We’ve been going to DE beaches since the 1980s. Bethany used to be very upscale in the 90s but since they repaired the Kent Island bridge the beaches are much more crowded (mid 90s) Rehobeth has always had two sides: the rich who live there and the people on the boardwalk. Bethany has become a nightmare of crowding compared to how it used to be.

Rehoboth has declined as the gay community left it. Not sure of cause and effect. Ocean City has risen in stature and regained some prestige as an old time beach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I started going to Rehoboth about 10 years ago with my IL's. I never saw it as the upscale place as they kept saying it was. Those beach trips stopped a few years ago. Now DH, kids and I go to Bethany. There is a difference in people who visit both beaches. Bethany is decidedly more white, upscale preppy. Rehoboth - especially on weekends - does seem to have the Ocean City crowd vibe to it.

I wouldn't want to spend a week in Rehoboth, but it's still fun to go there one evening while we are at Bethany.

We are a black MD/PhD couple new to the area. We've been to Rehoboth once before with our toddler, but it seems that the presence of people who look like us is reason for some to avoid the area. We're heading to MV this year instead.

MV?

Martha's Vineyard.

I used to live in Boston. Nantucket is Waspy. Martha’s Vineyard is Jewish.

Generally agree as of last summer with the BB vs Rehoboth and we are a minority family. BB was just as friendly, in fact my DH loves it better than Rehoboth. I think I like Rehoboth for the diversity and busy feel. Bethany is far more quiet.

Anonymous wrote:We went to both Rehoboth and Bethany last week. It was like night and day. RB was full of trashy people with awful behavior (and parenting). BB was full of non-trashy people with much better behavior: more respectful to fellow beach goers and better parenting.

It had nothing to go with race.

Did you notice any other generalities between these two groups of people? That is what people tend to do, and then judge. I'm glad if you didn't. I have seen terrible behavior at swank country clubs!

We are a Gay couple that has noticed it has changed too. We just went last weekend while we did see some other Gay couples, It was definitely a lot more families there and a lot more crowded that it used to me.
They have still have the Boutique type shops which is nice but the crowds on the boardwalk were terrible.
Im only going to go in the off season from now on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrors, the poors have infiltrated your upscale oasis.

No, it has nothing to do with poor people.
Poor people cannot afford the outrageous hotel rates in Rehoboth on weekends.
It has everything to do with all the obese, tattooed, cursing, drunk obnoxious trashy types. They seem to be everywhere.

MV has no fatties or tatties, no funkies or drunkies.

I've been going to Rehoboth off and on since I was kid 40+ years ago and this will be our 7th straight summer doing a one-week August rental.

The beach and boardwalk area are definitely way more crowded than they used to be, especially on weekends.

But I don't sense that it has changed for the worse at all - southern Delaware is pretty working class and also diverse so on the weekends RB attracts a much greater diversity of folks than you'll find on this forum or the neighborhoods where people on here live and that was true decades ago as well.

But Rehoboth is definitely way more upscale than it used to be when I went as a kid but aside from the crowds on the beach and boardwalk it doesn't feel different to me than it was 20 years ago by which time it was mostly upscale - the residential areas and restaurant scene is still dominated by the upper middle class demographic we come from. And I'm not an expert on this but I still get the sense there is a significant gay presence there I just think it feels lesser because the crowds are so much bigger on weekends.

And no way is the so called trashiness quotient similar to what you get in OC - RB is way more upscale and has far fewer working class folks around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I started going to Rehoboth about 10 years ago with my IL's. I never saw it as the upscale place as they kept saying it was. Those beach trips stopped a few years ago. Now DH, kids and I go to Bethany. There is a difference in people who visit both beaches. Bethany is decidedly more white, upscale preppy. Rehoboth - especially on weekends - does seem to have the Ocean City crowd vibe to it.

I wouldn't want to spend a week in Rehoboth, but it's still fun to go there one evening while we are at Bethany.

We are a black MD/PhD couple new to the area. We've been to Rehoboth once before with our toddler, but it seems that the presence of people who look like us is reason for some to avoid the area. We're heading to MV this year instead.

Sorry to derail - I am close with 3 black upper middle class families who all vacation in Martha's Vineyard every summer (not together)...I know it's beautiful but does it have a reputation for being particularly welcoming to black families? Just curious as I don't seem to have any white friends that vacation there and I've always thought of it as the pinnacle of WASPy. Is it because it was the Obama's preferred vacation destination on the east coast that it gained popularity for black families?

Oh my. Maybe you should google Sag Harbor.

Sag Harbor is in the Hamptons. All of the beaches in the DMV are tacky.....you people are either delusional, have very low standards or have never been to a proper beach.

We went to Bethany this year, and it was pretty white. A few minorities in the place we were staying. Sort of weird.

My husband (half asian/half white) was assumed to be spanish-speaking hispanic at a Rehoboth bar - one guy refused to serve him at all, and the lady who finally did tried to give him change in (bad) spanish.

Anonymous wrote:We went to both Rehoboth and Bethany last week. It was like night and day. RB was full of trashy people with awful behavior (and parenting). BB was full of non-trashy people with much better behavior: more respectful to fellow beach goers and better parenting.

It had nothing to go with race.

My kids went to Bethanybon the 4th of July and you could get acid, Xanys, weed and alcohol on the beach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ I don't know. I go to Rehoboth every year and have done so for two decades. I don't see much rudeness and obnoxious behvaior, no more so than in general public.

I think people are ascribing bad behavior to character traits, not the other way around..

I wouldn't mind some specific examples of how people on RB are worse than MV other than physical characteristics. Because I'll tell you, I have met plenty of rude mofos in so called upscale places.

Specific example: I was standing near the bathrooms and something stinging and painful (though not enough to cause any real damage) was repeatedly hitting me. Turned out it was a teenager with some kind of weapon shooting something at me.

What?

Anonymous wrote:^^ I don't know. I go to Rehoboth every year and have done so for two decades. I don't see much rudeness and obnoxious behvaior, no more so than in general public.

I think people are ascribing bad behavior to character traits, not the other way around..

I wouldn't mind some specific examples of how people on RB are worse than MV other than physical characteristics. Because I'll tell you, I have met plenty of rude mofos in so called upscale places.

Specific example: I was standing near the bathrooms and something stinging and painful (though not enough to cause any real damage) was repeatedly hitting me. Turned out it was a teenager with some kind of weapon shooting something at me.

We went to both Rehoboth and Bethany last week. It was like night and day. RB was full of trashy people with awful behavior (and parenting). BB was full of non-trashy people with much better behavior: more respectful to fellow beach goers and better parenting.

It had nothing to go with race.