Cape Cod vs Nantucket vs Martha's Vineyard vs Maine vs Block Island

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To clarify, how do I not embarrass myself when people bring up these places? That's what I'm curious about. Thanks all—

Huh? No one is born knowing about any of these places. They learn. If someone is impatient or snobby with you for not being an expert on block island vs cape cod vs nantucket, etc....move on. What is valuable about a person that would do that!

Except there are definitely some cultural aspects most people know. If a young, well-coiffed man tells you he’s going to the Cape or Fire Island, you know that those are traditional gay vacation spots. If your black coworker says he goes to the Vineyard every summer, it’s good to know the history of Oak Bluffs.

Lol — “The Cape” isn’t a traditional gay vacation spot and I am not sure why you need to know the history of Oak Bluffs to have a conversation with a coworker about their summer vacation.

It’s just basic cultural literacy in this area, which is what OP is asking about. And knowing about Oak Bluffs is the kind of thing that’s just a good thing to know in many circles in DC. It always helps to get to know people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Block Island is the way the Cape used to be. Very laid back, quiet. Not full of fun parks, putt-putt golf and other tourist trash.

Not necessarily.

My view, taken from the 60s, 70s and 80s is that Block Island is much more like the Cape from that era. No one I know who vacationed on the Cape pre-1990 enjoys going back due to the fact thatit has been paved, over-built and over-commercialized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Block Island is the way the Cape used to be. Very laid back, quiet. Not full of fun parks, putt-putt golf and other tourist trash.

Not necessarily.

Yeah I thought Block Island was a big party spot? I’ve only ever been in the off season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to a wedding on Block Island years ago - I've never been to the other NE islands, but Block Island was great. Total New England feel. The beaches weren't fabulous - not great sand like Cape Cod. Think maybe it is the smallest island? And less rich, but still NE preppy rich. Not sure what it's like 15 years later, but there were still small run down houses, and places the felt very isolated.

Most New England beaches aren't fabulous to keep the tourists out.

Many Cape Cod beaches are private, but it is apparently an extremely challenging concept for DCUM to understand (ie: not determined by Google).

Sounds like the private beaches might be nice. The public beaches we went to were kinda gross/dumpy.

That bay water is nasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m interested in the social aspect too! There’s also OBX and the MD shore.

My impressions:
- Cape Cod: gay or laid back/down to earth.
- Martha’s Vineyard: white money or black UMC/generational wealth/fame
- Nantucket: rich
- Block Island: not really a thing here?
- Ocean City: kids on a budget

You forgot NY & NJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, these things are always a generalization, but I have vacationed on all of those locations except Block island (which I know nothing about) so here is my take.

Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, being islands, take a little more planning because you have to deal with ferry or plane reservations. By virtue of that, they feel different from Cape Cod. But, Martha’s Vineyard is significantly bigger than Nantucket and has several distinct settlement areas, so there is greater diversity of experience available there. It’s monied in general and an expensive place to go relative to other places in NE, but doesn’t have a monolithic look or culture. Nantucket is very small and has less diversity in terms of housing stock. Not none, just less. And, while there are different neighborhoods, it feels more like one big community spread out over the island. It’s harder to get to, so you really have to seek it out. People don’t stumble upon Nantucket accidentally, so it can feel exclusive. But, really if you choose it as your place to go every year you can pretty easily fit into the place.

Cape Cod is quite diverse. Sure, Provincetown is gay, but not really the rest of the Cape. Families of all different income levels from NE have traditions of summer vacations on the Cape and, while there are expensive areas, there are also cheaper areas. It’s a great family vacation spot.

My favorite NE summer spot is Kennebunkport, Maine because I have been going there since I was a kid. People tend to be partial to their family’s traditional vacation spot. Everyone I knew growing up has a family spot in NE that they always went to, but one area wasn’t seen as better or worse socially than another. Maybe it is different for people without family connections to NE. My impression is that Nantucket is seen as snootier (and therefore better) by newcomers who are snooty themselves. But, that is a relatively small subset of the population who vacation in NE. (I am not going to say summer in NE because nobody except my grandmother uses that word anymore.)

+1

Excellent summary! Spot on.

+1

You like what you know, but no spot is inherently better than anywhere else.

My friends who are long-time Nantucket people aren’t snobby at all. It’s the newer people who bring that attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to a wedding on Block Island years ago - I've never been to the other NE islands, but Block Island was great. Total New England feel. The beaches weren't fabulous - not great sand like Cape Cod. Think maybe it is the smallest island? And less rich, but still NE preppy rich. Not sure what it's like 15 years later, but there were still small run down houses, and places the felt very isolated.

Most New England beaches aren't fabulous to keep the tourists out.

Many Cape Cod beaches are private, but it is apparently an extremely challenging concept for DCUM to understand (ie: not determined by Google).

Sounds like the private beaches might be nice. The public beaches we went to were kinda gross/dumpy.

That bay water is nasty.

You are not going to the right beach. Most of the Cape's beaches are stunning. I have heard people from this area claim "are they rocky?!" "aren't they crowded?!" - and I automatically know that they do not know anyone from that area, and possibly haven't even been, because they obviously don't know the right beaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, these things are always a generalization, but I have vacationed on all of those locations except Block island (which I know nothing about) so here is my take.

Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, being islands, take a little more planning because you have to deal with ferry or plane reservations. By virtue of that, they feel different from Cape Cod. But, Martha’s Vineyard is significantly bigger than Nantucket and has several distinct settlement areas, so there is greater diversity of experience available there. It’s monied in general and an expensive place to go relative to other places in NE, but doesn’t have a monolithic look or culture. Nantucket is very small and has less diversity in terms of housing stock. Not none, just less. And, while there are different neighborhoods, it feels more like one big community spread out over the island. It’s harder to get to, so you really have to seek it out. People don’t stumble upon Nantucket accidentally, so it can feel exclusive. But, really if you choose it as your place to go every year you can pretty easily fit into the place.

Cape Cod is quite diverse. Sure, Provincetown is gay, but not really the rest of the Cape. Families of all different income levels from NE have traditions of summer vacations on the Cape and, while there are expensive areas, there are also cheaper areas. It’s a great family vacation spot.

My favorite NE summer spot is Kennebunkport, Maine because I have been going there since I was a kid. People tend to be partial to their family’s traditional vacation spot. Everyone I knew growing up has a family spot in NE that they always went to, but one area wasn’t seen as better or worse socially than another. Maybe it is different for people without family connections to NE. My impression is that Nantucket is seen as snootier (and therefore better) by newcomers who are snooty themselves. But, that is a relatively small subset of the population who vacation in NE. (I am not going to say summer in NE because nobody except my grandmother uses that word anymore.)

+1

Excellent summary! Spot on.

+1

You like what you know, but no spot is inherently better than anywhere else.

My friends who are long-time Nantucket people aren’t snobby at all. It’s the newer people who bring that attitude.

Absolutely! It is also very obvious when someone tries to Google info, which is rarely close to accurate. Local knowledge is key, as with anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m interested in the social aspect too! There’s also OBX and the MD shore.

My impressions:
- Cape Cod: gay or laid back/down to earth.
- Martha’s Vineyard: white money or black UMC/generational wealth/fame
- Nantucket: rich
- Block Island: not really a thing here?
- Ocean City: kids on a budget

You forgot NY & NJ.

Jersey has gorgeous beaches - WTH are you people going??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To clarify, how do I not embarrass myself when people bring up these places? That's what I'm curious about. Thanks all—

Huh? No one is born knowing about any of these places. They learn. If someone is impatient or snobby with you for not being an expert on block island vs cape cod vs nantucket, etc....move on. What is valuable about a person that would do that!

Except there are definitely some cultural aspects most people know. If a young, well-coiffed man tells you he’s going to the Cape or Fire Island, you know that those are traditional gay vacation spots. If your black coworker says he goes to the Vineyard every summer, it’s good to know the history of Oak Bluffs.

Lol — “The Cape” isn’t a traditional gay vacation spot and I am not sure why you need to know the history of Oak Bluffs to have a conversation with a coworker about their summer vacation.

+1

Right? WTF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To clarify, how do I not embarrass myself when people bring up these places? That's what I'm curious about. Thanks all—

Here is all you need to know, OP:

DC area people are easily impressed, and resort to Googling in an attempt to present as (knowing more than the next guy? not really sure....)

New Englanders are very much stay in your own lane, do your own thing, don't be an A-hole (capital A!), be jovial, and you will present as intelligent - type people.

No one cares where you vacation, unless you come across as a jerk when you talk about it, unsolicited. Just as any travel, or pretty much any topic.

Funny, I was vacationing in Block Island during the off season once. Dh and I put our bag down on a table and went to order food from the bar. We came back to our table, and our bag had been moved - you guessed it - by DC area people! So loud and obnoxious and trying to impress (not sure who??). The bartender watched the whole thing, as we moved back to our table, and switched the other person's stuff back to where they originally were seated. When thy left we asked "DC?" - he said yup! spot 'em a mile away, and they could NOT leave soon enough!" Ain't that the truth!

To your last point: we have a summer place in Maine. Most people tend to be pretty low-key and casual. So one time we’re having lunch and a pair of families who obviously don’t know each other well but are both vacationing in Maine sat down near us. As it turns out they know each other through their kids’ school. Their entire conversation, which was quite loud, was about that school and about politics. Of course one set of parents was decked out in hats and shirts from the school. It was so DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to a wedding on Block Island years ago - I've never been to the other NE islands, but Block Island was great. Total New England feel. The beaches weren't fabulous - not great sand like Cape Cod. Think maybe it is the smallest island? And less rich, but still NE preppy rich. Not sure what it's like 15 years later, but there were still small run down houses, and places the felt very isolated.

Most New England beaches aren't fabulous to keep the tourists out.

Many Cape Cod beaches are private, but it is apparently an extremely challenging concept for DCUM to understand (ie: not determined by Google).

Sounds like the private beaches might be nice. The public beaches we went to were kinda gross/dumpy.

That bay water is nasty.

The bay is great with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To clarify, how do I not embarrass myself when people bring up these places? That's what I'm curious about. Thanks all—

Here is all you need to know, OP:

DC area people are easily impressed, and resort to Googling in an attempt to present as (knowing more than the next guy? not really sure....)

New Englanders are very much stay in your own lane, do your own thing, don't be an A-hole (capital A!), be jovial, and you will present as intelligent - type people.

No one cares where you vacation, unless you come across as a jerk when you talk about it, unsolicited. Just as any travel, or pretty much any topic.

Funny, I was vacationing in Block Island during the off season once. Dh and I put our bag down on a table and went to order food from the bar. We came back to our table, and our bag had been moved - you guessed it - by DC area people! So loud and obnoxious and trying to impress (not sure who??). The bartender watched the whole thing, as we moved back to our table, and switched the other person's stuff back to where they originally were seated. When thy left we asked "DC?" - he said yup! spot 'em a mile away, and they could NOT leave soon enough!" Ain't that the truth!

To your last point: we have a summer place in Maine. Most people tend to be pretty low-key and casual. So one time we’re having lunch and a pair of families who obviously don’t know each other well but are both vacationing in Maine sat down near us. As it turns out they know each other through their kids’ school. Their entire conversation, which was quite loud, was about that school and about politics. Of course one set of parents was decked out in hats and shirts from the school. It was so DC.

+1

People from New England can tell DC area people a mile away.

[Anonymous]

OP, back to your original question:

I went to Cape Cod for the first time from the DC area this summer with my extended family from New York and New England. 14 of us, my parents, my siblings and our kids. Use the site WeNeedAVacation dot com and stayed in Harwich Port.

There are lots a little Cape Towns, so you can find a great rental house in lot of them.

Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod I think it’s known as sort of a gay area as well as Block Island, but the rest of the Cape is not known as very stereotypically gay. Also Martha’s Vineyard and then talk it are more exclusive, and need a ferry, but most of the Cape is drivable and easily accessible.

From DC, it was a 500 mile, 10 Hour drive for us with three stops.

It wasn’t as cold or rocky as I expected it to be, even in late June. The town was charming and we went to a minor league baseball game and went whale watching.

The town had a lot of shops restaurants and ice cream places, but isn’t real the same vibe as Ocean City New Jersey where we’ve been where there’s a boardwalk, which are kids love. I OCNJ it’s much more crowded and is a dry town. But it is only a 3 1/2 hour drive from us.

OCNJ is also a great beach rental town for families from DC, check out Fox realty or some other places like that.

Or go south to Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks in North Carolina or even further like myrtle or Hilton head.

[Anonymous]

*then talk it = Nantucket