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'Mtn Folk' vs. 'Flatlanders' ?
Topic Started: Jul 13 2009, 07:46 PM (860 Views)
jf1acai

I find the recent "So long Pinecamers!" thread on PC to be very thought provoking.

I don't know whether it is possible to get any meaningful discussion going here, but I thought it was worth a try.

I was born and raised in the mountains, and love them. Since I left 'home' to go to college, it has not been feasible for me to live in the mountains, but I have 'visited' every chance I get. Perhaps my love of the mountains, or maybe just faulty or biased memory affects my perception, but I do not recall that there was any problem between those who had been living there for a while and newcomers who moved into the community when I was growing up. Perhaps this was due to the fact that a fair amount of turnover was inevitable due to the nature of the mining based community, Leadville, in which I grew up. But it seemed to me that newcomers were accepted equally, whether they were from other mountain communities or from the 'flatlands'. People were accepted for what they were, rather than where they came from, it seemed to me. Maybe this is still true, but that is not the impression that I have.

The referenced thread doesn't directly indicate that there is a problem with people who move in from the flatlands, but it seems to me that there may be a relationship there. The overall tone of PC discussions to me indicates a significant bias against 'flatlanders'.

Since I started volunteering in the 285 corridor, I have frequently been asked by the 'locals' (sometimes bluntly, sometimes tactfully) why I want to be involved in the area. My impression is that it is somehow suspicious for a 'flatlander' to want to help in the mountains. On the other hand, my 'flatland' friends, whether they have known me for years or just recently, never seem to think that it is strange that I am interested in helping in the mountains.

Is it just my perception, or do 'mountain folk' have a definite bias against 'flatlanders' (ignoring the seemingly universal bias against 'tourists' :whistle: )?
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archer
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jf1....I've lived up here 17 years and there has always been a certain element in the mountains who seem to if not dislike, then at least disdain flatlanders....Not everyone, just some. And the interesting part to me is that those people who are most vocal about flatlanders moving in are not the long-timers but the more recent residents. Go figure

:shrug:

If you go back in pinecam about a year there was a thread that pitted the "real" mtn folk who live in Bailey, Pine and I guess Conifer against those who live in Evergreen, we in Evergreen I guess are "pseudo" mountain folk, rich and snobby and don't really belong here. It got kinda ugly. But there is more of that here than you would imagine, and they sure can be vocal on Pinecam.
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jf1acai

That is interesting. I knew that Evergreen was considered by some to be the 'rich folx', but I also felt that PC pretty much ignored Evergreen.

I see very little info that I relate as being Evergreen area info on PC, and I assumed there were very few Evergreen posters on PC.

Apparently that assumption is wrong?

I think you are probably right that the 'disdain' for flatlanders is more from the new residents than from those who have been there a while.
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Main Man
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It isn't a flatlander vs mtn folk thing, it is more about real people vs assholes who move into rural areas and immediately start trying to destroy the status quo to suit their own wants. The idea of when in Rome do as the Romans is as foreign to them as milking a bull. And it isn't just the mtns. Look what all those out of state assholes have done to Elbert County and all the problems they have caused. It is asshole libs from the east and left coast that have destroyed the Colorado way of life by bring their piss poor attitudes and ideas with them.
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dumblonde
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I haven't read the thread in question, but I think there is always an element in any group that seeks to foster an us vs. them mentality. Honestly except for a very, very few who were born and bred up here most of us started life as "flatlanders" (I'm assuming they mean Denver folk) Yes, it's hard to watch as one meadow after another becomes a shopping center or subdivision, but the same things that drew us here- accessibility, beauty, space- will inevitably draw others. We're not the only smart people on the planet- I'm just glad that there aren't more who want to move here. I do think that if you want to be welcomed you have to put yourself out there. It's unrealistic in these times to expect your neighbors to come calling with Jello when the moving van pulls up.
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jf1acai

Perhaps, but I think it is more a failure to be willing to consider any viewpoint other than our own (on all sides), that is the major problem.

I haven't yet met anyone who is always right (other than myself of course! :laugh: ).

If we could actually consider the other person's point of view, and discuss it rationally, rather than just sticking with our own ideas, I think we could all learn a lot.

But, I admit that is an optimistic approach, and I can't recall ever having been accused of being an optimist! o.O

Must be something in the water, or Rocky Mountain Spring Water :eyeroll:
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jf1acai

Timing is everything - my comments were meant as a response to Main Main. As usual, I was too slow (or only half-fast :laugh: )
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The Punisher
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I been here 20+years, and flatlanders, don't give a rat's a$$ about the mountain, it's just someplace to go, and leave their trash, because after all somebody will pick it up.
Road laws do NOT pertain to them, because laws are only for the city...
Private land signs are only meant for the mountain folks.
Gate are only there as a way for the flatlanders to open and leave open.
Wouldn’t bother me at all if I was sitting on my deck and saw the mushroom cloud go up, except for the fire storm afterward.
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DaisyLover

Having lived here 11 years, our first impression was that people are not friendly up here either. BUT.....................the longer we were here, we appreciated that neighbors didn't EXPECT us to be "buddies" which is why we came up here to begin with.

This is my post from the pinecam thread:

Quote:
 
To each his/her own. We like it up here because we aren't FORCED to socialize if we don't want to. We went to a picnic today for our subdivision. We've lived here 11 years and this was our first time. Everyone was nice and friendly but we made the effort. We don't socialize with our neighbors because we don't choose to.

We wave, say hello, smile and that's just how we like it. We lived in Littleton for 35 years and it was great for raising kids and being friends with neighbors. Once the kids were gone, we didn't want to do that any longer and moved up here to have some peace and solitude.

Maybe back in town would be better for your current life period.


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LadyJazzer
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I don't socialize with my neighbors either...because I also choose not to.

I think another issue with "new" flatlanders moving up to the area is that many want to start "Californicating" the neighborhood when they get here. (Witness the number of times the relative newcomers keep trying to pass a mill-levy to form a "Recreation District", build rec-centers, lighted soccer-fields, etc.) I moved up here over 20 years ago to GET AWAY from fenced yards, streetlights, gated neighborhoods, and "lighted soccer-fields." And I sure don't want to be taxed to pay for other people's attempt to turn the mountain community into a version of "Denver-but-with-more-trees".

That effort has been turned back like 5 times by voters, and I know they're at it again...And I will vote against it again. But I think some of the resentment against "flatlanders" may stem from the fact that in many instances flatlanders want to move up here and turn it into what they just left. I moved here to leave that behind and to take the mountain community for what it is, on its own terms... I have wildlife walking through my yard, I have relative seclusion--and I don't want soccer fields and tennis courts.
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