The beach area is a beautiful place to live, and it is no surprise that people move here for a lower, slower type of living. However, we’ve all heard the saying “Don’t make this place just like where you came from.” This is true, but equally true is people moving here and immediately saying what is best for the area or most aligned with the way of life here.
Among locals, those born and raised or who grew up here from youth, we have an idea of a 10-year rule. Somewhat self-explanatory at this point, in a nutshell, it is an idea that before you start being spokespersons for the area, perhaps you should invest some time living here. Many have lived in the area for a few years and hardly know Milton, Millsboro, Long Neck, Ocean View, etc. Most are only familiar with the Lewes-Rehoboth area; you know, a small portion of Sussex County. These towns are where many of the natives live, and still work and play.
It seems taboo – maybe even audacious – for people to move here and start deciding what is best for the entire population. I once had a client complaining about builders destroying the cornfields and building cookie-cutter homes on all of them, and how it must be stopped. The irony is he lived in a cookie-cutter home on what used to be a cornfield that I bought corn from. I think the message here is that those moving here are part and parcel of the problem they admonish. Is this to say they’re wrong and should “go back to where you came from?” No, absolutely not.
Here’s what I am saying: it’s hard to decide what’s best for an area when you’ve only known life in it retired and just wanting to bike and have dinner. Maybe let the people who have grown up here, who know the intricacies and needs of the area, consider things solely and primarily.
Do you not want a restaurant in the park? Ask the natives who grew up in it. Do you think that shopping center is bad news? Ask the younger natives trying to have work year-round. Do you not like the development? Then stop buying the houses in them. And for God’s sake stop complaining every time someone tries to do some type of homeless assistance (for struggling natives) because it’s in your backyard. How do you know what’s best for our area and people? I wouldn’t lecture someone on what’s best for a town I only just moved to. I’d learn it and be grateful to be there. This doesn’t seem unreasonable.
This is our home. Please respect that, and be a polite guest until your family is here 10 years.
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