Boston and Bermuda • Hacker News Board

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#21

Post by ilamont » Thu, May 28, 2026, 8:44 PM UTC

mdasen wrote: post #17

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

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I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I went to Ottawa once or twice when I was a teen, but only made it to Montreal for the first time about 15 years ago.

I agree with you about the Maritimes. The bridge has made a difference but it's still a long drive and as you noted there are few famous destination cities or attractions.

Regarding Quebec: It seems that far more Quebeckers are aware of New England attractions in Boston and points north than the other way around. You see them or hear them at ski slopes, beaches, concerts in Boston, etc. Yet few New Englanders have been to Montreal, and even fewer have even heard of Quebec City, the walled European city and heritage site just a few hours downriver.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#22

Post by lastofthemojito » Thu, May 28, 2026, 8:58 PM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

> Iceland (only 4 hours from Logan)

Were faster aircraft operating on this route at some point? Nowadays Icelandair says 5hr15min BOS->KEF and 5hr50min on the way back.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#23

Post by bell-cot » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:02 PM UTC

lastofthemojito wrote: post #22

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

> Iceland (only 4 hours from Logan) Were faster aircraft operating on this route at some point? Nowadays Icelandair says 5hr15min BOS->KEF and 5hr50min on the way back.

Speculation: The 4 hours includes the time "gained" by crossing time zones westward.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#24

Post by MontgomeryPy » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:03 PM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

Also in greater Boston and had the fortune to do a family trip to Bermuda in that era. One more possibility not mentioned in the article is that Bermuda could have also 'lost its crown' as a popular destination for New Englanders because it was simply promoted less. I don't think the island cluster is as dependent on tourism revenue as maybe it once was in 70s.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#25

Post by MontgomeryPy » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:07 PM UTC

Scoundreller wrote: post #15

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

> Montreal is less than 5 hours away but I never knew anyone from my generation that went there until we were in our 20s. The sweet spot would have been 18-21 years old for a first trip imo

Yes, back when Brador beer was available! That was the main draw for me and friends when we were that age :)

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#26

Post by fragmede » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:52 PM UTC

jvanderbot wrote: post #13

> The cruise ships still make their runs, usually in the spring and fall, and they remain popular. But if you’re going by air, today your options are JetBlue or a tiny upstart called BermudAir, both using small jets. I work with that tiny startup! Bermuda Air has been a fantastic partner for us developing automated routing/alerting for pilots, dispatchers, and ops. We even got to do some work during the big hurricane…

That sounds like a fascinating application of some more esoteric CS algorithms. Which ones did you end up using for that?

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#27

Post by jvanderbot » Thu, May 28, 2026, 9:58 PM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #26

jvanderbot wrote: post #13

> The cruise ships still make their runs, usually in the spring and fall, and they remain popular. But if you’re going by air, today your options are JetBlue or a tiny upstart called BermudAir, both using small jets. I work with that tiny startup! Bermuda Air has been a fantastic partner for us developing automated routing/alerting for pilots, dispatchers, and ops. We even got to do some work during the big hurricane…

That sounds like a fascinating application of some more esoteric CS algorithms. Which ones did you end up using for that?

Oh all kinds! You never know where a CLRS book will find use. You'd also be suprised how bad real data is, and how many basic things are just broken in open source code.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#28

Post by cucumber3732842 » Fri, May 29, 2026, 12:26 AM UTC

jghn wrote: post #14

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

There's another effect beyond cheaper flights. We moved to the area in a very middle class neighborhood when I was young, around the same time as the author of TFA. Like you said, what I saw was a lot of families had family summer homes on the Cape or one of the NH lakes. Everyone but the Dad would pick up for the summer, and then he'd work during the week & then go to the summer home on the weekend. But these weren'…

>In the intervening decades, that's all changed. Today's summer homes are so much more different. I've seen a lot of those families I knew back then sell their homes over time. Developers scoop up several properties in a row and build some huge McMansion. So now these areas are the sort of wealthy person summer home people picture when the term is used.

The call is coming from inside the house!

The developer would love to build four new half mil cottages instead of one new 1mil McMansion. But they can't they have to bundle four old lots or whatever to be able to do something that's legal because of the laws and rules championed by the EXACT. SAME. PEOPLE. who complain about all the new McMansions on the lake. And then they complain about the jet skis and the boat stereos and whatnot. Did you think that the people rich enough to buy this stuff would not have toys? And the whole time they vote to raise taxes too so that hastens the whole turnover process because the people who would hold onto the seasonal properties have to either bend over and take the carrying cost or renovate into a high end rental (if that's even possible to do economically with the grandfathered in cabin they've got) to make it worth it (or just sell out, which is what their kids almost always choose to do because screw all that work).

You literally can't have a shitty old trailer type "hunting camp" or seasonal cabin in most of Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine because once again, the people that got there first pulled up the ladder via the government.

Source: Have some of these assholes (lake variety) in the family

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#29

Post by cucumber3732842 » Fri, May 29, 2026, 12:37 AM UTC

lastofthemojito wrote: post #22

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

> Iceland (only 4 hours from Logan) Were faster aircraft operating on this route at some point? Nowadays Icelandair says 5hr15min BOS->KEF and 5hr50min on the way back.

Less skinny pedal to save that $5/gal fuel.

The airline would rather the trip take zero hours because crew costs hourly and they want to turn that seat around and sell it again but they have to balance that against fuel costs.

Re: Boston and Bermuda

#30

Post by FatherOfCurses » Fri, May 29, 2026, 1:28 PM UTC

jghn wrote: post #14

ilamont wrote: post #10

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas. For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away:…

There's another effect beyond cheaper flights. We moved to the area in a very middle class neighborhood when I was young, around the same time as the author of TFA. Like you said, what I saw was a lot of families had family summer homes on the Cape or one of the NH lakes. Everyone but the Dad would pick up for the summer, and then he'd work during the week & then go to the summer home on the weekend. But these weren'…

I grew up in Toronto and the family of my university girlfriend owned a small cottage in the northeastern part of the province that didn't have road access. You had to take a boat across a lake to get to it. It had a tiny camp kitchen, a table for everyone to eat at, and a bunch of single and bunk beds and that was it. No power or running water. The whole point was spending a weekend living simply, not just living your regular life in a different location.

I miss it dearly and there is nothing like it any more.