This is a great thread for a variety of reasons - FreeWYO addresses a valid concern for ANYONE who is concerned that their communities lifestyle and way of life are going to be turned upside down by outsiders with no regard for 'how things are'. Hold on - don't ya'll click that mouse button yet...
A little story about some things that have happened around here (in VA).
There is a large, man made lake that was surrounded by farms, mobile home communities and rv / camper communities. Very laid back. Farms that were in the same family for generations - way before the lake. 2 lane roads. NO stop lights in most counties surrounding the area. Country schools. Country values. People just 'got along' and minded their own business. The lake itself was a government imposed blight... but after a few decades, the fishin' got good so most 'good ol' boys' were willing to forgive the 'gubbmint' for stealing 'Uncle Henry's farm'.
Fast forward a few more decades: 'Yankees' discover the area.
They discovered cheap land, waterfront property, and an escape from the high crime, crappy urban environment they were in 'up north'. The only thing they didn't like about country life was, in fact;
our country life. Gravel roads got their Mercedes dirty... so WE "needed" to pave them. There were no shopping malls. so WE "needed" a strip mall. No airport? WE "need" a small airport built. Well, by golly - they also began to demand convenience stores, more shopping areas, SEVERAL golf courses and that poor lake... where you once could catch your limit (and then some!) of bass, crappie & big ol' catfish... Well now, IF you can dodge the jet-skis and ski-boats then I wish you luck finding an inch of shoreline not rip-rapped or monitored by the new sheriff's department boats. Heck - we even have the Coast Guard Aux here now! (
Yes, on a lake 5 hours from the ocean!) And there are even 'trash barges' running full time now to clean up the crap that fishermen & tourists throw out into the lake. Guess who pays for that?... or has to move out for the newcomers.
Once they discovered us "unsophisticated, country hicks" (that's folk like me...), the Yankees promptly scooped up as much land as they could get and by concentrating their numbers in a particular area they essentially (along with their influx of $$$) 'took over' the area and it's government. (Expanded to a state level...
does that idea sound familiar to FSW'rs?) That's something to think about, folks. If it ain't broke - don't fix it.
Keep in mind that the majority of the 'Yankees' here are fairly nice and DO want a better life for their families than what they left behind. BUT...
Today, the RV / cabin communities are gone. State campgrounds and a few KOA overnighter parks are it unless you OWN some land there.
The mobile home communities are gone, replaced with 1/4 acre lots with McMansions.
The elderly folk that were still living in the last mobile home community there a few years back? Gone now. Who knows where they ended up. Many held on as long as they could to their lake trailers which were (in some cases) there since the 50's.
Big farms? Gone. Replaced by $million dollar ++++ mansions & condos that surround all the readily accessible shore line not taken by McDevelopments.
No property taxes were replaced with both high property & real estate taxes going through the roof.
Old family farms are broken up and sold off by families who can't afford to farm the family land... and frankly, who'd want a snotty punk from 'up north' moving in next door and then whining about the smell from the hog pen anyway? (Miraculously - they couldn't smell them hogs for the entire 6 months it took to build their McMansion...)
Add in the meth labs moving in, add additional 'law enforcement', add public utilities jacking property taxes... well - I think this is exactly what FreeWYO is concerned about.
I believe I understand exactly where FreeWYO (the original poster) is coming from and what his concerns are. If I understood his / her post correctly: it's all about people FLEEING a place / lifestyle that no longer suits them, that was bad for them and was too expensive (monetarily / freedom-wise) for them... BUT once they found a 'haven' (in our case: Wyoming) to go to...
the "invaders" promptly begin to construct a CLONE OF THE VERY PLACE THEY FLED.That's where the resentment comes from folks... I'd wager you that FreeWYO is just concerned that 'people like us' will destroy what he treasures...
and what he treasures is what makes Wyoming... Wyoming. Frankly - it concerns me too. I've seen it happen here.
Hope no one takes this personally but it needed to be said - I'm not trying to come across one way or the other - I'm just recounting a personal view of local experiences and hearing a lot of that echoed in FreeWYO's words. If ya got pissed off reading this - it wasn't intentional... but I'm also not sorry.
It's just a real world concern that you ARE going to bump into when relocating to ANY area. Change is inevitable... but being perceived as the chief motivator of change AND being from 'outside' IS going to cause friction.
The best way to become a resident of an area is to quietly be there 5 years before anyone even realizes ya are there... and by that time, you'll almost be "one of them".
LEARN THE LOCAL WAY OF LIFE BEFORE YA TRY TO "EDUCATE" THE LOCALS. (They might actually have a clue about how they wanna live their lifes without ya!
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Remember that outsiders ARE outsiders to 'the locals' of ANY community. To become a part of that community... well, you need to leave your baggage on the bus. Throw away the nikes and put on some good work boots, don't gripe about the gravel roads, don't whine about having to drive 30 minutes to the store, and for goodness sakes don't even think about building a 7-11 / theatre / WalBoxStorestripmall. Enjoy the lake, or Wyoming, AS IT IS... and the friendly folk will, once they get to know ya, welcome you. Or, screw with tradition and end up in a long term pissing match where no one wins, or worse: and the very thing FSW'rs are seeking will be lost forever.
Just a thought or twelve - take it fer whut it's werth. (Sorry - that's the only way I know to type in a southern accent.
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