We all know that Bear Howard loves meeting tourists, and let’s be honest, hitting up my favorite drinking spot early in the evening is a must during tourist season.

If you arrive before 5 and manage to get a parking space, congratulations! It’s a big hit. When you get two seats next to each other at the bar, I call them “Sedona musical chairs.” When you visit a local restaurant or bar, you can’t help but notice two different types of drinkers. One is the bar stool drinker, the chatterbox and storyteller. The other type is the table eater, who is much more focused on the food and the occasional small talk. . I proudly belong to the former.

Last week, my wife and I secured our favorite bar stools and the bartender delivered our usual drinks. What better way to relax after a long day’s work? Eating at the bar has its benefits. No need to talk to each other. There are drinking buddies on both sides to keep us entertained. Don’t get me wrong. I love my wife, but we’ve covered just about every topic under the sun. But we have boundaries. Family and work gossip is strictly off-limits.

One night last week we sat next to a young couple. The young man asked, “Are you local?” “Yes, I said, ‘Do I look like a local?’ Oh, he laughed. He went on to say that this city is beautiful. I would love to move here someday! “Are there affordable housing or apartments?” In Sedona? ” noI answered right away, really.

As you know, Sedona is primarily a place for older “baby boomers”. To be able to afford a house here, you had to be the second person hired by the company. steve jobs‘He worked at Apple in the early days and was part of the “Lucky Sperm Club.” (These are people who have inherited large sums of money, been sent to appropriate cram schools or universities, or have connections with influential figures in extended family or friends of their parents.)

Or maybe they recently sold a 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom house in California for $3 million and brought in a bank that “didn’t make money.” Oh yeah, some locals have retired from big companies with large pensions, and some have built wealth through business. Being in the right place at the right time can be a “lucky draw” in life rather than an individual outcome. attempt And the effort to “get back on your feet with your own strength.” you can’t choose who our Who our parents were and how we were raised.

“I told you I was kidding, but Sedona is an expensive place to buy a house.” “Really?” exclaimed the bar stool neighbor, rolling his eyes. “Yes! There are no Bitcoin millionaires in this town, just some lucky old baby boomers who think they’ve made it to Sedona.”

Most of us are lucky post-World War II babies. “So where does the young man live?” he asked, scratching his head. “Young people? Hardly any!

No one knows where young professionals like firefighters, police officers, city workers, gardeners and plumbers come from. They seem to have come from a mythical place west of Sedona. Legend has it there’s even a Walmart there. “Of course, some of these ‘workers’ were lucky and bought affordable housing before prices doubled or tripled.”

Locals firmly believe that you have to earn money to afford housing in Sedona. ”What about the apartment? ” he pressed. no! Local residents do not allow such activities as they may attract undesirable people such as teachers, firefighters, nurses, and even on-duty doctors. Remember, Sedona isn’t for everyone.

“Are you kidding?” he asked with a half-laugh. No, I’m serious. Earlier this month, residents rejected a two-year state-funded facility that would allow local workers living in cars or campers to park overnight. This temporary project was to provide a safe place to sleep at night until the city was completed. initiative Affordable housing is now open. It was also an outward sign that the city of Sedona cared about people who weren’t loaded. In Sedona, it seems like you can’t ostensibly help people in the name of helping others.

Interestingly, Sedona residents once thought differently. Many elderly people and “workers” were displaced years ago when Airbnb converted them into commercial housing and hotel rooms. It became the Gold Rush of the Old West, as real estate agents, outside investors, and local property owners inadvertently joined together to participate in the destruction of neighborhoods in order to cash in and make big bucks. (Excluding gated private road subdivisions.)

“Sedona is unofficially a childless 55+ community,” I said. And there are many residents who hate tourists so much that they would be happy if Sedona became “Sun City North.”

“Is that a local ordinance?” asked a tourist at the bar, wide-eyed. no! However, most residents are simply past their breeding season. The town has become a place where the majority of residents have no children.

Dinner arrived and we concluded our conversation with the young couple by saying, sedona‘Gorgeous, but with an air of deserved self-importance. ”

“The red rock you love and think is sacred or magical is just a rock after all!”