Young adults back for the holiday: ‘It's a warm place to be'

Matt Houseman has only been away from the Mohawk Valley, N.Y., for five months, but he couldn't wait to return, even if it was just for Thanksgiving.

"I never thought I would, but I miss home," said the 23-year-old Utica College graduate and New Hartford native.

Like many young adults returning home this time of year, Houseman decided to leave the area after being offered a better-paying job elsewhere.

Officials have said the brain drain factor will call into question the economic future of the area.

Maryland attorney and Utica native Steven H. Oram has identified keeping talented young people here as a centerpiece of his fledgling Give Back to Utica program.

Oram envisions creating internship and mentoring opportunities at local companies to be supported by an organization funded by successful former area residents.

"There is every reason in the world to keep the smartest and the brightest here," Oram said in a visit to the O-D earlier this week.

The presence of motivated young adults can boost the economy, nightlife and the housing market, among other things, according to Oram and others who are seeking to retain that age group in the Mohawk Valley.

A 2005 poll commissioned by the O-D, WKTV NewsChannel 2, WIBX-AM 950 and conducted by Zogby International explored this dilemma.

The Mohawk Valley: The Next Step poll showed 58.7 percent of Mohawk Valley residents believe their children will need to leave the region to find suitable work.

The poll also showed 50 percent of residents think the region should focus on creating more jobs for recent four-year college graduates.

Houseman said the decision to leave was a difficult one. It took two weeks for him to decide he would accept a production director job for an out-of-town radio station instead of a position at a local station.

Houseman said he is thinking of moving back, even if it means taking a pay cut.

"It's been tougher than I thought," he said. "I don't know anybody."

Some area natives have chosen to make it their mission to find suitable employment without leaving.

Molly Bonnell, 24, works as a communications specialist for the Girl Scouts-Foothills Council.

She is extremely happy to have been able to find a job that didn't require her to abandon her hometown of Little Falls. But she wasn't always confident she would be successful in her local job search.

After graduating in 2005 from Utica College, she said she had a very difficult time finding work.

"I was very discouraged," she said. "I thought, 'I don't want to leave, but I might have to leave.'"

She said she couldn't imagine living anywhere else but the Mohawk Valley.

"It's just a warm place to be," she said. "Everybody knows everybody, and people are always willing to help you."

Liz Menard, 26, originally from Clinton, also misses the cozy feeling of home, but the draw of a busier life brought her to Boston with her sister Sarah.

Liz, who works as a Web site designer, said she likes that there is always something to do in the larger city. But she admits coming back to the area isn't out of the question.

"I think eventually I would like to move back - if I find the right job," she said.

Utica Observer-Dispatch