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  • From: "Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Do You Love Your Community?
  • Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:36:48 -0800

We've had four major influxes. One was the result of lawsuits requiring Los Angeles and Marin Counties to "do something" about their homeless problem. Their answer was to handout bus tickets to our area along with a map to the local welfare office AND a complete set of papers already filled out for them to apply for GA. The crime rate went from next to nothing and everyone leaving their house and car doors unlocked to those living intown locking everything up.

Next was the folks who got the bus tickets calling their friends because they'd all "discovered" the South Jetty and the excess of bleeding hearts our county had. They set up one of the most disgusting shanty towns anywhere. And they ran a chop shop and a "pharmacy." They got away with this because the land was mostly privately held by big corporations outside the area and the access was very limited for the cops. That is when the crime rate went through the roof!

Next, we were discovered by folks in Ireland and a couple of other places in Europe. Now, those folks aren't a problem <g> They have been neighborly, haven't tried to change anything and love and respect the land!

Last, an enterprising realtor decided to market our area to folks in Los Angeles, the Silicon Valley, etc. -- sell your McMansions now, they're worth upwards of 10 times what you paid for them; buy more house on more land for the price you paid for your McMansion in 70s -- and he optioned whole new developments up here at about $70,000 a house (on 1/4 acre or bigger lots) and started a bidding war. These out of towners went ape when they saw brand new houses, large lots, views of the ocean or over-looking a pastorial stream and prices that began in the low $200,000s. Then they discovered they could actually afford to buy land. Another bidding war.

Now, we have lots of crime and no one who has lived in the area for generations can afford to buy anything!

Oh, and then a couple of them decided they needed to fix things. So one ran for city council and each and every council meetings has some reference to how things are done in San Diego. The other one is a millionaire who decided that the county needs to be Republican. And they decided that the city should become big box heaven. When met with a wall, she and her husband started their own newspaper which they pass out free. Hasn't worked so far but they have hopes.

Used to be one of the friendliest towns in the world. Used to be you couldn't go anywhere without someone saying hello and greeting you with a smile. Doesn't even feel like home anymore!

Lynda

----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>


And this new influx is probably one of the biggest challenges to
anyone from the "outside" that wants to move to the mid or upper
south. I have an interesting perspective on this having seen these
peoples "invasion" of Florida and now to be following the "invasion"
of the upper south.

From a local perspective both in Florida and Virginia, locals deal
with high land prices and these folks move in calling the high prices
a deal and then cause the prices to rise more.

Culturally, it causes century and a half old wounds to rise to the
surface, and it's not helped much that many people moving in from the
outside actively want to change things to be like they were "back
home".

My one piece of advice to someone moving to a new area is to
understand that you are the outsider and will need to conform to local
standards in many situations. If you don't want to do that, you'll
probably be ostracized by the community that you move to. On the other
hand, people that move in and are open to new people and try to
confirm to the local community have a better experience.





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