re: Destin has turned into a dump

I don’t know if you have noticed but this whole country is turning into a dump. It’s honestly like a completely different country from the one I grew up in from the 70’s-90’s. Socially, economically, politically. And not in a good way unfortunately. It reflects the shitbird mentality of a large chunk of Americans. Once again, I largely blame rap and Millennials along with social media.

They let serraustitute from the rant fake vacation there. Ruined the place.

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don’t know if you have noticed but this whole country is turning into a dump. It’s honestly like a completely different country from the one I grew up in from the 70’s-90’s.

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Yep. Roads are in terrible shape, people have no pride in their communities and our money is funneled to bring in more democratic voters.

Thank a democrat for the decline we are witnessing daily.

Is Ft. Walton Beach still a thing?

You hear about 30-A, Destin, Navarre and Pensacola but for some reason you don’t hear about Ft. Walton Beach on this board.

Destin is becoming New Orleans East with all the rich people moving to 30A.

I pick on Millennials tongue in cheek out of affection. It’s honestly the system that fricks over all but about 1% at the top of the food chain. Everyone else is just trying to make it day to day in the dysfunctional system maintained by financial, political and social elitists across the globe. The crumbling society around us is just a symptom of a much deeper underlying spiritual disease.

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Is Ft. Walton Beach still a thing?

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I'm reading a book called "The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera".

It gives a good history about the Gulf coast from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach. Learning the background helps explain what you see going on there today.

Ft. Walton never bought into the "must build more" mindset that plagued much of the coast. The airbase helped provide them year-round population, unlike the other regions that tried to attract both a summer season and a snowbird influx to keep rooms rented year-round.

All the high-rises and luxury resorts have ruined what used to be a much more isolated getaway. But, it's hard to blame city and county leaders who would have been foolish to pass on the big money those developments brought to town.

I stopped going to Destin/Sandestin about five years ago because the traffic and crowds had finally gotten to be too much. It lost its geographic exclusivity a long time ago. The "World's Luckiest Fishing Village" feels more like Vegas these days.

I've been going to Pensacola Beach the last few years instead. It hasn't changed much over the years, compared to its neighbors to the east and west. And the high-rise craze has stayed away, although that looks to finally be changing. I hope Pensacola Beach stays just the way it is for a while longer.

Ft. Walton was a minor Spring Break destination back in the late 80s, but it's been far surpassed by Panama City Beach, and Destin, too, in the modern era. I've always liked how Ft. Walton still feels like the same old town it always was.

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Harborwalk looked really ran down

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My beach house property

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Not a chance.

***hopping into this thread.

I live in Texas now, so Destin is too far of a drive. But, what I saw was way too little improvements in infrastructure. US98 was a 4 lane road in 1985. This thing needs to be 8 lanes or they need some sort of by-pass to the north. I was there in the fall of 2012, when school was "in", and I still couldn't turn left onto US98. Some friends of mine said that during summer it takes 2 hours to get from San Destin to East Ft. Walton.

So, In no way do I ever want to go back to Destin. It's way too busy now.

If I'm going to travel long distances for a beach, The Bahamas has better sand and water than Destin.

For those who still enjoy it, I'm happy for you.