Most of you know by now that I recently moved to the lovely village of Hopkins. It's a really special place with a wonderful mix of people. The culture is thriving. The beaches are gorgeous. The food is amazing. I hear traditional drumming from my bed regularly. When someone dies, they drum all night, and the rhythms carry the dead to the spirit realm. It's quite possibly the most perfect spot on earth for me.

For how long, though? How long until gentrification destroys it?

No, it did not escape my notice I may be part of the problem, but I think I can be part of the solution too. Let's talk first about what actually happens.

I have watched this happen over and over again, and I have watched what works and what does not work. My parents have a thing for historic houses. That meant I spent a good bit of my childhood in neighborhoods that went through dramatic changes. Wealthy people come in, and poor people get kicked out. The whole scene is rife with classism and racism and especially capitalism.

Here in an underdeveloped country, you see some people with crazy money and others with more middle class kind of money. In both cases they have more money than almost everyone here. So, people from Europe or the States or Canada come here. People here are paying really meager rent. In fact a lot of people are living on family land and paying nothing at all. So, it makes sense that, when they figure out what the crazy foreigners will pay to live in quite literally one of the most beautiful places on earth, they're going to charge it. In many cases, locals can live off that rent money. Blaming the poor for getting what they can in rent or the sale of the property does not make sense. That said, it has dire consequences for local people.

Eventually someone in a local family moves out, and they need a place to rent, but now the rent is too high. Those places bought by foreigners and fixed up to their standards? Well those are astronomical. They're every bit of what you'd pay in the US in a country where the minimum wage is something like US $1.50 an hour. They can't find a place to rent that they can afford. Then they look around at the lifestyle and belongings of those foreigners. That's when the thieving starts. I'm never gonna say it's ok to steal, but I certainly understand why.

Now, many of these foreigners come down to start businesses, and more than a few are willing to pay decent wages. However, many of the locals don't have the education to do the job. There are also major cultural differences that can cause strife between employers and employees. So they can't get a decent paying job. They don't have money or education to start their own business. They watch others flourish off their birthright resources while they are forced out of the communities they grew up in, no longer able to afford life there. At that point the crime can become more serious. Then it becomes an arms race of sorts. More crime leads to more insistence that poor people get shoved to the side, blocked out, kicked out.

Then comes the next wave. They're less tolerant than the first wave, and they don't just want the criminals out, they also want “ugly” houses out. They want bigger houses with fences and bars, oh, and an unobstructed view of the ocean or downtown or the mountains or whatever it is they're after this time. They get rid of the affordable houses and of course most, if not all, poc. We are at the beginning of this wave here in Hopkins. I've recently heard complaining about the all night drumming celebrations. It makes me so angry to hear the complaining. There's a village just south of here, and there are literally almost no belizeans living there. It's depressing.

So, that's how it goes. People with money “discover” cool places all the time and then proceed to suck the soul from them. Every historic district in the US, Boulder, Asheville, Santa Fe, both Portlands, Taos, etc. How can we stop it? At what point along the chain can we do something different? I don't think we can or should stop people from moving to places they fall in love with. As I said before, I don't think it's right to ask the original community to keep rent low when they know they can get more. In fact getting more money to the original inhabitants needs to be a focus. I do think it's good to have an intention of keeping a certain number of places affordable. Of course I mean affordable for the original people. Usually it is sufficient to not tear down houses you think are “eyesores.” Fix them up if it pleases you, but leave them affordable. Think of it as giving back a tiny fraction of what you gain from living in such a beautiful place.

I think the biggest thing we can do is provide education and training to the original community members. Help them start their own businesses. Give assistance. Provide loans. Do entrepreneur classes. Listen to what they say they need to be part of a growth that can benefit everyone. Teach the skills they need to work for local businesses. It's wrong to assume people have the same advantages you had. Give the resources and accommodations needed to level the playing field.

Help local people hold tight to the culture. It's crucial. So, for example, those people who are complaining here in Hopkins about all night drumming? They need to be shut down, and those with the money who appreciate this culture need to be supporting the locals in this quest. We have to speak up loud and clear on these issues. The complainers need to be the ones forced out, not the local people. They can adjust or leave. They cannot turn this into suburban Florida. This keeps prices from going astronomical. It's also clearly the right thing to do.

There are unique and beautiful things about these places. That's why others want to move there, but if we change what makes it unique and beautiful, it will become just another soulless, overpriced hell. Those of us who choose to move to these places can stop that, but we need to put the original inhabitants at the center of the plan. No white savior crap, ok?

Wealthy people moving to poorer areas can be a blessing, but it has to be managed. Those with privilege must take the responsibility, but the most marginalized must be the force and center of organization.

Much love, y’all!

As always, all pics are mine or pixabay unless otherwise noted.

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