Coos County survey: Residents say they’d tell teens to leave

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More than 75 percent of Coos County New Hampshire residents surveyed last year said they would tell local teenagers to move away when they grow up.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute surveyed 969 Coos County residents in spring and summer 2007 about the state of their county and found an overwhelming number — more than 90 percent — believed a lack of jobs to be the biggest issue facing the area.

Coos County has suffered from a population and economic decline the past few decades as the region’s pulp and paper mill industry has shut down.

The county’s population dropped 40 percent between the 1940s and 2006 when it was about 33,000, and droves of young people have departed.

Despite the economic uncertainty, many residents remain optimistic and embrace the sense of community in Coos with more than 90 percent of respondents saying they generally trust and get along with their neighbors.

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