I live in Spain and go to Portugal maybe once in a year. Usually to visit some portuguese friends living in northern towns.
Last week went to Lisbon. I've been avoiding it because I knew it wasn't going to be anything of what I remember, and it was much worse than I expected.
It saddens me so much. It's like Barcelona but even worse.
But this phenomenon is now even happening in my mid-sized spanish city. It's starting, but there are already loads of foreigners buying everything, places I used to go closing because they can't compete with chains that are contacting landlords for paying x2 for the same spot, etc.
I've talked a lot with my girlfriend about this. The lifestyle we have is not going to be possible anymore in a few years. Quality of food is dropping like a rock while prices go up, the average rent in my area is already 2.5x of what I'm currently paying, when both of us are under 20k/y, so mostly just waiting to be kicked out.
But it's not only about getting priced out or the culture loss. I work in IT and my GF works two jobs, one as freelance designer (impossible to get into UX) and another in hospitality. And people treats her like shit. She works from home and I can hear the calls sometimes and the level of entitlement and rudeness is incredible. And she's, in theory, dealing with that kind of premium tourism that gets talked a lot, this city is far from the trashy drunken visitors typical in the mediterranean.
Yet there you go, your well off central europeans treating her like shit, trying to get refunds with lies, and the whole package.
But that's not everything. It gets more personal for me, because I used to go with a friend to a lot of language exchange meetups. The've grown in popularity, but also the kind of people that goes now completely changed. We don't go anymore because it's not fun anymore.
We've discussed about this, and between the comments in the FB groups complaining that we don't want to be their friends, and the feeling in the meetups that we're there to provide entertaining to this people, I think it's over.
This experience matches with my Portuguese friends. They've warned us about this, and I worry this place is going to go through the same and I will have to go, leaving friends and family to go somewhere else. Not fun.
Every time I see this city mentioned in travel or lifestile post in YT or Instagram I know what's coming.
> Quality of food is dropping like a rock while prices go up, the average rent in my area is already 2.5x of what I'm currently paying, when both of us are under 20k/y, so mostly just waiting to be kicked out.
Not trying to disregard your experience here, but this phenomenon happens everywhere in Europe. In „Central European“ Germany most of the larger cities are becoming inaccessible to the lower to middle class population. Rents increasing, and cost of living rising drastically when it has historically been relatively low. I‘d wager tourism isn’t the driving factor in most cases there, but the trend is there.
>But it's not only about getting priced out or the culture loss.
Welcome to late stage capitalism where people and culture don't matter. It's now all about the Benjamins baby. Whoever brings in more dollarydoos is the new king of the hill, doesn't matter the local lives and culture are destroyed, all that matters is "the economy" and "line-goes-up".
But don't worry, the well-off locals, the asset owning class, they'll be just fine, it's only the not-haves rentoids that end up getting the short stick.
Apparently line goes up also includes "locals must be my friends". I mean, I didn't want to be very harsh in the comment above but the stuff that not only I've read, but I've been told, is hard to ignore.
My GF was having a very difficult moment financially early this year. We reached out to our foreign friends asking for help, because we know they're better connected, some work in companies where her experience is valued, etc. I mean, it wasn't like a moonshot, we tried to make sense.
Completely cold shoulder. This is people we've know for about 2 years at least. She got the job because of a spanish friend told some other spanish friend that has a company in hospitality. Another Italian friend tried to help too, and the portuguese ones, well, they're barely surviving so...
I mean, there's a clear line I can draw here. I don't want to point fingers and that's our personal experience, but I mean, it isn't the only imput that lead us to feel like we're just entertaining.
But then I have to be their friend, and play local, or I'm rude.
> But then I have to be their friend, and play local, or I'm rude.
I'm not saying you're wrong, far from it, but I've noticed that in Spain a lot of locals go to these language exchange events, where in other countries it's not the case. And I agree with your expectation to not need to 'pamper' the visitors.
(of course they're welcome and I've talked to some of them - though it is my impression they kept a bit distant).
But these people weren't tourists, they are living here now. I wouldn't mind if they were some random people saying for a few weeks or months, but this is people I've known for ~2y and we've done stuff out of meetups.
Not to mention that the've reached for help and I did indeed help them.
I had this conversation with a newly made friend of mine who has a lot more knowledge, connections and experience. The convo was headed to networking and I asked him what's the point in networking if the other person is not willing to share their experience or connections - like the vast mojority of them aren't. (including even family members due to envy)
At the end of the day it's always best to connect with people from your own culture because they are more likely to honestly share tips as opposed to random jimmies.
I'm just trying to fight my negative feelings about this people, because I've actually provided advice on how to set themselves up in this place, got leads for their businesses.
I didn't felt we were super friends, but you know, maybe I expected something more. They weren't random jimmies.
And at same time tell everyone how great job they are doing by brining money to local economy while at the same time generating substantial issues for it and the local communities.
Tourists treating locals like a paid experience, is more to do with a lack of empathy and education from their families, plus a huge entitlement since they tell themselves that if they spend money somewhere they're the customers and they've been taught by the capitalist system that made their fortunes that "the customer is always right". They probably treat service workers in their home countries just the same.
Last week went to Lisbon. I've been avoiding it because I knew it wasn't going to be anything of what I remember, and it was much worse than I expected.
It saddens me so much. It's like Barcelona but even worse.
But this phenomenon is now even happening in my mid-sized spanish city. It's starting, but there are already loads of foreigners buying everything, places I used to go closing because they can't compete with chains that are contacting landlords for paying x2 for the same spot, etc.
I've talked a lot with my girlfriend about this. The lifestyle we have is not going to be possible anymore in a few years. Quality of food is dropping like a rock while prices go up, the average rent in my area is already 2.5x of what I'm currently paying, when both of us are under 20k/y, so mostly just waiting to be kicked out.
But it's not only about getting priced out or the culture loss. I work in IT and my GF works two jobs, one as freelance designer (impossible to get into UX) and another in hospitality. And people treats her like shit. She works from home and I can hear the calls sometimes and the level of entitlement and rudeness is incredible. And she's, in theory, dealing with that kind of premium tourism that gets talked a lot, this city is far from the trashy drunken visitors typical in the mediterranean.
Yet there you go, your well off central europeans treating her like shit, trying to get refunds with lies, and the whole package.
But that's not everything. It gets more personal for me, because I used to go with a friend to a lot of language exchange meetups. The've grown in popularity, but also the kind of people that goes now completely changed. We don't go anymore because it's not fun anymore.
We've discussed about this, and between the comments in the FB groups complaining that we don't want to be their friends, and the feeling in the meetups that we're there to provide entertaining to this people, I think it's over.
This experience matches with my Portuguese friends. They've warned us about this, and I worry this place is going to go through the same and I will have to go, leaving friends and family to go somewhere else. Not fun.
Every time I see this city mentioned in travel or lifestile post in YT or Instagram I know what's coming.