RURALITY AS A KEY FACTOR FOR PLACE ATTACHMENT IN THE GREAT PLAINS

Abstract

Results from an online survey of the mobility of people who grew up in Nebraska indicate that rural stayers, defined as those Nebraskans who have had some experience living in communities with fewer than 2,500 residents, express stronger place-based attachments than others. Key components of this attachment include general contentment living in Nebraska, connection to family, a desire to raise children in Nebraska, appreciation for the state’s culture and hospitality, and for some, a fondness for the state’s natural environments. The research draws on quantitative evidence and the personal stories shared by survey respondents. The findings from the Nebraska Roots Migration Survey are provocative in their suggestion that those who grow up in America’s rural areas may develop a different set of values and social and place-based attachments than their urban peers.

Keywords:

• rurality
• stayers
• place attachment
• Great Plains
• Nebraska

Notes

¹ A total of three Nebraskan stayers identified as Native American. Two of them named family as reasons for staying, but neither mentioned generational or ancestral ties.