tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976758.post8168440442400375369..comments2024-03-28T16:08:56.531-05:00Comments on Library Chronicles: VacationlandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976758.post-42511781796004492592013-10-14T14:39:34.207-05:002013-10-14T14:39:34.207-05:00Two uptown realtors have told me that sometimes, b...Two uptown realtors have told me that sometimes, before local buyers can even secure financing, a non-local will come in and pay cash for a house. My husband used to wave to people he grew up with on the street, but we rarely see them anymore. I think they all sold out, and I don't blame them because I'm nearly there. The day you feel like you're not dressed hip enough to run over to Walgreens is the day it's time to move.Pistolettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976758.post-52410462491534670082013-10-14T13:06:03.437-05:002013-10-14T13:06:03.437-05:00Having grown up in Georgia's version of Vacati...Having grown up in Georgia's version of Vacationland, I say again and again there are plenty of ways to mitigate this that never, ever get past the surface conversation of "gentrification" and "hipter hating." The first and foremost policy issue is and will always be property taxes. How in the world is NOLA selling properties at these values and still running a shoestring budget with less than standardized services? Because property taxes are currently set in this city in a way that rewards both speculation on blighted or underutilized property and ownership of second, vacation homes. The city cuts huge tax breaks to out of town business that move here. Meanwhile, a lot of homeowners are getting clobbered on property taxes, which means that only folks with deep pockets have enough start up capital to own homes, and if they own more than one home, they have to charge a whole lot in rent. Unravel that monster and rearrange the priorities and incentives, and a whole lot of these gentrification issues become much more manageable.Cousin Patnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976758.post-24498782266002378362013-10-12T12:43:29.423-05:002013-10-12T12:43:29.423-05:00I read the article about the French Market earlier...I read the article about the French Market earlier today. Sadly, its full of crap - cheaply made trinkets, sunglasses, candles and little to no locally made items. The people I often see roaming through it, do not appear to be tourists - unless you describe Kennerites and Chalmetians as tourists. That's the irony in all of this - those opposing change claim the tourists won't support local made items and a farmers market. Yet, its our own suburbanites who are buying the cheap made crap now available throughout the place.Paul McMahonnoreply@blogger.com