Exit Stage Left

One of the problems you face when you live in a gentrifying neighborhood is the fact that someday it may become cooler than you are. That eventually it will become more sorority and Starbucks than group house and roach coach and eventually you will feel as out of place as a t-shirt at a black-tie event---and, yes, I do know what that feels like.

I'm a bit possessive of my neighborhood. Both of my grandparents were raised in this 'hood and when I was born we lived a mere 11 blocks from my house now. Maybe not weird to those of you out there whose parents have always lived in the same house, but to me moving back to Northwest Denver was the closest thing to going home that I've probably ever felt. I love living here and I swore I'd never want to leave as long as I was in Denver, but every day I notice the Highlands slipping more and more in the suburban feel that I've tried like hell to avoid during my adult life. Growing up suburbia was comfortable and safe, no matter what city you found yourself in. It was easy to make friends, and fit in because it was always the same. Like a little robot you could program yourself to be who you needed to be, even floating from one place to the next. As I got older I realized that I was more suited for the quirky eclecticism of city-dwelling.

I've noticed recently that many of the residents of this neighborhood are the kind who have come here because this is now a fashionable place to live. The former football stars and their cheerleader girlfriends move-in, longing to be near the trendy boutiques and current fad restaurants. They spend thousands of dollars popping the tops of their quarter of a million dollar homes, driving up property values. They spend their weekends driving BMW SUV's up the hill to their Vail condos. I doubt that they've ever eaten a two dollar burrito at one of the local dives, or a tamale from the women sitting outside the Safeway. For that matter, they've probably never shopped at the Safeway, but instead drive 20 minutes to the nearest Whole Foods.

Please don't take this to mean that I don't enjoy the fact that I live so close to some local hot-spots. It's nice to be able to hit-up the nice restaurants in town on foot, and I enjoy the fact that we're now on the map and I have the convenience of a Starbucks on my way to work, but I feel like the real flavor of this community is slowly becoming bland. I fear that soon not only will I not be able to afford to live here, but I simply won't want to.