Nominalism, realism and planning in a changing community

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Abstract
Much urban‐rural turnaround migration has been motivated by a search for gemeinschaft qualities. Newcomers expect such qualities as they arrive in relatively small towns. Oldtimers have different and more empirically grounded perceptions. Oldtimers are largely newcomers who have remained instead of quickly moving away in disillusionment. As they stay their perceptions are modified. People become less critical of the community and less committed to their earlier beliefs. The realities of oldtimers and newcomers differ and change, creating problems for individuals and for the community. The process of disillusionment affects most in‐migrants with romanticized expectations. It also creates a perplexing problem for planning development of such locations since both the constituency and their individual beliefs are in a state of perpetual flux. Panel data are used to describe this process in the context of Bozeman, Montana, a rapidly growing town in a high natural amenity location.

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