6 ms·

Plus, Woods Hole is a charming place to live/work/visit if anyone gets the chance

jborichevskiy 5y ago
Would a curious, wannabe scientist be welcome at the Research Center as a visitor? Is there anything I could actually help with/volunteer on while there?
- scibotics 5y ago
  Do you mean at Woodwell Climate Center (woodwellclimate.org), formerly the Woods Hole Research Center? If so, I'm not sure. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI.edu) is nearby but unrelated. Public outreach is very important for ocean science so we (WHOI) do have a visitor center and regularly host events[1] on campus and online. I'm not aware of anything for volunteers right now but in the past we have asked for help labeling data sets or reporting marine mammal sightings[2]. 1: https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/visit-whoi/events-happenings/ https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/visit-whoi/events-happenings... 2: https://main.whoi.edu/ https://main.whoi.edu/
  - jborichevskiy 5y ago
    I was originally thinking of WHOI.edu - I was unfamiliar with Woodwell Climate Center. Appreciate the links though - will definitely keep an eye on the websites next time I'm the area!
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
The cape is a fine place to visit and a terrible place to live. The whole place is a "quaintness facade" put on to part tourists from their money. It's fine for a week or for a summer but living it grates on you. Your dollars are worth ~20% less (nothing pays even close to 20% higher) and unless you have big dreams of running a tourist facing business (or fleecing the people who fleece the tourists) there is squat for opportunity there. I would only accept a job at Woods Hole if it will specifically further your career.
- seibelj 5y ago
  It is like any resort / vacation area. There are lots of jobs in food services and the trades - nearly all of the properties are single families and they have to survive beach climate, wind, and the occasional hurricane. The Cape has a lot more unique stuff than the average vacation region, as you can see Woods Hole is there. So much bitterness and cynicism on HN.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    >It is like any resort / vacation area Yes, and they all suck as places to actually live (possible exception if you're retired and have lots of money) for those same reasons. >The Cape has a lot more unique stuff than the average vacation region, as you can see Woods Hole is there. Every vacation area has some similar myth that they pour into the kool aid in order to convince themselves they're important and that it's not just about the tourism industry. >So much bitterness and cynicism on HN. I'm bitter because I lived it. Geology can't work its magic on that godforsaken sandbar fast enough.
- josefresco 5y ago
  Cape Codder / tech biz owner here. I guess that makes me the one who fleeces the businesses that fleece the tourists? You're mostly right, but obviously seriously jaded/bitter. Real estate is expensive, the business economy revolves around tourism and the population is aging. That doesn't mean we're just giving up though, so please if you're young and have the income to support a life here please do so! We need more young people willing to fight for the future of the Cape!
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    I am curious why you think anyone not set to inherit a business would not be better off pursuing opportunity elsewhere. There is some decent opportunity in the trades but not if you're not already an established professional but outside the tourism industries there isn't much. If you have any ambition to do anything to anything people will stand in your way and put up roadblocks because your expanding liquor store or auto-body shop (or whatever) isn't what they think is "befitting the local character".

Would a curious, wannabe scientist be welcome at the Research Center as a visitor? Is there anything I could actually help with/volunteer on while there?

scibotics 5y ago
Do you mean at Woodwell Climate Center (woodwellclimate.org), formerly the Woods Hole Research Center? If so, I'm not sure. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI.edu) is nearby but unrelated. Public outreach is very important for ocean science so we (WHOI) do have a visitor center and regularly host events[1] on campus and online. I'm not aware of anything for volunteers right now but in the past we have asked for help labeling data sets or reporting marine mammal sightings[2]. 1: https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/visit-whoi/events-happenings/ https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/visit-whoi/events-happenings... 2: https://main.whoi.edu/ https://main.whoi.edu/
- jborichevskiy 5y ago
  I was originally thinking of WHOI.edu - I was unfamiliar with Woodwell Climate Center. Appreciate the links though - will definitely keep an eye on the websites next time I'm the area!

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

The cape is a fine place to visit and a terrible place to live. The whole place is a "quaintness facade" put on to part tourists from their money. It's fine for a week or for a summer but living it grates on you. Your dollars are worth ~20% less (nothing pays even close to 20% higher) and unless you have big dreams of running a tourist facing business (or fleecing the people who fleece the tourists) there is squat for opportunity there. I would only accept a job at Woods Hole if it will specifically further your career.

seibelj 5y ago
It is like any resort / vacation area. There are lots of jobs in food services and the trades - nearly all of the properties are single families and they have to survive beach climate, wind, and the occasional hurricane. The Cape has a lot more unique stuff than the average vacation region, as you can see Woods Hole is there. So much bitterness and cynicism on HN.
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  >It is like any resort / vacation area Yes, and they all suck as places to actually live (possible exception if you're retired and have lots of money) for those same reasons. >The Cape has a lot more unique stuff than the average vacation region, as you can see Woods Hole is there. Every vacation area has some similar myth that they pour into the kool aid in order to convince themselves they're important and that it's not just about the tourism industry. >So much bitterness and cynicism on HN. I'm bitter because I lived it. Geology can't work its magic on that godforsaken sandbar fast enough.
josefresco 5y ago
Cape Codder / tech biz owner here. I guess that makes me the one who fleeces the businesses that fleece the tourists? You're mostly right, but obviously seriously jaded/bitter. Real estate is expensive, the business economy revolves around tourism and the population is aging. That doesn't mean we're just giving up though, so please if you're young and have the income to support a life here please do so! We need more young people willing to fight for the future of the Cape!
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  I am curious why you think anyone not set to inherit a business would not be better off pursuing opportunity elsewhere. There is some decent opportunity in the trades but not if you're not already an established professional but outside the tourism industries there isn't much. If you have any ambition to do anything to anything people will stand in your way and put up roadblocks because your expanding liquor store or auto-body shop (or whatever) isn't what they think is "befitting the local character".