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The locals don't know

quarter--mile.com

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Re: The locals don't know

#41

Post by spaniard89277 »

That would be lovely but seems people really really want to be in the same places I am.

This year just called defeat and I'm moving out to the countryside, hopefully. My city had almost no tourist three years ago and now I had to shout twice to a tourist guide for using a very loud speaker in the very street I live in.

Just today I saw a 1 start review in a place I really like, by a german lady that was baffled waiters didn't even try to speak english to her.

It's just impossible to fight this. Guess we'll have to make our nice place elsewhere until tourists find out.

Re: The locals don't know

#42

Post by throw-the-towel »

peterlada wrote: post #20
zarzavat wrote: post #7

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things. I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do. For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a loc…

100%. I've lived in Paris well over a year and finally walked up on the Eiffel Tower and I enjoyed it. But of course not in July or August! But being local means you can go on an unexpectedly sunny March weekend.

I took a trip to the Château de Vincennes this weekend, a nice place and not crowded at all.

Re: The locals don't know

#43

Post by kstrauser »

zarzavat wrote: post #7

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things. I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do. For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a loc…

I’m routinely surprised by native San Franciscans who’ve never been to Alcatraz, seen Pier 39, or gone whale watching. Yes, they’re touristy things to do. They’re also very interesting and lots of fun!

Re: The locals don't know

#44

Post by kayo_20211030 »

As a local, one of the funnest things to do is to host out-of-town guests and to just do the touristy things in combination with local knowledge. Bus tours, museums, food, etc. Do it all. For me, it's stuff I'd probably never do unless pressed to provide entertainment for guests I care about.

So, do the local thing with tourists and retain a focus on a combination of showing off the best elements of being a local; with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of the tourist. As a blow-in to NY, I'd like others to appreciate it too.

Do what the tourists do, but with the locals. Do what the locals do, but with the tourists.

Re: The locals don't know

#45

Post by throwaway894345 »

kapep wrote: post #40

It is obvious that "do what the locals do" should not be taken literally, because locals are likely working most of the day. So the authors actual advice seems to be "avoid what the locals do, when they don't want to do anything". Everyone else likely interprets it as "do what the locals do, when they want to have fun" which is good advice. My daily routines are of no interest to tourist. They are probably similar to…

Yeah, I felt this was obvious as well. I like to "do what the locals do" when I travel, but by that I don't mean work during the weekdays of my vacation or spring clean an apartment. And if I say "do what the locals do" no one else would think I mean that I worked or did house chores.

Re: The locals don't know

#47

Post by throwaway894345 »

apelapan wrote: post #27
ValentineC wrote: post #19

> I’m skeptical of the term tourist trap (it’s mostly used as a term to place yourself as higher status/taste than other people, and is often used out of insecurity) One thing I've read years ago about tourist traps is that one shouldn't be actively trying to avoid them, especially if they come from a country with higher purchasing power. Some of these "tourist trap" activities are locals trying to make an honest liv…

I don't think people should get ripped off just because they can afford it. If you visit Sweden, don't buy ice cream in the historic area of Stockholm ("gamla stan"). As an American you might think "$10 for a single scoop of vanilla, that's nothing. A minimum wage worker packing groceries earn twice that in an hour back home". But you are not helping a starving ice cream labourer with your purchase, you are simply be…

> As an American you might think "$10 for a single scoop of vanilla, that's nothing. A minimum wage worker packing groceries earn twice that in an hour back home".

Is this a joke? $10 for a single scoop of ice cream in the US is a lot of money and also the US minimum wage is only $7.25/hour. You can barely feed yourself with the US minimum wage and you definitely can't pay for shelter or healthcare or anything else you would need to survive here, but that's a story for another time.

Re: The locals don't know

#48

Post by tptacek »

myself248 wrote: post #29
tptacek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chill out on my porch, read a book, make a salad? I don't think that's what the post is getting at.

That's what I did on my last vacation, and it was lovely. Except that I was in a cabin, on an island, in a foreign country. And the reason I was absolutely undistracted from my book, is that I'd turned my phone off before crossing the border. And I left it off, all week. The isolation and quiet surroundings made the "week off" truly off . Nobody could reach me if they tried. Whatever calamity befell my boss, he'd jus…

Right, it's a weird thing to travel for though.

Re: The locals don't know

#49

Post by gobdovan »

Better advice isn't 'do what the locals do' or 'avoid what the locals do'. It's to actually talk to people, both locals and other travelers, instead of treating either group as a script to copy from a distance. Have a beer, ask questions, hang out, and see what people are really into.

Re: The locals don't know

#50

Post by comrade1234 »

_puk wrote: post #12
comrade1234 wrote: post #5

I'd take you mushroom hunting (but really just exploring and running around in the forest this time of year), maybe pick up a trout on the way home to grill. That's a few days a week for me (the trout leas though). As for touristy things here in Zurich - it's not really a tourist city. When we have guests from overseas we do have a set of activities to bring them on. When I've offered to bring them in the forest to f…

In a lot of places the best mushroom spots are guarded secrets.

You would have to sign an nda.
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