Is There Nothing To Do Here MOV?

MARIETTA, OH — This was a question posed to the Facebook group MOV – What’s Happening on July 1, 2021. “There appears to be an ongoing exodus from the area of young people. Why are people graduating and leaving the community, and what would be needed in the area to entice young professional types to stay? Job opportunities? Recreation? What is missing from the picture here?”

Live in Marietta? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Follow Marietta Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and download our free Patch mobile app on Android or iPhone

Within 7 hours the question had generated over 350 responses, in the days to come it would eventually rack up more than 550 comments, and 100 reactions. Some of the responses were positive for the area, most were critical. Here are a few of the more highly rated comments. Since this is a private Facebook group the users have been kept anonymous.

One user said, "We have the cultural diversity of an Alan Jackson concert, the air quality of an active tire fire, and our strongest career prospect is winning an F150 in the Covid lottery."

Another user said, "The MOV has nothing positive or progressive for a younger generation. No activities to do, no decent jobs, and nothing but older people who are rude and unhappy."

One user said, "They want a big city feel but won’t do what is needed to obtain it. A lot of people in this area won’t support the arts whether it is music, theater, films, etc. They would rather complain and try to hold each other down than to support and lift their fellow neighbor. Also you hear of multiple comments of nothing to do, but if something nice were to be built or come in the area, they run it down and complain it’s “too expensive”. Small minded people in a small minded town. Open your minds and let growth happen instead of tearing down."

Another user said, "This is not a town to grow in. It's a town to die in. No thanks."

One user said, "Left in 2013. Stagnant wages, culturally backwards, lack of diversity. Lack of opportunity. Pollution."

This is not the opinion of everyone who lives in the area. Jesse Roush is the Executive Director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, but he said his comments on the matter are representative of him as a community member, not as a professional with the Port Authority. He spoke about the perception that there is nothing to do in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“The perception is there. I graduated in 2001 and that was a perception when I was 16, 17, 18.”

He’s passionate about Appalachia and Washington County in particular. He said he knows a lot of people who stayed here, but he also knows a lot of people who moved away, then came back.

“We affectionately call those people boomerangs.”

He said he works with a number of boomerangs who came back for any number of reasons, kids, family, slower pace of life.

“My opinion is that is only half of the perception. The cup half-full part of the perception is appreciating this area for what it does have to offer, and understanding that that’s not for everyone.”

He has a couple of questions for people who say there’s nothing to do around here.

“Define what you need to make this a satisfactory place to live? If it's Top Golf, if it’s Target, we don’t have the community demographic to support that.”

His other question?

“Define around here? Is around here Marietta proper? Is it Washington County proper? Is it a two-hour day trip?” He pointed out that two hours from Marietta is Columbus, Akron, Canton, Morgantown, Huntington. “If you’re willing to drive a couple of hours I couldn’t imagine what you could want to do that you couldn’t find to do there.”

He acknowledged that a long weekend is different from a Tuesday night. He also acknowledged that everyone is different, and for some people this area is not a good fit depending on personal taste. He said it’s possible the kind of thing you want is here already, so confirm what you want isn't just around the corner. But if you’re looking for music venues with 20,000 seats, we don’t have that.

“However, there is a fairly consistent live music scene thanks to the Galley, Brewery, and others.”

As for Roush, he loves it here. He likes to camp and do a lot of outdoor activities. Disc golf, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, he said he loves it all and that folks like him can’t ask for much more than what we’ve got.

The area is changing and Roush thinks there’s more to do here now than there was just a few years ago. He said he just ran into a couple of people who moved away to Austin and Portland.

“They commented that Marietta is way more than they remember it being.”

He never thought the argument that there’s nothing to do here never had much validity, but he said it had more validity just 10 years ago.

Some people dislike the local economy and leave for higher-paying jobs. Roush wants to see the data because the cost of living is a factor.

“Sometimes it seems like, that’s a lot more money, but a lot more becomes not a lot more or sometimes no more once you figure out the cost of living.”

He said if we’re talking an extra $25,000 a year then leaving might be to your advantage, but an extra $10,000 a year might not stretch as far as you think. He also said that he is sympathetic with the wage issue, but assured me that there are people working on it and it is being seriously addressed.

One complaint that Roush addressed was that there’s nothing to do here at night but go to bars or get fast food.

“What do you want to do at night that isn’t a bar or fast food? I don’t have that answer. What else do you want to do?”

He said he likes to look at comments like that through a glass half full lens.

“There’s nothing to do here, so that means there’s a market opportunity. I want to be the problem solver.”

He cited an e-sports lounge that recently opened in Parkersburg.

“If there is a problem, the market wants a solution. If you have a solution that’s viable that people will give their time and money to then you can fix that problem.”

Roush is challenging anyone who says there’s nothing to do here, to be leaders in finding the solution.

“We have great entrepreneurial startup resources here. We have a great small business development center here. The folks at the Makerspace, BB2C over there on the westside they’re doing great things over there.”

He pointed out that the Innovation Center in Athens is a great resource too.

“That’s a tremendous resource right in our backyard.”

He had some advice for anyone who thinks they might not be able to get what they want started.

“Maybe it’s not up to you to execute it, but there are people around who could invest in it or bring you on as a partner. You never know, pitching an idea might get you hired in a better position because you’re exposing yourself and your ideas and you have something. If you’re conveying that you never know when the opportunity will arrive to fix that.”

He acknowledged that it’s a big undertaking to start something new like this.

“If you don’t like your job, and you don’t like where you live and you don’t want to, or can’t, move, you still have the power to fix one or two of those problems.”

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Marietta Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of our latest sponsors? Email any and all inquiries to me at christopher.schmitt@patch.com.