People from Away

[Chukar60]

You need to look closer to home for the cause of the problems. There's no growth without building permits. I live in Vegas, I've seen the same issues and I know exactly where to lay the blame.

There is no way to stop it. You cannot deny people from moving in. You cannot deny business from coming in to meet demand.
Good luck getting government types to restrict permits. They would face lawsuits and they love growth. Growth equals increased tax revenue and growing bureaucracy. Somehow they have come to think their job is to grow government just like a business.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Same thing the original inhabitants said when they were getting slaughtered and moved to reservations.

I was thinking the same ironic thought, reading these comments with a different perspective.

In the 1970's, a man who I knew as Steve was quite obviously disdainful of all of us non-indigenous people for ruining "his" country. He was chief of the Prairie Dwelling Lakota, he was given the name Naca Wamni Omni (Chief Whirlwind).

Steve on the left, with his brother Mark.

Most of us on the forum have lived through a doubling of nation's population. Something was bound to change.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

To a certain extent it goes both ways. Here in NJ many towns welcome retirement communities/age restricted housing as a way to boost rateables while avoiding increasing school enrollments. Those same "senior citizens" turn out in large numbers to vote down school budgets.
A number of gun shops with indoor ranges have opened in the last few years-in fact, one is a range only. Indoor shooting is better than NO shooting.

 

[Wyo]

Colorado has had this problem to the point that the state has changed completely from what it was 30-40 years ago. Montana has it going on in the western half of the state. Wyoming has had this issue for some time in the NW quarter of the state, especially in the Jackson area, but a lot of large ranches throughout the state that used to be open for hunting have fallen under out-of-state ownership and been locked up as private playgrounds. We're lucky in the sense that about 60% of the land here is federal and, thus, open to public access. Also, it seems much of the state is considered "unattractive" (desert) by outsiders so they don't want it. Finally, our weather is harsh and that helps keep out the riff-raff. Fine by me!

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

Sub developments are ruining the nation. Cities grow and the older parts
of the city/town are left to decay and people move to the edges a few miles.
I love how the sub developers name these places, example, quail run,
antelope hills, etc. As soon as these places are filled up they expand the
city limits and destroy more of nature.
And some call this, "progress".

 

[JcMack]

The low life dregs of Chicago's south and west sides have moved across the state line to N.W. Indiana to live next door to me. Both mine, and the surrounding communities here don't have the police and financial resources to deal with the hundred percent increase in crime they brought with. The well to do'ers out of Chicago and surrounding Illinois suburbs move to newly built subdivisions south of here with streets named pine cone lane and fox tail way. So they get the best of our county and us living in old construction with Chicago's worst get utility increases to pay for the new construction addition to the grid.

 

[Mule Packer]

A Doctor buys a home we use to live in and lets his boxers run all over everyone else's property! They get in my brothers horse pasture (miniature show horses), and my brother walks out with a rifle to shoot them, just as the doctor retrieves the dogs.

We had the exact same problem, but with a different result. A family moved in from the city and let their two dogs run loose...a labradoodle and a chocolate lab. Both went on a wild rampage killing chickens, chasing lambs, calves, etc.

This family was extremely upset when a neighboring rancher shot their dogs. Of course, it didn't make them feel any better when he presented them with a bill for $780 to cover the cost of his entire flock of laying hens (which, by the way, was part of his income). And, naturally, they really couldn't understand why the animal control officer cited them either for their dogs "harassing domestic livestock." I mean, c'mon, this is the country, isn't it? You should be able to let your dogs run free in the country. Right? Let's all sing a chorus of "Born Free."

Since that time, the family hasn't anything good to say about those "blankety-blank country hicks!"...and they still haven't reimbursed the rancher for his chickens.

 

[Golddollar]

I was thinking the same ironic thought, reading these comments with a different perspective.

In the 1970's, a man who I knew as Steve was quite obviously disdainful of all of us non-indigenous people for ruining "his" country. He was chief of the Prairie Dwelling Lakota, he was given the name Naca Wamni Omni (Chief Whirlwind).

Steve on the left, with his brother Mark.

Most of us on the forum have lived through a doubling of nation's population. Something was bound to change.

Holy smokes! It's my long lost brothers!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

by the way, was part of his income. And, naturally, they really couldn't understand why the animal control officer cited them either for their dogs "harassing domestic livestock." I mean, c'mon, this is the country, isn't it? You should be able to let your dogs run free in the country. Right? Let's all sing a chorus of "Born Free."

Since that time, the family hasn't anything good to say about those "blankety-blank country hicks!"...and they still haven't reimbursed the rancher for his chickens.

Your neighbor the farmer needs a "Dirt bag, ambulance chasing, money grubbing" lawyer. Since those dogs killed of part of his income, the damages include the income since the destruction and Punitive Damages (for flaunting the law!)

The stupid thing is, the "Slicker's" homeowners liability insurance would cover it! My basic home owners has $50,000 liability, same as my car! If that house is financed, the bank makes them have insurance!

Ivan

 

[snubbyfan]

Here's the thing, we moved out to Small town West Virginia after 9-11. At the time we were living in the Washington D.C. area and my wife worked across the street form the Pentagon.
After 9-11 we decided that we had enough of of the terrorists, bureaucrats, traffic and crack heads. The car radio was playing "we gotta get out of this place," by "The Animals" when I was dropping my wife off at work in a cloud of smoke coming off of the Pentagon the next day.
Within a month we were settled into a beautiful brick house in small town West Virginia.
At first it was a bit like culture shock. In the D.C. area, when you walked into a store you got, "what you want?" Here it's "how y'all doin?" Drivers wave and not with their middle fingers. "Local" is within 35 miles so you learn to stock up. Grocery shopping's an all day excursion, we call it "going for supplies" and make a day of it.
But it's quiet, the air's clean and we live within a mile of mountain ridges, hiking and biking trails, camping areas and a river to go tubing in on a hot summer day.
Every season's beautiful. We drove to the gym the other day (31 miles one way) past farmland and mountain ridges covered with snow.

 

[mckenney99]

My county is predominately a rural farming county with the western portion butting up to the urban city. Like everyone else, we have seen an explosion of "urbanites" escaping to the country. However when you move into farming country you have to learn to share the road with farm equipment, especially during the spring planting season and the fall harvest season.
I always got a kick out of investigating some of the crashes that occurred on the rural county roads and rural state routes where the newly arrived "urban farmer", driving their brand new Crew Cab, 4x4, Super Duty pickup truck, just couldn't wait to pass a local farmer and they wound up putting their new truck into the ditch because they were too impatient to wait for the farmer to pull over to let traffic pass. Usually no injuries just a lot of expensive damage to the truck and a majorly bruised ego when they got ticketed for illegal passing or failing to maintain control. Urbanites just have a hard time grasping the concept that farm equipment usually has the right of way and is exempt from a lot of normal traffic laws.

 

[bill2000]

Are you one of the Maine people now or still one of the "people from away"? Larry

Believe me, unless you were born here...maybe extending to your parents being born here, you will NEVER be a Mainer. Been here 33 years and folks treat me nice for someone from away. I'm OK with that.

Mainers call the tourists "summer complaints". Was in a restaurant in town several years ago and a woman from "away" asked her waitress "What ever do you people do when we leave in the fall?" The waitress looked her square in the eye and said "WE fumigate."

I love it here and wouldn't dare to change anything except that I'd like Portland fall into the sea. Must be something in the name.

 

[Kevin G]

My wife sometimes likes to point out to me that her family goes back numerous generations in state with a little bit of Native American blood thrown in. My response that I went through puberty here in the Pinetree State doesn't get me far.
I went through grades 7 through 12 and then secondary school here in state, Have lived in the same town for 55 years and find myself pretty well accepted except from my wife on occasion.
In all seriousness, attitude has everything to do with how newcomers are accepted.
A fellow from outside of Boston renovated and moved up into his second home full-time. He jumped into all kinds of outdoor activities, fishing, icefishing, four wheeling, hunting, got a truck with a snowplow and plows out elderly neighbors gratis.... He can be a little over the top sometimes in a humorous way and he laughs when we tell him about it. This fellow is an asset to the community who is very welcome.
Kevin G

 

[Rustyt1953]

I became an official US citizen in '75. I have never felt unwelcome in any place I have lived.

Unless folks give me reason to roll it up my welcome mat is always out for new neighbors.

 

[garddogg56]

Southern Maine is now Northern mAss

 

[Golddollar]

I love it here and wouldn't dare to change anything except that I'd like Portland fall into the sea. Must be something in the name.

There is. The port side is the left side of a boat.

 

[Golddollar]

In all seriousness, attitude has everything to do with how newcomers are accepted.
A fellow from outside of Boston renovated and moved up into his second home full-time. He jumped into all kinds of outdoor activities, fishing, icefishing, four wheeling, hunting, got a truck with a snowplow and plows out elderly neighbors gratis.... He can be a little over the top sometimes in a humorous way and he laughs when we tell him about it. This fellow is an asset to the community who is very welcome.
Kevin G

I think you have summed this up quite nicely. We've tried to do this when my extended family and I have moved into a new community.

 

[Doug M.]

Want to see an extreme example of the problem, go to youtube and search for KOMO TV's recent special on the "Fight for the Soul of Seattle". 90 minutes of showing just how dumb the recent policies are.

 

[pharmer]

I moved here exactly 41 years ago next week. For the 1st 20 I was a "Yankee nuisance." For the last 20 I am "Gringo Viejo." Things change. Joe

 

[mtgianni]

A NW Montana county with a population of 50,000 had 17,000 new residents move in this summer trying to avoid Covid. Many were living in motor homes and camp trailers but they could vote. They were not nearly as conservative as the residents and have changed the county government considerably this past election. The sad news is that most of them will be gone after two winters.