It is an old axiom in the real estate business. Only three things matter. Everything else can be changed. Sounds silly, but it is an absolute. I was reminded of that when writing yesterdays posting. The physical location has not changed but the character of that location certainly has. As an observer of such things I am amused. I have seen that occur in several places and at separate times. It is usually about marketing. Nostalgia sells and always has. You just have to appeal to the correct demographic in doing so. With real estate you must appeal to the ones that are " new " to the area. It is a great advantage if you associate that area with a piece of the past. Even when that location may have a sorted reputation, the association is important. The ones that lived there before will not be interested. That is simply because their association has already been created and you can not change perception very easily. Perception becomes belief, and belief is unshakable.
Now it seems to me in the not too distant past that certain areas of town where often given names. I haven't conducted a study of that but have found it to be true in the few towns I have lived in. As for my home town I know of several areas. There was Hollywood. That was said with sarcasms. That area was also called Tar Paper City by some. There was also the Hook. Going to Three Mile Harbor, two holes of water, round swamp, or pantigo. These are all general geographic locations. I have found similar in other places. Here in Greensboro, back in the old days, they would have said four corners. That described the heart of the downtown area. As I said I haven't attempted to compile any such lists but have noticed. I do think that they designated areas where folks lived or significant landmarks. Yesterday I wrote of Freetown. That was an area where certain folks of a particular social class lived. The same could be said for Hollywood. In fact Hollywood is probably where the last residents of Freetown moved to. Was good friends with an Indian that lived there at one time. That is another story however. The point being these names were assigned for convenience. Over time they fell out of use. Why ? Probably because they were no longer useful or perhaps sensitivities prevailed.
Years ago the streets were not named or marked. That may have played a role. Using street names I can tell anyone, whether they are familiar with the area or not, how to get to a specific area. If I were to tell you to go to the " hook " and you didn't come from the area, you were lost ! Today I would just tell you to go to North Main Street. You would feel that location was rather vague. Was enough back in the day though. But it indicated a general location.
We still do that today. Now we tend to use shopping centers and housing developments as reference points. Many times these shopping centers and housing developments use those old place names. That is the marketing part of the deal. The name is remembered by the old timers and the new start using it. It begins a conversation. Then the " native " effect takes hold. No one likes to be a stranger. If you move to an area you want to be included. By saying I live in ( insert whatever name applies ) I am fixing my location. I want my location to be " the best. " The residents of " Hollywood " did not say they lived there, but the ones living " uptown " certainly wanted you to know that. Location you know. I expect living in " Hollywood " has changed since the 1960's when I lived in Three Mile Harbor. I didn't live in Hollywood ! No, I lived down to Northwest, by Three Mile Harbor, close to Soak Hides. I hear it is socially acceptable to be a resident of Freetown these days. Times change but location never does. It is just a matter of, do you want to be there ? Location, location, location. Everything else can be changed.
Now it seems to me in the not too distant past that certain areas of town where often given names. I haven't conducted a study of that but have found it to be true in the few towns I have lived in. As for my home town I know of several areas. There was Hollywood. That was said with sarcasms. That area was also called Tar Paper City by some. There was also the Hook. Going to Three Mile Harbor, two holes of water, round swamp, or pantigo. These are all general geographic locations. I have found similar in other places. Here in Greensboro, back in the old days, they would have said four corners. That described the heart of the downtown area. As I said I haven't attempted to compile any such lists but have noticed. I do think that they designated areas where folks lived or significant landmarks. Yesterday I wrote of Freetown. That was an area where certain folks of a particular social class lived. The same could be said for Hollywood. In fact Hollywood is probably where the last residents of Freetown moved to. Was good friends with an Indian that lived there at one time. That is another story however. The point being these names were assigned for convenience. Over time they fell out of use. Why ? Probably because they were no longer useful or perhaps sensitivities prevailed.
Years ago the streets were not named or marked. That may have played a role. Using street names I can tell anyone, whether they are familiar with the area or not, how to get to a specific area. If I were to tell you to go to the " hook " and you didn't come from the area, you were lost ! Today I would just tell you to go to North Main Street. You would feel that location was rather vague. Was enough back in the day though. But it indicated a general location.
We still do that today. Now we tend to use shopping centers and housing developments as reference points. Many times these shopping centers and housing developments use those old place names. That is the marketing part of the deal. The name is remembered by the old timers and the new start using it. It begins a conversation. Then the " native " effect takes hold. No one likes to be a stranger. If you move to an area you want to be included. By saying I live in ( insert whatever name applies ) I am fixing my location. I want my location to be " the best. " The residents of " Hollywood " did not say they lived there, but the ones living " uptown " certainly wanted you to know that. Location you know. I expect living in " Hollywood " has changed since the 1960's when I lived in Three Mile Harbor. I didn't live in Hollywood ! No, I lived down to Northwest, by Three Mile Harbor, close to Soak Hides. I hear it is socially acceptable to be a resident of Freetown these days. Times change but location never does. It is just a matter of, do you want to be there ? Location, location, location. Everything else can be changed.
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