Those of us fortunate enough to live full-time in the Collingwood and Blue Mountain area appreciate how lucky we are. Owning a vacation property here is one thing but residing here is another matter altogether. Seeing the exodus of cars on a Sunday afternoon or evening as everyone heads back for another work week in the Greater Toronto Area or elsewhere further reinforces this fact.
Not only are our fellow Ontarians appreciative of the opportunity they have to own property here and to come up on weekends or for a few days vacation but those further afield are as well. A recent online article at North Jersey.com was very complimentary of the Collingwood and Blue Mountain area. This article summarized one U.S. citizens experience of buying and owning some area real estate. The article was very complimentary of the area in general but as with any success there comes a price and rising real estate prices were sited as one of the "drawbacks" stemming for all the interest the area receives.
Having first moved here in 1985 I have witnessed the many changes that have taken place in the area. At that time, there was not a single condominium at Blue Mountain now there are hundreds just in the Village alone. Intrawest's influence on the area has transformed what was once predominently a ski resort into a year round tourist destination drawing more visitors in the summer than at any other time of year.
Let's hope all the success does not completely spoil what we have. Resorts areas such as this need to maintain a focus on what draws people here to start with. Loosing those attributes could have a disasterous affect long-term on an economy that increasingly has become dependent on the tourist trade and on the small town atmosphere that has more and more people choosing to retire here.
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