Urban Sprawl
Seems to me that many new residents, of Gilford and other Lakes Region towns, move here from more densely populated areas (suburbs of Boston, New Haven, NYC, Philly, etc). While many people come up here to get away from the hustle and bustle and live the country life, they expect the same services they've grown accustomed to -- street lighting, town sewer/water, up to date technology, large town police force, etc. I don't believe they realize realize the cost (physically and monetarily) of changing a small town into something bigger and "better." Didn't they just try to escape big city life?
I don't want to offend anybody, but if someone moves up here to get away from the fast lane, then accept the slower pace and don't try to change it. Quite frankly, we don't need a Lowe's in Gilford, nor do we need another grocery store or a bigger one. (FYI -- we shop at Market Basket where the prices are reasonable and only go to Hannaford or Shaw's in emergencies).
The inevitable is that more people moving into the region means more children in the district and overcrowding the existing shools, more people for the police to protect, more homes for the town to protect in case of fire, etc. Soon the Lakes Region will be just another town part of the Boston suburbs. Maybe the softened housing market will slow it a bit.
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