I have a coworker who lives in a condo whose condo association is run by French Canadians. Not only are they in control of the default cable television that you get (they got a deal with the cable company), but their bylaws state that you have to receive approval from the condo association to make ANY changes to the cable programming you receive. Not only can you NOT get a smaller cable package than dictated, but you can NOT get a larger cable package than dictated without the approval of this group. :rolleyes: Did I mention that many homeowners’ associations are full of nosy people who’ll go out of their way to make their neighbors’ lives miserable if they can? And a good portion of these nosy people only live here for less than six months out of the year? (We only get problems with the homeowners’ association between the months of October and April, as there are more people at home who have nothing better to do than make up things to complain about.)
I lived in Hawaii for 2 1/2 years – was there for graduate school – and I did notice an antipathy toward tourists that made me glad I could say I was not one. I’ve lived in other tourist places – I live in one now – and I’d say it was more pronounced in Hawaii than in the other tourist places I’ve lived in.
I did get to be wowed by the scenery and will always have fond memories of living there. It’s where I met and courted my Thai wife – she was a fellow grad student – and Hawaii is an excellent setting for that sort of thing. Bogie and Bergman may always have Paris, but we’ll always have Hawaii. We love going back there, but we’re always quick to point out to people that we used to live there and are UH grads.
But yes, it seems tourists are a species to be ridiculed to some extent if not outright despised just about everywhere you go.
Don’t people who live in tourist destinations ever go away on holiday themselves? I mean, if they hate tourists so much (apart from their money), why would they want to become tourists themselves?
Since essell doesn’t seem to be around, let me reply: It’s Cornish dialectal English (not the Cornish language, as some people will mistakenly tell you). And yes, it derives directly from the Anglo Saxon word.
Yes, it’s quite a paradox.
Individually, most of the tourists I come into contact with are perfectly nice people, but collectively, they can sometimes be a pain. “Yes, these are leaves. Yes, they’ve changed color for the fall. You don’t have to drive along at 10 miles per hour and look at every single one!” Really, though, as long as they go home instead of building uber-expensive, butt-ass ugly vacation homes along the ridgeline, ruining the view and driving up everybody’s property taxes, I don’t mind them.
The thing that really, really frosts me is when I overhear tourists making fun of locals’ accents. We’re not stupid; we’re not deaf; and we think you’re the ones who sound funny!
I don’t think they’re minded much in Edinburgh. Edinburgh’s a big student place anyway (three major universities, a few smaller colleges), especially relative to its size, so the locals are used to being invaded every year by people not from Scotland and who don’t know their way around.
Thanks :D. And make that two pale toothpicks. And a piece of beer belly flopping out in between the top of the fugly shorts and the flaps of that shirt you’d probably never wear at home.
Oh, it was perfectly clear! We mostly tried not to be much of a pain, but yeah there was that time we got a guitar and were playing music and singing in a park and didn’t realize it was so late… :o
I’m Canadian, and the times I have travelled to Mexico, I am treated very well, especially when they find out I’m from Canada, not Quebec!
Apparently, some French Canadian travellers say they are from Quebec, not Canada.
Which makes my blood boil.
(small rant) I don’t care if you want to be equal, but don’t try to be better. Or, if you’re truly not happy, leave. Buy your own island, far away, and live well. But don’t take anything “Canadian” with you. And quit your complaining. (end of small rant)
My hubby has travelled by car in the U.S. quite a bit and says everywhere he goes, he is treated very well.
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I’m really not sure of what you’re asking me (us) to do here. Can you precise your thought, if you don’t mind?
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When asked by locals if they’re from Canada, they say “no, we’re from Quebec”.
We get quite a few of them in DC and for the most part they seem to be tolerated although they can cause great annoyance on the Metro and in traffic. Although at least they don’t jaywalk like the natives do.
I don’t really see them all that much, but I don’t spend a lot of time near the monuments or the museums during tourist season. (The best time to visit the museums is in winter because they are far less crowded).
What’s wrong with narrowing it down? Some Provinces and American States are as big as countries.
I’ve often said I’m from California when I’ve been outside the U.S, since it says a bit more about where I actually live, and possibly a little about my background and political leanings. Saying I’m from the U.S. is merely a statement of what federal government I owe allegiance to and the country on the cover of my passport.
Nothing wrong with narrowing it down and, perhaps I wasn’t clear, when given the choice: Quebec or Canada, the proper answer is Canada. Apparently, the locals were being told, by some French Canadians, that Quebec was a separate entity.
I’m still not sure why you care. If you asked me if I’m from Canada, I’d probably say “yes, from Quebec specifically”, but I can certainly imagine that some people view “Canada” as one thing and “Quebec” as another (in some ways it is my case, and looking at your post #109, it appears to be yours too), so they’d want to clear up any possible misconception.
I also don’t see what this has to do with “trying to be better”, “taking anything ‘Canadian’ with oneselves” and “complaining”, which was what I wanted you to explain to me. If it’d be too much of a hijack, you can PM me or start another thread.
Oh, and LouisB: I’m very sorry if you find my fellow countrymen so objectionable, but remember that you live in Florida, and that, rightly or wrongly, Florida’s tourist appeal in the minds of most people – especially those living in cold climates – lies mostly in its beaches and not in more “high-class” or “cultural” attractions. So it’s deplorable that the people who come to visit you will mostly be the more ignorant, unpleasant representatives of a given society, but… it still doesn’t surprise me.
Well, we need vacations and changes of scenery too. Living in a tourist destination doesn’t (only) make you dislike tourists, it teaches you how to be a smarter tourist when you travel. I hate being my own pet peeves, so I make sure I don’t stand around in the middle of sidewalks, flash money and valuables, explore off trails without a phone or telling anyone where I’m going, arrogantly assert I know better than the locals, etc.
The tourist trap of choice for Hawaii folks is Las Vegas. But I was a great tourist when I went to Ohio, Oregon, and Minnesota too. 
As one of those invading people, I’m glad that no one really minds 
I’ve never known anyone to complain about the tourists in my hometown, Santa Monica. But they never seem that obnoxious either.
People talk sneeringly about tourists, and then talk sneeringly about people who don’t travel.
If I travel, I’m not going to try to act like I know everything, or try to fool anyone that I’m a native. I’m not. If I don’t ask questions, I won’t understand anything.
But don’t worry. I can rarely afford to travel, so you won’t have to deal with my shocking ignorance.
I think you’re misunderstanding the thread. The kind of tourist that most people have a problem with are the kind that revel in their ignorance. The ones that don’t make the effort to learn a few phrases of the language, that are shocked when the local restaurant doesn’t serve cheeseburgers, that go into the Louvre for the sole purpose of snapping a photo of the Mona Lisa and then leave without a second glance.
There’s a quote that for me, sums it up: “A traveller doesn’t know where they’re going; a tourist doesn’t know where they’ve been.” It’s not tourists that are being ranted against in this thread - it’s a certain kind of attitude that a lot of tourists tend to have. You don’t have to pretend to be a native in order to be a “good” traveller. The most anyone can do is just keep an open mind, be willing to try new things, and be respectful of the local culture.
I’m getting a completely different vibe from it than you are, apparently. I don’t think that means one of us is misunderstanding something.