I've heard the word "Californication" used to describe the attitude of "city folk" who move to the country then insist on all of the city amenities being updated in the country. "Getting away from it all and taking it all with you" is another expression for the same thing.
Seems like a similar attitude is behind the "gentrification" of the wild. (Urban wild too. The "rough" neighborhood around the hospital where I work has been home to many seniors and many low-income people for decades. Now the plan to gentrify the neighborhood will uproot them as their homes are torn down and/or the rising property taxes become unaffordable.) I don't know what the answer is. Soon our wilderness will be confined to parks that people can visit via DVDs they can watch in the comfort of their own homes.
Also, did you see the film Sunshine State? (I'm sure you have.) It's about these same development issues, with a handy resolution of the drama at the end. I think there is even a character in it who was inspired by you. (You'll know him when you see him.)
Oregon is the one who started with the Californication stuff. They got all hoity-toity with Californians moving up to Oregon and "ruining" their state. Actually most of those "Californians" were not really from California, they were from other parts of the country. (I'm a fifth generation Californian...does that count?)
Where I live in the Sierras, it is still wild and wooly...most people think California is a huge beach with 365 days of sunshine. That's why they move out here. They see the New Year's Day Rose Parade and they are all huddled up in Ohio or New York where it's freezing and they say, "That's it. We're moving to California."
The good thing about Prop 13 here in the state is that property taxes never go up until the property is sold, so gentrification does not drive older people out.
Pablo, Too true. It gets harder and harder to find the "real" anywhere. I will Netflix that movie ASAP.
Meg, So glad you found PureFlorida. I know Mandarin and Perdido. I went to college in Pensacola so Perdido Key is familiar. I'm not ancient, but I remember Mandarin when it was all woods and farms. A little different today.
Hick, I think the California of John Steinbeck and the Route 66 era would have been my choice. Cannery Row and Log From The Sea Of Cortez ... We need a prop 13. Our long time waterfront owners and marina owners are being driven out by taxes.
OOPs! Sorry Meg, part of my comment back probably didn't make sense. I thought you were in Mandarin, Florida. Just checked your profile and website. Pretty neat! Sorry for my goof!
DPR, True, pandemics will have an easier time as we crowd.
I didn't mean to imply building was bad...it can be done very well, just doesn't happen much in FL. I really was lamenting loss of local flavor and the replacement of such with generic uniformity. If you look at that billboard, the building design is more quaint New England than Pure Florida.
With 800 to 1000 folks a day,( yes a day) moving to FL, we lose culture and habitat faster than most states.
10 comments:
Sorry to see this.
Sameification. Soon there will be no cultural reason to travel in this country...it will all look the same.
I've heard the word "Californication" used to describe the attitude of "city folk" who move to the country then insist on all of the city amenities being updated in the country. "Getting away from it all and taking it all with you" is another expression for the same thing.
Seems like a similar attitude is behind the "gentrification" of the wild. (Urban wild too. The "rough" neighborhood around the hospital where I work has been home to many seniors and many low-income people for decades. Now the plan to gentrify the neighborhood will uproot them as their homes are torn down and/or the rising property taxes become unaffordable.) I don't know what the answer is. Soon our wilderness will be confined to parks that people can visit via DVDs they can watch in the comfort of their own homes.
Also, did you see the film Sunshine State? (I'm sure you have.) It's about these same development issues, with a handy resolution of the drama at the end. I think there is even a character in it who was inspired by you. (You'll know him when you see him.)
I hate to see this also.
Oregon is the one who started with the Californication stuff. They got all hoity-toity with Californians moving up to Oregon and "ruining" their state. Actually most of those "Californians" were not really from California, they were from other parts of the country. (I'm a fifth generation Californian...does that count?)
Where I live in the Sierras, it is still wild and wooly...most people think California is a huge beach with 365 days of sunshine. That's why they move out here. They see the New Year's Day Rose Parade and they are all huddled up in Ohio or New York where it's freezing and they say, "That's it. We're moving to California."
The good thing about Prop 13 here in the state is that property taxes never go up until the property is sold, so gentrification does not drive older people out.
Not that I'm defending California or anything...
Pablo,
Too true. It gets harder and harder to find the "real" anywhere. I will Netflix that movie ASAP.
Meg,
So glad you found PureFlorida. I know Mandarin and Perdido. I went to college in Pensacola so Perdido Key is familiar.
I'm not ancient, but I remember Mandarin when it was all woods and farms. A little different today.
Hick,
I think the California of John Steinbeck and the Route 66 era would have been my choice. Cannery Row and Log From The Sea Of Cortez ...
We need a prop 13. Our long time waterfront owners and marina owners are being driven out by taxes.
OOPs! Sorry Meg, part of my comment back probably didn't make sense. I thought you were in Mandarin, Florida. Just checked your profile and website. Pretty neat!
Sorry for my goof!
DPR,
True, pandemics will have an easier time as we crowd.
I didn't mean to imply building was bad...it can be done very well, just doesn't happen much in FL. I really was lamenting loss of local flavor and the replacement of such with generic uniformity. If you look at that billboard, the building design is more quaint New England than Pure Florida.
With 800 to 1000 folks a day,( yes a day) moving to FL, we lose culture and habitat faster than most states.
Sad, very sad. That looks like such wonderful semi-wild habitat.
I'm safe in my corner of Minnesota, far enough away from any major centers of commerce. For now.
I'm in a backwater too. This site is across the state in my hometown.
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