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My county is, unfortunately, the second fastest growing county in the state. People from a couple of big cities are moving here, because they can buy/build their McMansions and actually afford them -- at least that was the case. Now they're finding out our property taxes can put them right out of those McMansions.
Meanwhile, the city Karens complain about darn near everything rural, and become incensed when the locals who've been here for generations inform them that it ain't happening. Doesn't matter if it's informing the city folk that whitetail deer are NOT pets, that snakes are good for the ecosystem, that shooting sports is still popular here, and those roosters are going to crow at daybreak no matter how much the Karens complain. And don't get me started on their odor issues...
But the ones that really push my buttons are the ones who think driving on single and two-lane curvy roads at 75 mph is remotely a good idea.
We're reasonably tolerant of their antics, until they try to form homeowners associations and want to force us into them. Gets ugly then, and they lose. Jerks.
We're reasonably tolerant of their antics, until they try to form homeowners associations and want to force us into them. Gets ugly then, and they lose. Jerks.
The good news is, very few municipalities allow forcing existing homeowners into a newly formed HOA.
So the biggest risk is older developments with a dormant HOA -- specified in the deeds but not really active, but which can be awoken by the appropriate incantations.
There's always two sides to these issues. Sure property prices go up, but that also increases the tax base meaning hopefully more money for better schools, road repairs, etc. I have lived in one of the fastest growing counties in another state that also featured lots of formerly rural areas being taken over by housing developments and McMansions. Some of the farmers, who were struggling to begin with, sold up and made a fortune and have retired. Others sold off a portion of their property to the state for $millions over what they would have gotten normally because the state wants to keep the land in agriculture. Some farmers have switched over to growing organic or free-range meats that they sell at upscale farmers markets. I know one guy like this who basically stopped selling wholesale and now sells everything retail right off the farm and even has a nice little cafe where you can eat the food. The prices he gets at retail are supported by the nearby suburban growth areas. His meat costs a lot more than you pay in the supermarket, but these gentrifiers are willing to pay those prices. You have a strange mix of traditional farms and around the corner a new development. Plus, there are areas where real hillbillies used to live that are now rather suburban neighborhoods. Some of those hillbilly areas you would have been afraid if your car broke down at night, but now it is nice homes and families. So, it can be a mixed bag.
Yup you've summed up the negative aspects of rural gentrification quite well .
FWIW one thing that there doesn't seem to be any information about is the issue of displacement of longstanding residents in rural areas undergoing gentrification , while one can find a good bit of information about the displacement of their urban counterparts .
I wonder why that is so .
Because gentrification in rural areas is viewed as a positive since the people making those judgements OWN the media!!!
I went through the Spotted Owl issue as a economist for the Federal government. The economist in Medford, Oregon told me how weird it was over the years when President Clinton eliminated the public timber industry.
He kept looking at the economic statistics and Medford was doing fine when you looked at the statistics.
He called it a neutron bomb.
BUT....all the blue collar, working people in Medford were being replaced by white collar, rich retirees from California. The economic statistics showed that "nothing" had changed in Medford. The economy wasn't dependent on timber in Medford after all!!!
A President Clinton success story!!! BUT all those working class jobs were gone. Californians are nice people, but those working class folks...well nobody cared about them and they drifted north to communities that were still resource based, or slowly became despondent and dependent on alcohol and drugs.
But hey....remember President Clinton's wife called them "deplorable"????
Why would anybody care about THEM.
That story in the west has been repeated over and over again....but who cares about "deplorables" Not Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, or Obama....that is THREE decades of not caring.
What gets me about this, and I've brought it up on this thread before, is these people move to the rural areas, claiming they love the way of life in these areas and can't wait to live that way. Pretty soon it's, "Well when we lived in the city, we did things this way". And proceed to do what they can to change things from "the way of live we love" to what they left and wanted to get away from. Leave things alone! If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
This is nothing new. This is how the country was settled, only they never called it "gentrification". Its how cities grow and suburbs get swallowed up by urbanization, while contiguous rural areas become the new suburban bedroom communities. The population grows, jobs and businesses eventually move closer to the workforce, stores open to cater to them, and the economy grows.
In order to escape this repeating cycle (and it does take many years to complete), you'd have to move to an area so remote as to be beyond most people's comfort level. No neighbors to speak of, grocery shopping only once or twice a month because the trip takes an hour or more, no nearby hospitals, dirt roads surrounded by forests, kids bused to schools 3 towns over, low property values and low taxes. A place like that is not going to attract upscale urban escapees.
But if you live on the outskirts of Mayberry USA, and you haven't been overrun yet, count your lucky stars because once your paradise is discovered, it will be swallowed up.
The gentrification/move to rural areas "thing" has really been noticeable since the covid situation in March. Just look at various state forums...a more accelerated move from urban areas. I am in upstate NY...about a 4hr drive to the NYC. In my area, we are not quite on the radar for the NYC metro folks looking for their rural weekend/retirement/bugout/relocate place. Its somewhat almost headshaking their list of "must haves". Their list(and this includes what realtor friends have told me) is long and almost contradictory in some ways. Let's see...rural-but not rednecky, good infrastructure, great schools, low crime, low taxes, scenic, closeness to stores, hospitals, coffee shops, art studios, recreational water access, diverse, and that all important(lol)..having a good "vibe" to it. We are not in one of the target areas for these folks..but have seen an uptick in purchases by downstaters. My own experience with 3 families who bought in our neck of the woods..one is great..one is okay..one I wish would move somewhere else..
The gentrification/move to rural areas "thing" has really been noticeable since the covid situation in March. Just look at various state forums...a more accelerated move from urban areas. I am in upstate NY...about a 4hr drive to the NYC. In my area, we are not quite on the radar for the NYC metro folks looking for their rural weekend/retirement/bugout/relocate place. Its somewhat almost headshaking their list of "must haves". Their list(and this includes what realtor friends have told me) is long and almost contradictory in some ways. Let's see...rural-but not rednecky, good infrastructure, great schools, low crime, low taxes, scenic, closeness to stores, hospitals, coffee shops, art studios, recreational water access, diverse, and that all important(lol)..having a good "vibe" to it. We are not in one of the target areas for these folks..but have seen an uptick in purchases by downstaters. My own experience with 3 families who bought in our neck of the woods..one is great..one is okay..one I wish would move somewhere else..
Screw these people. They don't care about anyone or anything that doesn't suit their needs. They want cake and they want to eat it too. I despise them. They have totally ruined where I am and now I am looking to move. It's that bad, and it happened real fast.
I don't mind a trend where people want to preserve and fix up existing properties -- old stone houses or homesteads that have some character and some history to them. I hate the idea of McMansionizing a place or tearing down a nice old place to slap up a nouveaux estate. I don't like the idea of dismantling barns or cabins or historical places for salvage to accessorize the new country mansion. (That is probably more often a city thing with brick rustlers and unauthorized salvage bandits.)
Look at the threads on city-data.com complaining about noise from neighbors after moving to the country.
Complain that farming may be going on at night, not taking into consideration that everyone's crops come on at the same time, and harvesting companies with the big equipment have to operate 24/7 to get everyone's crops harvested at the proper time.
Complain about kids riding ATVs etc., on their property as permitted by local laws.
Complain that some larger properties set up gun sighting in and areas to teach their kids to shoot on their own property.
Complain about farmers hunting game on their own property, as the new resident does not want to hear gun shots.
Complain that some neighbor holds a big bar-b-que for his friends a couple time a year, and they make noise that can be heard next door. May even have a country band playing dance music.
Complain that the farmer is making noise out at their shop, working late at night to do a repair that was required from the day's work so the equipment is ready to go the next morning.
Complain that a farmer burns his fields, to get rid of disease and weeds, to they can have a good crop the next year. That burn off, can be the difference between making a profit, and going broke.
Complain that the animals next door, stink, and their manure makes his/her life unpleasant.
The country folk, hate these transplants that are only interested in changing the country areas to be what they want them to be, not changing to fit into the country life style.
And some of the idiotic replies by city people with suggestions to go confront the neighbors and tell them to change their life style, or come up with ideas of how to make the country people change what they are doing and has been done in the area for generations, show the divide between country and city way of life.
IF you want to move to the country, learn to live country style of forget about moving.
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Dormant HOAs are evil incarnate.
