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Old 09-03-2013, 09:39 AM
 
1,402 posts, read 3,491,081 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tatans View Post
You bought your house because of the area and the slower pace of life, well, so did we, things change, now we can hardly move with the mass influx of cottagers, 4 months of unstocked grocery shelves, and try get a seat in a restaurant, on and on and on, even the merchants are glad to see the town get back to "normal"
Merchants here don't seem to be as greedy as in York, as the area here without cottage people seems to give them a good source of revenue.
Wait, first you said that the tourists don't bring any money to the state, but then you complain about them buying up all the groceries, and taking up all the spots at the restaurant...so what, are they stealing those things? Sounds like your town is doing A-OK from the tourist trade.

Maine is the place it is in part because of all of the tourists, not in spite of them. All of those quaint places you enjoy are there because some tourist are willing to travel up and visit it. You think those places could stay open, just from the support of the locals? I doubt it.
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Old 09-03-2013, 09:58 AM
 
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My town gets mobbed by the tourists and the summer people, but its OK except for the 2nd and third week in August. that's the time when things are bumper to bumper almost. Even on my little back road in the town there is lots of traffic.

But the life blood of the community comes in during the April 15 to October 30 time period.
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Old 09-03-2013, 02:35 PM
 
151 posts, read 198,089 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by broadbill View Post
Wait, first you said that the tourists don't bring any money to the state, but then you complain about them buying up all the groceries, and taking up all the spots at the restaurant...so what, are they stealing those things? Sounds like your town is doing A-OK from the tourist trade.

Maine is the place it is in part because of all of the tourists, not in spite of them. All of those quaint places you enjoy are there because some tourist are willing to travel up and visit it. You think those places could stay open, just from the support of the locals? I doubt it.
So- - - if you make money from tourists (in Michigan they are called "fudgies") or cottagers and you do not live in in the affected town there is no problem? of course not! you don't have to live with the invasion. There are always enough local people in the restaurant and the grocery store to sustain a profitable living, it's when it is jammed with "aways'' that is a little frustrating, you see, the town seems to survive very well with ONLY the locals for 9 months a year, if you believe that outside money contributes to lower taxes and major improvements in your town, you must run a pretty large lucrative business.

I'm not alone on my view: check out the urban dictionary for the meaning of "fudgies"
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Old 09-03-2013, 02:49 PM
 
1,402 posts, read 3,491,081 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tatans View Post
So- - - if you make money from tourists (in Michigan they are called "fudgies") or cottagers and you do not live in in the affected town there is no problem? of course not! you don't have to live with the invasion. There are always enough local people in the restaurant and the grocery store to sustain a profitable living, it's when it is jammed with "aways'' that is a little frustrating, you see, the town seems to survive very well with ONLY the locals for 9 months a year, if you believe that outside money contributes to lower taxes and major improvements in your town, you must run a pretty large lucrative business.

I'm not alone on my view: check out the urban dictionary for the meaning of "fudgies"
You can call them whatever cute name you want, tourist are without a doubt an important industry to Maine (perhaps the most important, since not much else is going on here in case you noticed!).

Ever occur to you that those businesses are still around, not because of the local population but because of the "bump" they get every summer from the tourist trade, allowing this is skimp along during the cold months?

If these businesses could lean on the local population solely, why do so many close down for the winter? For their health?
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Old 09-03-2013, 02:51 PM
 
Location: Central Maine
1,473 posts, read 3,184,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tatans View Post
... There are always enough local people in the restaurant and the grocery store to sustain a profitable living, it's when it is jammed with "aways'' that is a little frustrating, you see, the town seems to survive very well with ONLY the locals for 9 months a year...
Well, this probably isn't right. It's kinda like the Christmas season. Many retailers ONLY stay in business due to the income generated during that season. The tourist/ restaurant / lodging businesses are often the same. Yeah, they stay open all year, but without the tourist season many of these businesses would go under.
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Old 09-08-2013, 08:32 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tatans View Post
Like to know the general consensus of Mainers who live in towns innundated by the influx of people who own cottages and are from away, I know businesses will say they are teriffic for sales, but are not really fond of them, they smile of course over the till, cottagers in our town flood the downtown, crowd our hospital, contribute nothing to our new library and generally buy very little locally as they bring all their "stuff" from the big city and costco, their impact financially seems very small indeed, they are indeed much wealthier than the locals (maybe a jealousy factor here) but enough about Volvos, Lexus, BMW drivers whining about how primitive the locals are.
The only comparison I can relate to is small towns with Universities flooded with students 8 months a year, most locals ignore this influx, my query is, do Mainers think the same way with the masses of humans migrating North to their cottages? Does this have anything to do with the "Volvo Line" mentioned occaisionally here?
Many of these "cottagers" pay more in property taxes than you probably do to your town.

Many of these "cottagers" go out to eat normally, spend money etc. paying sales tax leading to jobs in a tourist state such as Maine is.

The bigotry of some Mainers is disappointing. Many of these "cottagers" I tend to observe do more for the communities of Maine then those sharing such a bigoted attitude.
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Old 09-10-2013, 12:40 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
1,039 posts, read 2,645,563 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tatans View Post
you see, the town seems to survive very well with ONLY the locals for 9 months a year
My guess is that the town sees more revenue in the 3 months of tourist season than it does for the remaining 9 months. To make that statement you made assumes no uptick in revenue for tourist season.

I've lived in South Florida, I've dealt with snowbirds for years, so I feel your pain...but don't dismiss reality or bite the hand that feeds you.
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Old 09-13-2013, 06:24 AM
 
Location: The Woods
18,336 posts, read 26,368,533 times
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It doesn't necessarily balance out for most of the locals once a town is truly overrun. Just look at Vermont's tourist towns, the locals can no longer afford to live there where wealthy outsiders "discovered" the town, and any better paying income sources are blocked because of potential impacts on tourism.
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Old 09-13-2013, 01:10 PM
 
9,639 posts, read 5,975,875 times
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Originally Posted by arctichomesteader View Post
It doesn't necessarily balance out for most of the locals once a town is truly overrun. Just look at Vermont's tourist towns, the locals can no longer afford to live there where wealthy outsiders "discovered" the town, and any better paying income sources are blocked because of potential impacts on tourism.
Do these outsiders have voting rights?

No, they don't. The greed of your local municipality causes that.
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Old 09-13-2013, 02:22 PM
 
151 posts, read 198,089 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arctichomesteader View Post
It doesn't necessarily balance out for most of the locals once a town is truly overrun. Just look at Vermont's tourist towns, the locals can no longer afford to live there where wealthy outsiders "discovered" the town, and any better paying income sources are blocked because of potential impacts on tourism.
"Wealthy" cottagers are buying up 3 or 4 lots and building $300,000 "COTTAGES" you can imagine what happens to their neighbors, their taxes go so high they must sell their small cottage or abandon it as no one will want to buy, these greedy part timers have devastated some locals, who in many cases have walked away, so unless you own a business in town or do not actually live here to enjoy the confusion everything is just great huh! as long as a very few people make a buck, c'mon even the local merchants crab about the influx, and you would be surprised just how little is contributed to the town, cottagers here pay a pittance in taxes compared to townsfolk. Cottages have obscenely low tax rates compared town housing" and you should see what constitutes their "cottage"
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