Local tech entrepreneur David Billson wrote this opinion article for CBC London

What does it mean to live and thrive in a mid-sized city in 2018?

That question will be put forward this week as Evergreen brings the Mid-Sized Cities Research + Practitioner Roundtable to London.

I find this question intriguing myself, having recently interviewed more than 25 Londoners for my Branding #LdnOnt podcast project. I haven't completed my full analysis. However, this article will provide insights I have gained from the conversations and my own experience living in London.

What has become clear to me is that we, as a city, have a choice.

We can present ourselves as a millennial-friendly city and capture their energy and talents here. Or we can watch them immigrate to other cities.

I believe that — without this demographic in our city — we will lose our innovative edge and ability to compete on the global stage.

Other mid-sized cities are drawing more millennials

In my interviews, I found a mix of passion and excitement for what our city holds and a significant amount of frustration with what's holding us back.

What about the people who don't live here yet (or anymore)? It's been a long-held belief — at least here in London — that people will return to the mid-sized cities once they want to "settle down" or "buy a house". Indeed, the housing market and affordability is often cited as a primary reason for people to relocate. However, there's a new trend that's emerging.

As it happens, young people are emigrating from Toronto and a reasonable assumption is that they're migrating to mid-sized cities. But London is not a top destination.

(Statistics Canada )

I think there are three core reasons why London is not performing as well as some other mid-sized cities in this area:

Proximity to Toronto Signaling to millennials that they understand their wants and needs — transit, culture and community London tends to receive very negative coverage in the national media

As a city we can control two of those things. We can invest in millennial-friendly infrastructure such as transit, walking and biking paths. We can also tell our positive stories, in our own networks, and try to influence the national narrative about London.

(Statistics Canada)

In Table 2, we can see that the trend of millennials moving from Toronto has increased, whereas London has doubled-to-tripled the growth in that area in a few small years.

Shift away from 'the Joneses'

Why the mid-sized city market? I think the answer may lie within the Millennial Dream, a documentary exploring the millennial generation and the shift away from the "American Dream" or "keeping up with the Joneses" if you will.

There has been a growing shift among millennials, and more broadly, toward a desire to connect more meaning to life, whether it's how people show up in work and politics and, I would argue, where they live.

The 'big city' life has always drawn in young people with the promise of fast lifestyles, high-growth careers, and fancy sporting venues. Yet, if you crave a purpose-driven life, if you're looking to connect meaning in the work that you do and where you show up, then a mid-sized city is where you will want to be. Yet, once you arrive, you may find that the mid-sized city offers similar or better career, cultural, sports, and entertainment opportunities.

As an individual, you can show up, see the change, and point your finger at some improvement and say, "hey, I helped build that." - David Billson

Small- and medium-sized companies drive the economies of mid-sized cities offering a direct connection to purpose and work. You can spend less time in traffic — spending more time with your family or working on things you care about. You can advocate for better public transit. You can bike or walk to work. In short, you can show up to a purpose-driven life on your own terms, and still have a life that has many of the traditional 'big city' trappings: a meaningful career, income, and advancement that a small town would have trouble sustaining.

In a place like London, you can seek political office, run a grassroots campaign, and still have a decent chance of winning. An organization like Pillar Nonprofit Network can be founded by a small handful of purpose-driven individuals and become a leading standard for collaboration across the province, if not the country. As an individual, you can show up, see the change, and point your finger at some improvement and say, "hey, I helped build that."

The real problems

On the other hand, a mid-sized city gives plenty of opportunity to see where it struggles. In London, for example, you can see the areas where our city is truly challenged, and where it is failing the most vulnerable people. You can see who has access to opportunities, and how well aligned that distribution is to the makeup of our population.

Poverty, racism, social inequity and addictions are real problems facing our city. If we have the will and determination, I believe we can reduce the negative impact, if not solve many of these issues. We will do that by having a driven generation co-creating solutions within our city.

I don't think it should surprise anyone who pays attention to the shift among millennials, and beyond, that there's a renewed focus on smaller, locally-focused communities.

That's London's opportunity.

CBC London is a sponsor of the Mid-Sized Cities Research + Practitioner Roundtable and events May 15-16.