I read your article and I saw it coming, Janay. It’s a very common attitude among humans. I grew up in New Paltz, NY, and then lived for almost 30 years in Alameda, CA, still two of the best places to live in the U.S., but before they were discovered by the world at large, they were better. Just Google them and read the new transplants gush and the old time residents complain.
What newbies don’t realize is that the people whose families were there for decades or generations don’t appreciate newcomers assuming the identity of a resident too quickly. What makes it worse is that some new residents, in their enthusiasm, start coming up with ideas for “improvements.”
I recently saw a newer resident of Alameda post on a local FB page that they think the historic bandstand in the park should be replaced with benches and a fountain. What she failed to realize was that a lot of people worked hard to preserve and renovate that bandstand when the city wanted to demolish it.
Benches? Great idea. They used to have them and they were removed because they became a favorite location of meth dealers. (The park is close to the high school.) A fountain? They used to have one, but it’s now a requirement that the water be potable. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to pipe it in. I know because I was there when the issue came up before and the parks department explained the situation.
New residents have a tendency to assume that nobody ever considered the possibility of changes before. That’s insulting. Another thing that makes people hostile to newcomers is that home prices go up. That’s great if you want to sell your house and leave, but not so great if your kids can’t afford to stay when they get old enough to buy houses of their own. People separated from their grandkids can be bitter about that.
When someone makes a nasty comment like that, it’s good to remember that there’s usually pain behind it. Your story was controversial. All stories like that are. People are very protective of their hometowns. You can at least take consolation in the fact that it made money. It wouldn’t have done nearly as well if it hadn’t made some people angry.
