In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, theHome Townhosts open up about why they chose to dedicate their shows and their work to revitalizing small-town America — and reveal that they almost didn’t return to their own now-famous home town of Laurel, Mississippi, after moving away.
“When we finished college we weren’t planning to come back here,” says Ben. “We had talked about living in Memphis or Birmingham, maybe going to Nashville. We even discussed how magical it would be to go to New York City and live and work for a little while.”
Larsen & Talbert
“But then, as we were getting closer to graduation, and we knew we were getting married and starting our lives, it just felt right,” he says.
They both had job offers in Laurel when they graduated but, Ben recalls, neither felt like something that would turn into a career, and they wondered if they wouldn’t have more opportunities elsewhere. They also considered the view of many young people hoping to set out on their own and make their mark on the world: that going home after leaving was admitting defeat.
Erin Napier/Instagram
“I think the stigma [of returning home] is that it’s a sign of giving up,” says Ben. “‘Oh, you settled. Oh, you couldn’t cut it, and you were too scared to go to the big city, so you came back.'”
But they’ve realized sometimes the opposite is true.
“The more rebellious thing is going home,” says Erin. “When you’re young, you think the world is so much better if you could just get away from home—that the grass is always greener—but it’s just not. Everywhere has problems. You can either complain about them and leave, or you can stay and do something about it.”
L A R S E N & TA L B E R T
Of their eventual decision to come back to Laurel, she says, “It just felt like a moment where you can either run away from what you don’t like or you can be a part of making it better.”
For Ben, at the time, staying was “way more of a risk than moving to a city. We came back, and in those first few years, nothing was going on in Laurel. But we didn’t focus on that. We focused on making things happen.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Now, the town is on an upswing, thanks in no small part to the Napiers.
They’ve renovated and restored dozens of older homes in the area on their hit seriesHome Town, opened two stores downtown — Laurel Mercantile and Scotsman General Store — which sell American-made goods.
Discovery+
While they’re excited to help ensure the future of towns around the country, reviving Laurel is their lifelong project because of their daughters: Helen, 3, and Mae, 7 months.
ben napier/instagram
“I want them to travel and see the world, but I want them to come back home and do something important here to really contribute,” says Erin. “If all the young people leave the places that they’re from, that’s when towns die.”
Adds Ben, “But also, you’ve got to give them a reason to come back. Honestly, that’s why we’ve done so much of what we’ve done: We want our kids to grow up in a place that feels magical.”
source: people.com
