Well, I have a different view of living in a tourist town. My favorite place to be is at my home on Saratoga Lake, just outside of Saratoga Springs. The whole area is a summer tourist mecca, and the healthy tourist industry is responsible for many of the nice aspects of the area. The only real irritation is the limited downtown parking in the summer, but I take that in stride. I moved there for the horse racing, so I have always experienced the summer crowds. The summer population is around 50,000; the year-round population is about 25,000. But without the horse racing and the performing arts center (an amphitheater), the area wouldn't be the same, and it wouldn't have much money either. Most people who are not school teachers or government employees work in some aspect of tourism (restaruants, hotels, motels, and shops on Broadway).
The "natives" don't mind the tourists, and it is the friendliness of the local people that demonstrated to me that people don't have to be rude (as they are in Fairfield County CT). Some locals even rent out their homes for the racing season, giving them some extra cash for their own vacations.
Even in the busy season, the "city" maintains its charm. You just have to leave time to find a parking place if you are going downtown, and you have to make reservations if you want to eat at the fancy restaurants (most of them are almost empty in the off season).
I'm not really trying to sell it, but I just love it and some of my friends from "the country" like it too (eg Cathy). She hasn't been there in the summer yet, but one can always just stay by the lake and not even know the crowds are there ... The area most definitely has four seasons, and is well known as part of the Fall foliage area. Winters can get very cold - the lake freezes in December and the ice doesn't break until late March. There is usually a lot of snow on the ground during that time, and a nice sprinkling of "snow days" for the kids.
Right now I have the "pleasure" of living in a Denver suberb. I don't ski, and I fail to see the charm here, although I did drive to the mountains to look at a rustic cabin. It was cute, but in the winter we'd get snowed in and my husband can't afford to miss work. And, outside of the mountains, the seasons are weird here. It is always sunny, and rarely cold, and even when it snows it doesn't last long (except in the mountains). The only real plus is that the humidity is low: good for my hair, but I have to keep my guitar humidified.
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Valerie Magee
Visit my business site at
mageenet.biz, Hamilton Camp's Offical Web Site at
hamiltoncamp.com , and Cathy Cowette's web site at
cathycowette.com. Also visit
Dr. Jack's Lightfoot page.
[This message has been edited by vlmagee (edited October 12, 2004).]