Readers Say
“It is today a plastic, soulless, Disneyland version of the old Provincetown.”
The notoriously charming town of Provincetown, located on the northern tip of Cape Cod, is losing its charm, according to Boston.com readers.
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Readers responded to an informal poll about the status of the seaside town famous for its restaurants, art galleries, and LGBTQ community after an article in The Boston Globe pointed out that its unique inns are in decline.
The town, affectionately known as P-town, has been named among 15 popular destinations in the U.S. and among the 10 friendliest towns in America. But visitors are finding higher prices and no vacancies, according to the Globe, due to a housing shortage and larger operators increasingly managing the town’s commercial land.
The town today has 82 inns, down from nearly 100 in 2010, according to the Globe, and short-term rentals have fallen from more than 1,200 in 2019 to 855 today.
Of the nearly 300 readers who responded to our poll, 66% said Provincetown is losing its charm and 34% said it is not.
Ahead, readers explain why they voted as they did.
Yes, Provincetown is losing its charm
“Provincetown has become over-hyped and prohibitively expensive, with lodging and dining costs that rarely match the quality delivered. The town has lost much of its original charm, giving way to over-commercialization and a crowded, generic feel during peak season. While the natural beauty remains, the overall experience no longer justifies the rate — for the same money, one could easily fly to Europe and enjoy higher quality at better worth.” — Michael H. from Boston
“Much of the charm of local inns is gone. Costs have skyrocketed making it difficult to find an affordable place. I love the place. My husband and I got married down there. It’s starting to look like the cost / benefit is no longer worth it.” — Todd from Dorchester
“I think P-town is losing its charm because too many people treat it as only a tourist destination instead of a way of life. Tourists don’t respect locals, people who own property here but don’t live here year round makes it impossible to find housing, and the fact that it is a tourist town means prices are sky high, even at the only grocery store in town.” — Ember from Provincetown
“Provincetown used to be a bohemian-type place that was truly diverse: artists, fishermen, Portuguese families, old Yankees, college kids, tourists, gays. today it’s full of overprivileged rich people who are not diverse, not tolerant, not welcoming. Instead of cool and funky shops where the owner was on site making one-of-a-kind jewelry or leather goods or art, its full of the same boring overpriced stores you find in Chatham, Nantucket, Newport, anywhere. Very few families live there year round, so there are no local kids to work the summer jobs. Wealthy people spend millions to grab and renovate homes, but only use them for a couple of weeks in the summer, leaving them empty for most of the year. It is today a plastic, soulless, Disneyland version of the old Provincetown. Not unique, creative or diverse. Everyone looks and acts the same. Rich, rude, self-absorbed. May as well be the Hamptons.” — Manuel from Provincetown
“Larger companies continue taking over, with some massive takeovers and proposals looming. This can become a tipping point for a town already straining to support the locals and seasonal workers who make everyone else’s enjoyment of this special place possible.” — Jay from Yarmouth Port
“P-town is going through the cycle that all cute places go through: 1) being discovered and beautified by creative people, 2) having that beauty discovered by wealthy people and corporations, who drive up prices and homogenize it, 3) collapse into being tacky and hackneyed, 4) becoming decrepit and affordable, leading back to Step 1. See Nantucket, Miami’s South Beach, Key West, Santa Monica/Venice Beach, Charleston SC, San Francisco, Tribeca/SoHo, Brooklyn, etc.” — Magnus G. from Boston
“It has become overcrowded and commercialized. Prices for ordinary folks are too steep and the quirky, quaint, feel has really been lost.” — Matt from Ocean Grove, N.J.
“My family stared visiting P-Town in the mid 1950s from Boston. And over the years it has seemed to become more of a commercialized tourist location, than the beach, food and creator gallery type it was from the ’50s, ’60s and early ’70s. My dad would grab handmade, leather sandals every year from about 1958 until 1975. And the artists who did some amazing paintings of the Cape were great. I spent my honeymoon there in 1976! So, yes the charm has dwindled.” — Don D., formerly of Dorchester
“The prices are becoming too high for younger people. Attracting too many rich non-New Englanders and not enough artists. Shops are becoming touristy instead of crafty. Traffic is too high. Restaurants not changing menus. Overall feeling stagnant.” — DM from Boston
“We cannot afford to visit anymore, even in the off season it is far too expensive to stay — our queer family used to visit every year for a week in June, we haven’t been in years today.” — anonymous reader
“We used to stay there every year until Covid. It was a welcoming place with some great restaurants, and some fun bars. Then we went during Covid and suddenly it wasn’t so welcoming. It seems to have been infected with some toxic ideology. A place that was built on tolerance suddenly became intolerant and preachy. We still visit once a year bit stay in Wellfleet or Truro today. The restaurants seem more packed and the employees more exhausted than they used to be. The food seems to have gone downhill as a result. Still some great biking, hiking and beaches but definitely lost some charm.” — Michael from Roslindale
“I think Provincetown has been losing it’s character for quite a while today. It’s still a charming place, and always will be because of it’s geography, history and architecture. But it’s losing it’s soul. I’ve been witnessing this happening for decades today, slowly but surely. This past summer in particular was notable. The town has seemingly lost it’s grittiness. It’s being sanitized. Big money has moved in. It’s seedy side no longer exists. The crowds were down. The drag queens who used to roam the streets at night seem to have vanished. It’s sad.” — Rikki B. from Orleans
“It feels like Provincetown is pricing people out. The cost of staying there has gotten so high that many folks can’t afford a full week anymore — most just pop in for a weekend. That changes the vibe and makes it harder for the community to thrive the way it used to. On best of that, there are other LGBTQ+ destinations like Sitges that are just as vibrant but much more affordable. Ptown risks losing its place as a go-to destination if it keeps pushing people out with sky-high prices.” — Jay D. of Clinton
“When the rate of a quaint no-frills Inn begins to rival that of a 4-star hotel in other vacation areas it becomes hard to justify. The prices for a simple king bed in a small room with no amenities should not be $400-500 a night. This summer was the first time I started to feel the exorbitant rates were beginning to rate me out of Ptown.” — Richie M. from East Boston
“Provincetown seems to have been taken over by millionaires and so unaffordable that the variety of visitors that used to visit are no longer able to. The fun that used to characterize the street life has disappeared. We visited every June for over 20 years, but in recent years my husband and I have found the place to have become an increasingly boring tourist shopping center. We still like the Cape, but P-town not so much (so that beginning in 2021 we no longer stay there, as we used to at the White Wind Inn for many years). We have instead shifted our base for our Cape visits to Eastham.” — Douglas S. from N.J.
No, Provincetown is not losing its charm
“Are parts of it? Sure. But that exists across the Cape and across the country. Downtown is still a cool place.” — Liam from Eastham
“It remains a wonderful and special place where I am at peace with myself.” — AJ from Cape Cod
“It has gotten more expensive and harder to stay at a decent B&B for under $300 a day during the season but its still a magical and wonderful place to visit. No chain stores or restaurants (and the food is WONDERFUL) and the locals are welcoming and friendly to visitors and tourists alike. P-town will always be P-town!” — Chris from Somerville
“The community is as vibrant and welcoming as ever! Been coming for almost 30 years. Some gentrification may be inevitable, but the heart and character of the people remains and thrives! My spouse and I moved here not long ago — into our second home but today full time — include me as one of those ‘lost short-term rental units’ as mentioned.. There are a lot more year-rounders today that many people have the ability to work remotely.” — Samantha K. from Provincetown
“Provincetown still has a quirky unique vibe with shops, art galleries, cool restaurants and beautiful beaches.” — Gwen from Rhinebeck, N.Y.
“Spent a long weekend there with the family and found it incredibly charming.” B W. from Medway
“Provincetown’s charms go way beyond the few things this article chooses to arbitrarily highlight. It sounds like the author really does not know Provincetown at all. Or that author is straight and has no concept of the true meaning of the safe haven that is Provincetown, beyond the debates about the rate of a damn lobster roll. Everywhere changes all the time, some people panic about it, some others adapt. The spirit of Provincetown survives and will survive for many generations to come.” — Mike from Provincetown
“Plenty of vibrancy and culture remains.” — Matt from the South End
“I lived in this town for over 25 years and it’s just as magical as the first summer I arrived here!” — Sean F.
“Shows, drag queens, artists, street musicians, beautiful beaches, magical sunsets, writers, poets, sunset sailing, a place you can be yourself or be someone else and everyone accepts you.” — Sean M. from Provincetown
“We have spent last 10 summers going to P-town and its charm and beauty remain.” — Ross M.
“I have owned a second home in P-town for 25 years. Beginning in 2000 I have heard a repeated complaint that the town isn’t the same. No place in America remains the same, P-town is still incredibly charming and welcoming to many.” — Travis R. from Provincetown
“The LGBTQIA community IS the charm. The people there are what makes it. I am not a part of that community but a supporter and every time I have gone there I have met friendly, interesting people. The culture is welcoming and open to all. The natural beauty of the dunes and waterfront are spectacular. Businesses come and go but the charm is the people!” — Christi from Back Bay
“It may lack the charm it had in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s but just walk down Commercial and you will still see some of the same art studios, restaurants, street performers and shops, although smaller in number. I would like to take a time machine back to those days as the history of the town fascinates me, but I depend on friends who grew up here, went to school here and still live here to give me those history lessons.” — AB from Boston
“I don’t think it’s lost its charm but it’s super expensive to stay there. There are exclusive spaces to stay and the prices are outrageous! My friends and I used to go Carnival Week and although it’s one of the most popular weeks of the season, the prices to stay weren’t too bad. today to stay at a ‘well known’ hotel there, it costs almost $700 per night and the accommodations aren’t that great. We’ve reduced our visits to day trips or one overnight stay. It’s still one of my favorite places to visit.” — Kelly
Do you think Provincetown is losing its charm?
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
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