A common mindset I’ve encountered while speaking with longtime Durangoans and reading letters to the editor goes something like this: “I’ve lived here for 10, 20, or 30 years, and all these newcomers are making things worse.” “Worse” may mean more liberal, more housing density, more traffic, or more damage to the trails – it may be coming from a conservative Durangoan or an ostensibly progressive one – but it always seems to be “worse.”
I’ve always wondered how folks who hold this mentality made sense of their place here for those first 5–10 years. At what point did you finally feel you belonged, and what did you have to do to feel you had earned that belonging? Is it only time that can make an unwanted guest a true community member?
I moved to Durango two years ago to escape transphobic policies that made it unsafe for me to continue to live in my home state, but I don’t think we should have to know people’s reasons for moving here to decide if they “deserve” to or not. I hope that in 10, 15, 20 years – when I’m a longtime Durangoan too – I’ll still be holding on to my welcoming spirit.
Billie Smith-Haffener
Durango
