5 ms·

Oh, it doesn't benefit the stores. It removes them from our roads and stores for a short while. During tourist season, we get up to 10x the population which is

by KGIII 9y ago

Oh, it doesn't benefit the stores. It removes them from our roads and stores for a short while. During tourist season, we get up to 10x the population which is not something it's really designed for. It's pretty good money for the locals, they are well adapted to the breaks. The foliage peepers, with tour buses and whatever, have finally gone home. Almost without fail I get a whole bus driving up my driveway because their GPS insists it is a road. I don't mind, actually. Our local sport is making fun of tourists. We all go down to the boat landing on Memorial Day. You can watch them wreck $80,000 worth of boat, trailer, and truck. We don't get much amusement, otherwise. If tourism stopped, the town would be dead. They milk them for all they are worth. Locals just go to Farmington where things are often about half the price. So, no... It doesn't help the stors but it gets used to give a quick break and prepare for the winter rush. There are still tourists, but not as many. It's a tourist area, pretty much exclusively, all year long. Skiing, hunting, hiking, climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, camping, etc...

rconti 9y ago
Oh, I see, "they" was just about tourists in general, not specific to shoppers at that store. As a west coaster visiting New England for the first time this past summer, it really stuck me how serious the crush of tourists must be for places like small town Maine (made it as far up the coast as Acadia NP). The overwhelming number of shops, of american flags, of lobster rolls, of store advertising Yeti coolers for sale.. it was just 10x what we see in small towns in the west. No matter where you go, of course, tourist town folk make fun of tourists but I think the crush must be much worse up your way, where small town life here, even for those of us who live in heavily populated areas, isn't quite as novel. It makes sense, though, given the massive population of the east coast. I remember once being angry about how everything is always advertised eastern-time-centric, and pulled up a map to try to make the argument that not THAT many people live in the Eastern time zone, but then realized it's almost 50% of the entire country... http://kurtostergaard.com/us-population-by-time-zone/ http://kurtostergaard.com/us-population-by-time-zone/
- KGIII 9y ago
  Yeah, I was responding to someone who'd know which they I meant. My bad. I live outside of the tourist area, I'm really remote. But, the village is a tourist area. They go from 1200 to 12000 people at times. There are camps and parks to accommodate them, hotels, and things like that. They have municipal services, which I do not have. Also, that's the nearest village for me. It's the only group of people for miles. I suspect a dollar store would do well, actually.
- abkfenris 9y ago
  For a sense of scale, roughly 5,000 live on my peninsula between the towns. The summer populations is probably about 10x that plus any weekend visitors. It makes it really hard for restaurants to stay open during the off season, and even the Hannaford's market can't be sized right. It's a bit big for the population right now, but it feels like Black Friday on weekends during the summer. The towns have been working to bring more off season events to even things out, but most aren't working (the one notable exception brought in 160,000ish customers in it's second 6 week run).
averagewall 9y ago
Aren't you surprised how negatively you think of a whole class of people? Isn't this attitude the same human instinct and no less harmful than racism, sexism, etc? Tourists aren't a socially or legally protected class so you don't have to worry about publicly mocking them, but they're still a class of innocent humans.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Nope, not even remotely surprised. It is pretty much entirely jest. Most tourists are fantastic, though they often try things they aren't experienced or equipped for. This results in them dying in new and interesting ways. I'm on the volunteer rescue squad and go out fetching bodies, ideally still alive, on a regular basis. They get lost, try kayaking during flood season, snowmobile on thin ice - including trying to do it over open water, get drunk and use an ATV until they are impaled on a pine tree, and try to back their boats into the water - which is expensive but funny as hell to watch. So, some of the complaints are valid. You should see them drive in the snow. Fortunately, there are usually giant snow banks so they don't get too hurt. I drive around and pull people out of the ditches, just for fun. I don't charge them, I just enjoy it. But, yeah, they seem to appreciate the ribbing. If they have issues, we will all stop what we are doing and go out and rescue them. I've rappelled down over the falls to retrieve a kayaker. I even went back to get their kayak. We don't charge them any money, we just give them a ration of crap and tell them to take a few classes before trying that again. Edit to add: If you're from MA, we make fun of you the most. Edit again: I just noticed AutoCorrect hates me.
  - averagewall 9y ago
    You're now making fun of people dying. That's pretty horrible. Isn't it the same as laughing at handicapped people trying to get on the bus too? They should do more training before venturing out into the real world. Isn't that the same as making fun of alcoholics and drug addicts who kill themselves with their habits? Suicide and drug overdose deaths are a joke and the people who die deserve it because they didn't bother to learn useful employable skills and ended up feeling worthless? Just because someone isn't good at evaluating risk doesn't mean they deserve ridicule for suffering all kinds of loss from their pride to their car, to their life. Edit: I got derailed from my point. Not all tourists are what your stereotype says. Just like not all women drivers cause traffic jams and not all blacks are criminals. This is the prejudice you're showing that I think is equivalent to racism or sexism. Imagine replacing "tourist" with "black" in your thoughts to see how extreme it is.

by KGIII 9y ago

rconti 9y ago

Oh, I see, "they" was just about tourists in general, not specific to shoppers at that store. As a west coaster visiting New England for the first time this past summer, it really stuck me how serious the crush of tourists must be for places like small town Maine (made it as far up the coast as Acadia NP). The overwhelming number of shops, of american flags, of lobster rolls, of store advertising Yeti coolers for sale.. it was just 10x what we see in small towns in the west. No matter where you go, of course, tourist town folk make fun of tourists but I think the crush must be much worse up your way, where small town life here, even for those of us who live in heavily populated areas, isn't quite as novel. It makes sense, though, given the massive population of the east coast. I remember once being angry about how everything is always advertised eastern-time-centric, and pulled up a map to try to make the argument that not THAT many people live in the Eastern time zone, but then realized it's almost 50% of the entire country... http://kurtostergaard.com/us-population-by-time-zone/ http://kurtostergaard.com/us-population-by-time-zone/

KGIII 9y ago
Yeah, I was responding to someone who'd know which they I meant. My bad. I live outside of the tourist area, I'm really remote. But, the village is a tourist area. They go from 1200 to 12000 people at times. There are camps and parks to accommodate them, hotels, and things like that. They have municipal services, which I do not have. Also, that's the nearest village for me. It's the only group of people for miles. I suspect a dollar store would do well, actually.
abkfenris 9y ago
For a sense of scale, roughly 5,000 live on my peninsula between the towns. The summer populations is probably about 10x that plus any weekend visitors. It makes it really hard for restaurants to stay open during the off season, and even the Hannaford's market can't be sized right. It's a bit big for the population right now, but it feels like Black Friday on weekends during the summer. The towns have been working to bring more off season events to even things out, but most aren't working (the one notable exception brought in 160,000ish customers in it's second 6 week run).

averagewall 9y ago

Aren't you surprised how negatively you think of a whole class of people? Isn't this attitude the same human instinct and no less harmful than racism, sexism, etc? Tourists aren't a socially or legally protected class so you don't have to worry about publicly mocking them, but they're still a class of innocent humans.

KGIII 9y ago
Nope, not even remotely surprised. It is pretty much entirely jest. Most tourists are fantastic, though they often try things they aren't experienced or equipped for. This results in them dying in new and interesting ways. I'm on the volunteer rescue squad and go out fetching bodies, ideally still alive, on a regular basis. They get lost, try kayaking during flood season, snowmobile on thin ice - including trying to do it over open water, get drunk and use an ATV until they are impaled on a pine tree, and try to back their boats into the water - which is expensive but funny as hell to watch. So, some of the complaints are valid. You should see them drive in the snow. Fortunately, there are usually giant snow banks so they don't get too hurt. I drive around and pull people out of the ditches, just for fun. I don't charge them, I just enjoy it. But, yeah, they seem to appreciate the ribbing. If they have issues, we will all stop what we are doing and go out and rescue them. I've rappelled down over the falls to retrieve a kayaker. I even went back to get their kayak. We don't charge them any money, we just give them a ration of crap and tell them to take a few classes before trying that again. Edit to add: If you're from MA, we make fun of you the most. Edit again: I just noticed AutoCorrect hates me.
- averagewall 9y ago
  You're now making fun of people dying. That's pretty horrible. Isn't it the same as laughing at handicapped people trying to get on the bus too? They should do more training before venturing out into the real world. Isn't that the same as making fun of alcoholics and drug addicts who kill themselves with their habits? Suicide and drug overdose deaths are a joke and the people who die deserve it because they didn't bother to learn useful employable skills and ended up feeling worthless? Just because someone isn't good at evaluating risk doesn't mean they deserve ridicule for suffering all kinds of loss from their pride to their car, to their life. Edit: I got derailed from my point. Not all tourists are what your stereotype says. Just like not all women drivers cause traffic jams and not all blacks are criminals. This is the prejudice you're showing that I think is equivalent to racism or sexism. Imagine replacing "tourist" with "black" in your thoughts to see how extreme it is.