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The curse of Eastern Europe, to die and empty out. It's the same in my country. Life in the UK and Germany > at home. And it's an exponential process, for ever

The curse of Eastern Europe, to die and empty out. It's the same in my country. Life in the UK and Germany > at home. And it's an exponential process, for every 1 person, 5 probably leave. My hometown was nearly 100k in the 80s, down to 50k if that by now. And it's mostly elderly, children, who grow up, go to the capital or just immigrate.

aa1234556 3y ago
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lr4444lr 3y ago
Curious why you think that is. I understand that a higher standard of living can be had abroad, but there is there not investment interest in the country given its relatively well-educated but low wage workforce? The tug of wanting the familiar? Think it'll ever equilibrate and reverse?
- reisse 3y ago
  There is no low wage workforce to invest into, because the job market is the whole EU. People (especially educated younger generation) won't work for low salary at home if they can earn more euros for the same work on the other side of the fence. Local businesses have to pay competitively. And the fact countries can't use protectionist measures inside EU does not help either.
epolanski 3y ago
I really would not say it applies to whole Eastern Europe. Baltics, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Romania and many other places are developing fine and less and less people are emigrating. And the picture definitely is nowhere near as depressing as Albania and this region in particular.
- betaby 3y ago
  Baltics lost and continuing losing population for decades, however currently their population is propped by migration from Belarus (since August 2020 and then next waive after Feb 2022). Even with those trend Lithuania has lost 1/3 of its population in 30 years. Czechia and Poland has a influx of Ukrainians since Feb 2022. On other side Bulgaria is losing ~1% annually without signs of stopping. So yes, I would say the trend is very visible everywhere in Eastern Europe + Balkans.
  - epolanski 3y ago
    So does Italy, Japan, China and many other places. Birthrates are low.
mensetmanusman 3y ago
These are the growing pangs of globalization. Abandoned cities will be everywhere over the next century. Especially after the population collapse in Asia.
- e-master 3y ago
  My personal experience is quite the opposite - globalization allows capital to move to the lesser developed and cheaper places, bringing jobs and education, and over time an improved quality of life, so that people who were before desperate to leave no longer feel it’s necessary. Sure, it’s not as simple, but just wanted to mention it, since it’s not as straightforward as it seems. On a slightly related note, I’d rather point the finger at urbanization - in my short lifetime I’ve witnessed multiple small villages (1.5 - 2k population) pretty much disappear as the younger generation moved out for multiple different reasons.
  - mensetmanusman 3y ago
    The abandonment of rural areas and the mess that left behind were the seeds to populism growing in my part of the world (US). It was an unforeseen aspect of winner-take-all globalism-driven economic growth.

aa1234556 3y ago

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lr4444lr 3y ago

Curious why you think that is. I understand that a higher standard of living can be had abroad, but there is there not investment interest in the country given its relatively well-educated but low wage workforce? The tug of wanting the familiar? Think it'll ever equilibrate and reverse?

reisse 3y ago
There is no low wage workforce to invest into, because the job market is the whole EU. People (especially educated younger generation) won't work for low salary at home if they can earn more euros for the same work on the other side of the fence. Local businesses have to pay competitively. And the fact countries can't use protectionist measures inside EU does not help either.

epolanski 3y ago

I really would not say it applies to whole Eastern Europe. Baltics, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Romania and many other places are developing fine and less and less people are emigrating. And the picture definitely is nowhere near as depressing as Albania and this region in particular.

betaby 3y ago
Baltics lost and continuing losing population for decades, however currently their population is propped by migration from Belarus (since August 2020 and then next waive after Feb 2022). Even with those trend Lithuania has lost 1/3 of its population in 30 years. Czechia and Poland has a influx of Ukrainians since Feb 2022. On other side Bulgaria is losing ~1% annually without signs of stopping. So yes, I would say the trend is very visible everywhere in Eastern Europe + Balkans.
- epolanski 3y ago
  So does Italy, Japan, China and many other places. Birthrates are low.

mensetmanusman 3y ago

These are the growing pangs of globalization. Abandoned cities will be everywhere over the next century. Especially after the population collapse in Asia.

e-master 3y ago
My personal experience is quite the opposite - globalization allows capital to move to the lesser developed and cheaper places, bringing jobs and education, and over time an improved quality of life, so that people who were before desperate to leave no longer feel it’s necessary. Sure, it’s not as simple, but just wanted to mention it, since it’s not as straightforward as it seems. On a slightly related note, I’d rather point the finger at urbanization - in my short lifetime I’ve witnessed multiple small villages (1.5 - 2k population) pretty much disappear as the younger generation moved out for multiple different reasons.
- mensetmanusman 3y ago
  The abandonment of rural areas and the mess that left behind were the seeds to populism growing in my part of the world (US). It was an unforeseen aspect of winner-take-all globalism-driven economic growth.