When You're A Tourist...Do The Locals Hate You?

[Goofyernmost]

Nobody will ever know you are a tourist if you make SURE you pronounce *Kissimee* the correct way.
If you pronounce it KI-SIM-ee...you are okay and will blend in fine.
If you pronounce it KISS-i-mee...forget it, they know you are from out of town!

Oh, and no wearing shorts and t-shirts in 30 degree weather in FL during January visits.
Yeah, i am looking at YOU Northeasterners !

Deal with it you thin blooded, Southeasterners! Tourists like to laugh at the way locals dress too!

 

[Figments Friend]

Deal with it you thin blooded, Southeasterners! Tourists like to laugh at the way locals dress too!

Ha ha ha....yes !
You can always spot the Northeasterners when they are in town, but you can also spot the locals easily too.
Locals - usually wearing sweatshirts or light jackets when it is below 70 degrees.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I used to always go there near the end of February. I'd walk up to the entrance with shorts and a T and the CM's would all have parka's and knit caps and mittens. I always ask what they were going to wear if it ever got cold.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I used to always go there near the end of February. I'd walk up to the entrance with shorts and a T and the CM's would all have parka's and knit caps and mittens. I always ask what they were going to wear if it ever got cold.

Part of why they do this is I think Floridians like having an excuse to wear heavier clothing since its not very often you can do it in Florida.

 

[mrdisman]

can't we all just get along..where's the love people?
No tourist...no Disney World...
then everybody would have to go to Universal

 

[Bethypoo]

I was a bartender on I-drive in Orlando for many years as well as a front desk clerk at a hotel on Hotel Plaza Blvd. I think anyone who lives in a tourist town makes fun of tourists. There were some tourists I disliked very much, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Ya, they got on my nerves sometimes, but it was really fun to meet people from all over the world who were so excited to be in Orlando. The most polite, pleasant, and friendly people were the visitors from the UK. I always enjoyed talking with and meeting them.

 

[mrdisman]

I was a bartender on I-drive in Orlando for many years as well as a front desk clerk at a hotel on Hotel Plaza Blvd. I think anyone who lives in a tourist town makes fun of tourists. There were some tourists I disliked very much, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Ya, they got on my nerves sometimes, but it was really fun to meet people from all over the world who were so excited to be in Orlando. The most polite, pleasant, and friendly people were the visitors from the UK. I always enjoyed talking with and meeting them.

People from the UK always seem so polite don't they...even if they aren't being so...they sound as if they are...

 

[EOD K9]

Locals do not hate tourists. They hate stupid and/or jerky tourists who cannot drive. So they only hate like 90% of tourists.

Though I am basing this on my experience with tourists visiting the beaches by me. And NJ beaches get the worst tourists.

I work in DC and deal with tourists all the time. When I am a tourist elsewhere, I don't act like one. The "Griswalds" as we call them can be a major problem. Picture this...

<The lights and sirens were activated and I'm at the window>
Me: "Afternoon Sir/Maam ( I never say "good" as you just got pulled over) Driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance please. The reason I pulled you over back there is because you didn't use your turn signal, you're on your cell phone, and you just ran that red light".

Them: "I'm sorry officer, I'm not from around here"
Me: "Ok. Where are you from"?
Them: "New York"
Me: "Oh really? So am I. The last time I was there, we had to use our turn signals, there is a hands
free law there, and New York has plenty of red lights".

There is no real point to this story as I hate hearing the excuse for a red light violation is that you aren't from around here.

 

[luv]

I got pulled over once for speeding (barely - 6mph over). He asked for my license and registration and I handed him my license. He asked if I was visiting and I said, "Yes. Well, no. Well, I used to live here. Lived here my whole life until I moved. I don't know where the registration is. This isn't my car. In fact, the guy whose car it is doesn't actually know I have it. He won't MIND that I have it, once he knows its me. But he doesn't know I took it. And you won't be able to get him on the phone, because he's passed out drunk. So..."

He asked how nice was it to live in Florida, told me to drive carefully and sent me on my way.

I think he could tell I wasn't lying and just didn't want to do all that work, lol.

If you're visiting, don't speed.

 

[acishere]

I work in DC and deal with tourists all the time. When I am a tourist elsewhere, I don't act like one. The "Griswalds" as we call them can be a major problem. Picture this...

<The lights and sirens were activated and I'm at the window>
Me: "Afternoon Sir/Maam ( I never say "good" as you just got pulled over) Driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance please. The reason I pulled you over back there is because you didn't use your turn signal, you're on your cell phone, and you just ran that red light".

Them: "I'm sorry officer, I'm not from around here"
Me: "Ok. Where are you from"?
Them: "New York"
Me: "Oh really? So am I. The last time I was there, we had to use our turn signals, there is a hands
free law there, and New York has plenty of red lights".

There is no real point to this story as I hate hearing the excuse for a red light violation is that you aren't from around here.

DC was my worst traffic experience ever. I swear I was the only one who knew what a turn signal was. I thought driving in NJ was cutthroat, but DC drivers I think were collectively plotting to kill me. Driving in Orlando the only issue I had was all the minivans going under the speed limit.

If I am going to be traveling to a strange city, I spend a lot of time on Google Maps getting acquainted with where everything is. That way when the GPS does something dumb, I can look around and have an idea where to go. I think it also gets you to keep up with traffic too.

 

[danpam1024]

Living in a tourist area as well, I would have to say I only hate the people who act like buttholes- tourists or not. I'm not happy I have to wait for 2 months to see a doctor, 2 hours to eat dinner, can't find a parking space at the beach, or a commute that used to take 20 minutes is now 45, but it carries our little paradise thru the summer. Some people just need to lighten the heck up! On the highway however, that is another story- I am constantly screaming "Take I75 NORTH!!!!"

 

[EmmabaRose]

I was a bartender on I-drive in Orlando for many years as well as a front desk clerk at a hotel on Hotel Plaza Blvd. I think anyone who lives in a tourist town makes fun of tourists. There were some tourists I disliked very much, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Ya, they got on my nerves sometimes, but it was really fun to meet people from all over the world who were so excited to be in Orlando. The most polite, pleasant, and friendly people were the visitors from the UK. I always enjoyed talking with and meeting them.

Lmao which uk people are these!?

I think it happens in every area of work that deals with the public. People are all different and sometimes they do silly or annoying things. Sometimes they don't and are pleasant. And then people talk. It's just how it is.

I should point out that annoying family turning at the last minute is probably us, when my dad has decided he knows better than the GPS and has taken his "shortcut" which ends in us being very lost.

 

[Minnie1976]

You can always spot the tourist in New Orleans because they are wearing the carnvial beads and throwing beads off balconies when Mardi Gras ends at midnight on Ash Wednesday. They do this in all year long. If they want to play Mardi Gras they should come for Mardi Gras. It does end so don't look stupid.

 

[mousehockey37]

As I have lived in 2 major tourist areas over several years, yeah, locals hate tourists.

One area was a high profile East Coast beach and another is inland. The "off season" is always welcomed. You can actually get around town with ease, instead of a 5 minute ride taking 35 minutes.

Sure, the tourist $$$ keep things going, but it's just the price you pay for living where you do. Me, personally, I had to deal with the tourists as a local with no effect to what I was doing for work. As in, I didn't work at the beach, but still had to deal with traffic, etc...

Yes, as others have said, we didn't tell people the "cool" places to hang. We kept our fishing spots to ourselves. In both places, it's just funny... When in traffic, you can tell who is a tourist and who isn't, because the locals are zigzagging through the slow traffic that kids and parents are pointing and looking at things.

 

[luv]

This is almost depressing.

I want to re-state it, lol. I don't hate tourists.

I specifically chose to live where the tourists don't go, but that's because I didn't want to deal with the traffic and not because I hate tourists. Many people don't hate tourists.

Even when they interrupt our conversations in a park to tell us what we should do, I just think, "Oh, they're happy and want to help other people." I'll chat with them.

I do wish they'd follow the speed limits, lol, but I know that's just how it is.