To detest people that think they own beautiful parts of the world?

[Bumpitybumper]

I grew up in a very ugly and undesirable part of the country and now live in a tourist hotspot. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by people that are born and raised here trying to restrict tourism or stop 'outsiders' moving here. The houses are expensive here because it's such a lovely place to live but there isn't much employment except for from tourism. Despite this many locals that I know feel that tourism should be restricted as it makes the town extremely busy in high season. They also think housing should be subsidised for locals.

I feel that there are only so many beautiful places and those lucky enough to be born in them are no more entitled to live and enjoy them than the rest of us who by luck were born elsewhere. This would effectively condemn future people like me to live and visit only the less desirable of areas whilst my children could stay in this lovely area and be subsidised for doing so. It just feels incredibly unfair!

Do you never stay in a cottage or anything?

I don’t know where you live but I've never heard anyone complaining about it here. Although to be fair there are so few locals it sounds really odd if you hear a local accent 😯

What do these people want to do for a living then once the tourist money goes?
Subsidised housing and benefits to live off so they can enjoy the views?!

I live in a tourist town. There’s a balance to be had- yes tourism has to be promoted and welcomed to an extent as it brings in money and jobs. But that can’t come at the cost of the place losing its initial charm, losing services for locals or resulting in housing shortages.
for example- unregulated holiday lets (air bnb) are resulting in housing shortages and issues for residents as they exploit planning loopholes. This loophole needs to be closed - fine if folk want to run a holiday let but they need to apply for permission and do it properly.
likewise tourist town centres need to have shops that locals need- hardware shops, clothing shops, pharmacies etc and not just have become tourist tat shops and bars- York city centre is a prime example of this - half the shambles are Harry Potter shops - despite no link Harry Potter (yet the tourists come and buy their wands!).

Who is doing those tourism jobs, though? Nobody is going to commute for an hour to earn tourism wages. If nobody can afford to live in an area, who is working in the restaurants and shops the tourists need?

You want space, but you are also going to want somewhere to buy your milk, someone to serve you a drink in the pub, wait on your table in a restaurant. Where do you imagine these people come from? Where are they living? What are they doing in the winter when you and others like you aren't there? Where are their jobs then, when there's nobody to serve because all the houses are empty?

Absolutely. I think it’s more about wealthy folk descending on desirable places en masse because they had the good fortune to be able to sell a home in London or the south east and use the collateral to buy a converted barn in the Dales or a pied a terre in York…

That's right, I don't. Had a lovely time in a B&B last month.

I agree. I don't beleive you should be entitled to a privilege just becuase of the circumstances of your birth. Being born in a nice area shouldn't make you more entitled to live there. Being born into a family that have connections to a university shouldn't give you a right to attend that university. But I'm also pro immigration and such, I believe people are people and shouldn't be segregated by things they have no control in.

I agree with you OP.

I’m wondering if you’ve considered that this is the same problem we have with immigration.

I’m curious to know if you think we should have free, unrestricted immigration too as it’s not fair for someone born in Lebanon to not be able to improve their family’s lives by moving to the UK.

Would you factor in the consequences of mass migration from less fortunate countries to wealthier/safer ones?

Funny, I grew up in Rugby! I can't afford a house in the area of Rugby I was brought up in, however I can afford a bigger house that the one I grew up in the beautiful touristy place I now live in. My husband is a local to this area which helped with getting on the property ladder here but it was still much much cheaper than the equivalent house would be in Rugby.

Many of the locals made me feel very miserable here for many years, not all of them but a good contingent, so many locals hate anyone who is not born here. I was desperate to get 'home' to Rugby despite having lived in various other locations for 10 years or so, but simply couldn't afford it. The people in the pretty place I live now would never dream of wanting to live in Rugby! Its a funny world. We need more houses and a variety of them and better management of Air B&B type lets, I think.

And that's fine for you but lots of families prefer houses

I agree.

Completely agree.

You’re lucky you can afford to live in a desirable place actually. Must of us stuck in dumps will never have that opportunity, we’re here for ever.
And those descendants you speak of will be priced out by wealthy incomers so it’s all academic.

I think there is a weird idea that if it wasn't for tourism then the high street in these tourist places would be full of useful shops. Go down the majority of high streets in a non tourist towns and you will see that the shops are boarded up. The clothes shops and hardware shops you talk of are long gone. The streets often seem menacing and dangerous now. I would much rather a Harry Potter shop than an empty one.

It's also unrealistic to expect tourism not to impact locals. All trades and industries impact locals. Try living near a farm, factory or even a major commercial centre. It's very very difficult to accept all the positives of an industry and none of the negatives.

That's right! They prefer to live in houses. All year round. Not have them AirBnBd out of existence.

In fairness, I have never been a wealthy incomer. Just an incomer. I now live in a tourist bit by the sea, but not a wealthy one. We incomers aren't all rich executives.

Surely the answer is that those in undesirable areas should put pressure on the local government to improve those areas rather than expect other areas to build up for everyone to move to.

Second homes should be completely banned, I grew up in a rural idyll. Now it’s over run with wealthy Londoners who stay there for a few weeks of the year. It was always a problem but it’s so much worse since covid.

But people from beauty spots can come live in big cities and no-one ever says they're pricing big city locals out of housing.

I was reading about a place that is one of the most photographed places in the world. Tourists drink, litter, cause accidents to try to take different photos … we went to a tourist location we remembered from our childhood and it has been well and truly ruined- 4x4s and mansions everywhere and further building visible everywhere. Place is ruined. I actually think your viewpoint is showing as much entitlement as you say the inhabitants of these places show!!!

Luck? I moved away from my friends and family to create some of my luck. This is my whole point. I have lived in a range of undesirable places, some notoriously bad and often made fun of. I'm not saying this is possible for everyone but you never know what you or your descendants will achieve. Would you like your or their opportunity to move somewhere better to be restricted because you now live in a dump? Meanwhile my kids that grow up in a lovely area would presumably be giving preferential treatment for being locals.

Because they're likely to be earning comparable incomes and also everyone wants to leave home for the big city? Alas no.

I think you are wrong OP. Why should I be forced to move away from my family because tons of Londoners decide I live in a desirable area? I have been paying into the local economy for years, supported my town in becoming that desirable place in the first place and have presumably made tourists feel welcome, so why should I be priced out? I don't even live in that much of a desirable town aesthetically - the homes tend to be small and its very built up, but many people move to work here due to access of the rest of the county. I'm less bothered by that, it's the second home owners and air bnbs that do bother me because it has ruined a lot of local businesses and reduced housing supply, and there isn't much space here to just build the homes that people need either.

I think it's a shame to lose local people from an area. It loses its character. A lot of the areas built for Londoners in Devon are soulless now as local people have moved out and are empty mych of the time. Some of the private road communities just look very depressing. I don't get why you would want to move to a ghost town anyway.