[ilamont]

I grew up in the Boston area around the same time. Another factor that limited interest in flying to sunny beach places was we already had options close to home during the warmer months, such as Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Hull, Rhode Island, Southern Maine, and so on. Lots of people including families of modest means had cabins in these areas.

For the winter months, there were two "sun" locations that weren't too far away: Bermuda and Florida.

As the author described, new flying options and generally cheaper fares have upended the old vacation order. People are also more open-minded to going places that were never considered as vacation destinations in the past, such as Iceland (only 4 hours from Logan).

But a few strange geographical outlooks remain. For road/train vacations, for as long as I remember, the dominant perspective has been focused on New England, New York City, and maybe Washington DC as a stretch (7-8 hour drive). Montreal is less than 5 hours away but I never knew anyone from my generation that went there until we were in our 20s. Other parts of Quebec and the Southern Maritimes and Northern New York are still basically terra incognito to 90% of the population of Boston. It seems further away even though these locations are closer than Washington DC.

[jghn]

There's another effect beyond cheaper flights.

We moved to the area in a very middle class neighborhood when I was young, around the same time as the author of TFA. Like you said, what I saw was a lot of families had family summer homes on the Cape or one of the NH lakes. Everyone but the Dad would pick up for the summer, and then he'd work during the week & then go to the summer home on the weekend. But these weren't luxury homes by any stretch. These were small, often rustic, closer to shack than nice summer home. A place to sleep at night and not much more.

In the intervening decades, that's all changed. Today's summer homes are so much more different. I've seen a lot of those families I knew back then sell their homes over time. Developers scoop up several properties in a row and build some huge McMansion. So now these areas are the sort of wealthy person summer home people picture when the term is used.

[ilamont]

> Today's summer homes are so much more different. I've seen a lot of those families I knew back then sell their homes over time. Developers scoop up several properties in a row and build some huge McMansion.

Exactly. Lake Winnipesaukee is a playground for the rich now. No one is selling seasonal properties on Cape Cod anymore, they've all been converted to condo developments or year-round homes starting at $500-$600k and often well over $1m.

[jghn]

> Lake Winnipesaukee

This is exactly what I was picturing when I said McMansion. We took the family on a trip there a few years back and rented a boat. Riding around the lake was eye opening. Especially when you'd see one of the smaller old style multi-generational family homes squeezed in the middle of 2 behemoths.

[cucumber3732842]

>In the intervening decades, that's all changed. Today's summer homes are so much more different. I've seen a lot of those families I knew back then sell their homes over time. Developers scoop up several properties in a row and build some huge McMansion. So now these areas are the sort of wealthy person summer home people picture when the term is used.

The call is coming from inside the house!

The developer would love to build four new half mil cottages instead of one new 1mil McMansion. But they can't they have to bundle four old lots or whatever to be able to do something that's legal because of the laws and rules championed by the EXACT. SAME. PEOPLE. who complain about all the new McMansions on the lake. And then they complain about the jet skis and the boat stereos and whatnot. Did you think that the people rich enough to buy this stuff would not have toys? And the whole time they vote to raise taxes too so that hastens the whole turnover process because the people who would hold onto the seasonal properties have to either bend over and take the carrying cost or renovate into a high end rental (if that's even possible to do economically with the grandfathered in cabin they've got) to make it worth it (or just sell out, which is what their kids almost always choose to do because screw all that work).

You literally can't have a shitty old trailer type "hunting camp" or seasonal cabin in most of Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine because once again, the people that got there first pulled up the ladder via the government.

Source: Have some of these assholes (lake variety) in the family

[jghn]

Yes and no. The developer doesn't *need* to develop anything. They could have just not bought the property looking to make a quick buck, and instead let someone else buy the cottage and keep it that way.

[FatherOfCurses]

I grew up in Toronto and the family of my university girlfriend owned a small cottage in the northeastern part of the province that didn't have road access. You had to take a boat across a lake to get to it. It had a tiny camp kitchen, a table for everyone to eat at, and a bunch of single and bunk beds and that was it. No power or running water. The whole point was spending a weekend living simply, not just living your regular life in a different location.

I miss it dearly and there is nothing like it any more.

[volkl48]

Maritimes:

- New Brunswick is very economically depressed and only has a few things of interest to your average tourist (primarily along/near the Bay of Fundy). It's about a 8hr drive just to get to Moncton from Boston.

- Nova Scotia - Also struggling economically in many areas outside of Halifax. Halifax is 11hrs out of Boston and what's arguably the most interesting scenery in the province (up in Cape Breton) is more like 13hrs.

It's also cold much of the year so the optimal tourism season is short and even in the warm months it's often not that warm (and the ocean water certainly never is).

Quebec:

- Quebec City is decently known and about 7hrs. The rest of the province besides that and MTL I agree are basically a mystery to most.

- That Maine is basically a remote wilderness along the Quebec border and has almost no land connections (and no good ones) makes exploring up beyond Quebec City less common than it seems like it should be. (Also no bridges over the St. Lawrence beyond Quebec City).

[Scoundreller]

> Montreal is less than 5 hours away but I never knew anyone from my generation that went there until we were in our 20s.

The sweet spot would have been 18-21 years old for a first trip imo

[ilamont]

That's exactly what my child did with friends a few years ago when they were 19. I know that college students in Vermont frequently go across the border for the same reason.

[MontgomeryPy]

Yes, back when Brador beer was available! That was the main draw for me and friends when we were that age :)

[MontgomeryPy]

Also in greater Boston and had the fortune to do a family trip to Bermuda in that era. One more possibility not mentioned in the article is that Bermuda could have also 'lost its crown' as a popular destination for New Englanders because it was simply promoted less. I don't think the island cluster is as dependent on tourism revenue as maybe it once was in 70s.

[lastofthemojito]

> Iceland (only 4 hours from Logan)

Were faster aircraft operating on this route at some point? Nowadays Icelandair says 5hr15min BOS->KEF and 5hr50min on the way back.

[cucumber3732842]

Less skinny pedal to save that $5/gal fuel.

The airline would rather the trip take zero hours because crew costs hourly and they want to turn that seat around and sell it again but they have to balance that against fuel costs.

[bell-cot]

Speculation: The 4 hours includes the time "gained" by crossing time zones westward.

[mdasen]

.

[ilamont]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I went to Ottawa once or twice when I was a teen, but only made it to Montreal for the first time about 15 years ago.

I agree with you about the Maritimes. The bridge has made a difference but it's still a long drive and as you noted there are few famous destination cities or attractions.

Regarding Quebec: It seems that far more Quebeckers are aware of New England attractions in Boston and points north than the other way around. You see them or hear them at ski slopes, beaches, concerts in Boston, etc. Yet few New Englanders have been to Montreal, and even fewer have even heard of Quebec City, the walled European city and heritage site just a few hours downriver.