Sunday, January 9, 2011

vacation homes

Even with my clean drinking water, library full books, rapid transportation options, climate controlled wok condition, stable government, etc.-sometimes I need a vacation. Most of my vacations have been around the USA where I marvel at peoples regional accents, or in other first world where I marvel at the fact the people can function with roughly half the amount of stuff as we Americans have. I have spent a month Mexican, reassuring the citizen that I knew that Taco Bell is not real Mexican food. I also spent a long weekend in Nicaragua where I spaced out for a minute, forgot where I was and drank tap water.

I like to travel as much as anyone else with air sickness, and there’s a lot of cool stuff on earth to see. I don’t like places like Cancun or Caribbean resorts. When I go to new place I like t0 interact with the local people, learn about the culture, and get to know a place (as the long as the place is safe and I don’t have to eat beef).

What I do not like are vacation homes. First of all you always have to go to the same place, and I like to harass a new group of people with my snarky commentary. Also, you have to maintain and take care of your house and that sounds like wok and work is not vacation. Plus you can stay in hotels where people pick up after you, or you can stay in a hostel which is great for sleeping around.

I am ok with vacation homes in Europe or Wisconsin. But I hate it when people buy homes in economically challenged countries (with no middle class). First and foremost they are pricing locals out of their own country. You driving up the cost of living to the point that people cannot afford to live in their country. How is that fair? People who vacation in Cabo may wonder why everyone is so rude to them.
They are probably just upset they have no place to live. Also, economic instability tends to go along with political instability-what will if while you were surfing the government fell and now you r home the castle of the new dictator? In addition to losing your home to a new regime you cannot even drink the water. You now live in a place you cannot drink the water from your own facet.
If you buy vacation home, you are displacing the local population (who now hate you), the government may fall (putting you in serious danger), and you cannot even drink a glass of water to celebrate.

Enjoy your vacation!

1 comment:

  1. Vacation homes are certainly the height of First World extravagance, but come to think of it, so are vacations themselves. Look at the foreigners around, most that are citizens elsewhere are here for education or business, much fewer are here for "pleasure." Disadvantaged people in the Third World will scrape together everything they have for an entire generation just to send one child to the US for a college education. Certainly a far cry from the rich American's quick jaunt out of country for a "weekend getaway" to find time to "relax."

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