It's the Trashiest Place on Earth!

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by IWant2BeInSTL

Just visited Rehoboth Beach (DE) and Chincoteague Island (VA Eastern Shore) for the fist time.

Both are pretty damn trashy, IMO.

The Rehoboth commercial strip is underwhelming, the beach is nothing special, and the boardwalk was grungy and surprisingly short. Had a nice lunch at the Dogfish Head Brewery, though.

The town of Chincoteague, though surrounded by natural beauty, gives Branson a run for the money in terms of social and political conservatism. And it's pretty suburban and hostile to pedestrians. The adjacent Assateague Island conservation area is gorgeous and serene, except for all the f*cking cars and pickup trucks everywhere reminding you that you're in the good 'ol car-humping US of A.

Not to sound spoiled but I grew up in coastal Orange County and most of the beaches on the East Coast (except for some sections of Florida, the Charleston-area, and Maine for its natural scenery) are underwhelming.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by 10023

You’re 100% wrong about Ibiza. Platja d’en Bossa and Sant Antoni are trash (lots of drunk “Brits on Holiday” and pubs and bad clubs), and the Old Town is pretty iffy at night, but most of it is very nice [etc...]

this post was somewhat comforting to hear... i can resentfully tolerate the existence of fake resort constructs, but not when they take over places with actual culture and history. the balearic islands have history dating all the way back to the phoenecians if im not mistaken

[edale]

I just poked around Branson on streetview, and I think it wins this contest. At least Gatlinburg is nestled in the Smokey Mountains and Myrtle Beach is on the beach. Hell, at least those places are even cohesive, walkable towns! Branson looks to be fairly nondescript geographically, spread out and totally suburban, and just full of weird, gross looking "theaters"? Looks like there are lots of family musical acts, which is just...very strange in 2020? Guessing there is a strong Christian music component to many of these shows. Kind of reminds me of the show The Righteous Gemstones lol.

I see Branson also imported the Dolly Parton (formerly Dixie) Stampede experience from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It's also got some of the trashy best hits, like the Titanic museum/experience, a water park, wax museums, a Ripley's Believe It or Not...

How did this place even come to be?!

[JManc]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Not to sound spoiled but I grew up in coastal Orange County and most of the beaches on the East Coast (except for some sections of Florida, the Charleston-area, and Maine for its natural scenery) are underwhelming.

West coast beaches > east coast beaches all day long but they are very different. East coast especially further up the coast more rocky and less sandy. The sand might even be trucked in most places.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Not to sound spoiled but I grew up in coastal Orange County and most of the beaches on the East Coast (except for some sections of Florida, the Charleston-area, and Maine for its natural scenery) are underwhelming.

Disagree. Chincoteague sucks, but there are much nicer beaches to the south, in the Outer Banks.

And I think Charleston area has some of the worst beaches on the East Coast. No surf, murky water, no natural scenery. I don't get the whole Charleston boom, which, excepting a few historic blocks, is an epic mess of sprawl of retired Ohioans.

Orange County beaches have spectacular natural scenery (and thankfully little tacky crap) but aren't all that "usable", with cold water, rough sand, difficult access (for the non-wealthy) and a million rules. But beautiful to look at from a $4 million+ home in Laguna or CDM. Even a run at dawn is amazing.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Disagree. Chincoteague sucks, but there are much nicer beaches to the south, in the Outer Banks.

And I think Charleston area has some of the worst beaches on the East Coast. No surf, murky water, no natural scenery. I don't get the whole Charleston boom, which, excepting a few historic blocks, is an epic mess of sprawl of retired Ohioans.

Orange County beaches have spectacular natural scenery (and thankfully little tacky crap) but aren't all that "usable", with cold water, rough sand, difficult access (for the non-wealthy) and a million rules. But beautiful to look at from a $4 million+ home in Laguna or CDM. Even a run at dawn is amazing.

Indeed-- I forgot to add the Outer Banks to the list of nice beaches.

[edale]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Disagree. Chincoteague sucks, but there are much nicer beaches to the south, in the Outer Banks.

And I think Charleston area has some of the worst beaches on the East Coast. No surf, murky water, no natural scenery. I don't get the whole Charleston boom, which, excepting a few historic blocks, is an epic mess of sprawl of retired Ohioans.

Orange County beaches have spectacular natural scenery (and thankfully little tacky crap) but aren't all that "usable", with cold water, rough sand, difficult access (for the non-wealthy) and a million rules. But beautiful to look at from a $4 million+ home in Laguna or CDM. Even a run at dawn is amazing.

There are some beautiful beaches in the Charleston area. Kiawah Island, while home to a lot of retired Ohioans, is really a beautiful place with some great beaches. The waves are fairly small, and the water is pretty warm, but I still found it very pleasant.

I actually have come to really enjoy the cold water at Southern California beaches. I spent this past Sunday at Manhattan Beach, and it felt incredible to take a swim in the cool water after about an hour of reading/laying out in the sun. Repeated that cycle about 3 times. It was so refreshing and cooling, and allowed me to stay comfortable the entire day. East Coast beaches can start to feel too hot after a while, given the humidity and warmer water temps.

Originally Posted by Crawford

Disagree. Chincoteague sucks, but there are much nicer beaches to the south, in the Outer Banks.

To be fair, Assateague and its beaches are lovely. And in general the marsh landscape on the Eastern Shore is amazing. It's just that the town of Chincoteague ruins Chincoteague Island.

Originally Posted by edale

I just poked around Branson on streetview, and I think it wins this contest. At least Gatlinburg is nestled in the Smokey Mountains and Myrtle Beach is on the beach. Hell, at least those places are even cohesive, walkable towns! Branson looks to be fairly nondescript geographically, spread out and totally suburban, and just full of weird, gross looking "theaters"? Looks like there are lots of family musical acts, which is just...very strange in 2020? Guessing there is a strong Christian music component to many of these shows. Kind of reminds me of the show The Righteous Gemstones lol.

I see Branson also imported the Dolly Parton (formerly Dixie) Stampede experience from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It's also got some of the trashy best hits, like the Titanic museum/experience, a water park, wax museums, a Ripley's Believe It or Not...

How did this place even come to be?!

Branson itself is terrible, but immediately outside of Branson (maybe even partly within city limits—my cousin owns a home at the lake and they're on the Branson water/sewer system) you've got this for miles, which is anything but nondescript:

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by edale

I just poked around Branson on streetview, and I think it wins this contest. At least Gatlinburg is nestled in the Smokey Mountains and Myrtle Beach is on the beach. Hell, at least those places are even cohesive, walkable towns! Branson looks to be fairly nondescript geographically, spread out and totally suburban, and just full of weird, gross looking "theaters"? Looks like there are lots of family musical acts, which is just...very strange in 2020? Guessing there is a strong Christian music component to many of these shows. Kind of reminds me of the show The Righteous Gemstones lol.

I see Branson also imported the Dolly Parton (formerly Dixie) Stampede experience from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It's also got some of the trashy best hits, like the Titanic museum/experience, a water park, wax museums, a Ripley's Believe It or Not...

How did this place even come to be?!

Its a 25-year-old quote from The Simpsons, but still relevant regarding Branson:

"It's like Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders"

^ and honestly, 30+ years ago it wasn't that bad. outstate MO has really surged rightward since then. when i was a kid we often summer'd in Branson and at the lakes. some of the shows were actually pretty great. but i haven't been there in a long long time.

[10023]

Originally Posted by jbermingham123

this post was somewhat comforting to hear... i can resentfully tolerate the existence of fake resort constructs, but not when they take over places with actual culture and history. the balearic islands have history dating all the way back to the phoenecians if im not mistaken

Yep, and it’s a fantastic culture.

Remember that Ibiza is a fairly large island. Mallorca is even larger - it’s slightly bigger than Cornwall. Assuming it’s all trashy is a bit like saying all of Cornwall is like the hen-do infested parts around Newquay.

edit: for some reason I assumed you were English and would get the above reference, but maybe not. Anyway, I have lots of Spanish friends who holiday in Ibiza. It’s actually fantastic if you avoid the few crappy parts, but that’s like going to Manhattan and avoiding Times Square and Murray Hill. The Spanish did surrender much of their southeast coast (the Costa del Sol) to South Florida style development from the 1970s, but the islands are actually still mostly pretty nice.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by 10023

Assuming it’s all trashy is a bit like saying all of Cornwall is like the hen-do infested parts around Newquay.

edit: for some reason I assumed you were English and would get the above reference, but maybe not.

Ahaha thats the nicest thing anyones said to me this year! I live in the rogue colonies, but for whatever its worth, according to 23&me im 97% english dna-wise. I've been told the typo in my surnname is of irish origin though

Nevertheless, I'm unfortunately cursed with a nerdiness for geography, so i get every part of the reference except "hen-do".. and funnily enough, when i joined wikipedia a couple years ago the first random article the algorithm assigned to me to work on was: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistral_Bay_Hotel

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by edale

I just poked around Branson on streetview, and I think it wins this contest. At least Gatlinburg is nestled in the Smokey Mountains and Myrtle Beach is on the beach. Hell, at least those places are even cohesive, walkable towns! Branson looks to be fairly nondescript geographically, spread out and totally suburban, and just full of weird, gross looking "theaters"? Looks like there are lots of family musical acts, which is just...very strange in 2020? Guessing there is a strong Christian music component to many of these shows. Kind of reminds me of the show The Righteous Gemstones lol.

I see Branson also imported the Dolly Parton (formerly Dixie) Stampede experience from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It's also got some of the trashy best hits, like the Titanic museum/experience, a water park, wax museums, a Ripley's Believe It or Not...

How did this place even come to be?!

Wow this is all I needed to see
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.6441...7i16384!8i8192

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Wow this is all I needed to see
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.6441...7i16384!8i8192

the sign says "see us for your hard-to-find needs"

here are my hard-to-find needs:

-gf who will tolerate my skyscraper addiction
-more skyscrapers

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by jbermingham123

Maybe someone already mentioned it, but arent there some pretty trashy places on cape cod? where do new englanders go to get shitfaced on the beach? asking for a friend

Cape Cod is too spread out and decentralized. I guess Hyannis is the most urban area. Provincetown is also urban. Both seem to be

The Beachcomber is a good bar in Wellfleet, but it's in the middle of nowhere, so you have to pay for parking or get a taxi or Uber there. The Chatham Squire is also pretty nice, with a good, young crowd, and free parking. Each town seems to have one decent bar, from what I've been told, but it's hit or miss on how good it is.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Disagree. Chincoteague sucks, but there are much nicer beaches to the south, in the Outer Banks.

And I think Charleston area has some of the worst beaches on the East Coast. No surf, murky water, no natural scenery. I don't get the whole Charleston boom, which, excepting a few historic blocks, is an epic mess of sprawl of retired Ohioans.

Orange County beaches have spectacular natural scenery (and thankfully little tacky crap) but aren't all that "usable", with cold water, rough sand, difficult access (for the non-wealthy) and a million rules. But beautiful to look at from a $4 million+ home in Laguna or CDM. Even a run at dawn is amazing.

nonsense. ohioans dont move to charleston. they move to the myrtle beach - wilmington area. that’s what they talk about, along with charlotte.

for example, we went to a wedding at ocean isles beach one time and then hung out a little bit and by far the majority of beachfront home license plates all up and down the region were ohio. not so around charleston.

[edale]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

nonsense. ohioans dont move to charleston. they move to the myrtle beach - wilmington area. that’s what they talk about, along with charlotte.

for example, we went to a wedding at ocean isles beach one time and then hung out a little bit and by far the majority of beachfront home license plates all up and down the region were ohio. not so around charleston.

They absolutely do move down to Charleston and the beach communities around it. My own parents are retiring down there, and I know lots of people I grew up with vacationed in Kiawah, Seabrook, and some of the other Charleston area beach communities.