A Paradise Spoiled?

I’m afraid that St. Simons Island is fast becoming another overbuilt and congested ‘in-place” for people to relocate or vacation. This was brought home to me recently when I had to run errands and shop at the local supermarket. There were literally cars and people everywhere. Pedestrians, bicycles, and golf carts overran the streets. My usual 45-minute trip took almost twice as long as I wound in and out of back streets to avoid the traffic.

Though I am still an outlier, I have been enjoying life on the island for almost 20 years now. It is a lovely place with lots of fine restaurants and shops, a temperate climate, and fine beaches. Virtually on the Florida border, it is one of the best locations on the east coast as it escapes the worst hurricanes which hit Florida and ricochet north to the Carolinas. The defining architecture is still small modest beach cottages, an elementary school, and local businesses. All of this is reminiscent of when it was sparsely settled and one could ride horses on the beach.

Today there is a building boom that along with increased traffic brought by new residents and tourists from Atlanta and the southeast threatens to permanently change the landscape and the joy of living or visiting here. Home prices have shot up almost 50%, making affordable living difficult to find. The major roads—Ocean Blvd., Demere, and Frederica, are busy with rush hours and frequent traffic jams.

The question simply put is “what is the tipping point” when the charm of the earlier St. Simons is lost to the hustle and flash of the “progress” that is driving the changes. How many Maseratis and Porsches, conspicuously expensive new homes, and chic bars and eateries are enough? How long before the stately live oaks with their Spanish moss and the quaint neighborhoods lose their appeal and people seek a new Eden elsewhere?