15 People Who Live In Tourist Destinations Reveal The Most Annoying Misconceptions About Their Home

From Redditor u/theloveableidiot:

New Zealand here. It's sold as a clean green eco country where there are views out every window and you can romp along the empty tracks and beaches to your heart's delight... The reality is a lot different. The country is going through an eco-crisis, water quality in most rivers has dropped to the point where they are not swimmable, old school sewerage overflows are contaminating the beaches and every track of international note is shuffling room only. While there is still stunning scenery, the rest of the country is struggling to keep up with an influx of people alongside a housing crisis that's made homeownership a pipe dream for many.

Tourists often think that being such a small country, they can drive from A-B in X hours as that's what it would take back home for that distance. The reality is that the majority of our roads/highways are single lanes on winding roads with one-way bridges and few chances to overtake. The drivers suck and you will cop a gesture or two if you dare look at another driver.

From Redditor u/kyothinks:

I live in Las Vegas. Listen. What happens in Vegas stays on the internet and also in the stories of every local who saw you do it. 

From Redditor u/gambalore:

Not all of New York City is as crowded as the touristy areas. The vast majority of us aren't navigating through Times Square as part of our daily commutes (but mad sympathy to those who actually have to).

From Redditor u/hulloiliketrucks:

I don’t live there, but a lot of my family does and I’ve been to Jamaica

It’s a paradise.

No, it isn’t. A lot of people can’t afford food, water, and electricity at the same time (apparently electricity used to be cheaper but since the government is a total asshole they sold it to some company and now it’s expensive).

From Redditor u/csulasiris:

Tokyo here. I could name a few, but the one that always gets me is the misconception that people are going to accept (or even respond politely to) outrageous weebishness. If you roll up in Shibuya with a Naruto headband and a Hello Kitty backpack, trying to communicate through a handful of anime catchphrases while creepily leering at schoolgirls, people are rightly going to give you a wide berth.

From Redditor u/Reamund:

I only lived there for a little while, but it’s a common misconception that Hawaii is a great place to live. Don’t get me wrong - it might be the most beautiful place on earth and there are many, many exceptional things about living there. But it’s terribly expensive just to grocery shop, let alone try to buy a house. Many people just live with their parents and grandparents because no one can afford to move out. So many houses and apartments/condos are bought as vacation properties, which drives up the price. Then, houses/apartments in residential neighborhoods have a revolving door of vacationers coming in and out, which is disruptive to normal life. (People on vacation care very little about how much noise they’re making, etc.) It’s a catch-22 because so much of Hawaii’s money comes from tourism, but tourism is making it impossible for locals to buy homes.