Understanding Place Attachment Among Second Home Owners

Abstract

Many high amenity rural communities are growing rapidly and have high rates of seasonal residence, with concomitant “impacts” on longer term permanent residents. The de facto stance that seasonal residents are “outsiders” marginalizes their experience and treats as givens questions that should remain open to empirical scrutiny. This article compares seasonal and year-round resident attachment to such a landscape. Counter to popular assumptions, seasonal residents exhibit higher levels of attachment, but its creation and meaning base varies: Year-rounder attachment is rooted in social networks and community meanings, whereas seasonal attachment is fostered through meanings of environmental quality and escape from day-to-day cares.