The fantasy of living around the little streets of Brussels, the Grand Canal of Venice, or the beautiful avenue of Champs Elysees quickly turns into a nightmare when you walk a mile in a local’s shoes.
Jason Villanueva/Pexels | If you’re in your casual poise and wearing scruffy clothes in a touristy place, you may turn into a struggling poor local in the eyes of tourists
Wondering why? Here are 5 funny things that locals living in touristy places face on the regular.
#1 - Celeb 2.0
Yes, that is how you’re perceived if you’re an African-American driving through the streets of New York City in a Lamborghini! While the prospect of being treated like a celebrity because of the way you look and the car you drive can be quite an empowering feeling, getting mobbed by tourists on the regular can get old pretty quickly.
#2 - Shilling in the Coffee!
The notion of a poor street artist is quite the cliché. But what if, out of compassion, a random woman casually drops a shilling into the coffee cup of a well-to-do artist sitting by some paintings? For the locals, wearing scruffy clothes and sitting in your casual poise in a touristy place (which nevertheless happens to be your home), is not an irregular occurrence. This is why it’s pretty comical for tourists to perceive these natives as struggling, pitiable local beggars on the streets!
#3 - Metro ride, No More the Comfy Ride
There are not many people who can relate to the pain of seeing your local metro station turn into a gala fair and your favorite peaceful camping and hiking spot becoming a noisy, crowded tourist destination. At the metro station, no matter how early or late it is, you’d find annoying tourists blocking the escalators and all of the ticketing machines as they try to figure them out as if they’re solving an especially challenging math equation!
Michel Stockman/Unsplash | The fantasy of living at a tourist destination can vanish when you become a local
#4 - Locals Becoming Strangers!
The case of a foreigner boarding the wrong bus is pretty common. So, in the interest of helping out a poor lost soul, you decide to become the kind, helpful native who decides to point them in the right direction. But instead of heartily thanking you for the generous gesture, the foreigner decides to label you as a “stranger” and completely blank you. How ironic.
#5 - Cyclist in Amsterdam? Must Be A Tourist!
In developed cities and countries, cycling is usually the quickest and most efficient form of transportation. But to a tourist who’s trying his/her hand at cycling around the Dutch country for the first time, a local using the same mode of transport also seems like a tourist! This confusion usually ends up being incredibly funny or extremely frustrating, depending on how you choose to react to the tourist’s naivete.
Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels | Even if you’re simply cycling to work, to a tourist who is exploring the city on a cycle, you can easily appear to be a fellow tourist
Wrapping it Up
Leading a normal, peaceful life as a local residing in a tourist destination can be quite challenging. Sometimes we wonder if these people wished they themselves were tourists in an entirely different area just to escape the constant drama!
