As the American people were digesting their Thanksgiving turkey, the New York Times’ “Where Should You Live” quiz popped up on many news feeds. The feature was a perfect lark for couch-bound dreamers, designed to let readers explore fantasy life changes without lifting more than a finger. 

I love my home in the Adirondacks, in Saranac Lake, and I wanted to see how our Adirondack communities would stack up if the whole country was in play.  Did they stand a chance amid the thousands of communities vying to attract new residents in this era of sudden career mobility?    

I picked some criteria — Trees, Mountains, More space for your money, and Low Climate Risks — and launched the quiz. The #1 match according to the NYT:  Tupper Lake, NY!.  I already knew that Tupper Lake is an incredible community, but I hadn’t expected it would pop out on top in my very first search.   

I tried different search filters and saw other familiar Adirondack and Northern Forest communities show up prominently as ideal places to live. My exercise was evolving from an idle experiment to a learning journey. What can we learn from this tool? Yes, there are troves of information that the data-minded could dive into, but as we work to recruit and retain young people in the Adirondacks and in other parts of the Northern Forest, it’s easy to take away some important lessons. 

Perhaps the most obvious observation:  people are thinking about where to live and what communities fit their goals, needs and values. Many workers have more flexible options than ever before.  While this shift could be an opportunity for Adirondack and Northern Forest communities, there are important issues to consider. We won’t be successful in attracting remote workers if we don’t address communication priorities like high-speed broadband.  And in this environment of increased housing prices and low supply, mobile individuals and families with higher buying power in the housing market can be perceived as a threat.   We must recognize and respond to these complex and thorny issues.  

Rising to the challenge requires good communication, strong partnerships, and hard work. We shouldn’t shy away from this work, because our communities will be stronger as a result – better places for new families to move to, yes, but also better communities for our current residents. A holistic approach to community development that considers the priorities of young people and families will have benefits for all community members.   

We can also learn from the search terms that don’t bounce Adirondack and Northern Forest communities to the top of the quiz results. Sure – we know that someone who selects “Densely populated” or “Less snow” probably isn’t a good fit to live here.  But choose from the tool’s available filters of “Racial diversity,” “Parents” or “Young adults,” and Northern Forest communities fall out of the running. This may not be a huge surprise, but it should be a cause for concern.   

These are things that young people are looking for, and not just young people idly scrolling their news feed. We heard the same values mentioned in a survey we ran of graduates of Adirondack high schools and colleges. The solution – again – is complex and multi-layered. But making progress is critical. We believe that young people are looking for communities that are making progress – not necessarily for places that are perfect or complete, but places where they can contribute to a rising tide of revitalization and dynamism.   

Not quite a year ago, we released Attracting New Residents: A Strategy for the Adirondacks and its Communities and began working with communities to address the significant demographic challenge of an aging population here in the Adirondacks. We understand the complexity of putting all of the pieces in place to succeed in this work.  We’ve engaged hundreds of people in regional conversations about key issues like how to market our communities to potential residents, how to revitalize our downtowns, and how to ensure that quality housing is attainable for a wide range of current and potential residents – and we have much more to do.  

The challenge of attracting new residents to our beautiful and natural resource-rich part of the world is both complex and exciting.  With clear goals, partnerships, and commitment, we can make our communities stronger, more enticing places to live. Next year, if the Times repeats its “Where Should You Live” quiz, I hope our communities will show up as the winning result for even more people.