Privileging Place

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In recent decades, Americans have increasingly purchased second homes, prompting an examination of the experiences of upper middle-class suburbanites who have acquired properties in urban or rural settings. Meaghan Stiman's research, based on interviews with over sixty second homeowners and ethnographic data from Rangeley, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts, reveals the motivations behind these purchases and their local impacts. Stiman highlights how these homeowners seek to balance their desire for material resources in suburban areas with a yearning for deeper connections to place in cities or the countryside. This tension explains their motivations for buying second homes, their interactions with surrounding communities, and their ultimate decision to remain in their suburban hometowns. The second home becomes a project of place identity, allowing owners to cultivate a sense of belonging they feel is lacking in their primary residences while still retaining access to suburban advantages. Stiman's analysis serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of privilege across different geographies in the twenty-first century.