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["Gloria Morris" <gloriamorris59 AT gmail.com>]

I can personally attest to what the affluent can do to destroy a rural
location. My last homestead of 16 years was ruined by folks who moved in and
built McMansions. They moved out there and then had to have a BIG new fire
station with full-time firefighters to protect their mansions, as our old
all volunteer system was simply not good enough for them. UP WENT THE TAXES.
We needed new schools to deal with the influx of children. UP WENT THE
TAXES. The little library we'd had was not good enough for them, as they
didn't want to wait on inter-library loans. So a HUGE new library was built.
UP WENT THE TAXES. On and on it went. My taxes quadrupled, but my home value
did not - I was told that my home's value was pretty much stagnant, as it
was far too small for anyone to want anymore, but the value of the land
versus the value of the house on land were about equal - someone might buy
it to knock it down and build a country estate. The taxes got so high I
couldn't afford to live there anymore. I sold the place after a year on the
market and fled the area.

I only pray that the poverty of my present county scares away the affluent.
I was thrilled to see shacks and run-down single-wides, as I know that those
who preach "location, location, location" and not building a place that is
significantly nicer than its surrounding neighborhood will avoid my area
like the plague. At least, I pray they do! I really don't want to be forced
to move again.

Gloria

On Jan 23, 2008 1:25 PM, Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:

> And then there are the affluent, those near the top of the American
> economic class system, a growing group. These folks are not only
> driving rural prices up; they want more services, which will raise
> taxes and increase bureaucracy. "Affluent retirees and other high-
> income types have descended on these remote areas, creating new demand
> for amenities like interior-design stores, spas and organic markets.
> For many communities, it's the biggest change since the interstate
> highway system came barreling through in the 1960s and 1970s," states
> Conor Dougherty, in an article in The Wall Street Journal: The New
> American Gentry.