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GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 87 enlivened by the creative people he meets there. “You never know what you’re going to walk out to when you walk out your door,” Sage said. “You meet a lot of interesting and unique people.” He said seeing and talk- ing with other artists and musicians on the sidewalks and in the coffee shops also helps him feel more con- nected to the arts commu- nity. But while he values the artistic connections he finds downtown, he also describes himself as “a hermit” who values quiet time alone. “I’m not much of a people person,” Sage said, “which is kind of funny,” since living in the center of downtown isn’t particularly conducive to a quiet life. Sage said affordability is the primary reason he stays downtown. He also enjoys the convenience his work- place, Sunrise Cafe, nearby. The downside includes being disturbed by someone “howling at the moon at 3 in the morning” and late-night revelers banging on trash cans outside his windows, he said, “but you kind of get used to it.” It’s the weekend crowds of tourists and other visitors to town who cause him the most discomfort, he said. There are too many people for his liking, and he doesn’t see them exhibiting the socially conscious ideals he feels are part of Yellow Springs’ legacy. Sage said he sees an “escapist” attitude among visitors, focused on consumerism. “I’ve been a longtime activist against the capital - ist agenda of tourism,” Sage said. The deep sorts of engagement that sustain a community are missing in the brief transactional encoun - ters that occur within a tour- ist economy, he feels. Convenience and afford - ability are the main reasons Raven Behrens and Jesse Gilsinger say they stay in their Kieth’s Alley apartment. But it was mainly availability and affordability that placed them there when the couple moved from the Northside neighborhood of Cincin- nati to Yellow Springs about three-and-a-half years ago. It was also in the middle of winter, so the location seemed quiet, “really peace- ful,” the two said in a recent phone interview. “We like the walking distance to shops,” Gilsinger said. “And obviously the walking distance for work,” added Behrens, whose job is at the Bryan Center. Gils- inger, a musician, works from home. Still, if they could afford it, they’d move further out in the village. The noise outside, espe- cially on warm-weather weekends, and a variety of unwanted activities in the alley, have soured them, they said. Much of it they attribute to visitors from out of town. The variety of painted murals along Kieth’s Alley make the passageway a popular draw for taking photographs. “We live in a spot that happens to be beautiful,” Behrens said. But people coming through put trash in their waste cans, or throw it on the ground, climb the fence outside their courtyard and urinate in their bushes. For Behrens and Gilsinger, downtown living is a mixed bag. “It’s convenient and afford - able, but it’s not peaceful,” Behrens said. “Except winter. Winter’s great.” 217 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 937-767-7377 • www.yscu.org YS Federal Credit Union Your local Not-For-Profit, Member-Owned, Financial Cooperative If you LIVE, WORK, WORSHIP or GO TO SCHOOL in Greene County, you are eligible to join our Credit Union! Check out the advantages of becoming a YSCU member: • Free Checking • Business Accounts • Vehicle Loans • Money Orders • First Mortgages • Home Equity Loans and Lines-of-Credit • VISA Credit Cards • Line-of-Credit Loans • It's Me 24/7 Online Banking • Online Bill Payment • Mobile Banking with Remote Deposit • E-Statements • MasterMoney™ Debit /ATM Cards • After-Hours Loan Accommodations • Build and/or Re-Establish Credit with Special Loan Program