QUIET PLEASE NORTH CAROLINA'S HIGHLANDS RESORT SPURNS GLITZ, GLAMOUR.(Living)

Byline: Andrew Nelson Copley News Service

Let's make one thing clear. You are not to compare the mountain resort town of Highlands, N.C., to the Hamptons. Or Lake Tahoe. Or Palm Springs.

The folks who come from all over the Southeast each summer to help swell the population from 971 to 20,000 wouldn't stand for all those glitzy allusions.

There is money here - little in- town cottages are a steal at $169,000 - but it's quiet money. Ostentation is as unwelcome as bare feet in a four-star restaurant. And there are dark mutterings heard about "all those flashy new Atlanta people."

One comes to Highlands to relax (read; tennis and golf). Practically the only angst to be found is backing out of a parking space on Main Street and trying not to scratch either the Rolls-Royce on one side or the Jaguar on other side.

It also is romantically beautiful. …