I grew up on a 60-acre farm and my recollections of it are idyllic, though money was always in short supply. Eventually, my father realized that he had to sell. He could no longer maintain it. Leaving the only lifestyle my parents ever knew was excruciating for them and for me and my siblings. This issue is much more complex than big city folk can truly appreciate. How does one compensate for the areas of the heart and soul which will be lost forever when that last box of memories have been packed up and placed in the pickup truck? — Marge Keller, Midwest

You don’t have to go far to find opportunity

I was born in a tiny central Illinois town. When I was in third grade, my parents made the decision to move to Champaign-Urbana, Ill., so that my brother and I would have the opportunity for a much better education. It’s ironic that small-town and rural folk take so much pride in self-sufficiency yet won’t move to improve their prospects.

Immigrants make huge and often dangerous journeys to improve their chances and those of their children. You don’t have to move to the biggest cities. There are many small and midsize cities that offer much better education and job opportunities. It’s scary, but you owe it to your kids to be brave and do it. — BA, Milwaukee

Sioux County, Nebraska, may never be a tech hub, but why not make an effort in Columbus, Ohio? Tech companies claim H1-B visas are critical to their success. So make the visas geographically dependent. If 43,500 visas are to be given out, grant 100 to each Congressional District rather than giving them all to the firms in Silicon Valley or New York. Give tech a reason to set up facilities in places other than the usual. — Jim S., Cleveland

‘Lots of little’ can make big change

In the 1930s the government began implementing economic policies intended to move people off farms and into manufacturing, such as mines and timber mills. Small-town factories kept rural areas afloat for a while but were among the first to close in the ’70s and ’80s. At the same time, the farms kept getting bigger. We are seeing the culmination of all that now.

How to fix it? Change economic policy to favor small and midsize farms and factories, and invest in rural infrastructure, especially high-speed internet. Plenty of folk would happily trade in the expensive, crowded cities. — RB, Rhode Island

The author fails to understand the power of lots of little. I come from farm country and we were able to support the growth of IBM just fine. Why? We were resilient and hardworking. We are a community of people, each with many skills. Don’t be jerks. Spread the peanut butter already. — cleverclue, Yellow Springs, Ohio