Homeowners Narrative Analysis

What meanings do permanent residents and second homeowners construct and ascribe to Rangeley? Both groups of actors rely on similar narratives of the rural idyll to construct Rangeley’s place distinction—they imagine it to be safe, isolated, and removed from the problems associated with the rest of the world. This narrative itself is not unique to rural places; in fact, this narrative has been one of the most enduring narratives of rurality (Williams 1974; Woods 2011). However, what is unique is the ways in which both groups situate second homeowners as constitute of Rangeley’s distinction. Both groups celebrate the value second homeowners lend to Rangeley and acknowledge how they in part help to uphold the rural idyll. How, then, does this construction of place distinction shape local life? Because second homeowners are upheld as part of Rangeley’s value—by both groups—they are featured as paramount in and for its past, present, and future. Both groups celebrate the aspects of Rangeley that second homeowners enjoy and permanent residents are eager to cater to their preferences. Ultimately, this is a collective project of community building—both in discourse and practice—of and for second homeowners. These findings advance the theoretical …show more content…
In Rangeley, second homeowners are not derided by permanent residents precisely because they have been written into their narrative of place distinction; both groups use the rural idyll, but endorse second homeowners as part and parcel of this imaginary, rather than view them as an incompatible force. As such, permanent residents celebrate and work to facilitate second homeowners’