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Dire88 t1_ivbeots wrote

Reply to comment by Oeslian in Re: Vermonters' reputed attitude toward out-of-staters by newsandseriousstuff

Well let's be realistic though.

If Vermont was not a tourist destination, what industry would its economy be built on?

Seems pretty much every town and legislative body bends over backwards to court the tourist dollar, but continuously fails to invest that money into building any sort of sustainable and well paying industries for locals to work for.

Even then, it fails to protect what little bit of cottage industries are available - like Bed & Breakfasts - by failing to place restrictions on short term rentals because it would cause lashback from the secondary home owners making a quick buck.

And don't even get me started on how poorly local businesses are run. Number of business owners who simply don't answer the phone is ridiculous. It's like they purposely make it difficult for you to give them money, just so they can bitch about not making enough to stay in business.

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huskers2468 t1_ivcaihk wrote

>And don't even get me started on how poorly local businesses are run.

This is the number one thing that stood out to me after moving here. I love that they are all small business owners, and I want to utilize them, but it's difficult.

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murshawursha t1_ivcwkla wrote

>Seems pretty much every town and legislative body bends over backwards to court the tourist dollar

I would draw a distinction between catering to tourists, and catering to second homeowners or rental property owners. We can invite guests and provide them hospitality, while still making sure they stay in hotels (not AirBNBs) and go home at the end of their vacation.

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TwoNewfies t1_iveml9h wrote

We called a local woodstove company that advertised glass replacement when the old glass in our stove cracked. Took them 2 days to tell us to find an autoglass store, and make sure they gave us the right kind of glass. So went online and a Midwest place had wonderful service and support. The Brattleboro Agway has been rude, pet store too. Prices over the state lines are lower. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

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