Recently I became involved in house buying and selling and I noticed this: every house ‘on the market’ gets spruced up before sale. This gentrification means that the ‘funk’ that used to be so attractive around here is eroding away.
As beach cottages get replaced by million-dollar mansions the ‘funk factor’ slowly disappears leaving bright shining new properties. Ugh!
What to do? Don’t buy or sell, just exist; or figure out your own solution.


For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling.