~ oldtimer ~ wrote:'am wondering...why do people want to bring coolers to the beach when they are suppose to be helping the local economy.
Supporting the local economy? It's a vacation for some/most nothing more. If we focused on supporting a "local" economy in need with the current economy where most of us live we should never leave home. Any attempts at a logical discussion that Jamaican's are more in need of our money than our neighbors back at home are fruitless since many countries are far worse off than Jamaica.
So...I suggest buying beer from the worse country in need, importing it to Jamaica and under pricing the locals in order to spread the wealth a little more even.
Take the above comments with a grain of salt...think that's the term.
In reference to "turning into Smith", MOST of us can only budget $$$-$$$$ a year for vacations. MOST of us also want to get as many vacation days as possible. As I mentioned in another thread a few days ago, the difference between buying cheap beer can add days to my vacation. If Smith can survive in JA for 30 days on a single US dollar that's his business. Lol, if he lives in a mansion and has $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$ in the bank collecting dust then maybe we should call him a cheap b*stard.
I need around 2-3 months a year of vacation time spread out into 2 week stays all the way down to long weekends. If it was 5 years ago, I could afford to stay in nice hotels and never look at prices. Back then a $500 a day budget was not too much, now that same $500 needs to last me over a week. Some of us still have large vacation budgets while others like me collect our pocket change to make our vacations happen.
In reference to using a place while bringing our own food and drink....I've never heard of someone being that cheap. That is almost evil cheap in my opinion. Now smuggling in a flask of rum.....that's another story.
BTW, I know your post was made on the lighter side but it chews my ass when people suggest that others should be able to go on a vacation without any thoughts of how the should spend money....money that they might not have in some cases.