Can newcomers and old-timers get along in the North Country?

In many North Country communities — including my adopted hometown of Saranac Lake — one of the trickiest fault lines runs between “locals” and “outsiders.”

It’s not just seasonals vs. year-rounders.

There is often a thorny tension between neighbors who have lived in our small towns for generations, and the full-time residents who have chosen to move here.

Researchers who look at rural America sometimes talk about the “place-bound” community.

These are the folks who choose to stay in a hamlet or village, even when there are better opportunities elsewhere.

Their loyalty can pay big dividends.

These people often anchor whole communities, providing fire service and working as police officers.

They create much of the deep memory, sharing traditions and stories from one generation to the next.

But intermingled with these families are a growing number of newcomers, who like most Americans are far more transient.

They come to the North Country because they see something here that they want: a job, a lifestyle, the beauty of the place, a slower-paced life, and a sense of community.

Many times, they bring with them different values and different ideas.

Most people who study the health of communities will tell you that rural towns need this kind of fresh infusion of talent, energy and ideas.

The intermingling of the new and the old can spark creative partnerships, from the building of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake to efforts in Saranac Lake to revitalize Mt. Pisgah.

But all too often, the result is resentment, suspicion and anger.

One problem is that our two communities tend to live separately.

Yes, we’re next-door neighbors. But we eat at different cafes, we listen to different radio stations, we join different civic organizations and churches.

In our college towns, this divide is sometimes even more stark, with life on campus divorced almost completely from the world just a few blocks away.

It’s also an uncomfortable fact that many of the newcomers tend to be Democrats, while many of the place-bound folks tend to be Republicans or Conservatives.

So when it comes to hot button issues (Wal-Mart, say, or the merits of a new resort development) there are few lines of communication, and not nearly enough trust.

I worry that this tension will grow, especially if the economy worsens.

If prisons close and local governments lay off more workers — both are prime sources of employment for native North Country families — we could see the place bound community suffer more than their newcomer neighbors.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to narrow this gap. But I am convinced that we need each other.

Small towns are fragile places. The ones that survive and thrive will manage to put all the pieces together in interesting ways.

They will protect their traditions and their sense of place, while also welcoming the risk-taking and experimentation of the new.

Your thoughts welcome below.