For years, ambitious young people from Newark headed to Rochester, Syracuse, or beyond and never came back. Now that remote work is mainstream, some say there's no reason not to stay — but others argue the town still doesn't offer enough to build a life here.
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Add your commentBorn and raised in Newark, graduated from NFA in 2009, moved to Rochester for work like literally everyone else I knew. Got a remote job in 2021 and moved back to be near my parents and honestly? Best decision I ever made. My mortgage is $870/month for a 3-bedroom house. My coworkers in Denver are paying that for a parking spot. The brain drain can reverse but only if people actually give it a shot instead of assuming Newark is a dead end.
Moved here from Brooklyn two years ago with my partner because we both went fully remote and could finally afford land. We have a garden, a dog, a spare room for an office. People in my old neighborhood think we're crazy. We think they're the crazy ones. Newark isn't perfect but it's ours now and we're staying.
The real issue nobody wants to say out loud is the school district. Young families aren't coming back if they don't trust the schools. Remote work gets you in the door but schools, parks, and community stuff are what make you stay. Fix that first and everything else follows.
Can we stop pretending this is a new problem that remote work is magically going to solve? Newark has been losing young people since the canal days. The jobs left, then the people left, then the businesses left because the people left. It's a cycle and a Zoom call doesn't break it.
lol every few years someone writes the exact same article about Newark turning around and then nothing changes. saw the same story in like 2015 about some entrepreneurship thing downtown. before that it was some revitalization grant. before THAT it was something else. i'll believe it when i see a new restaurant open and actually stay open for more than 14 months
Ok I have to correct the person above me — Newark's population has not been growing. Wayne County has been losing residents pretty consistently and the 2020 census was not good news for this area. I appreciate the optimism but lets deal in facts here.
I'll tell you what would actually help: if the village invested even a fraction of what they spend on the same three potholes on actually making downtown look like somewhere worth being. There's empty storefronts on Mason Street that have been empty since before my kids were born. My youngest just started high school. Do the math.
honest question for the people who moved back or moved in — what do you actually DO on weekends though? asking sincerely not trying to be snarky. i grew up here and i remember just driving around because there was nothing else
Remote work isn't gonna fix the fact that there's nowhere to take a date, nowhere to grab a decent meal after 8pm, and the coffee shop closes on Sundays. I'm 26. I need a life, not just a cheap rent.
I actually read somewhere that Newark NY's population has been growing since 2020 which proves remote work is already working!! people are moving back big time
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