Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20150312220054/@comment-24674051-20150827153953

The town border is definitatly a continuity issue. Season 1, there was "something" that prevented people from going over the line (except for Regina and Henry), though there was nothing that prevented making contact with people outside of SB. (All of the calls by Sydney to investigate regarding Henry's Birthmom, Regina calling adoption agencies, etc). In "Welcome to Storybrooke", we see one time that there is some type of one-way protection spell during the first curse preventing people from outside from seeing SB.

Season 2, there is nothing stopping crossing the town line, but there is a cost to crossing (restoration of false memories). And as far as we know, there is nothing preventing anyone from coming into town. However, that cost only affects the SB residents that were brought over in the First Curse, not the ones that came after the curse was broken (Neal and Hook). And of course Regina.

Season 3, Neverland, we have Belle restoring a cloaking spell, essentially blocking entry into storybrooke (except by magical means, such as Mermaid or Shadow). Not too much is known, except that the cloaking spell (or some other relic of the curse) acted like a barrier to contain the Pan's Curse, and Regina's undoing of the original curse (watch the graphics, and it looks like smoke expanding in an overturned glass).

After that, you have the Flying Monkey's guarding the border (so we don't know what the rules might be), and Ice Wall (physically prevented leaving SB), and finally the current state of the Town Line (which feels like it is back in the original state of a one-way barrier, just without the "something bad happens" when you try to leave).

I think the writers just make the border be whatever they need it to be.