanced Placement exam, indicating college-level mastery of the subject material. 

The high achievement of Hand students allows them many opportunities during the college application process. Though the US News and World Report has repeatedly ranked the University of Connecticut as New England’s best public university, many graduating seniors decide to pursue their college degrees out of state. In 2010, 63% of Hand’s graduating class enrolled in public and private universities out of state, compared to 7.4% who enrolled in private universities in-state and 16.6% who matriculated to a public university in-state.

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Many of the teenagers who grow up in Madison become bored of the beautiful suburban town by the time they graduate high school, says Jean Baker, the guidance director at Daniel Hand High School. For these students, going away for college is an opportunity for exciting new experiences set against the backdrop of a big city. And once these former residents leave Madison, it becomes increasingly difficult to lure them back to the simple charms of the small town.

Lack of jobs in Connecticut for young graduates

For Dan Brunt, a young entrepreneur from Madison who graduated from the University of Richmond in 2009, the decision not to return to Madison was based primarily on the scarcity of entry-level work in Connecticut. Brunt says that, “I couldn’t see myself working in New Haven or Hartford–it’s only insurance in Hartford, and it all comes down to jobs.”

Brunt’s friend Ted Maturo, another Hand graduate, said that he spent his first year out of college struggling to find work in the New Haven area. When he heard that a number of friends from Madison had moved out West to Denver, Colorado, Maturo decided to try his luck there. Maturo says, “There aren’t many job opportunities on the Shoreline for young people. Denver is a small city, but there are many more opportunities, and the social scene for young people is much broader.”

For many young people from Madison, the proximity of both New York and Boston to their hometown allows them to stay close to friends and family in Madison while still getting a taste of independence. It is difficult to compare Hartford or New Haven to the vibrant cities of New York and Boston. Brunt says that while he had a friend who moved to West Hartford after college, “I never considered it. For me, it could be a dose of ignorance, but I haven’t opened my eyes to everything Hartford has to offer,” especially in comparison to New York City, where Brunt currently resides.

No young people and no social life – a chicken or the egg dilemma

Chris Ferreira, Hand class of 2004, decided to go to the University of Connecticut at Storrs after being recruited for swimming. His decision to matriculate in Connecticut was not based on the proximity of the school to Madison, but rather on the economic value of the education and the school’s strong academics.

Ferreira is now the Family Director of the Valley Shore YMCA in Westbrook, a fifteen-minute drive from his family’s home in Madison. After graduating from college, Ferreira applied to jobs “in all the big cities,” including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Stamford. For a young graduate in 2008, the state of the economy greatly affected the job search, and Ferreira was frustrated by the job application process, sending out an average of ten resumes a week with a very minimal return rate. He started part-time at the YMCA, quickly moving up the ranks to become Family Director.

While Ferreira is happy with his position at the YMCA and the level of responsibility his job entails, he says that there is not much of a social life for young people in Madison. “There aren’t that many jobs to keep a lot of young people here in Madison, and so it’s not the best place to be when you’re young. A lot of my friends want to do something that they can’t do ten years down the road.”

Brunt and Maturo agree that Madison would be a great place to return to once they wanted to settle down and raise a family. Maturo says that he thinks it is “a great place to raise kids, especially if you want to put them through a great public school education on the Shoreline.” Until then, however, the attractions of big city life in New York and Boston remain unchallenged by the benefits of small-town living.

The future of young people in Madison and Connecticut

While the possibility remains that many of these young graduates will eventually move back to Madison ten down the road, Connecticut’s lack of young workers is an increasingly serious problem. In 2009, Connecticut had approximately 4.5 workers supporting each 65+ resident, but the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management predicts that by 2030 there will be only 2.6 workers per 65+ resident. With projections like this, it becomes clear that the state of Connecticut must work harder to attract and retain young talent to the state.

While the economic hardships of recent years have limited the number of entry-level jobs available in Connecticut, Baker, the Daniel Hand High School Guidance Director, feels that the struggling economy might actually push more young graduates to stay in-state for college – which might encourage them to stay in Connecticut, even after graduation. “UConn now has a glossier effect because of the cost… the savings are tremendous. If a kid is going to become a certified educator, it doesn’t make any sense to spend $50,000 per year when he can get the same education for $20,000,” Baker says.

For now, even though many graduates have decided to leave Madison, they continue to think of the town fondly. When faced with the question of how Madison could attract more twenty-somethings back home, Brunt says, “It may not be a place I want to live in now, but the way it is… it’s perfect. I can’t picture the town being any different than it is.”

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