Cape Cod observations from a 1st timer (Boston, Yarmouth: real estate, foreclosures)

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

I had a $48 Losbter Roll, which was the most expensive sandwich I've ever had. The view from the patio of the Chatham Bar Inn made it well worth the price. Cape Cod was more costly than Sarasota County Florida, where we're from, but it wouldn't stop us from returning some day.

Next time, I'd fly into Providence, & stay in Falmouth, Chatham, or Barnstable. I'd skip Logan and Dennis Port, but Dennis was okay...the area around Scargo, up by the marina.

We only stayed in Dennis Port because of the moderately priced vrbo we found, & the nearby pickleball facility in Dennis, just North of the town hall.

Ouch, a $48 lobster roll is impressive indeed! I usually get one when I go up to midcoast Maine - it's a ritual of doing the Maine visit, so you gotta do it. I thought it was bad when I paid something like $24 there this summer at a lobster shack in Camden - with fries, drink and slaw it was about $30, but I guess that was cheap! I am used to them being closer to $15.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by lrfox

This is the smart move. My snowbird grandparents split time between WPB and Brewster and adamantly refuse to fly into Logan. Even if you can only find a connecting flight, it's worth it to go to PVD. As bad as Cape traffic can be, the Southeast Expressway (I-93) in Boston is the worst part of the Boston-Cape Cod drive. So you'll also skip that if you opt for PVD.

Of note, Southwest flies non-stop between TPA and PVD. Breeze Airways has announced that they'll be turning PVD into a hub and adding new routes. So there's a good chance that you'll have another non-stop from TPA to PVD in the next few years. And possibly one directly to SRQ since Breeze already flies there. Allegient flies nonstop from PVD to Punta Gorda. Alternatively, JetBlue has flights SRQ to JFK and from JFK to Hyannis (HYA), so you could fly SRQ to HYA with only one layover. But those Hyannis flights tend to be pricey and I'm sure Cape car rentals aren't great.

Instead you can deal with the horrid traffic of 95 from PVD through Providence trying to get to 195 and the horrible drivers of The Ocean State.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by robr2

Instead you can deal with the horrid traffic of 95 from PVD through Providence trying to get to 195 and the horrible drivers of The Ocean State.

The Warwick exit from the airport to entry of 195 is a breeze comparatively, and short. Do it all the time. There is no comparison.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by robr2

Instead you can deal with the horrid traffic of 95 from PVD through Providence trying to get to 195 and the horrible drivers of The Ocean State.

Back when Southwest had Philly service to New England, I had a stretch where I was flying to Philly weekly. When it was in the summer months, I was doing it from South Dartmouth. I can do the drive in 45 minutes with no traffic. At 7am, it was maybe a 5 minute delay doing the 4 miles of I-195 In Rhode Island before the I-95 split.

Attleboro to PVD is heavier traffic but coming in on 195 rarely adds more than a 15 minute delay.

The Southeast Expressway isn’t deterministic at all. I don’t even try to book midweek morning flights out of Logan. Midweek, I try to take noon flights.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Oh I'm sure CBI is more expensive than Sarasota, FL.

The cape can be as snobby for sure. There are some down to earth places there but people seem to gravitate towards the ritzier spots these days (Wychmere, Wequesset, CBI, popponesset). Sadly I've noticed more and more areas on the cape are becoming destinations for the uber wealthy. Perhaps Nantucket is too far away for them. I remember getting a room at Wequasset/CBI a few years back and it was somewhat reasonable. My family has a house in the area but I've spent less time there the past few years mainly because my kids have more activities...but after a while there's not much to do other than go to the beach.

The last time I got a room at Wequasset it was the summer of 2020 and i was shocked by how crowded the place was given that it was a pandemic. Anyone who was there did not care if they got covid. I think when people go to that kind of a place they want an exclusive experience that they have paid for. If it's very crowded, particularly during a pandemic, it doesn't feel exclusive. The pool the next day felt like a public city pool there were so many people in it.

I will go back for dinner but I am done with staying there. Clearly they don't need my businsess lol.

Have you seen some of the “exclusive” experiences the CBI offered this summer? For $1800 you could drive their Lexus out onto the beach- following your cabana boy in another Lexus of course- who was there to be sure you didn’t get stuck and set up your beach chairs and picnic.

For $5k you could get a charter plane from Logan
to the Chatham airport, get a Lexus ride for a 1 night stay and drink champs on the drive to the resort.

During Covid they offered microweddings for 10 people for $15,000.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

I had a $48 Losbter Roll, which was the most expensive sandwich I've ever had. The view from the patio of the Chatham Bar Inn made it well worth the price. Cape Cod was more costly than Sarasota County Florida, where we're from, but it wouldn't stop us from returning some day.

Next time, I'd fly into Providence, & stay in Falmouth, Chatham, or Barnstable. I'd skip Logan and Dennis Port, but Dennis was okay...the area around Scargo, up by the marina.

We only stayed in Dennis Port because of the moderately priced vrbo we found, & the nearby pickleball facility in Dennis, just North of the town hall.

I’d love to hear why you’d choose Falmouth, Chatham or Barnstable next visit.

Full disclosure: we were looking for a short term rental and started in Falmouth but ended up buying in Chatham. Never considered Dennis Port- even though we enjoyed staying there when our kids were young.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by robr2

Instead you can deal with the horrid traffic of 95 from PVD through Providence trying to get to 195 and the horrible drivers of The Ocean State.

It’s not even close to as bad, even on the worst of days. I don’t love 95-195 in Providence, but compared to the typical SE Expressway run, it’s nothing.

[robr2]

Maybe my issue with the section of 95 south is 195 is that I'm usually travelling through there mid to late PM and it's a circus. Yes it's less stress than the SE Expressway most of the time.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber4

Have you seen some of the “exclusive” experiences the CBI offered this summer? For $1800 you could drive their Lexus out onto the beach- following your cabana boy in another Lexus of course- who was there to be sure you didn’t get stuck and set up your beach chairs and picnic.

For $5k you could get a charter plane from Logan
to the Chatham airport, get a Lexus ride for a 1 night stay and drink champs on the drive to the resort.

During Covid they offered microweddings for 10 people for $15,000.

I hadn't heard of those specific offering but it doesn't surprise me. The resort scene on the cape seems to be through the roof. You can join wychmere beach club for the summer for 20k. There are pools and tennis courts you can use by doing that. It just shows the times we live in I guess. Going to the beach and to a nice restaurant used to be enough. I think some people like to be able to say, ohh I'm a member at wychmere *eyeroll*.

The other thing is that rentals have become so pricey that I can kind of see why someone might choose to just stay at wequasset or cbI for a week over paying 4K or more to rent someone's house. They don't have to worry about cleaning the place and there are other perks of staying at the hotels.

Overall it amazes me what people will pay to stay at the cape these days. It just doesn't seem that great to me. I guess anywhere can be great when it's a fancy resort sitting on the ocean.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Overall it amazes me what people will pay to stay at the cape these days. It just doesn't seem that great to me. I guess anywhere can be great when it's a fancy resort sitting on the ocean.

Yeah, and this is the reason we've mostly done day trips (or a single overnight) to visit friends in recent years rather than longer stays. I love the Cape, but the sweet spot for me was when it was more cost effective to spend a week (or weekend) on the Cape than to go somewhere else. That's no longer the case and it's hard to justify a week/end on the Cape vs. traveling somewhere else.