3 ms·

Well, there is at least gold where you grew up. Lots of other areas have gone through the same transformation without the 'gold'. For example where I live is a

Well, there is at least gold where you grew up. Lots of other areas have gone through the same transformation without the 'gold'. For example where I live is a touristic part of Spain. It wasn't touristic at all 40 years ago, so much so that people washed their clothes in the river (not joking). Come mass tourism they abandoned everything and erected megahotels. But tourists priced locals out, nobody can afford housing anymore. It is impossible for an avocado picker turned waiter to keep up with foreigner prices. Same thing as the Bay Area, but without 'gold' to be earned. Most people even if they work their butt off earn around 1000 USD a month.

devoutsalsa 6y ago
I was just in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Everything was geared towards grabbing those tourist dollars. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’d feel a little better about it if the tourist cash stayed with the locals, but I don’t suspect it does. It’s like displace local culture with tourist culture, and pray the tourists keep coming.
- doggodaddo78 6y ago
  Everyone hates a tourist but loves their money. It's a universal law.
- eplanit 6y ago
  It's the same everywhere, I guess. I lived in Sausalito for 14 years, and can attest that that is exactly what a "tourist town" is/becomes, by design.
- stickfigure 6y ago
  To be fair, that's Playa Del Carmen's schtick. The entire town was built in the last 20 years. It's like complaining about the culture at Disneyland. Mexico has no shortage of local culture, thankfully.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
akimball 6y ago
It creates “opportunity”. Feed enough oats to the horse, and some comes out for the sparrow. Tourism and gentrification both embody “horse and sparrow” economics, i.e. the opportunity to eat effluent, which may or may not be better than simply not eating.
- ricardobayes 6y ago
  These folks have been living merrily without even using cash until the '70s. Barter economy + fishing/agriculture kept them afloat. If they couldn't catch anything that day, they ate the odd banana.

devoutsalsa 6y ago

I was just in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Everything was geared towards grabbing those tourist dollars. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’d feel a little better about it if the tourist cash stayed with the locals, but I don’t suspect it does. It’s like displace local culture with tourist culture, and pray the tourists keep coming.

doggodaddo78 6y ago
Everyone hates a tourist but loves their money. It's a universal law.
eplanit 6y ago
It's the same everywhere, I guess. I lived in Sausalito for 14 years, and can attest that that is exactly what a "tourist town" is/becomes, by design.
stickfigure 6y ago
To be fair, that's Playa Del Carmen's schtick. The entire town was built in the last 20 years. It's like complaining about the culture at Disneyland. Mexico has no shortage of local culture, thankfully.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

akimball 6y ago

It creates “opportunity”. Feed enough oats to the horse, and some comes out for the sparrow. Tourism and gentrification both embody “horse and sparrow” economics, i.e. the opportunity to eat effluent, which may or may not be better than simply not eating.

ricardobayes 6y ago
These folks have been living merrily without even using cash until the '70s. Barter economy + fishing/agriculture kept them afloat. If they couldn't catch anything that day, they ate the odd banana.