Our Boundless Love for Big Sur May Be Killing It

(nytimes.com)

14 points | by Thevet 9 months ago ago

21 comments

  • evmar 9 months ago

    This article is as good a place as any to share a story on this topic.

    A friend from early in my career went on to become a fancy tech executive. They invited me to a party at their house in SF that included some of their fancy tech executive friends. At some point I inserted myself into a conversation they were having about buying homes in Big Sur: "But isn't it quite a long drive from here?"

    They answered: "Oh, it's not so long if you take a helicopter."

    The lives of the fancy are beyond my imagination!

    • keb_ 9 months ago

      Hey, it's like that scene in The Big Short where Mark Baum talks to the CDO Manager.

      "We're not in the Merrill Lynch building, we're in New Jersey"

      "You're 20 minutes away"

      "Well 5 if you use a helicopter"

  • tracerbulletx 9 months ago

    An important component of the beauty of the Pacific coast is how relatively empty and rural it is. When that changes, the entire vibe will be dead. Also don't tell anyone about the Oregon coast.

    • david-ds 9 months ago

      Ha, the Oregon coast is indeed pretty. But the lack of well paying jobs & expensive housing is really, really hurting locals. Many people can't even find an affordable rental.

    • deepfriedchokes 9 months ago

      Oregon is terrible. It’s cold and the locals are unfriendly. Don’t come here.

      • Modified3019 9 months ago

        For real though, the massive amount of pollen (trees in spring, grass in early-mid summer) in the Willamette valley is a legit reason for people to never move here.

      • droopyEyelids 9 months ago

        Oregon can be genuinely unfriendly to people of color though right?

        • genocidicbunny 9 months ago

          East of the cascades, absolutely, especially as you get closer to Idaho. Lets just say, I've never had a family in the middle of their dinner loudly ask for the waitress to move them away from the table me and my indian and asian friends just sat down at until I stopped by a restaurant on my way to Bend. And then being 'gently' told by the waitress that we might want to try a different restaurant instead, while completely avoiding eye contact with anyone not white at our table.

        • deepfriedchokes 9 months ago

          Every state has racists, even the liberal ones. Racism is universal.

          • droopyEyelids 8 months ago

            I'm talking about certain states, like Idaho, Wyoming, and east Oregon being racist meccas, where they have encouraged migration of like minded individuals, and have become a politically dominant force in their regions. That is a lot different than the universal background racism.

    • throw_that_away 9 months ago

      It's already getting packed there too. If you knew about it for the past 20 years, you know the last 3 have been insane.

      • throwup238 9 months ago

        Has the water moratorium been lifted?

  • MrVandemar 9 months ago

    One of the most damaging things you can do to any place is build a road to it.

    • benjaminfh 9 months ago

      The next worst is to popularise its beauty on Instagram :’( . As a hobbyist landscape photog I have a complicated relationship with this

    • wustangdan 9 months ago

      Is a place really beautiful if no one ever gets to see it?

      • defrost 9 months ago

        Why is a road necessary for a people to see a place?

        I grew up in a beautiful area of the world with no "road access" - boat, camel, air, horse, walk, off road bike with long range tank, yes.

        Marked road, convential car access - no.

      • orwin 9 months ago

        You can also walk there. The best beaches in my areas are the ones that need a 20+ minute walk through a forest to reach. Even though every locals know about them, they aren't as crowed as more accessible beaches.

  • OuterVale 9 months ago
  • Uptrenda 9 months ago

    HN needs filters to block pay walled shit. This is getting old.

    • deepsun 9 months ago

      I know a hack to avoid it, it's only $4.25/week.

    • reducesuffering 9 months ago

      Some combination of FireFox, uBlock Origin, and Bypass Paywalls extensions made it not appear for me.