Changing Fortunes

I’ve noticed recently that there has been a fundamental shift upwards in the fortunes of town residents. And how would I make that observation? By the cars they drive. When I moved to this town a little over ten years ago, the people who were doing pretty well for themselves drove around in Volvos. It was the car of choice for the young professionals.

As the tides of financial health increased in this town, Volvos began to fade away from sight and BMWs replaced them. For a few years it seemed as if every third or fourth car on the road was a Beemer. Black and silver ones, mainly.

In the last year, however, the Jaguar has been appearing on village streets in increasing numbers. I mean...a lot of them. They are, apparently, the new Beemer. Once upon a time, a Jaguar sighting was a rarity. Now...every day I see several. Again, lots of silver ones, but white Jaguars, also. I don’t see other colors very often. I think a dark green one once, but mostly silver and white.

I would have thought that perhaps the Jaguar crowd was the aging Volvo-BMW crowd, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. The Jag drivers I see are probably early to mid-30-somethings.

Where do you go after a Jaguar?

Just my observations of some changes in my small town.

I wonder, though, what else goes along with the Jags. I’m thinking one of the very large new houses (with very large mortgages) and possibly a nice boat in the harbor. Someone owns all those yachts and sailboats out there. Quite likely, tuition at one of the private schools nearby...Phillips Exeter or Andover. Summer or winter homes in the mountains up north? I know some folks who have them. It’s pretty clear that wealth in this town hasn’t decreased in the last few years. I don’t know what these folks do for a living, but they are obviously compensated very well for it.

The demographics of this town have changed. The fishermen have moved across the river along with a lot of the middle class. I’d guess that in another ten years or so, there won’t be much of a middle class in this town. It has been moving in that direction since I’ve lived here. I don’t think that’s a good thing for a town’s vitality. But, I guess we’ll see. Or not. I probably won’t be here, either.