The Toledo region is known for its affordability. The promise of having it all — a family, a house, a job — combined with the possibility of remote work makes moving to Toledo a no-brainer. Right?

Trevor and Hannah Lee, a young couple who returned to Ohio for good, are doing just that. Trevor is a boomerang to the area, and Hannah is originally from Sacramento, but both are finding the opportunity in Ohio to be able to work remotely and build up the life they envisioned.

But while folks like the Lees are thriving here, Toledo’s affordable cost of living is still not enough to stop the brain drain — even in the midst of a tech spring in the Midwest. Remote workers in America, who could live just about anywhere, would rather pay skyhigh rent to live in New York City or Chicago than move to much more affordable places like Toledo.

Welcome to episode three of Brain Drain, a Midstory podcast that explores the city of Toledo through the eyes of the people who’ve left it behind. In this episode, we explore Toledo’s efforts to attract the workforce of the future.

Visit www.midstory.org/braindrain/ to explore interactive data visuals and listen to bonus content.

In 1973, John Denver sang a song about Toledo to an estimated 30 million viewers of the Johnny Carson show. It was not flattering.

🎶 "Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio, is like being nowhere at all ..."

What follows describes a place where there is nothing to do except “sit in the park and watch the grass die,” where the sidewalks are rolled in by 10p.m. and where “great entertainment” is watching “the buns rise” in the bakery.

At the time, John Denver’s song “Rocky Mountain High” occupied the number 3 spot on the pop charts, and news of his bruising new ballad made its way to Northwest Ohio, where some Toledoans were offended.

Toledo’s mayor told the press that the song was “offensive as hell.” Blade reporter Tony Gearhart called Denver “a no-account slanderer” and “a furrow-browed, demon-eyed, nothing-is-sacred pop singer.”

Welcome to episode two of Brain Drain, a Midstory podcast that explores the city of Toledo through the eyes of the people who’ve left it behind. In this episode, we explore Toledo’s efforts to create an exciting and social urban scene.

Visit www.midstory.org/braindrain/ to explore interactive data visuals and listen to bonus content.

In 1868, Jesup W. Scott claimed that by the year 2000, “Toledo would be the largest city in the world.”

Unfortunately, Scott’s vision of Toledo never came true. At least, not fully.

In 2000, Toledo, Ohio, was not the largest city in the world.

Today, Toledo is not the largest city in the world. It’s only the 81st-largest city in the United States, and its population has shrunk by more than 100,000 people over the last 50 years.

The problem is not just that people are leaving Toledo. Population decline is actually quite common — last year, researchers predicted that half of all U.S. cities will face depopulation by the end of this century.

Welcome to episode one of Brain Drain, a Midstory podcast that explores the city of Toledo through the eyes of the people who’ve left it behind. In this episode, we untangle Toledo in its past and present — and perhaps most importantly, in all its dissonance.

Visit www.midstory.org/braindrain to explore interactive data visuals and listen to bonus content.