ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- St. Simons Island, tucked between a sweeping saltwater marsh and the ocean, has always been a welcoming, accommodating host.
But some longtime residents say too many tourists are coming with one-way tickets."Tourists are our livelihood, but they fall in love with the island and move here," said Frances Prince, an island native and housekeeper at one of the many small inns near the beach.
Those who don't fall for its uncrowded beaches or pristine golf courses lose their hearts to the quiet marshes, the dark glades where one can almost feel the eyes of the Indians, the Spanish, the French, the English, the plantation owners and the slaves who came before.
The new invaders are mostly retirees, many of them baby-boomers clocking out a few years early, equipped with 401K accounts and bloated stock portfolios.
Since 1990, the population has grown from 12,000 full-time residents to 18,000, local officials estimate. In the 1970s, only 4,000 people lived on St. Simons, an island the size of Manhattan about halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, Fla.
Bulldozers are plowing over massive live oaks to make room for new homes, and some parents no longer allow their children to ride bikes down the island's once-quiet roads.
But nobody does anything very fast here -- and that includes passing ordinances to control development.
The zoning plan is 32 years old. Officials get a say in what a new building will look like only if the developer asks for a zoning change. On land already zoned "highway/commercial," there are no rules.
Now, islanders may be running out of time.
Spurred by national magazine articles naming the island one of the best places in the nation to retire, saws and hammers play a faint but constant counterpoint to the gentle duet of surf and cicadas.
There are warning signs that St. Simons' infrastructure and environment won't be able to handle much more growth.
The island's antiquated water system broke down several times in June. With wildfires blazing across Florida, not far to the south, that left residents jumpy and angry.
The sewage system is a relic from a World War II Navy base and inadequate for growth, said Gerry Robertson, St. Simons representative on the county commission.
If human waste spills out of the system, it could pollute shellfish in the ocean and promote algae growth in the marshes, warned Sarah Mitchell, a scientist at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary in Savannah.
Residents are beginning to complain of rush-hour traffic jams on the two narrow roads that bisect the island.
"It used to be that you knew everybody, would say 'Hi' to people everywhere you went, but no more of that, said Ms. Prince.
"It's Little New York."