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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There are so many beautiful towns in this country with beautiful homes that could be lovely & thriving.

What killed Main Street, USA? [I am sure this is a book][/quote]

Its a gross oversimplification of complex global factors, but in a word, Walmart killed Main Street. Not just the stores themselves, which put moms and pops out of business, but the whole operation- the relentless cost cutting which drove manufacturing out of the US and into China, the interstates on which Walmarts rely for their supply chains and which took travelers past small towns, the garbage jobs that pay only a fraction of the jobs they replaced, and of course the conservative anti-social politicians funded by the Waltons and others of the world that ensured all the benefits of the new economy would stay firmly entrenched at the top.

Locally, it was populations and politicians that got used to being provided for by a single employer and became reluctant to change, [b]forcing out their youth and anyone with better options[/b], and eventually they became too broke and despondent to invest in keeping anything up. The drug epidemics of the last 20 years were the final nail in the coffin but really only a symptom of the greater rot.

Some manufacturing is starting to come back to save on time/tariffs, but the jobs will never be the ticket to the middle class like they were because the unions are shot and the whole economic/ social contract of the postwar era has been destroyed. We’re back to the Gilded Age. 
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While I don't want to underplay the role of Wal-Mart (saw it happen in my own rural Ohio town), IMO/IME rural communities also played a cultural role in their own demise as society became more mobile. You could argue that the social contract, for a very long time, relied on people not really being very mobile or able to leave crappy family or community situations, so they were forced to stay and make the best of things. In my rural town of less than 10,000, where high school football & basketball ruled not just the schools but the entire town culturally, and academics was shrugged off/clearly less valued than church and sports, the smart or creative/artistic (and often LGBTQ) kids got made fun of or bullied ... they knew very well where they fit in their community's hierarchy, and they left as soon as they could. They'll never go back or want to raise kids in that environment if they can help it. Brain drain is real and I would argue that it's not only about opportunities or dollars. You can make a solid living, and sometimes a very good one, in LCOL communities, who often desperately need doctors, lawyers, dentists, specialists, skilled services, etc. often with little to no competition -- and often with way more space, good housing stock and natural beauty! But if a community essentially chases off a sizable portion of its future middle/creative/leadership class (and also, often, is not very socially welcoming to "outsiders" who come in and might fill the gaps), that's a reinforcing cycle that has roots in the people there, in addition to external forces compounding the problem. I mean, really, small towns make some of their own residents' formative years unpleasant or possibly, downright miserable, and then people wonder huh, why didn't they stick around to be part of/improve the community?

My parents, and their parents, either chose their small hometown or weren't able to/opted not to leave over the course of their lives. My family built a lucrative business -- I could have continued that route if I'd chosen to stay. The social and cultural dynamics/constrictions weren't worth the money, not by a long shot. I got the hell out and have deliberately made my life in suburbs/exurbs of major cities, and raised my kids in school systems where academics are prized above sports. I have one sibling who is still raising a family in my hometown and the school/social dynamics have not changed one bit -- if anything, the town is even more insular/conservative, while all the houses & infrastructure are another 30 years older, and the brain drain continues. 
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