Home

I was out to dinner with a friend tonight at the outstanding Armsby Abbey on North Main St and she was saying after being away from Worcester for a bit there is something drawing her back here at the moment.

A little history here. She grew up in the 'burbs of Boston but ended up going to school here. One of the infamous "college kids" the city always talks about retaining. After college she stuck around for a bit and just like many other young adults with degrees she got disgusted with the city and it's abundance of typical city problems without all the good things a city can offer and she left with her finger in the air and bought a house up in the sticks of North County.

Why does she want to move back?

"It just feels like home."

I have never written about this here but I have been saying for a long time that as a city we should try to figure out a way to get the college kids to "fall in love" with the city. While this was a pretty solid idea in my own head I think (and rightly so) no one knew what the hell I was talking about.

This is what I am talking about. Home.

An actual emotional connection with the city. An abundance of good times. An abundance of adversity. Memories. Friendships. STUFF TO DO.

Make the city friendlier to the young, educated, cultured, adult.

How do we do this? I am not sure. I have some ideas of my own of course that are not fully fleshed out, but I just wanted to write about this while I was thinking about it. Hopefully it makes you think too.