Flipping the Narrative on Nebraska’s Brain Drain Problem
I left Nebraska when I was 24 to make my way in New York City. The Internet was but a gleam in Al Gore’s eye and mobile phones were still a few years away. It was a simpler time, and in a pre-Google world, there were lots of misconceptions about anyone who lived anywhere else. During her first week at her new job, a co-worker of my wife actually asked if she had plumbing when she grew up and was surprised to learn that she didn’t ride a horse to school. During my years of living in the big city, I learned that Nebraska had a reputation for a great work ethic and nice, simple people. The “simple” part seemed to be perpetuated mostly by Johnny Carson’s stories about cows and cornfields. And, truth-be-told, being underestimated by big city businesspeople ended up serving me well as an entrepreneur.
The Nebraska that I came back to in 1992 is markedly different than the one I live in today. My love for this place and its people has grown even stronger, but I’d be lying if I didn’t share that there are times that that unyielding love is challenged. As in any enduring relationship, we all go through chapters where our love is tempered by disappointment or frustration.
And to be clear — I don’t believe that the differences I see today are necessarily the result of “change.” We just have better spotlights now. We are able to see into the shadows in a way that wasn’t possible before the Internet and 24-hour news cycles came along. Everything is laying out in the open for everyone else to see at all times. And we see it.
As a result, Nebraskans feel more divisiveness than at any point in my lifetime. I’ve previously shared my thoughts in this blog that we seem to be going in the wrong direction with civility.
“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
— the author’s Grandma
I know that not everyone feels the same way I do about this, but I fervently believe that when we surround ourselves with others who look like us, talk like us and believe in the same things that we do, we create bland, uninspired and myopic communities. If it is true that variety is the spice of life, we’re missing out on a lot of flavor.
My wife and I attend Burning Man every year and are inspired by its principles — particularly the practice of radical inclusion. It’s more than just accepting others who are not like us, it’s about including them… learning from them… and celebrating our differences.
One barometer of understanding how inclusive people are is to pay attention to how they interact with others who have different opinions or beliefs. Nebraskans don’t fare too well on this metric overall. In a January 2022 study conducted by Redact, Nebraska ranks among the worst 10 states of people who send “hurtful trolling messages” online with 21% of our citizens admitting that they participate in this new-age practice.
That’s why I feel so inspired when I see evidence to the contrary. In February 2020, I remember watching a national news video of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg being asked by a nine-year-old boy for advice on “coming out.” Pete was authentic and thoughtful in his response. When I clicked on the comments, fully expecting to be disappointed by the trolls, the first two comments I read were from young Nebraskans, praising his response. I felt a swell of pride for my state.
That pride is diminished when I continue to read article after article about the great “brain drain” and its effect on Nebraska.
The Outmigration of Our Young People
For the past two decades I’ve been watching from a front-row seat as my children, their friends and thousands of other young people have chosen to leave Nebraska to build their lives. It’s not news that highly educated people are more likely to move. Nebraskans with a college degree have consistently been more prone to pack up their bags and seek opportunity elsewhere.
According to the UNO Center for Public Affairs “brain drain is the net outmigration of people 25 years or older with a college degree.” Outmigration has clear economic implications, but frankly, I’m more concerned with the way it affects the social fabric of our communities. According to a report published by the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee, Americans are segregating themselves into communities where they more frequently reside near people who are similar to themselves, decreasing the likelihood of rubbing shoulders with those who see the world differently.
Tapping Into the Source
In an attempt to gain deeper understanding of this trend, I reached out to several young Nebraskans in my personal network who have decided to leave or are close to making that decision. What they shared with me was hard to hear. Here’s a sampling of the issues that are important to them in their own words:
POLICY / POLITICS
Instead of reflecting on why young Nebraskans are fleeing, the politicians proudly, and un-ironically adopted the new tourism motto: ‘Nebraska: It’s not for everyone’.
Why would anyone want to stay in a place that’s culturally hostile, and financially unrewarding? It’s really summed up that right wing politics are not only ethically abhorrent to young people, but their tax and incentive policy are built to enrich corporations and existing power structures.
Millennials use cannabis to treat physical and mental health ailments more than any other generation. Nebraska is well known as being an extremely anti-cannabis state. I know several people who cite this policy as one of the primary drivers in leaving.
I won’t live in a state where I don’t have reproductive rights. I want to live in a place where my bodily autonomy is undeniable, not something that’s argued in courts or could change depending on who is in leadership.
Everybody agrees that people dying of gun violence is bad, but when it comes to taking action, many people in Nebraska believe protecting the second amendment is more important than protecting lives. Granted, gun control is a federal issue more than anything else, but it’s too important and relevant an issue not to mention.
EDUCATION
This issue is absolutely solvable. From an education perspective, the anti-CRT and anti-gay health convos in schools are not only embarrassing for our state and institutions of higher ed (we lose a lot of faculty at UNL over these ‘controversies’) it contributes to the brain drain. Our systems of education lose integrity and it puts students at risk.
WORK / JOBS
My career doesn’t exist in Nebraska.
Remote work (wages 30+% above local market) is going to create a LOT of pain for Nebraska over the next decade. Eventually it will force local wages up, but the current gap is creating a lot of economic problems.
Minimum wage hasn’t risen alongside expenses. Nebraska’s $9/hr wage means 98 hours of work in a month to be able to afford the average rent in Lincoln — $888 in 2022. Want the cheapest apartment possible? Studios go for $624 — nearly 70 hours of monthly work.
DIVERSITY
People in the majority want it to stay that way.
I believe that at the end of the day, nature shows us every day that ecosystems that understand the importance of diversity not only survive, but thrive. Ecosystems that do not, die.
Nebraska would lose fewer young people if it asked us: What else do you want to be? What else do you want to explore? How would you like to grow? and then support those decisions, rather than passive aggressively expecting folks to fit the prescribed mold. Nebraska could be an incredibly diverse and interesting place to live if it would support the growth of *all* people.
For being a city known for welcoming immigrants, it seems like a tiny fraction of Lincolnites make any effort at all to make the community a welcoming place. Lincoln bills itself as a champion of diversity, but having diverse people alone does not make you a diverse community.
CULTURAL
The societal pressure of there being one acceptable way to live your life, especially as a woman (e.g. married in your early 20s, kids by 30, stay at home mom) is totally unappealing.
I don’t want to raise my kids in a place that indoctrinates them with the so called “Nebraska Nice” mindset that ONLY extends to people who:
— are cis/straight
— are white Christians
— have a career, not a job (Hudl vs Walgreens)
— don’t use cannabis
— believe in protecting guns more than childrenPhilanthropy in Nebraska lags far behind. Aside from a handful of generous and well-known families, people hold on to their wealth, which creates fewer privately funded public services than those that are found in other communities, especially in the arts. This means if you want to make a living in the arts, you have to leave.
Nearly every person that I heard from made it clear to me that they love Nebraska. The majority would like to come back one day. Their advice to those in power is for them to stop claiming to speak for everyone. For example Governor Ricketts shouldn’t claim to talk for all Nebraskans when he says things like “Nebraska is a #prolife state”. There were many comments about his stance on medical cannabis as well. One young person who identifies as a conservative told me “even though I agree with a lot of Rickett’s policies, I don’t think he should claim to be talking on my behalf. It just doesn’t sit right.”
Perhaps one of the most insightful comments I heard came from a Nebraskan who has gained notoriety as a national thought leader in his space. He says:
I tried for a decade to stay in Nebraska… but I always felt like [opportunities were] conditional upon me not making anyone in power uncomfortable. I had to change who I was and I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m finding in different environments that it’s hard everywhere… every city and state faces these problems, but communities who flip the narrative are more successful that those that don’t.”
Flipping the Narrative
I love Nebraska. And I am proud to call Lincoln my home. Early settlers demonstrated massive grit, determination and resilience long before we were admitted into the union in 1867 and I believe that the reputation we’ve earned as hard working, nice people is warranted. I also believe that we’re capable of doing better.
The longer I’ve lived, the more I understand that we’re all learning as we go, working through insecurities, and desiring to be seen and heard. So why is it so hard for so many of us to take a deep breath and listen with the intent to understand rather than respond? I think we should all challenge ourselves to flip the narrative. What would happen if, instead of trying to control a conversation for an outcome that aligns with our belief, we lean in with a curious mind? Maybe then we could find common ground and be in a place of understanding, respect and appreciation. The true strength of Nebraska can be found in our differences, not our similarities. I believe that if we take this approach, over time, we can turn the brain drain into a brain gain.
Oh… and if you see my son Cohagen or daughter Ellen as they are tooling around New York City, remind them that Nebraska (and their dad) will always welcome them home. :-)
Jay Wilkinson is the founder of Firespring and Cofounder of the Do More Good Movement. His life’s mission is to cultivate his own consciousness and be a catalyst for others to do the same. He’s got a lot of work to do.
