Is there such a thing as "Kalamaglue," an effect that says if you were born in Kalamazoo or moved here, you'll never leave?

The Kalamaglue Effect was explored recently by WMUK. They were asked the question by a listener about the effect and if it was true.

While it's anecdotal that people who move to this community then end up staying, the numbers just don't back that up.

Sure, Kalamazoo is a college town. WMU students could come here from anywhere and it makes sense that in their early adulthood they my find a partner and a job in Southwest Michigan and plant early roots. Large employers like Stryker and Pfizer may lend credence to the idea. However, WMUK found Kalamazoo County's retention rate is about the same as those in the counties home to Eastern Michigan and University of Michgian (Washtenaw) and Michigan State (Ingham).

Bigger cities tend to keep populations stuck to them and

generally are more sticky than Kalamazoo, and less populated counties tend to be less sticky -- especially those in the middle of the country. We are less sticky than most urban counties, in the Midwest and elsewhere.

The WMUK research sites Ontonagon county in the Western Upper Peninsula boasting less than a third of the people born there end up living there as adults.

So it's a bit of a mixed bag.  But if you do move away from Kalamazoo, there's a chance that you'll return someday or if you move here there's a chance you'll be here for life, but there is no such thing as Kalamaglue - no magical force that will keep you from leaving.

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