Judgmental Maps of Cities

[Crawford]

Jersey Shore is kinda misunderstood. It's stereotyped as Jersey Shore guido towns with carnivalesque boardwalks, and that exists (Seaside Heights, Wildwood) but there's pretty much every kind of beach and beach town, from just south of NYC to below the Mason Dixon line

Places like Spring Lake and Stone Harbor feel like Newport or Martha's Vineyard, then there are Orthodox Jewish beach towns like Deal, gay-oriented beach towns like Asbury Park, Cape Cod-style towns like Cape May, Hamptons-like estate towns like Rumson, Wall Street commuter towns like Highland (via fast ferries), railroad commuter towns like Long Branch, and rather depressed towns like Atlantic City. There are NY-oriented towns and Philly-oriented towns.

Jersey Shore is kind of a microcosm of Jersey - stereotyped as very working class and ethnic, but really runs the gamut.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by lio45

Yeah, I was going to say you're likely in the same category as me for that, with two distinct levels of beach vacation. (Here it's usually either Old Orchard Beach in Maine or Florida, for your location the "lower level" is obviously some Great Lakes Beach.) Going to NJ would be a logically injustifiable compromise.

for sure.

in chicago, if you're driving for a beach vacation, you're simply gonna go somewhere over on the michigan shore on the other side of the lake with something like 300 miles of beaches to explore.

if you're gonna make the effort to go all the way to an ocean beach, you're probably heading to florida or somewhere else further south for the warmer water.

places like the jersey shore kinda get squeezed out in the middle from that perspective.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

if you're gonna make the effort to go all the way to an ocean beach, you're probably heading to florida or somewhere else further south for the warmer water.

I've been skeptical about simply swimming on beaches anyway. Whether it would be in Florida, the Riviera, Malta or wherever it would be warmer, water is salty, corrosive and rather unpleasant to one's skin when you're naked in there. That's why there is tons of pools along the coasts of Florida or the French Riviera. Because swimming in dumb stupid pools actually feels better somehow.

I think beaches are meant for sports different from swimming. Surfing or windsurfing where it is possible (you need waves or some wind).
Even sailing or scuba diving are actually some very nice entertainment and experience for one's vacations. There's a whole economy meant for seaside resorts to develop here.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, i get that.

the jersey shore is much more of a "local" beach destination for the massive NYC/philly region than places further south. it's reach beyond the northeast as a beach destination is much more limited.

living in chicago my entire life, rarely i have i ever heard people here say "we're taking a beach vacation to the jersey shore", like they do for places further south like virginia beach, hilton head, the entire state of florida, the gulf coast, etc.

That would be like someone from Denver going to Chicago or even eastern Lake Michigan for a “beach vacation”.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by BG918

That would be like someone from Denver going to Chicago or even eastern Lake Michigan for a “beach vacation”.

exactly.

like the jersey shore, great lakes beaches are very regional in pull.

it would be quite uncommon to meet someone on a great lakes beach from outside of the region.

an exception to that might be visitors to chicago day-tripping out to see indiana dunes national park, but they're not there explicitly for a "beach vacation".


source: https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt...61bc2e4-0b8d-505b-9967-8fc594ac83fa.html

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by mousquet

I've been skeptical about simply swimming on beaches anyway. Whether it would be in Florida, the Riviera, Malta or wherever it would be warmer, water is salty, corrosive and rather unpleasant to one's skin when you're naked in there. That's why there is tons of pools along the coasts of Florida or the French Riviera. Because swimming in dumb stupid pools actually feels better somehow.

I think beaches are meant for sports different from swimming. Surfing or windsurfing where it is possible (you need waves or some wind).
Even sailing or scuba diving are actually some very nice entertainment and experience for one's vacations. There's a whole economy meant for seaside resorts to develop here.

Salt water is good for your skin.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Salt water is good for your skin.

Ha, is it? Yeah, possibly, if you say so. I believe you.
It never hurt me anyway.

Do you know what "boire la tasse" (drinking the cup) means in this context? It happens when you don't manage your breathe properly, then some water gets in your mouth as you try to breath. Sometimes, you swallow it when you're really desperate for air.

I've always been a little player and liked to fight in water, just for fun. Like playing water polo. You know, that's very fun.
So, boire la tasse often happens when you play. When water is salty, it is very unpleasant.
But I'll admit, chlorine in pools doesn't feel much better.

I'm not very good at swimming anyway.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mousquet

I've always been a little player and liked to fight in water, just for fun. Like playing water polo.

I'm not very good at swimming anyway.

these two statements seem awfully contradictory to me because water polo is one of the most intensive swimming-related sports that there is.

if you're not a very good swimmer, then you'd be a particularly awful water polo player.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

if you're not a very good swimmer, then you'd be a particularly awful water polo player.

Lol, of course I am. I am pitiful at it. I never said otherwise. I only said I was a little player.

Uhh, apart from that, are you ok?

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Ha, is it? Yeah, possibly, if you say so. I believe you.
It never hurt me anyway.

Do you know what "boire la tasse" (drinking the cup) means in this context? It happens when you don't manage your breathe properly, then some water gets in your mouth as you try to breath. Sometimes, you swallow it when you're really desperate for air.

I've always been a little player and liked to fight in water, just for fun. Like playing water polo. You know, that's very fun.
So, boire la tasse often happens when you play. When water is salty, it is very unpleasant.
But I'll admit, chlorine in pools doesn't feel much better.

I'm not very good at swimming anyway.

My pool is salt water turned to chlorine via electrolysis. It is becoming more popular every year. The water is still a bit salty, but chlorinated. It doesn’t take much salt to activate a pool for the season.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Water polo was huge when I lived in Southern California. Is it a big thing elsewhere too?

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

these two statements seem awfully contradictory to me because water polo is one of the most intensive swimming-related sports that there is.

if you're not a very good swimmer, then you'd be a particularly awful water polo player.

IMO, water polo is the most intensive sport, period. Every other sport I played was far less exhausting.

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Water polo was huge when I lived in Southern California. Is it a big thing elsewhere too?

It was big in Silicon Valley when I was in high school. Not sure about nowadays.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by mousquet

I've been skeptical about simply swimming on beaches anyway. Whether it would be in Florida, the Riviera, Malta or wherever it would be warmer, water is salty, corrosive and rather unpleasant to one's skin when you're naked in there. That's why there is tons of pools along the coasts of Florida or the French Riviera. Because swimming in dumb stupid pools actually feels better somehow.

Then there's bad news: There's recently been a shortage of chlorine which is a necessity for fresh water pools and some people don't like it because it's potentially dangerous anyway (if you breathe the fumes mainly), so salt water pools are now all the rage. The minerals suppress bacterial and algae growth so they don't need to be chlorinated.

[llamaorama]

I think being originally from a more inland area, I tend to associate any kind of beach with swimming since that's the only reason to go to one on a lake or river aside from fishing. Also I have no standards about water quality. I grew up going swimming in nasty, lukewarm reservoirs in the middle part of Texas and it was still fun and so if brown water bothers you I think your a wimp. Or the sort of basic, municipal parks and rec swimming pool our town had. I'm sure that water was at least 1% toddler pee, but whatever.

I'll never understand the mentality of someone who would go and stay in a hotel or buy a beach house just to sit and read on the beach and never go in the water.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

I think being originally from a more inland area, I tend to associate any kind of beach with swimming since that's the only reason to go to one on a lake or river aside from fishing. Also I have no standards about water quality. I grew up going swimming in nasty, lukewarm reservoirs in the middle part of Texas and it was still fun and so if brown water bothers you I think your a wimp. Or the sort of basic, municipal parks and rec swimming pool our town had. I'm sure that water was at least 1% toddler pee, but whatever.

I'll never understand the mentality of someone who would go and stay in a hotel or buy a beach house just to sit and read on the beach and never go in the water.

On the east coast at least, part of the mentality is that on the beach, with a good seabreeze blowing, it's probably 10 degrees cooler than inland. Folks from "a more inland area" ought to understand escaping the summer heat.

[bigstick]

Has anyone done a map for Atlanta?

[pico44]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, i get that.

the jersey shore is much more of a "local" beach destination for the massive NYC/philly region than places further south. it's reach beyond the northeast as a beach destination is much more limited.

living in chicago my entire life, rarely i have i ever heard people here say "we're taking a beach vacation to the jersey shore", like they do for places further south like virginia beach, hilton head, the entire state of florida, the gulf coast, etc.

Exactly correct. The rest of the country gets all the beaches from Virginia down to Miami Beach. New York and Phily take everything from Ocean City Delaware up to Jones Beach on Long Island. After that is reserved for very very wealthy people. Fire Island, Hamptons, North Fork, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket. You don’t think about taking beach vacations to these places because they were designed that way.

[SteveD]

Originally Posted by bigstick

Has anyone done a map for Atlanta?

I've seen one. It has all the typical "get shot here" "soccer moms" "rich gays" "poor gays" "white trash" etc.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

the jersey shore is much more of a "local" beach destination for the massive NYC/philly region than places further south. it's reach beyond the northeast as a beach destination is much more limited.

Yeah, while plenty of people from all over Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland do the Jersey Shore in the summer, it's still seen foremost as a Philly area and NYC/NJ regional beach vacation destination, due to proximity if nothing else.

Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers from places further in the interior definitely vacation on the Jersey shore, but given that they're making a significant drive anyway, a lot of people tend to go further south (i.e., the Outer Banks pretty much exist as a major vacation destination due to travelers from all over PA, NY, OH, VA, MD) in order to avoid the crowds and experience a somewhat slower pace.

Originally Posted by pico44

Exactly correct. The rest of the country gets all the beaches from Virginia down to Miami Beach. New York and Phily take everything from Ocean City Delaware up to Jones Beach on Long Island. After that is reserved for very very wealthy people. Fire Island, Hamptons, North Fork, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket. You don’t think about taking beach vacations to these places because they were designed that way.

This is stretching it a bit. The shores of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland are populated by WAY more people than just Philadelphia and NYC area residents.

As for the more northern destinations on the Atlantic, yes, renting a house there is more expensive, but a lot of non "very very wealthy" people frequent those places you mention throughout the summer. People largely don't go there for family "beach vacations" though because the water is fucking freezing. People from the northeast wouldn't brave the long drive in insane summer traffic down the east coast to the Outer Banks if the waters off New England were swimmable for more than 5 minutes. Any of the "blue blood" New England states would take the summer family beach vacation $$$$ if they could.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pj3000

As for the more northern destinations on the Atlantic, yes, renting a house there is more expensive, but a lot of non "very very wealthy" people frequent those places you mention throughout the summer. People largely don't go there for family "beach vacations" though because the water is fucking freezing.

yeah.

ages ago on a family vacation road-tripping around new england because my mom's younger brother was getting married in connecticut, my ignorant midwest parents thought it would be fun to spend a couple of days at the beach while we were out that way, so they booked a room at a little seaside motel in Hampton Beach, NH as part of the tour. my sister and i were quite excited to go to a real ocean beach after only ever experiencing great lakes beaches.

i remember the beach being really big and wide and quite nice overall, but we were there in late june and the water was still "fucking freezing" (probably low 60s).

needless to say, my sister and i spent the vast majority of our time "at the beach" just splashing around in the small pool at our motel.

swing and a miss, mom & dad.