Poll: Does this look like fun, or like living hell, to you?

[dixiegrrrrl]

26 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	My idea of a good time
	2 (8%)
	You could not pay me enough to spend 30 seconds with that many people
	23 (88%)
	Only if....( fill in the blank)
	1 (4%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[malthaussen]

1. Option 2 requires no possible payment...

... I can certainly think of amounts that I would accept to spend 30 seconds in such a throng. Or even a whole minute.

-- Mal

[bigwillq]

2. Fun.

I love the beach.

[DFW]

3. While I love the beach, that looks like a horror scene to me

When I go to the beach, I want it to look like this:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

This is why I always go all the way back to the USA for my summer vacation. Beaches this uncrowded in Europe are usually on the private property of gazillionaires with nasty armed guards only too willing to explain to you why you should fuck off, and the sooner the better. The scene above is from a beach I have been visiting for over 30 years, and is part of a national park on the east coast.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. i have been lucky in that the beaches I grew up on were "secret"

and/or far from the maddening crowd.

Problem is, the longer I live far from any group of people, the more nerve wracking even small groups are to be around.

[DFW]

9. I live in Nordrhein-Westfalen

You don't get much more crowded than that unless you live in Tokyo at rush hour.

That's why I like to get away when I have some free time.

[Art_from_Ark]

41. Tokyo at rush hour

I know what that's like

[DFW]

49. You better than most of us, although I've been there for that, too.

A sardine can is Wyoming by comparison!

[War Horse]

11. Yep, there are plenty of such places in the South of Spain

where armed guards are keeping the riff raff out and guarding the place like it's area 51. If you can smell the sea and see a sign that says 'golf course 400 meters ahead', it's probably a good idea to turn back. You might run into private guards that make the Guardia Civil seem positively friendly.

It helps to know the locals, though. I have extended family with roots in area that are a great help in that respect. There are still goods spots

Weirdly, I just saw an ad for Albania today. Paraphrasing, but it was 'the last place in Europe where you'll still find an undisturbed beach' or some such. I wonder how long that will last.

[alphafemale]

51. State and National Parks are the way to go.

Cumberland Island National Park, GA, Bahia Honda State Park, FL Keys, Hunting Island State Park, SC and discovered just this year Lime Kiln, State Park in CA.

Love all of these places.

[femmocrat]

4. It's not just the crowd, it's the heat.

And the blazing sun.

Ugh.

[UTUSN]

5. I seldom pass up the chance to pick the "living hell" option. n/t

[a la izquierda]

6. I grew up at the Jersey Shore...

Looks like home to me.

[hay rick]

20. My first thought too...

Spent 30 years living on the Jersey Shore. Live in South Florida now and the beaches here are much nicer- but a day at the beach is still a day at the beach.

[a la izquierda]

23. Whereabouts?

I grew up 10 minutes from Sandy Hook and spent summers (and still do, for the most part) at Lavallette.

[hay rick]

26. Bradley Beach and Neptune City.

The beach was usually Avon, Bradley, or Belmar.

[a la izquierda]

29. Oh wow. I dated a guy who lived in Ocean Grove for a bit.

And my mom lived in Bradley Beach after she sold our house.

[Number9Dream]

39. Spent a lot of time at Sandy Hook, as a kid

Still have a friend who lives in Keansburg. Also had an aunt and uncle who lived in the middle-class section of Deal. A friend's parents had a cottage in Ocean Beach Unit 3. Saw many concerts at Asbury Park Convention Hall in the early 70's. Now, we frequently vacation in Beach Haven on LBI.

[treestar]

56. We went to the beaches off Atlantic City

South of it. They'd get crowded, but nothing like that.

[sarge43]

7. Number 2. I share Linus van Pelt's philosophy

"I love mankind; it's people I can't stand."

[pscot]

10. my "personal space" has a 40 foot radius

so that scene has no appeal at all.

[Tipperary]

13. I feel the same as you.

No way.

[Marie Marie]

25. I agree.

And the older I get, the larger my required radius.

[magical thyme]

31. In recent years, I've started measuring mine in acreage...

keeps me at double-digits

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. I totally hear you.

The only reason I can handle less acreage now is that we are secluded in deep woods, tho in town.
And there is little noise outside.
(Love the south, it is too hot most of the time for people to be outside making noise)

[treestar]

57. Yep. For the beach I'd say about 10 feet.

When we'd go, I liked going back in the evening and walking in the surf. Far fewer people there then.

[steve2470]

12. I grew up going to the "cars on the beach" in Volusia County, Florida....

so I can't really relate to that scene. No cars or mopeds or bikes or motorcyles!

No more beach for me. I got skin cancer on my face a few years ago and I don't want a repeat performance, thanks.

[LiberalElite]

15. An old friend lived in Ormond-by-the-Sea -

I couldn't get over how empty the beach was around there. Beautiful!

[steve2470]

16. yes it used to be pretty unpopulated back in the day

I haven't been to the beach there in a very long time.

[LiberalElite]

17. Even just a few years ago-

I haven't been back there since my friend died in 2011 but that Ormond Beach area was amazingly people-free even in recent years.

[olddots]

14. only if I had some thorozine

[Skittles]

18. herd mentality

seen every weekday at noon

I avoid them like the fucking plague

[lovemydog]

19. Since I'm a bit of a hermit,

I like getting out into crowds at the beach now and then. It's fun for the ocean and the people watching.

[mackerel]

21. That's way too many people...I'd still go...you can't keep me from

water and a good beach novel. It's whence I came.

[Generic Brad]

22. My idea of a beach...

... has a handful of people. This looks like the Disneyfication of the seashore,

[BlueJazz]

24. I don't even like the crowd on Democratic Underground...and they're not real.

[Iggo]

27. Less dense and fewer people than a Slayer mosh pit.

That's more like a day at the beach.

[davidpdx]

28. Living hell

As much as I like to go to Costco, I consider it a living hell as well. People stand around in the middle of the isle with their cart and have their finger up their ass staring at things. I feel like yelling "get the fuck out my way."

*end rant*

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. Down here, it is common for entire families to go to the grocery store.

From Grandma down to the smallest kid, or grandkid, who knows.
We are talking 6-8 people moving in a herd down the aisle, and yelling at one another from different parts of the aisle.
Or hollering into their cell phones....they all seem to have cell phones.
And then they all get into the checkout line.

Sunday morning at 10 am is the only way to find a quiet store.

[davidpdx]

38. I usually go to Costco in the middle of a week day

But many of the Korean women don't work and are housewives (even though they probably went to college). So the middle of a weekday the place is still packed. They are only open until 10 pm, sometimes I wish they were open later and I'd go then.

[Fearless]

48. I often work second shift and shop at a 24 hour grocery store in my town

I highly recommend it!

You'll be one of maybe six people in the building and can park right up front by the exit. It's so much simpler.

[mnhtnbb]

44. I have a neighbors who go to the grocery store every Sunday at 10 am.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. A wise neighbor.

At 12:00, all the churches let out, and many people hit the local restaurants for Sunday meal.
So the good shopping time is between 9 and noon.

I can drive 2 miles to the store, not see hardly any cars, but coming home at noon will have a traffic jam.
( Down here in Mayberry, a traffic jam is more than 2 cars in front of me at a light)

[DFW]

30. My younger daughter was in school where they had great, empty beaches

Only trouble is, we had to fly twelve time zones, halfway around the earth, to get there.

Names like Kawai'i Hai, Mau Mae, Hapuna, Waipio, those were the days.............

[Chan790]

33. Fsck no, I hate crowds and beaches.

Give me a book and a quiet corner and cup of tea.

[GoneOffShore]

35. Only if it's the Cote d'Azur.

[Ron Obvious]

36. That's Hell to me

We frequently rent a cottage in Ogunquit, Maine in the winter, where there's snow on the beach and baby sea lions.

If I see one other person on the beach, in the distance, I've been known to say "Dammit, why is it so crowded today?!"

[UglyGreed]

37. I have always enjoyed the beach

When I was able to go I would head out early to get a good spot, enjoy the crowd. As the beach emptied, I would love having the beach to myself as the sun slowly settled into the horizon. Best of both worlds.

[Arugula Latte]

40. I will take a day at the beach in any form I can get it.

Love the ocean.

[geardaddy]

42. Option 3

if only I had a case of cold beer.

[mnhtnbb]

43. I no longer sit in the sun at the beach

or even under an umbrella if there are that many people around.

I prefer to sit on the covered deck of an ocean view house looking out at the ocean.

[DawgHouse]

46. I'd rather have a more secluded beach

but I normally just lie down with my eyes closed anyway. I have an knack for tuning out all the annoying sounds and just listen to the water.

[Fearless]

47. Fun time, sure why not?

Live a little.

[surrealAmerican]

50. Only if ...

... there isn't a less crowded beach close by. That's the problem with great beaches in urban environments, too many people want to be there.

Still, it's better than no beach at all, right?

[trof]

52. OK, I had to undo my vote.

For something in the seven figures range (no decimal points) yes, I would spend an entire day there.
But I'd want the money up front.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

53. My corp-corp bill rate is about $100/hour

We can start negotiating there.
BTW, I prefer to work at night if that matters.

[IDemo]

54. I loved Sunset Beach, CA as a child decades ago

But there was never even a fraction of that many people even on a great day. Not for me, thanks.

[treestar]

55. Living hell

That crowded is so not worth it.

[hunter]

58. Nobody wears clothes on my favorite beaches.

And on a crowded beach like the one picured I'm usually way out in the water, beyond all the people, treading water and wearing a wide brimmed hat.

It's very peaceful.