Dispatches: The Changing American Dream
What does the American Dream mean to you, and how has it changed?
Dispatches: The Changing American Dream
A new initiative from Patch chronicles the pursuit of the American Dream in communities across the United States.
Patch.com
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Avon Patch is excited to introduce a new series for Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."
And we want your help. Tell us what issues and stories in Avon are at the heart of your American Dream.
Every day, there are stories in the media about how American families, businesses and government are adjusting in these difficult times. Changes seem to come quicker these days, and the debates about unemployment, taxes, economic principles, home ownership, regulation of businesses, religion, education and government are becoming more intense.
At Patch, we want to explore these conversations on a daily basis to better understand how our neighbors are handling the challenges they're facing.
Like most of the country, Avon isn't a monolith with one vision of the American Dream. From longtime farming families to small business owners to white-collar suburbanites who have driven the city's population explosion of the last 20 years, Avon is home to a wide-ranging group of people.
Over the 900 Patch sites around the nation, we see stories of businesses trying to stay afloat, college graduates dealing with an unfriendly job market, families having to deal with new realities imposed by layoffs or job changes, and seniors trying to have all the bills paid at the end of the month.
In the midst of those challenges, we also see people taking chances with new businesses, volunteering to help people in their communities, and people stepping up to have a say in what their local government is doing.
We want to know where Avon is on these issues.
Do you see your American Dream evolving in a new direction you didn't anticipate five or ten years ago?
Education is one of those national issues. Avon is consistently an excellent-rated district, but is having to face challenges from an increasing student population, state funding cuts, aging buildings and levies that taxpayers are eyeing more warily.
Businesses could be flocking to Avon in the next few years as the new Cleveland Clinic facility is finished, the Nagel Road interchange is built and property nearby is developed, and the Jacobs Group decides what to do with all that land it cleared on Chester Road earlier this year. Are you worried that big regional and national businesses are going to crowd out Avon's small businesses and small-town charm?
"Dispatches" will be built upon the stories big and small, and the conversations that spring up from them. With your help, of course.
Share some ideas for us to cover!
Tell us in the comments.
