And this is why I am back to living in rural Missouri… though I still intend to move back to the desert SW if/when I get the chance. But the sustainability questions are brutally real for the future, and the economic issues are equally real right now.

My family goes back variously four and five generations in this region; and I would love to see it regain its old vibrant life, instead of the hollowed-out downtowns and farms where second jobs are obligatory just to make ends meet.

So I hope you’re right! A sudden burst of people moving in from East and West is probably just what we need. ;)