Brain Drain Chronicles: Madeline, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. We’re working on tracking down a more diverse array of participants (i.e. not our classmates) but alas, you have to start somewhere!

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series. We admit that this is sub-scientific, but we’re finding the answers enlightening nonetheless.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Madeline, 27

Name: Madeline

Age: 27

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background?

B.A. Literature in English with a minor in Vocal
Music and Spanish Literature from U. C. San Diego.
Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS)
from San Jose State University.

What is your current occupation?

Youth Services Librarian II, San Jose Public Library

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

First grade–12th grade (1986-1999). I consider Clovis
my hometown.

Where do you live now?

Los Gatos, CA (Silicon Valley).

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I always felt judged in Clovis… for not being Christian enough or conservative enough or middle America enough….

What are the secondary reasons?
No major university, lacking diversity (or least a supportive environment to encourage it), car culture, chain store culture, suburban sprawl, poor air quality.

Actually, the heat never bothered me…
What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?
Close-minded, flat, religious, uniform, hot

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

The fact that God factors into this sentence is so
telling…

I think the entire culture of the Valley would need to change before I’d feel comfortable there. If it suddenly filled with progressive people, I’d make an easy transition back.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

A higher paying job couldn’t lure me back. The Bay Area pays me well enough, and my current high cost-of-living seems worth it considering the amount of beauty and culture I regularly experience here.

Feel free to add any comments.

I do love to visit the Valley. I feel like I’ll always have a special bond with the friends I made in Clovis, especially those who went away for college, experienced something new, and returned to experience Clovis in a new light.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Justin, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes at gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Justin, 27

Name (First name or shortened name OK): Justin

Age: 27

Where did you attend high school?

Buchanan High

What is your educational background?

BA, High Honors, Swarthmore College (Music Major, English Literature Minor)

MM, University of Nevada-Las Vegas (Music Composition/Theory)

DMA, University of Texas at Austin — Beginning in Fall 2008 (Music Composition)

What is your current occupation?

Assistant Director of a Huntington Learning Center
Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I was born in Fresno in 1980, but moved away before I was 1. We moved back to Fresno in 1990 and then to Clovis in 1992. I left for college in 1998 and my family was no longer there as of July 2000.

Where do you live now?

Henderson, Nevada (soon to be Austin, Texas)

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

When I left, I was eager to get away from the social, political, and ideological identity that the valley held in my eyes. I wanted to go to a “good school”, and in the sort of elitism to which young people are often predisposed, that meant I had to go somewhere else. It was valuable because it gave me a broader worldview and a set of different experiences, but it was a bit wrongheaded.

What are the secondary reasons?

There’s no reason left for me to return. Without family attachments and without real job prospects in my chosen field, Fresno and Clovis are novelties — places where I can go and see that the city and town I knew aren’t there anymore.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Changed

Boomerang (Not an adjective, but I feel like people struggle to stay away once they’ve been there for a long time)

Hot

Agrarian

Close-ish to “Home”

Reactionary

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

There would have to be an extraordinary opportunity as a composer or professor, or I would have to be seized by a horrible fit of nostalgia and my wife and daughter would have to agree to the terms of fog and heat.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

There would have to be sufficient pay to allow a ridiculous standard of living, replete with waterfront home, measurable land, and a fully-equipped music studio.

Feel free to add any comments.

I misjudged the Valley when I left. In my youthful posturing, I convinced myself that it was nothing but a breeding ground for early breeding, mental mediocrity, and provincial political ideas, and that was not an altogether accurate assessment. However, for the foreseeable future, there’s no conceivable reason or justification for us (my wife, Emma, and our daughter, Zoë) to move back. Interesting side note about Minkler — I discovered it while aimlessly driving out toward Reedley for an Honor Band rehearsal, and was amused (I suppose) by the statistical happenstance that would lead Minkler (then population 34) to attain the highest murder rate in the country if one person snapped over some sort of cooking mishap.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Sarah, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes@gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Sarah, 27

Name (first name OK):
Sarah

Age:
27

Where did you attend high school?

Clovis High, Class of 99

What is your educational background?

BS Electrical Engineering, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

What is your current occupation?

I integrate satellite payloads for Northrop Grumman, as an RF Test Engineer

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I lived in Clovis for 19 years.

Where do you live now?

I live in El Segundo, CA

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I got recruited by Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach 5 months before I graduated from Cal Poly.

What are the secondary reasons?

My chosen specialty of aerospace engineering isn’t readily offered by the Central Valley companies.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Home,
Hot,
Reasonable,
Foggy

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

Job-loss,
Starting a family

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

If a major aerospace company started satellite production in the valley.
Standard of living remains stable.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Bret, 26

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes@gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Bret, 26

Name (first name OK): Bret

Age: 26

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High

What is your educational background? I have a BA in music from UCLA and an MM (Master of Music) degree with a focus in clarinet performance from USC. I’m in my first year of law school at Yale.

What is your current occupation? Law student.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? I lived in Clovis from the time I was born until I graduated from high school (1982-2000).

Where do you live now? New Haven, CT.

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley? School, primarily.

What are the secondary reasons? I’m in New Haven almost solely because of school, although I did have a general desire to experience life on the East Coast. If I wasn’t in New Haven I would probably be living in LA: great weather, good job opportunities, fair amount of cultural events, and friends from college and grad school.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Hot
Affordable
Flat
Conservative
Midwestern
Agricultural
Diverse

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

Generally, I would need to find an extremely promising career opportunity. The most interesting and exciting legal jobs tend to be clustered in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas (NY, LA, DC, SF, Chicago, Boston, etc.) However, I would consider moving back to the Valley for personal reasons such as an illness in the family.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

Same as my answer to the last question.

Feel free to add any comments.

I think the Valley is generally a nice place to live, especially if you are raising a family. The cost of living is relatively low, the schools are decent, it’s easy to get around. In my opinion, Valley weather is much better than the long winters of the East Coast. But for young people who want to build a career and/or party through their twenties or thirties, the Valley can seem like a dead-end. There just seem to be more jobs with a chance for advancement, and a more vibrant social scene, in other parts of the country.

 

Introducing the “Brain Drain Chronicles”

The Creative Movement

We’re happy to introduce an ongoing series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the Central Valley Brain Drain. We’ll be tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what would it take for them to move back.

It’s our first foray into this type of content, so expect it to evolve as the posts continue.

Note: Our concept for this humble site is to provide content on issues facing the central San Joaquin Valley. Since we are not currently located in the Valley (we left too!), a natural theme to pursue included the brain drain phenomena, and the work that Creative Fresno and others are doing to combat this. Expect a posting with more interviews and background material.

Note: This was sent and returned as an e-mail survey. If you have suggestions on how to improve the questions/process, please let us know. We’re blogging novices.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Robyn, 25

Name : Robyn

Age: 25

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background? B.A. Columbia University 2004, J.D. NYU 2008

What is your current occupation? Law Student; Public Defender

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? Clovis 1986-2000

Where do you live now? New York City

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley? I moved to go to college and then stayed away for law school.

What are the secondary reasons? The food is better, the air is better, there is more diversity, the bars are better, the cultural options are more plentiful, there is more to do, my job is here, most of my close friends live here now (or at least not in the Valley). I’m never bored.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley? Dusty, hot, Mormon (adj.), agricultural, driving-based, truck-y, conservative, and Tsing Tao (adj.).

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there? New York City would need to be located in the Valley.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile? If I ever moved back to the Valley, it wouldn’t be because of cost of living. I’m acutely aware that the place I live now is ridiculously expensive, but after seven years, it has never tempted me to move back to the Valley.

Feel free to add any comments. The Valley is where I grew up, New York is my home.