Do you live in a place that others pay to vacation in?

Yep. I live pretty close to Yellowstone National Park, in the heart of A River Runs Through It and Horse Whisperer country.

I often get outside, look around and feel fortunate.

As you know, @JLeslie, I grew up just outside of Washington, DC. Not exactly a tropical wonderland, but tons of people vacation there. I never could understand it, but perhaps that’s because I grew up there, and it all seemed perfectly normal to me. Passing the
White House on the way to dinner just wasn’t a big deal, you know? The only thing that ever really ‘got’ to me was passing the CIA building on the way to the airport. For some reason, that hit home. Go figure.

Maybe if I’d moved there later in life, I’d have been more appreciative of it all.

@augustlan I know what you mean, I took it for granted also. But, when I go back, which is not often, I find it very beautiful in our hometown, and DC is more intriguing to me now that I have some distance from it.. The architecture, the museums, the cherry blossoms. I appreciate it more.

Well, I can see building a cabin on the 5 wooded, secluded acres we just bought, and renting it out as a “vacation” spot for folks!

I do. Tourists do come here to visit. No, I don’t think I appreciate it as much as they do. It is a beautiful place and the weather is stunning. We have good restaurants and beaches within a shortish driving distance.

I have often thought we should go and do all the tourist things once in a while. I haven’t done that sort of thing for years. I agree we take it for granted.

I live in the Vacationland… Maine. I suppose we got that slogan because Maine is like the escape for people who live in civilized states with the buildings that have more than 16 stories (Maine’s tallest building), name brand theme parks, Krispy Kremes & sidewalks with streetlights.

I grew up loving the outdoors & natural beauty of Maine. As a teenager I hated every acre of Maine. I have come back around to loving Maine for what it has to offer & also what it doesn’t.

I take advantage of the sights that people travel long distances & pay good money to see. I have walked the Rockland Breakwater so many times I think my footprints are visible in the rocks. Also, my initials are carved in one of the bricks of the lighthouse. I’ve taken more sand dollars off of the Popham Beach shore that, if it was real currency, I’d be Scrooge McDuck. I live in a neighborhood with a forest as a backyard. In the fall I still take pictures of the foliage.

When/if I leave Maine, it will always be a pleasure when I visit home.

Funfact. Did you know Maine has a desert? I have a jar of its sand that I scooped myself on my shelf. (don’t tell the giftshop people)

I used to have a “second home” 20 miles from Disneland and before that we had a “second home” in Palm Desert.
We used them like mini weekend vacation homes so we appreciated the heck out of them.
With the financial crisis we realized that we could stay in some pretty nice hotels for the cost of maintaining those houses so when the market came back enough for us to get out clean we did.

Practically everywhere I have ever lived is a holiday destination. I lived in DC and NYC for years and loved them both for all the reasons tourists visit. Then I lived in Sydney, an amazing city. Next was just off Fraser Island, the largest all sand island in the world. Next was Kakadu National Park, a world heritage site visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Where I live now is the southern most jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef so many tourists pass through here each year as well. But of all the places I have lived, this is the least exciting to me. I can’t wait to move again.

I live in the SF Bay Area, where we get tourists all year round. One of the great things about living here is there is stuff to do all the time. When my kids were younger (1st and 3rd grade) we took a week off to stay in the city as tourists and do all the things we never got around to, like Alcatraz and walking the Golden Gate Bridge.

But for real relaxation, I do need to get away from everything and just lie on a warm beach with no cellphone and no computer. That’s when I go to Hawaii.

Tourists come to Glasgow from all over the world, mostly passing through on their way further north. They come for the scenery or to trace their roots or both.

Yes. There is a huge number of second-home owners from NYC and a few from Boston. Additionally, during high season, we are overrun with tourists. Then there is a lull, then leaf peepers, lull and then winter sports. Mud season and then the cycle starts again.

We have the beautiful rural scenery plus summer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Tanglewood), Shakespeare & Co., Berkshire Summer Theater, Jacob’s Pillow and the smaller regional cultural venues.

Additionally, we get to eat organic local food and stare at celebrities at Ralph’s Pretty Good Café.

I live just outside Washington DC. All of the history of the US is here. And it is all accessible for free to its citizens. Lot and lots of people come here on vacation.

Plus, maryland and Virginia are very beautiful states with lots of recreational opportunities.

@JLeslie I don’t know where you live in Tennessee, but I think it is a very beautiful state especially Eastern Tennessee. The state park system is wonderful. The crab orchard stone is spectacular.

@marinelife I’m in west TN. Many people just love east TN. I like it, but am not bowled over. Still, I think TN is worth visiting, don’t get me wrong, lots to see, especially as a tourist.

Yes, we get a lot of summer visitors. We live on the CT shoreline in a town with a “historic town green,” no drive-thrus, and really nice beaches. I don’t know if I’d come here for vacation, but in the summer there are plenty of people who rent houses on the beach. A huge hotel just went up right on the water. The downtown main street is full of cute little shops and there’s always something happening on the green on weekends. It’s only a short drive to a lot of other great places, including two big casinos. Lot’s of NYC folks have homes here as well or spend summers/weekends/vacation weeks here.

I certainly appreciate the aspects of life here that draw in tourists, probably because I didn’t grow up here. I grew up in the midwest, so being able to spend a day at the beach whenever I want during the summer (or even take a walk by the water on mild spring or fall days) is a novelty that hasn’t worn off. So many great seafood options, hiking, kayaking, scenic spots! My kids totally take it for granted though. They’re always like, “Why would someone take a vacation HERE?” :)

Yes – the Jersey Shore! I hang out with Snooki and the gang weekly. And I agree, it is a treat to live in a vacation destination. Summers here are a blast, even if you can’t get into a restaurant on Saturday night.

Chicago has about 40 million visitors a year. It’s dipped a bit with the economy. In 2008 the number was 45 million.

Sure do. Lala land. There are tourists here all the time.

@tinyfaery; I live LA. :-)

Not that I am aware of. I am surrounded by lovely country side which some people may have a holiday home of some sort in but it’s not exactly a tourist hotspot.

Yes, I live on the edge of the lake district in the north of England… it is beautiful, and I love it! It’s useful being a local round here too, as you get to know all the routes the tourists don’t frequent… a good thing as traffic can be a nightmare during peak season! (No motorways/highways in the lake district!)

@harple I love the Lake District!

@Leanne1986 and I love Scotland! Wanna swap? ;-) (It is Scotland you live isn’t it???? Doubting myself now….. if not, maybe we can strike a deal with @flutherother…?

@harple I’m not actually in Scotland, I’m on the Wiltshire/Somerset border. I just wish I was in Scotland as it is my favourite place in the world.

@Leanne1986 Just as I pressed enter, I doubted myself! Well, maybe you could come here, @flutherother could go to yours, and I’ll head up to Glasgow?..... Wiltshire/Somerset is beautiful too mind – were you affected by the M5 crash at all? I hope not.

darned iPhone auto correct.

No, but my partner works in a place like that. He gets paid to spend all day in the tourist attractions in a major seaside resort. (He’s IT support for the company that owns them).

Not likely. In San Francisco itself, yes, but not down here in Palo Alto. There are hotels, but I’m guessing they’re populated by businesspeople.

@harple Great idea! I’m in.

@flutherother :-)

Definitely not.

Not directly but I have bumped into the odd tourist when out walking around Hadrian’s wall, which is about an hours drive from my house :-/
Also the City of York is just down the road, about fifty miles or so…

Another D.C. jelly here. I understand why people would want to visit here, but during certain times of year all I want to do is get out of town. The summers here are relentlessly hot and muggy- it feels like there’s no cool breeze from May to September. People up north make fun of our winters because we don’t get much snow, but what we do have is “wintery mix,” a sludgy, wet blend of freezing rain, sleet, slush, and snow that just turns into mud once it hits the ground.

I heard this just became the richest city in America, but the upshot is that everyone is so focused on work all the time and winter just feels like trudging to work, commuting through all this wet, depressing weather, coming home and doing it again. Last winter I spent a few days in Florida and it was such a big difference- people were hanging out on the beach, doing sports, and actually having fun outside, and it was sunny and balmy pretty much the whole time. It seems like as you go further south, life becomes more fun and easygoing.

To be fair it is lovely here in the spring and the cherry blossoms are really gorgeous. Basically, during some parts of the year this is a place where people pay to vacation. But a lot of the time, it’s a place you pay to get away from.

I don’t live there now, but I grew up in Las Vegas, just a mile from the airport and the strip. I spent many weekend nights at Circus Circus, many hours waiting for my dad who would slip a few quarters into the slot machines at the grocery store after a shopping trip, and many lazy days on boats at Lake Mead. We had a gorgeous view of Mt. Charleston from our living room and I would always get excited when it got covered with snow.

I appreciated Vegas more for the natural beauty of the surrounding area, not for the casinos and shows. I would say I appreciated Vegas more than the tourists did. It was fun growing up in one of America’s playgrounds and being surrounded by people from every corner of the world.

(would I live there now? heck no. haha. but it was fun)

I do. I have been in the Boston area since college. I think I appreciate it more than the native born New Englanders and get the pleasure of appreciating and enjoying it more often than the tourists.

KY…it’s crazy Derby week.
green, hillsides with horses, Mammoth Cave, LBL, and basketball.