There are too many towns like that. No purpose, but still on life support.
Some years ago I was on a goth bulletin board, and a teenager was moaning about how his town sucked. Most of us thought teen angst. Then I looked up the stats on his town. Average age 55+. All factories closed. Primary revenue stream Social Security and various welfare programs. Most stores closed. High school still operating for a few students but teachers commute from elsewhere. The kid started to get advice on how to get out of that "Paper Girl" situation.
You're not obligated to go down with the ship.
Japan is much better at winding down towns. It helps that all infrastructure and education is supported by national taxes. Except for Tokyo and Osaka, everything is losing population. [1] 9 million empty houses.
Im not sure if that article discusses how Japan is excelling at this? I've heard from Japan loving friends about how cheap old rural Japanese houses are. What are they doing that makes them do a good job in your eyes?
Some years ago I was on a goth bulletin board, and a teenager was moaning about how his town sucked. Most of us thought teen angst. Then I looked up the stats on his town. Average age 55+. All factories closed. Primary revenue stream Social Security and various welfare programs. Most stores closed. High school still operating for a few students but teachers commute from elsewhere. The kid started to get advice on how to get out of that "Paper Girl" situation.
You're not obligated to go down with the ship.
Japan is much better at winding down towns. It helps that all infrastructure and education is supported by national taxes. Except for Tokyo and Osaka, everything is losing population. [1] 9 million empty houses.
[1] https://thedailyguardian.com/world/japan/japans-vanishing-fu...