No nightlife? No problem for the still-pretty-young
Originally published on VTDigger and written by Anne Wallace Allen
Matt Harrington, the executive director of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, knows better than to promote his town as a happening place for the young and the restless.
“It’s tough to live in rural Vermont if you are 21 to 27 years old,” said Harrington, who is 34. “Madison’s (a popular Bennington restaurant and bar) closes at 10, 10:30. There’s no nightlife.”
But for the still-pretty-young, those over 28, Harrington sees Bennington as a paradise of sorts: a place where you can find a great job at a small company where you’ll get a chance to try out many different roles; a community where you know your neighbors; and a small but dynamic growing ecosystem where opportunities for public service and civic engagement abound.
For those in their late 20s and beyond, “Vermont becomes very attractive,” said Harrington, who grew up in neighboring Hoosick Falls, N.Y. “It is picturesque, and you can raise your family in a safe place and telecommute or work in Albany or Williamstown.”
It’s very well-known that Vermont needs more young people. It’s older on average than the rest of the country. And in this small state of 625,000 souls, southern Vermont has been particularly hard hit by demographic trends. Statewide, Vermont’s population barely grew between 2014 and 2018. In southern Vermont’s Bennington, Rutland and Windham counties, the population dropped 4% to 5% in that period, a trend that is expected to continue. Meanwhile, the population grew 5% in Chittenden County in that period and nearly 6% nationally.
The area also has some structural problems that have nothing to do with demographics. Energizer announced in October it was closing its plant in downtown Bennington, putting an estimated 100 people out of work. And nearby North Bennington is still dealing with the fallout from the 2016 discovery of the toxic chemical PFOA in hundreds of drinking water wells.
Like the administration of Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, the board of the Bennington Area Chamber has made attracting people to the region its No. 1 goal. The chamber welcomes all people, but particularly young people who might stick around to fill some of the professional and civic roles that will be vacated as the incumbents retire — and build up the town and state’s diminishing tax base. It’s an ambitious goal shared by chambers in rural areas around the country as young people move to more populous places.
To that end, Harrington this year started looking at ways to activate the young professionals in the community. Noticing that a group called the Northshire Young Professionals had only three members, he approached them about joining forces with the Bennington Young Professionals (with membership that Harrington estimated at 375) in 2018 to create Shires Young Professionals, of which Harrington is now chair…
