Too attractive for its own good? South of broad, second/vacation-homes and resident attitudes

•The study area was the historic South of Broad neighborhood of Charleston, SC.•The key issue explored was the impact of second-home ownership in the neighborhood.•Contrary to much of the literature, resident attitudes were very positive.•Finding a ‘healthy balance’ between permanent and part-time residents is critical.•A new term, ‘aristophication’ is proposed.

The research that follows ties together three topics of interest. These are gentrification, second/vacation-home impact on tourism destinations, and resident livability issues in a tourism dominated community. The study location is South of Broad, Charleston, SC, a historic corner of the city that has transitioned over the years from a traditional, upper-middle class neighborhood to what is today the most upscale part of town; but one heavily influenced by the second/vacation-home part-time residents that constitute a significant share of the area's homeowners. The paper considers, via a mixed-method research approach, how this tourism-oriented transition has affected the neighborhood and how it has been viewed by its residents. Describing the neighborhood's transition, the new term ‘aristophication’ is proposed.