The migration of the younger generation to urban areas is leaving many rural locations populated predominantly by the elderly. This essay argues that the loss of young people from the rural landscape has problematic consequences. The two most serious are, the depletion of the rural workforce and the loss of local education facilities.
When 18-30 year olds move to towns and cities in search of new opportunities, they leave behind an ageing population to do all the work. Most employment in the countryside involves manual labour. This can be difficult for older people to manage as it is far more suited to fit and healthy young adults. A government survey carried out over the past decade, reveals that the number of family farms being sold off to developers is increasing year by year. The main reason given for this is that the parents can no longer manage to do all the hard work themselves and their sons and daughters have moved to urban areas to seek new opportunities.
Furthermore, in many rural areas, there is no longer a village school for the local children to attend. With fewer young families living on the farms and in the villages, there are not enough kids to keep the local primary schools open. This is a big loss to rural communities as it means that children still living in the countryside often have to travel a long way to school each day. In the region of Devon where I live, every village had its own school just forty years ago. Now only a handful of them still exist. Most have been converted into houses or holiday cottages.
In conclusion, the significant rise in the average age of people living in rural areas has resulted in a lack of suitable people to fill the workforce and the closure of the majority of village schools, causing hardship to local communities.
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