Cape Cod is....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overrated

THIS!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up on Cape Cod and am here now. I love it and could spend all summer here- the beaches, bike paths, cool nights. But it has gotten increasingly more 'new money' over the years. Modest homes passed down through families now being torn down to be replaced with huge houses, many more Range rovers and BMWs. No diversity, although that is not new.

Where did you grow up? It's true Nauset regional was never diverse! For new money, do you mean people who come for summer? As a local, we always thought of summer people as rich anyway but I guess it is increasingly true. The hardest part is that locals can't afford year round homes. Teachers often come from off the Cape because they can't buy houses on anymore.

DP here. There are many of us! I may be older than you both, but when I was growing up, average people could afford a second home on the Cape. I know more than one family who had two teacher parents, who had Cape homes (in addition to their suburban homes, no more than an hour away, usually). It seems hard for DCUMers to fathom that the beach is an hour or less away to some people - I just presume (logically) that they must come from the Midwest. But, most Midwesterners I now don't pretend to know about someplace they know little, if anything about, so there is that.....

I think in some vacation/tourist prone areas, there may be some animosity between the year rounders and the second homeowners - but now it is totally unfounded, because the year rounders go to Florida from about November/December to about April/May. The animosity is much like those who try to spout vague opinion (if it is about Cape Cod, they are usually about random sharks or random drugs LOL) as fact on DCUM. Hilarious!

Glad to know there are some fact checkers abound.

Do you live on Cape Cod full-time now? Which area would you recommend for purchasing a second home? We've stayed in Truro twice. Are the year-rounders there open to second homeowners?

We have been fantasizing about buying something like this.
https://www.kinlingrover.com/listings/118-n-pamet-road-truro-ma-02666_22001226

Taxes are dirt cheap.

That's a great site, but the house looks like it may not be winterized? That makes maintenance a bit more work to stop everything from mildewing. And of course you can't use it in the off season. I like going up for a couple of long weekends in the off season, and really missed it this year (we were planning to go in March).

RE taxes do tend to be cheaper in MA. There is also a personal property tax - it varies by town. Ours kicks in for second homes over $1m. Every few years we need to do a complete inventory of all our furnishings and belongings, right down to things like dishes and glasses. We also have to pay a car tax for a car we keep in MA.

Thanks. Didn’t know about the property tax. And hadn’t thought about winterizing. Lots to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nantucket smokes the Cape. Great history, food, beaches and mostly less crowded. Sankaty is a great golf club too! That said, shark watching in Cape Cod would be fun. I have done Cape Town shark dives and would love to do it closer to home.

There are very few similarities between South Africa and Cape Cod - one being, there are absolutely not enough sharks to "shark watch" or anything like that on Cape Cod, only an occasional shark. But there is a poster here who likes to try to rail on the Cape to antagonize another poster who is from the Cape, so that gets old after a while.

There are great whale watches and seal watches on the Cape, and also great golf (lots of private and public clubs) for anyone who is NOT TROLLING and is genuinely interested.

I did not say they are alike. So odd.

That said, a dead whale attracted a bunch of great whites off the Cape a few weeks ago. Not sure if you can dive near a whale carcass but there was great shark watching. Would like to do it here and don’t think it would be hard with a bit of chum and some time.

Sankaty is the best golf course this side of the Country Club. Have played most of the Cape’s best. Sorry didn’t come to troll but few trolled cause you deserve it.

Wut?

There are lots of great whites in Cape Cod. 350-500 8 footers and larger, at least. Tons of smaller juveniles. Many new, untagged sharks already in the Cape waters this year.

Are there shark tours? My kids would LOVE that.

In South Africa. Not in Cape Cod. Cape Cod only has seal tours and whale watches, for good reason. There are not nearly enough sharks in Cape Cod to have any kind of watch, but there is an antagonistic PP who keeps spouting random information - so be careful from whom you get "facts", PP! People like that usually claim to be an "authority" - internet style.

There are multiple Cape Cod based great white tours that go out. Most have spotter planes that assist in spotting. The only issue right now is whether COVID has shut them down. Google it. Poster above is a tool. Not sure who said “antagonistic” poster is but it is not me.

[Anonymous]

This is for the “there are no shark tours in Cape Cod” person: copious evidence of significant local engagement in white shark related activities:

https://saltycape.com/great-white-shark-sightseeing/

http://www.chathamfishingcharters.com/tours

https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/white-shark-expeditions

Even the whale tours have added great white excursions:
https://us.whales.org/support/expedition/

And hotels advertising shark related eco tourism:
https://chathamgablesinn.com/blog/cape-cod-shark-adventures/

And if this isn’t enough, use a google map satellite view of the Cape and Nantucket and then scroll in to the closest view. The thousands of sprinkle like black specs you see are seals. Those tens of thousands of seals support hundreds to perhaps 1000 great whites.

[Anonymous]

My son just saw a shark fin off Nauset Beach

[Anonymous]

That is awesome. Be safe but enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son just saw a shark fin off Nauset Beach

Are you sure? I thought I saw one last year off Nauset but it turned out to be a sunfish. Apparently they are pretty common. I was disappointed, I really want to see a shark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son just saw a shark fin off Nauset Beach

Are you sure? I thought I saw one last year off Nauset but it turned out to be a sunfish. Apparently they are pretty common. I was disappointed, I really want to see a shark.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son just saw a shark fin off Nauset Beach

Are you sure? I thought I saw one last year off Nauset but it turned out to be a sunfish. Apparently they are pretty common. I was disappointed, I really want to see a shark.

+1

If it gets reported or it’s a tagged shark, it will show up on the Sharktivity tracker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real question concerning Cape Cod is whether you can get a real hoagie? In another thread, a vacation was ruined because they couldn't find a decent hoagie on the Outer Banks. Also, they were mad that the house they selected required a walk across the road to the beach.

Hoagie?

Do you mean a grinder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question concerning Cape Cod is whether you can get a real hoagie? In another thread, a vacation was ruined because they couldn't find a decent hoagie on the Outer Banks. Also, they were mad that the house they selected required a walk across the road to the beach.

Hoagie?

Do you mean a grinder?

Blasphemy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on my one trip there, I will say, that I found Cape Cod to be:

Way too expensive. (10K for a small house in Chatham)
Beautiful.
Water too cold to swim in.
Snooty. My snootiest Aunt goes every year. Preppy heaven.
Too far from DC for me to visit regularly.

What do you think about Cape Cod?

Not diverse enough
Water too cold
I agree that it is too expensive for what you get. There are much better options in Florida and in California. I can rent places in Florida and California with better amenities. Some of those rental homes in Cape Cod are really crappy for what you get. You pay Four Seasons price tag, but you get the Motel 8. My home is better than many of the rental homes there. When I go on vacation I want something better amenities than my home not less.
Restaurants and food quality are not that appealing. If you like bland, then I guess it is okay. There is nothing that stands out compared to what I cook at home.

Also, it is quite boring! Basically, everything that there is to do there my family does here at home. Do not get me wrong it is a beautiful and quaint place. However, it lacks way too many things for my family to return. My children love the beaches in California, Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, and in Europe. Cape Cod just does not cut it for us. It definitely is no La Jolla.

I know I am going to get harassed here for stating this. Cape Cod is so overrated and I do not understand the appeal.

100% Agree. I was twice in Cape Cod and would not go back. I do like warmer water in Florida.

[Anonymous]

So I live outside of Boston and at the Cape now. Use to live in DC. DH from NJ and have been to jersey shore often. Have never been to east coast beaches farther south than NJ but have been to tons of beaches on west coast and elsewhere.

So my 2 cents is that it makes total sense to go to the cape in summer if you live around Boston. (It’s 90 or so minutes away!!). And there is a ton to do - less with Covid but still, beaches, rivers, kayaking/paddle boarding,
Fishing, ponds galore. Yes, sharks (my son caught a small one on a Fishing trip last year) but just heed the warnings and don’t swim too deep. Yes, the water cold but it’s refreshing (and do you really swim in the ocean??? I just dip in, jump over a few waves and I’m done). Food fairly decent. Not the best, but yes, there are good hoagies. All in all, a fairly decent place to spend an east coast summer vacation.

Now, if we still lived in DC would we make the trek? Probably not. We’d stick with DE (althoughy never been) or the jersey shore. But for people who live in Boston the proximity of Cape Cod cannot be beat!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I live outside of Boston and at the Cape now. Use to live in DC. DH from NJ and have been to jersey shore often. Have never been to east coast beaches farther south than NJ but have been to tons of beaches on west coast and elsewhere.

So my 2 cents is that it makes total sense to go to the cape in summer if you live around Boston. (It’s 90 or so minutes away!!). And there is a ton to do - less with Covid but still, beaches, rivers, kayaking/paddle boarding,
Fishing, ponds galore. Yes, sharks (my son caught a small one on a Fishing trip last year) but just heed the warnings and don’t swim too deep. Yes, the water cold but it’s refreshing (and do you really swim in the ocean??? I just dip in, jump over a few waves and I’m done). Food fairly decent. Not the best, but yes, there are good hoagies. All in all, a fairly decent place to spend an east coast summer vacation.

Now, if we still lived in DC would we make the trek? Probably not. We’d stick with DE (althoughy never been) or the jersey shore. But for people who live in Boston the proximity of Cape Cod cannot be beat!!

+1

It is difficult to explain facts such as these, to people who live 3+ hours from sub par ocean, and think OBX is "having arrived" PP. Thanks for the effort, I agree with you - but it is all perspective. I think the most amusing part is when people troll with past DCUM post tidbits and Google search randomness - so obvious.

Jersey gets a bad rap, but most of the Jersey shore (NOT the boardwalk part - there is more to beach choices than boardwalk or OBX, but you PP already know this) is gorgeous! I am envious of you being so close to great beaches, OP - it would be so much nicer than the swamp summer in D.C.

[Anonymous]

Our family have many summers of wonderful Cape memories -- swimming, boating, biking, etc. We've traveled a lot over the years and had some really interesting trips throughout the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Even so, our kids (now in their late teens and early 20s) are still thrilled that we'll go back to the Cape this summer. (Fingers and toes crossed!) In our experience, the only negative about the cape is that it's not diverse.