Dammit, now I HAVE to stay

It seems a number of my white counterparts are leaving the great state of NJ.

Demographers have noted that the state recently experienced an uptick in "outmigration," which is when the number of people leaving the state exceeds the number moving in.

The new Census data are "really linked to the outmigration patterns of the state, and it shows that they are predominantly white non-Hispanics who are moving out," said James W. Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

Some people blame the outmigration on the usual economic issues jobs, cost of living, high taxes, etc. Many of the young, white professionals (newly married) I work withhave moved out farther and farther into the Highlands. Mostly because of housing prices.
But some see it as a continuation of white flight.

Others, however, say there could be social factors at play. The "white flight" that has marked New Jersey's suburban history -- with whites moving farther from suburban towns as minorities move in -- could be occurring on a macro-scale, said Clement Price, a professor of history at Rutgers-Newark.

And others blame the retirees.

Then there are the retirees. The Baby Boom generation -- so-called because there were lots of children born in post-World War II America -- is reaching retirement age, a time when many New Jerseyans seek warmer climes. And in New Jersey, the older population is whiter than the population in general, which could explain why the state's rate of white population loss is increasing.

I hope this doesn't mean that the remaining white majority doesn't become more insular.