We have been visiting Bar Harbor and Acadia since 1977. We have seen the town degrade from a fun, eclectic village of artists, unique shops and broad range of restaurants into an overcrowded, over-priced banal mini-metropolis. The downhill slide started with bus tours, then cruise ships, then to top it off, overdevelopment. Greed became paramount to integrity. Once it became evident that the infrastructure could not support the influx it was too late.
We will still make a brief stop in BH once or twice to enjoy Rosalie’s Pizza, but other than that we avoid town.
BH doesn’t need people like us anymore; that’s ok. We’ve plenty of precious memories, and plenty of new places to explore.
Ahhh, the not the same as I remember lament. This lament wearies me so. Change is inevitable and Bar Harbor is not exempt. Alas, Bar Harbor has always been a tourist destination and the tourist visitors have been growing steadily ever since folks arrived by train and ship. It is no longer the same town it was when I arrived and it will not be the same town when I have departed. But! Year round residents also no longer have to move away to find sustainable work as so many did when I first arrived.
Also, am I detecting wee touch of classism here…. seems folks arriving in their individual autos are acceptable, but woe to those who choose to travel by bus or ship. Perhaps what is really needed is a limit on the daily automobile passengers driving across the bridge?
Ah well, fortunately I am still able to find joy and peaceful places, as well as an eclectic mix of unique shops, interesting food being served, a wondrous variety of folks living, working or visiting the island and a thriving art community on MDI. So, all is not lost.
I fully well expected a comment like this. My comment wasn’t a “lament”, it was an observation. Yes, change is inevitable, but it is not always for the good.
I’d have no problem with a restriction on the number of people crossing the Trenton bridge - or the Piscataqua River bridge, for that matter.
I’m very happy that you can find peace and solace on MDI. The “quiet side” still has a lot to offer. As for BH and Acadia, it is what it is. People have gotten what they asked for, and it appears that some regret it.
No worries for me: I wake up in a quiet secluded Paradise “In the Slow Lane”, which is why we came to Maine in the first place.
Ha! Apologies for being so predictable, or not. 😉 Well, you sure sounded like you were lamenting paradise lost to me.
Bummer that you can not find enjoyment in Bar Harbor any longer. No quiet side for me though, even living right smack dab on one of the busiest roads I find enjoyment each and every day.
People asked for a thriving, sustainable year round community- too greedy though, eh? Ah well, I am grateful they got it and glad you have got yourself an alternative location. All good then 😊
We don’t have a thriving year round community. Entire neighborhoods go dark because they’re comprised of AirBnBs and not residents. Downtown is full of closed up shops. This is the inevitable result of catering only to tourists and displacing residents to make room for more transient people.
You know what’s cool? We have pretty much opposite opinions, we’re both happy, and we’re willing to accept each other for what we are and not try to change the other.
BH isn’t a total write-off; we just don’t go there as often.
We’re told cruise ship passengers are only a small percentage of the tourists and not contributing to over crowding, but all these people are now crying that the town of a empty and they’re not making any money
Which is it?
By the way, my child works a service job in Bar Harbor and he’s making plenty of money
Thank you again, Bar Harbor Story for a comprehensive account of the Council meeting and the public comments. Done, I might add, without name calling or accusations of corruption.
Your coverage and the comments here are very important to me because I live in BH and have done so for decades but am now too old to attend evening meetings. It is a complex issue. Local people on every side have a legitimate interest and need to be heard and respected. Thank you Bar Harbor Story for calmly allowing all voices to be heard
We need to govern ourselves and not be governed by a handful of well-compensated lawyers meeting at trial in a Bangor courtroom or on appeal in a Boston or DC court room Some of these lawyers do not live or work in our town and may even have never visited. Like other municipalities of its size BH has a town council, a town meeting, and local elections that are our instruments of self governance. Let us use them.
Even those who proudly say that they were born here live here because we or our forebears found that it is a great place to live and made the choice to live here. What we all want is to keep on living in this wonderful town and ensure that our progeny may continue to live in this lovely place. We all have friends and relatives that live elsewhere on MDI, in Maine, across the country, and around the world who want to visit us and share our good fortune even if it is only for a short time.
For me one of the things that makes BH a great place to live is the opportunity to meet and converse with visitors from other places, especially when they say, as the overwhelming majority do, that, in addition to its blessings of nature, BH and MDI, are home to such nice friendly people. In my time in this town I have worked or volunteered in visitor facing situations and have consistently heard this from visitors.
Let the town council do its work and let us judge them at the ballot when we see the results. Please do not allow a small group of wealthy lawyers decide our fate. Above all let us be respectful to each other and to our visitors no matter how they got here.
We have been visiting Bar Harbor and Acadia since 1977. We have seen the town degrade from a fun, eclectic village of artists, unique shops and broad range of restaurants into an overcrowded, over-priced banal mini-metropolis. The downhill slide started with bus tours, then cruise ships, then to top it off, overdevelopment. Greed became paramount to integrity. Once it became evident that the infrastructure could not support the influx it was too late.
We will still make a brief stop in BH once or twice to enjoy Rosalie’s Pizza, but other than that we avoid town.
BH doesn’t need people like us anymore; that’s ok. We’ve plenty of precious memories, and plenty of new places to explore.
Ahhh, the not the same as I remember lament. This lament wearies me so. Change is inevitable and Bar Harbor is not exempt. Alas, Bar Harbor has always been a tourist destination and the tourist visitors have been growing steadily ever since folks arrived by train and ship. It is no longer the same town it was when I arrived and it will not be the same town when I have departed. But! Year round residents also no longer have to move away to find sustainable work as so many did when I first arrived.
Also, am I detecting wee touch of classism here…. seems folks arriving in their individual autos are acceptable, but woe to those who choose to travel by bus or ship. Perhaps what is really needed is a limit on the daily automobile passengers driving across the bridge?
Ah well, fortunately I am still able to find joy and peaceful places, as well as an eclectic mix of unique shops, interesting food being served, a wondrous variety of folks living, working or visiting the island and a thriving art community on MDI. So, all is not lost.
Change is inevitable but Bar Harbor’s has been for the worse
I fully well expected a comment like this. My comment wasn’t a “lament”, it was an observation. Yes, change is inevitable, but it is not always for the good.
I’d have no problem with a restriction on the number of people crossing the Trenton bridge - or the Piscataqua River bridge, for that matter.
I’m very happy that you can find peace and solace on MDI. The “quiet side” still has a lot to offer. As for BH and Acadia, it is what it is. People have gotten what they asked for, and it appears that some regret it.
No worries for me: I wake up in a quiet secluded Paradise “In the Slow Lane”, which is why we came to Maine in the first place.
Hey Tex!
Ha! Apologies for being so predictable, or not. 😉 Well, you sure sounded like you were lamenting paradise lost to me.
Bummer that you can not find enjoyment in Bar Harbor any longer. No quiet side for me though, even living right smack dab on one of the busiest roads I find enjoyment each and every day.
People asked for a thriving, sustainable year round community- too greedy though, eh? Ah well, I am grateful they got it and glad you have got yourself an alternative location. All good then 😊
We don’t have a thriving year round community. Entire neighborhoods go dark because they’re comprised of AirBnBs and not residents. Downtown is full of closed up shops. This is the inevitable result of catering only to tourists and displacing residents to make room for more transient people.
You know what’s cool? We have pretty much opposite opinions, we’re both happy, and we’re willing to accept each other for what we are and not try to change the other.
BH isn’t a total write-off; we just don’t go there as often.
I’m sick of being gaslit
We’re told cruise ship passengers are only a small percentage of the tourists and not contributing to over crowding, but all these people are now crying that the town of a empty and they’re not making any money
Which is it?
By the way, my child works a service job in Bar Harbor and he’s making plenty of money
Most of them are.
Thank you again, Bar Harbor Story for a comprehensive account of the Council meeting and the public comments. Done, I might add, without name calling or accusations of corruption.
Your coverage and the comments here are very important to me because I live in BH and have done so for decades but am now too old to attend evening meetings. It is a complex issue. Local people on every side have a legitimate interest and need to be heard and respected. Thank you Bar Harbor Story for calmly allowing all voices to be heard
We need to govern ourselves and not be governed by a handful of well-compensated lawyers meeting at trial in a Bangor courtroom or on appeal in a Boston or DC court room Some of these lawyers do not live or work in our town and may even have never visited. Like other municipalities of its size BH has a town council, a town meeting, and local elections that are our instruments of self governance. Let us use them.
Even those who proudly say that they were born here live here because we or our forebears found that it is a great place to live and made the choice to live here. What we all want is to keep on living in this wonderful town and ensure that our progeny may continue to live in this lovely place. We all have friends and relatives that live elsewhere on MDI, in Maine, across the country, and around the world who want to visit us and share our good fortune even if it is only for a short time.
For me one of the things that makes BH a great place to live is the opportunity to meet and converse with visitors from other places, especially when they say, as the overwhelming majority do, that, in addition to its blessings of nature, BH and MDI, are home to such nice friendly people. In my time in this town I have worked or volunteered in visitor facing situations and have consistently heard this from visitors.
Let the town council do its work and let us judge them at the ballot when we see the results. Please do not allow a small group of wealthy lawyers decide our fate. Above all let us be respectful to each other and to our visitors no matter how they got here.