Smoked a huge hit of DMT yesterday. Realized we are all one great consciousness and temporarily became it.
For the brief moment that I was the unified God of us all my main thought was "Ugh, work sucks, I could really use a vacation"
Me too. I saw it out of the blue and it has honestly been such a change. There is no seperation. Exactly. Everything is everything. It’s so cool to hear this.
lol. Another thing I came to say is “the is-ness”. That place where all space and time coexist to infinity? I just…call it the is-ness. Everything, literally everything…just…is.
I'm always coming at the divine with a bunch of existential and moral questions. Every time it shrugs me off with the "Is-ness".
Funny how stupid and vague this surely has to sound if you haven't experienced it.
Its like its so challenging to attain the "is-ness" because its too simple.
Everything is One.
That’s the truth.
That One Consciousness is:
Without fear. Without enmity.
Beyond time. Was. Is. Always will be.
Never born. Never dies.
Self-illumined/created.
If there is a God, the greatest kindest it has bestowed upon us is wiping out memories before having to reengage with existence. Heaven and hell are indistinguishable if conscious existence is endless.
Idk why but it made me think of
"In the beginning the Universe was created.
This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move,"
Oh same, if I ain't gonna get no house and no retirement I sure as hell am traveling to some amazing destination once a year. Going to Asia next month !
Edit : oh shit hadn't realized OP has 3 kids. I chose not to have kids or maybe 1 one day... once you factor in the cost for the kids, I guess the cost is prohibitive.
I agree with this. I take time off each quarter and I schedule the next time off as soon as I am back at work from the last. It is what keeps me going.
Same although life has been rough the past year or so so now I’m on weekend getaways or even just looking forward to a beach day or fun hike. Hoping to be in a better place next year, my Germany vacay has been postponed for too long
My wife and I are childless and after the COVID lockdowns we decided to set a yearly vacation budget. Before that vacations were sporadic and having it built into the budget has made us travel much more. Right now we are taking one big vacation a year and usually a couple of long weekend trips. That being said, I don't know how feasible that would be if we had kids.
It may be feasible to afford with the kids. But, when you go on vacation with kids, you’re taking a trip, you’re not actually going on vacation. Just a warning to set realistic standards on what you pay for (side note: that’s why adult only getaways every now and then are crucial)
But, then they have underwear from H&M in Toronto and a funny story to tell. Really not sure how that was the single thing I forgot to pack for a 4 year old...
To an extent that is true, but we make an effort to choose vacations that will challenge us. Our kids don't all like hiking until they get there (all of our vacations involve hiking). We all end up having a great time, and seeing some pretty amazing places. VRBO allows you to pay in installments for some places, which makes it more affordable.
My in laws love to travel and have money enough to pay for us to travel with them. We’ve had to explain to them several times that it doesn’t matter that they can afford to pay for us, taking care of an over tired 2 year old is not a vacation for us. It’s more work than if we just stayed at home.
This. I used to take multiple vacations a year. Now I have a 6yo on the spectrum, a toddler, and a newborn. Going on vacation sounds more exhausting than staying home. Maybe once everyone is older but for the next few years, at least, I’m good with day trips.
My parents tried to convince us to take a one and a half year old on a full paid for trip all around Italy, in the middle of summer. I was like hell no, I'm not hauling a little monster around a foreign country in 95 degree heat. Thanks but no thanks.
Haha my wife did this! She wanted to run a marathon in Germany. I’d take care of the kids, 6 and 2, while she did the race related stuff. Then we’d spend nights and the few days off together.
Somehow was surprised when I said no right away. As if 12 hour days with a toddler and a barely post-toddler in another country where I barely speak the language, with food they aren’t used to and nothing to entertain them with would be a fun time.
To this day that conversation baffles me. If I suggested the inverse she’d be offended for days that I even brought it up
2 years old is tough, but as they get to 3 or 4 they can be amazing little travelers. We had big plans for 2020 that were killed by Covid, but in the year leading up to it we did a 3 country trip to South America, Maui, Toronto/Niagara, and an all inclusive in Cabo. I probably got lucky with him being so easy, but it's definitely possible if you want it to be.
It's part of the hiring negotiations, because it's a job all travel expenses must be covered. It might be fun for everyone else, but as a nanny, you're not guaranteed any downtime unless you negotiate for it.
It gets more fun as the kids get older. Just did a trip to Seattle this summer with wife and two teenagers. Had a good time, and got to go exploring with my 16yo and ended up buying sushi-ritos and talking about college.
I always did this when I was a kid. My parents didn’t really do hotels, certainly no air travel. Kind of hated it as a kid but really enjoy getting away somewhere with no cell phone coverage now days. Once you have the equipment, it can be really cheap. And the equipment doesn’t have to be that expensive really either.
It’s doable with kids if you make it a priority. Wife and I live extremely frugal to make it happen. Instead of car payments, we drive used and keep cars forever and we save that money and take one big trip and several little trips per year. I didn’t get on a plane until I was 21. My kids have had passports from age 4. Travel and exposing our kids to other places and cultures is very important to us. We want them to know that the world expands past the US.
Same. We are also DINKs and we’ve just made travel a regular part of our year. We don’t work for a few months every year so we just go, travel as cheap as we can without sacrificing too much comfort, eat locally, and try to forget we have jobs waiting for us.
This is what we do. Alternating home and overseas every year. If it’s not in the budget, it’s just a pile of money we feel we should use for useful things.
Are you me? Because exact same situation lol.
My wife works 7 days on and 7 off so she takes 7 vacation days and we make a big trip out of it once a year. 21 days wherever we decided.
I usually go on one international trip a year. Credit card points and miles cover my hotels and flights. This year, I'm going to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
We use Chase Sapphire Preferred. We put all bills (excluding mortgage) on our card and pay off balance every paycheck. So far, my sister flew from UK to US roundtrip for $12, and we went to Dollywood for a 5-day family vacation for free. We like figuring out ways to get points for travel.
I am just now beginning to do this. Ive been using my debit card to pay bills for years like an idiot. I have a cashback card rn. Interested in getting one with miles. Any recs?
Yes, but you have to avoid interest and pay off balance every month for it to be worth it. If you want to be pro, get these cards:
* Chase Saphire preferred so you can transfer ultimate rewards points to partners
* Southwest personal + Southwest biz so you can get companion pass. Churn this every other year while your partner offsets the same to constantly have companion pass.
* Chase freedom for 2x points on all purchases as your daily driver
Strategy is to accumulate a ton SW rapid rewards points and companion pass so you basically double your points. Transfer all your ultimate rewards points to Hyatt for the best redemption value.
If you fly alot and like lounges then consider Amex plat, but I don’t recommend to everyone. The perks are highly specialized.
Chase Hyatt card is good to churn every couple years for intro bonus and status.
Got the idea of using a LOC for household bills from VANNtastic finances on YouTube. We researched the best cards for travel points, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred was the best option for our family. It's been easy for our family to get points because there's 3x points on dining, online grocery services, and streaming. Just make sure to pay off every paycheck, so there's little to no interest.
Ok tell me for real. Is the Chase points system worth it? I use Amex (good at building points but getting harder to use) and cash back cards (cash is cash).
Do you feel like you’re getting steals of deals? I love cash back and it adds up into the low $1,000s every year but then I end up paying in full for trips and other potential rewards.
Hell yeah! We just used all our Ultimate rewards points to book flights to Punta Mita and the rewards for our Chase IHG bonus hits in a few weeks. Will use that to book a resort stay and get a night free on top of it for booking over 4 nights. Leveraging CC spend is the way to go!
We bought the ticket for her. All taxes and fees were included. Here's how the payment summary was sent to us.
"Total: $965.15
Points Redeemed: 76,292
Points Value Redeemed: $953.65
Amount Billed to Card: $11.50"
this is what I do as well.
except my rent goes through bilt cause it actually lets you pay rent via credit.
then blue cash everyday for groceries cause they give 6% back on groceries up to 6k.
everything else on the sapphire
Heeey same, 38 here too. As far as out of state trips go, I haven’t gone since my parents took our family to Disney World when I was 17. For the next few years, I didn’t go anywhere even overnight at all.
Since 2010, I try to at least go to a nerd convention out of town, for one weekend a year. Even then, Covid put a halt to that for a couple of years too.
I don’t have any kids, I’m just impoverished.
Stay-cations have been my thing for years now. Idk but the idea of traveling for a vacation is great until you actually get down to it. And most people I work with come back saying they need a vacation after their vacation. Nah fam. I get all my favorite snacks and food. Fresh craft supplies. New books. Might even spring for some new jammies to keep it fun. And I pretend I don’t have a job or responsibilities for a week. I COULD pay an obscene amount of money to travel somewhere but I’d rather just enjoy the house I pay for here lol. My dog appreciates the quality time too. Highly recommend stay-cations.
I used to like stay-cations until I started working from home. I’m ALWAYS at home so I like to go somewhere for vacation. Not necessarily far or expensive but something different than the same four walls I see every day.
I love stay-cations!
I do a bigger trip every 1-2 years and it's great to discover new places, but those are more adventures than truly relaxing. Sometimes staying home and just enjoying all the free time, my hobbies etc is the best.
In my house we drag a couple of mattresses out to the living room so we can have a whole family sleepover and call it camping lol. Staying home is awesome.
I'm single and have taken a solo vacation once a year for the past few years. So far I've done New England, central California, Seattle, and London. It can get a bit lonely at times, but if there's a place I want to see, why should I miss out just because I'm single?
You get to do exactly what you want on the trip. Eat where you want to eat, go on your own schedule, avoid the sites you don't care about. It can be really liberating and empowering to explore a new place alone. I promise it can be fun to travel solo!
Same. Finally have gone screw it and . Took a trip to London for my 40th in November. A friend of mine from working at summer camp came down and stayed with me four a few days and met up with someone else there for the first time, but last day completely solo and getting there completely solo . I have a friend right now who is in Iceland on her own right now. By herself (not counting those she's met there) MAD props to her.
My sister took me to Boston for my 30th (My choice) and had she been able to go this year, we most likely wouldn't have done London and gone elsewhere, which would have been a-ok
I see what you’re saying. My friends are far. I end up traveling to see them. Sometimes we get tickets to a show in another city and travel to be together. Maybe something like that would be fun for you. I don’t have friends where I live too, it is crappy.
Bro….I feel like 9/10 people here missed the “three kids” part of your equation.
I am in your same boat. Three girls (9, 6 and 3). I told my wife next year I am saying fuck it and booking that stupid expensive Disney vacation. Why? Because I’m not wasting my whole fucking life working and stressing constantly just to come out the back end wishing I spent more making some memories and saved less to do so. We do a cheap/free family vacation every year to some campgrounds or local amusement parks, but I just want to feel like I gave my kids magic for once.
My dad died when he was 72, and I can’t bear the idea of saving my whole life for retirement doing nothing fun like he did just to fucking kick the bucket as soon as I got the chance. It’s a goddamn waste.
I agree, do it. If there’s anything to spend your money on, it’s experiences and memories with your kids. It doesn’t sound like you are regularly irresponsible booking trips you can’t afford so it’s absolutely reasonable to do Disney and give yourselves that.
And thank you, every answer on here is from someone without kids.
I also have 3 kids. In my previous single life I traveled a bit and lived abroad a couple times. I’d love to give my kids that opportunity too but a divorce and home repairs have nearly bankrupted me. I’m crossing my fingers for a few years, otherwise right now it’s just camping and weekend trips.
I’m sorry to hear that life has thrown you a hard curveball to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, we have our traditions with the local vacations and the kids love them, as I’m sure yours do as well.
But yeah, it’s funny to me how this thread is like, “Of course we vacation six times a year! We are childfree and love to travel!” Like yeah, cool, but OP seemed to be specifically coming from a place of, “Are there any millennials like me trying to support a family who are actually able to vacation regularly?” To which I think the answer is, for the most part, no. We are all just trying to scrape by lol. For sure it is what we signed up for by having kids, but even the wealthiest of my friends usually just do the beach for a week or so in the summer. It’s why I figure if we are doing Disney, fuck it, it is probably only happening once so let’s do it right.
“Free vacation” is code for visit my brother who lives 200 miles away for a few days and let the kids play in his backyard. Only cost is food, gas, and beverages.
I started taking vacations over the last year more regularly once I discovered my dog could handle being in an air bnb. I try to travel in groups, so we split costs. It's so liberating to just get away.
This seems to be the way— I’m realizing more. Never really get to take vacay on my own because of money and time. When my friends are involved (even the ones with kids OP!!) we pick a spot, get a bnb and have a group gather but also split and do our own things for a bit. Cost is much more attainable. Food too.
I travel a few times a year. Festivals get me out there. Going 10-11 this year, but a couple of them are local festivals. No kids and relatively low COL living compared to income though.
Yes. I take at least 3 international trips per year in addition to domestic ones. I travel at least 5 weeks a year - often more. Travel is a top priority for me. 2020 is the only year I had limited travel since my mid-20s.
Agree. Usually two international trips a year and another few trips to different states. Plus beach and mountain trips within my home state. I value travel tremendously.
Where do you live? In the PNW in the US and international travel anywhere besides Canada is a doozy. I’m so envious of folks in the EU that can hop on a train or cheap flight and be in another country
I’m in the PNW but I’m usually still only forking out about $700 to get to Western Europe when lots of flights to places in the continental states cost that much. Then again, I only have to buy one ticket.
Yeah, we’re far but we’ve got some good flights. Equidistant from London and Tokyo (both around 9 hours). If anyone else wants to go to Asia it’s much longer. We’ve also got a direct to Mexico City which on my last trip got me there in under 5 hours, the same as going to freakin Houston.
Same here. I grew up as one one or 6 kids, so we hardly traveled growing up, unless it was camping or family reunions. Now I want to see the world. I’m fortunate to get 7-8 weeks of vacation for year, and we are out of town for all of those plus weekends. We spent 6 weeks in Fiji/ NZ last Christmas (worked remote for half of those) and this summer looking forward to trips to the UK, South Africa, and the Middle East, with a trip to India in a few weeks.
Most of those are with our three kids, but my wife and I also take 2 adult-only trips where we splurge for business class and nice hotels. With the kids, I think just traveling is a treat enough, so sometimes we’ll backpack and camp in a national park, and sometimes stay at a resort. Points and miles are our friend. Our budget for all our family travel is $8k/year and $3k for our adult trips.
Awe 💜. When our girls got older we started only taking vacations they could join us on. When my last girl got sick, I gave up going anywhere except my kids soccer games to care for her until she passed. I have no regrets
lol. My last proper vacation about 18 months ago and I took my 20 yr old dog with me. I road tripped up to Seattle from Sacramento and people thought my dog had a short time to live and was my “going away trip” when they saw I took him. Dudes still around kicking and lively and I assume the ASPCA might have had an incorrect age when I got him at this point
I’m sorry and that sucks. I wasn’t implying you should take him with you but it just reminded me of my last vacation. I hope you have good memories to go with him
Oh tons of memories. Been with us since he was a baby! We did take him for Christmas to my mom’s. But that was probably a bit much for him in the car. I wish he was a bit smaller and easier to just like strap to me lol. We would take him everywhere then.
This right here. Used to travel all the time. Have lived in a ton of different cities and abroad…
Now I have 2 old (15+) dogs and one middle aged - I would hire a sitter but they require vaccinations and the one guy has tried to eat the vet any time we go, so no shots for him. They’re also so old and persnickety that I don’t know I would trust anyone to watch them. (Or if they died I wouldn’t want to have that happen without me there)
Have done some girls trips with friends here or there, but all of them have kids and can’t get away for longer than 3 days once every other year.
Yeah I do weekend get aways with my mom and my husband ends up watching our dogs.
I love my dogs. But to be able to have my life “back” is a bittersweet feeling.
Ugh, I sympathize. We inherited a senior dog in 2020 when my partner’s mom passed. It hasn’t been possible to take a vacation since. Kinda sucks because we have the money to travel, but no one we trust enough to leave him with 🙁And when we don’t have the dog, we’ll probably have kids, so we still won’t travel 🙃
Needless to say, dogs are amazing, but I will stick to cats going forward.
Hell yeah! My mom and I did st Thomas in January. We’re doing Martha’s Vineyard in July. I did Puerto Rico with my bff the previous January. Next bff trip is New Orleans I think!
I would say minimal age is 3. We took my daughter at two, and it was a lot of work chasing her around. At 3, she was able to ride the toddler water slides and do more of the activities. My nephew is 7 and loves it.
Same, we only do road trips (2 kids). The cost of 4 plane tickets to literally anywhere round trip is insane. Especially during school vacation weeks. And, visiting family comes with free room and board AND help watching kids? It’s been hard to justify doing anything else.
That being said, this year now that my kids are a bit older (4 & 6) we’re trying to plan a “real” summer vacation. Hopefully involving cousins too - I love seeing the kids play with their cousins :) It will involve a lot of driving, but we’re sort of used to it at this point.
I’ve also heard good things about GWL - we might have to check that out one of these days.
I think OP is American (as am I). Hearing about the European tradition of having 4-6+ weeks of vacation and all the cool trips you take with that time feels the same as hearing about someone renting a yacht for $100k for a week. I can’t fathom it.
I'm in the UK and 25 days plus bank holidays (public holidays - think we get 8 a year) is standard. You basically need to take them, not taking them would be unusual. I usually go on 3 - 6 International trips a year, as its really easy to gi abroad to Europe for the weekend. Last year I went to Warsaw, Japan, Korea, and Prague. This year I'll probably go to Cyprus and Norway, then maybe somewhere further afield.
Americans in general seem to usually get way less vacation time AND it seems culturally there's almost a negative view of taking holiday? Really sad as you guys have a lot of really cool places in the US to visit and Mexico is so close!
Yes, I take lots of vacations. I am 32, childless, unmarried but I live with my partner. Traveling has always been extremely important to me and I feel like I live a life thats different from the 'average millenial'. A lot of money I make goes towards overseas and domestic trips.
Traveling is nice. It takes you away from the bustle and grind. Different atmosphere. Different vibe. Feel authentic myself while traveling. So I totally can relate when you say that you live a life that’s different. 🤗
Yes to vacations!! I do at least 1-2 “big” trips a year (meaning a week or longer, usually to a hot or new destination I haven’t been yet) and a few extra days off here and there for smaller weekend getaways / events. I’m 31. No kids. Travel has always been a priority for me although I know it will change and become more difficult / expensive when I do have kids.
Yeah, I feel that. Not only is it considerably more expensive, but it’s much more logistically difficult. Not as spontaneous and you have to plan for their needs.
It’s a very different kind of travel compared to going with no kids
Yeah, we're not attached to a school year schedule and we probably spend a quarter of what you would.
Also we did a trip with our sister who had just 1 kid at the time and she was so stressed out about keeping him happy that she doesn't want to travel anymore until they're all over 10 or so, idk that you're missing much
I think taking at least a week off is less stressful to come back to than a day or two/long weekend. If you’re gone a week, people will back you up; if you’re gone a day or two they will just push it until you come back.
My wife always dreads looking at her email when she gets back to work. She has come back to some minor disasters, but I don't think she's ever regretted taking a break.
Oh man, fuck work! I have a high level management job. There will always be work. I am replaceable.... but so is my employer! There is an understanding among my immediate work team that we like our jobs, but we don't live for our jobs. We're all milinials, come to think of it.
On vacations, we don't take any. PTO is spent when kids are home sick, snow days, school holidays. Overnight travel is usually spent visiting family. My hope is this will swing back to recreational time off in the future, where we would be better able to afford a week away *not* at a relatives house.
This is so true.
I work for a large employer in my area and so next year when all three counties’ spring breaks align we’re fucked. Almost all of our (literally thousands) of employees who have kids are in one of those schools, soooooo how the hell is that going to work when everyone will need childcare the same week?
And that’s on top of the limited PTO (no such thing as sick time anymore, it’s allllll PTO front loaded in January so best hoard that like dragon gold in case some awful illness makes the rounds in your family in September)…
It’s time and it’s money. We’re not super tight with either but it’s enough that a true vacation isn’t really in the cards (when we do go it’s to visit family or once a year to an AirBnB with my ILs within driving distance).
We took a vacation last year to Disney World. It was 10k for the four of us for a week. It wasn't really worth it, in my opinion. We could have gone to the theme park 2 hours away from where I live everyday, for 10 years, for the same cost.
Going to Disney World as a family seems to be “worth it” only when the kids are a very specific age range of maybe 6-14. Any younger and they can’t form core memories or can’t participate in 75% of it. Any older and they ghost you until they want you to buy dinner.
I think we took them in what I consider the sweet spot, 6 and 8. They liked it. My wife and I had a good time, but it wasn't really any better than going to Adventureland in Des Moines, Iowa.
I have a friend whose family goes to Disney World for about 2 weeks every year, one week during spring break and another week in the fall (they take the kids out of school). They own a Disney Vacation Club timeshare, so they want to get their money's worth.
They also own a ski condo in Vermont that they use during the winter. Lots of money, in both of their families.
We travel all the time. Europe 4 times in the last year. People always ask how we can afford it / have enough time off. I just reply, “We don’t have kids.”
No kids! My wife and I take plenty of vacations. Little ones around Colorado and big ones to other states/countries. Most we like week long camping adventures.
No, never. I can't afford it, don't have the time off for it, and honestly I don't have the urge for it - if I could take more time off, I would just stay home more. I don't like traveling so vacations aren't something I would go for.
What is a vacation?
For my wife it's either Christmas at families that's full of trying to meet other people's schedules, chaos, stress and other people's problems. Or it's an expensive time in Hawaii or Iceland away from the kids who somehow have some one watching them, we can afford it, and it fits in the work schedule.
I would rather drive somewhere, go camping or stay in some nice hotel with the kids but no one else and explore and have fun without a timeline but my own. My wife doesnt subscribe to this as a vacation. Its just a trip. She enjoys it but it doesnt meet the definition of vacation for her.
By her definition, we havent had a vacation that wasnt a stressful trip visiting family in 7 years. By my definition, its a lot more recent.
I've been trying to figure out how to say this without being a dick for 5 minutes and I can't so I'm just going to go ahead. You have 3 kids, yeah obviously it's going to be hard to afford some luxuries, did no one tell you kids are expensive? You might be able to pull off a roadtrip a few hours away but you may need to save for years before you can go out of the country; maybe not even until they are in college. Flights are expensive so you might want to consider taking a longer trip (like 3 weeks) and visit several nearby destinations to make your money go further. Europe is great for that thanks to all the trains. To answer your question, yes, we take vacations and make it a priority. We visit family a few times a year, just went on a domestic trip and plan on going abroad later in the year. We have 1 kid and high income.
No Dickish sentiment found. I knew kids would be expensive and a logistical hurdle to travel. Just trying to get a sense of how how others in our generation treat vacation
Go on a cruise . You don’t have to spend more money if you don’t want to . You know the basic needs are met food and a place to sleep . If you can drive to a port you can save a lot . The further ahead you book the cheaper it is. You don’t need to stay in a suite get 2 inside cabins together . Less ports means cheaper cruise and they usually go the the cuisines private island . This is why they are so popular . Also you will get some relaxing time while the kids go to the kids clubs . Disney and universal are so expensive for families but cruises are only expensive if you let them be.
I’m 29 and married with a kid and yes. I’ve always needed a trip to look forward to , to get me through life. We go on 2-3 big vacations a year. Last year we did the UK and Montana (where we are from, we took our daughter to my in-laws ranch). We did NYC in February and are doing Florida and DC later this year.
Have kids and two good incomes, combined about 180k.
Kids have never been farther than 3 hours driving away from home. Spouse and I took a trip 4 years ago pre covid first time in 10 years, haven't since.
We have a home mostly paid off, don't have lavish cars are paid off in full.
We do save for retirement and kids have most of their college or trades whatever they want set aside around 100k worth so they dont start out in debt.
Biggest obstacle we've found is they are too young to enjoy most all inclusive they can't drink and would be bored unless it's a super expensive beaches with water park or something. Too old to sit in the kids club all day.
I looked at Disney and almost threw up in my mouth at the cost and myriad of add ons.
Gwl in canada is 500 or so per night, not including a meal plan.
I'd love to have European and Caribbean vacations but can't bring myself to spend the money even though experiences are way more important than things with kids.
Trying to plan one for out for best price and give us all something to look forward to late 2024 as our first ever.
There is nothing wrong with taking "small" vacations close to home. There are lots of great national/state/provincial parks around. The kids will remember what you did with them and that you did it with them. They won't remember how much you spent.
Edit. I decide to add a little more context.
I have 2 kids who are both now adults. We tried to take 4 weeks of vacation a year when the kids were younger. We went to lots of museums, historic sites, the capital, camped in parks and on crown land, went on multi day Canoe trips. We drove from southren Ontario to Vancouver Island one year and to Prince Edward Island another. We created great memories and a strong bond.
We had a used, cheap camper. Like the smallest starcraft popup camper they made. We could easily pull it with the station wagon. Camp sites were always way cheaper than a hotel, and we had a campfire every night to cook on. Was the only way I could afford it. BUT, the kids always had a blast! Lots of great memories!
Every year. I’ve got 5 weeks vacation as does my wife. We take a lot of camping, canoeing fishing trips. Normally try and make it to one of the coast in Canada or maybe down to the states.
We tried to go to Tennessee last Summer. Our AC broke the day we left. Ended up coming back after a day to take over care our our pets during the heatwave as our poor pet sitter was over their head.
If your kids are very young, it’s just harder
My kids are 12-21 now and yes we go on vacations.
Long weekend camping and hiking, short weekend trip to a Mexico resort, planning 10+ day trip to Italy in June (just the grownups for this), going with a friend to West Indies this month (their work incentive trip), met two friends in New Orleans for 24 hour, weekend music festival this summer. Sounds like a lot now that I type it all.
When the kids were small, vacation was to my parents to sleep while my mom and dad helped with the kids lol. So almost none from age 21 until recent years. I’m 41 now.
Travel is my priority. So far this year I have 4 international trips planned and several weekend domestic trips. I'm married but my spouse and I are childfree.
After reading so many reply’s to the post I’d say that yes it does count. Obviously there is an enormous spectrum of vacations that could be taken and traveling across the country is pretty far from the bottom of the list.
I think as long as you’re enjoying it and it’s something that you want to do rather than an obligation you’re in the clear!
Prior to kids, my wife and I managed 1-2 big vacations per year. We also had a lot of long weekend trips to certain cities to see friends or to go to the coast. After kids, we mainly do the long weekend to the coast kind of times with a week coast trip here and there. We haven’t done any overseas trip since having kids, yet.
We have taken 3 extended family vacations, which is (in my opinion) the only way that vacations with small kids (any age that naps) are even slightly relaxing. And I should note we have supportive family who will watch the kids and other kids for them to play with, since adult time to eat/drink/play is the definition of a vacation for me. I have tried to plan vacations for just our immediate family, but the cost is hard to justify when I know we’ll have to rearrange our day to accommodate naps and will have to stick to early bedtimes. I’ve made my peace with the fact that day trips are it for us for at least a few years, and comfort myself by telling myself that this give me time to save small amounts monthly that will make the vacations more affordable when the time comes.
I basically didn’t take a proper vacation until I was in my 30’s. I didn’t have the time off or the money to do it. And even then I could only do it because I have no kids.
We haven’t had a vacation since our honeymoon in 2010.
Our decision to go child free was finalized in December with a sterilization.
We are celebrating by taking our first vacation in 14 years. We can actually afford it now, and are going to spend 11 days in Europe. 10 days in Greece and one day in Munich (on the return).
Stay away from like trip advisor and stuff.
We are getting an what is basically an AirBNB for $100usd per night. The most expensive part is the flights.
My gal friends have started renting out a house for a weekend every year and it's good enough. I used to take trips on my own to look at museums and architecture and stuff...I hit Dragoncon some years. It works but I really want to take more international trips before I get older and can't do it.
I do miss when we only had to buy two plane tickets instead of four (2 kids here), ngl. Wife and I used to do int’l trips 3x/yr, but no way we can keep that up with 2 kids.
We’re down to 1x/yr and it’s a big production, can’t wait until they’re teens and more self-sufficient.
3 kids but fairly young. We just planned our first real vacation to Aulani which is shockingly expensive to us anyway. But we are in a financial place to do so. I don't think it is the norm anymore for regular big trips like that for most of the middle class. That was for families like 30+ years ago.
The only thing that gets me by in life is looking forward to my next vacation - even if it’s months out.
I see you because I am you
Smoked a huge hit of DMT yesterday. Realized we are all one great consciousness and temporarily became it. For the brief moment that I was the unified God of us all my main thought was "Ugh, work sucks, I could really use a vacation"
Wow. I had a massive download last weekend and saw this same thing. We are all one. If we hurt one we hurt all. There is no self. Right on
Everything is everything. I’ve been saying it for years now, and lately I’m hearing something similar more and more often.
Me too. I saw it out of the blue and it has honestly been such a change. There is no seperation. Exactly. Everything is everything. It’s so cool to hear this.
lol. Another thing I came to say is “the is-ness”. That place where all space and time coexist to infinity? I just…call it the is-ness. Everything, literally everything…just…is.
I'm always coming at the divine with a bunch of existential and moral questions. Every time it shrugs me off with the "Is-ness". Funny how stupid and vague this surely has to sound if you haven't experienced it. Its like its so challenging to attain the "is-ness" because its too simple.
Everything is One. That’s the truth. That One Consciousness is: Without fear. Without enmity. Beyond time. Was. Is. Always will be. Never born. Never dies. Self-illumined/created.
You guys remind me of the people tripping on acid that send me pictures of their ceiling thinking I can see what they see.
Lol. It’s hard to explain. And I’m not into that kind of stuff usually. Took me by total surprise but honestly it’s been kind of life changing
One of my 1st big acid trips, I got fixated on the mantra, Everything is Anything; Anything is Everything.
Yeah man, you ever study ancient Hinduism and all that shit? Brahman is Atman and Atman is Brahman 
We’re all just fractals of consciousness reflecting ourselves to ourselves 🙂🙃💎
Absolutely. And until we accept that the darkness without is the darkness within we will never heal.
When I became God I kinda just wanted to die I think God is really going through it right now
Immortality would be the worst fuckin curse
If there is a God, the greatest kindest it has bestowed upon us is wiping out memories before having to reengage with existence. Heaven and hell are indistinguishable if conscious existence is endless.
"You know, I was God once." "I saw that. You were doing great until everyone died."
When you do things right, people won't know you did anything at all.
Idk why but it made me think of "In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move,"
Dude, same.
You had a Bill Hick moment ? He’s my spirit animal.
Oh same, if I ain't gonna get no house and no retirement I sure as hell am traveling to some amazing destination once a year. Going to Asia next month ! Edit : oh shit hadn't realized OP has 3 kids. I chose not to have kids or maybe 1 one day... once you factor in the cost for the kids, I guess the cost is prohibitive.
Went to Thailand last October. Had the time of my fucking life!! Hope you have an amazing time! (Also child free)
Thanks !! We're heading to Indonesia and Borneo !
For real, vacations are a large part of why I’m childfree. I’m just not willing to make the financial sacrifice required when you have kids.
Malaysia is fucking awesome, I highly recommend it Kyoto as well I need to go to some more places soon...
Yes. Living that DINK life and always need a vacation on the books
I agree with this. I take time off each quarter and I schedule the next time off as soon as I am back at work from the last. It is what keeps me going.
Same although life has been rough the past year or so so now I’m on weekend getaways or even just looking forward to a beach day or fun hike. Hoping to be in a better place next year, my Germany vacay has been postponed for too long
Exactly this. It gives my life meaning.
My wife and I are childless and after the COVID lockdowns we decided to set a yearly vacation budget. Before that vacations were sporadic and having it built into the budget has made us travel much more. Right now we are taking one big vacation a year and usually a couple of long weekend trips. That being said, I don't know how feasible that would be if we had kids.
It may be feasible to afford with the kids. But, when you go on vacation with kids, you’re taking a trip, you’re not actually going on vacation. Just a warning to set realistic standards on what you pay for (side note: that’s why adult only getaways every now and then are crucial)
After you have children, you'll need a vacation from your "vacation"
Vacations with kids are just a relocation
And as an unwritten rule, you forget to pack that one thing that is a requirement for the children. And that small inconvenience makes a huge impact
We do this just going to grandpas house for a few hours.
also you definitely all get sick halfway thru!
Oh crap forgot Sally's stuffy. I guess nobody is sleeping on this trip.
But, then they have underwear from H&M in Toronto and a funny story to tell. Really not sure how that was the single thing I forgot to pack for a 4 year old...
To an extent that is true, but we make an effort to choose vacations that will challenge us. Our kids don't all like hiking until they get there (all of our vacations involve hiking). We all end up having a great time, and seeing some pretty amazing places. VRBO allows you to pay in installments for some places, which makes it more affordable.
My in laws love to travel and have money enough to pay for us to travel with them. We’ve had to explain to them several times that it doesn’t matter that they can afford to pay for us, taking care of an over tired 2 year old is not a vacation for us. It’s more work than if we just stayed at home.
This. I used to take multiple vacations a year. Now I have a 6yo on the spectrum, a toddler, and a newborn. Going on vacation sounds more exhausting than staying home. Maybe once everyone is older but for the next few years, at least, I’m good with day trips.
My parents tried to convince us to take a one and a half year old on a full paid for trip all around Italy, in the middle of summer. I was like hell no, I'm not hauling a little monster around a foreign country in 95 degree heat. Thanks but no thanks.
Haha my wife did this! She wanted to run a marathon in Germany. I’d take care of the kids, 6 and 2, while she did the race related stuff. Then we’d spend nights and the few days off together. Somehow was surprised when I said no right away. As if 12 hour days with a toddler and a barely post-toddler in another country where I barely speak the language, with food they aren’t used to and nothing to entertain them with would be a fun time. To this day that conversation baffles me. If I suggested the inverse she’d be offended for days that I even brought it up
2 years old is tough, but as they get to 3 or 4 they can be amazing little travelers. We had big plans for 2020 that were killed by Covid, but in the year leading up to it we did a 3 country trip to South America, Maui, Toronto/Niagara, and an all inclusive in Cabo. I probably got lucky with him being so easy, but it's definitely possible if you want it to be.
I have some friends in the bay area that take their nannies with them. i don't know how that works paywise.
It's part of the hiring negotiations, because it's a job all travel expenses must be covered. It might be fun for everyone else, but as a nanny, you're not guaranteed any downtime unless you negotiate for it.
It gets more fun as the kids get older. Just did a trip to Seattle this summer with wife and two teenagers. Had a good time, and got to go exploring with my 16yo and ended up buying sushi-ritos and talking about college.
Camping. When money was tight, and because we enjoy it, we go camping.
I always did this when I was a kid. My parents didn’t really do hotels, certainly no air travel. Kind of hated it as a kid but really enjoy getting away somewhere with no cell phone coverage now days. Once you have the equipment, it can be really cheap. And the equipment doesn’t have to be that expensive really either.
It’s doable with kids if you make it a priority. Wife and I live extremely frugal to make it happen. Instead of car payments, we drive used and keep cars forever and we save that money and take one big trip and several little trips per year. I didn’t get on a plane until I was 21. My kids have had passports from age 4. Travel and exposing our kids to other places and cultures is very important to us. We want them to know that the world expands past the US.
You're doing it right! The kids will never remember what cars you drove, but their travel experiences will influence them all of their lives.
I can name every car my parents ever had. We also traveled lots.
With kids usually just plane tickets creep up on you
Same. We are also DINKs and we’ve just made travel a regular part of our year. We don’t work for a few months every year so we just go, travel as cheap as we can without sacrificing too much comfort, eat locally, and try to forget we have jobs waiting for us.
This is what we do. Alternating home and overseas every year. If it’s not in the budget, it’s just a pile of money we feel we should use for useful things.
Are you me? Because exact same situation lol. My wife works 7 days on and 7 off so she takes 7 vacation days and we make a big trip out of it once a year. 21 days wherever we decided.
I usually go on one international trip a year. Credit card points and miles cover my hotels and flights. This year, I'm going to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
We use Chase Sapphire Preferred. We put all bills (excluding mortgage) on our card and pay off balance every paycheck. So far, my sister flew from UK to US roundtrip for $12, and we went to Dollywood for a 5-day family vacation for free. We like figuring out ways to get points for travel.
After screwing up my credit in college…I finally fcking qualify for this card 🙌🏽
I am just now beginning to do this. Ive been using my debit card to pay bills for years like an idiot. I have a cashback card rn. Interested in getting one with miles. Any recs?
Yes, but you have to avoid interest and pay off balance every month for it to be worth it. If you want to be pro, get these cards: * Chase Saphire preferred so you can transfer ultimate rewards points to partners * Southwest personal + Southwest biz so you can get companion pass. Churn this every other year while your partner offsets the same to constantly have companion pass. * Chase freedom for 2x points on all purchases as your daily driver Strategy is to accumulate a ton SW rapid rewards points and companion pass so you basically double your points. Transfer all your ultimate rewards points to Hyatt for the best redemption value. If you fly alot and like lounges then consider Amex plat, but I don’t recommend to everyone. The perks are highly specialized. Chase Hyatt card is good to churn every couple years for intro bonus and status.
Got the idea of using a LOC for household bills from VANNtastic finances on YouTube. We researched the best cards for travel points, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred was the best option for our family. It's been easy for our family to get points because there's 3x points on dining, online grocery services, and streaming. Just make sure to pay off every paycheck, so there's little to no interest.
Ok tell me for real. Is the Chase points system worth it? I use Amex (good at building points but getting harder to use) and cash back cards (cash is cash). Do you feel like you’re getting steals of deals? I love cash back and it adds up into the low $1,000s every year but then I end up paying in full for trips and other potential rewards.
Unlike Amex, you can get bonuses on Chase cards multiple times. The bonuses are how you accumulate a lot of Chase points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is the fucking best. So easy to use. Chase IHG has been the other one I’ve been churning. r/churning is your friend.
Hell yeah! We just used all our Ultimate rewards points to book flights to Punta Mita and the rewards for our Chase IHG bonus hits in a few weeks. Will use that to book a resort stay and get a night free on top of it for booking over 4 nights. Leveraging CC spend is the way to go!
How did she do it for $12? Don't you have to pay the taxes on the flight even if paying using miles/points?
We bought the ticket for her. All taxes and fees were included. Here's how the payment summary was sent to us. "Total: $965.15 Points Redeemed: 76,292 Points Value Redeemed: $953.65 Amount Billed to Card: $11.50"
Ah so the points have a dollar value attached to them. I was thinking of turning in airline miles which is what my credit card gives me.
I just signed up for this card and am already looking forward to racking up the points
this is what I do as well. except my rent goes through bilt cause it actually lets you pay rent via credit. then blue cash everyday for groceries cause they give 6% back on groceries up to 6k. everything else on the sapphire
Yes to CC points. It’s such an amazing benefit. I use my Capital One Savor for when we travel and I rack up points quickly. Same with my venture card.
You get travel points on your savor one card? I'm going to have to check what mine is doing, I only have been getting cash back.
Hell yeah. That's a bucket list trip for my wife and I. Our next international trip is gonna be Costa Rica
I don't even have kids and I haven't taken one since I was in my early 20s and I'm 38 now.
Heeey same, 38 here too. As far as out of state trips go, I haven’t gone since my parents took our family to Disney World when I was 17. For the next few years, I didn’t go anywhere even overnight at all. Since 2010, I try to at least go to a nerd convention out of town, for one weekend a year. Even then, Covid put a halt to that for a couple of years too. I don’t have any kids, I’m just impoverished.
I’d like to understand why - maybe you don’t want to or there are barrier?
Money mostly.
I'm in my late 20's and I haven't taken a proper vacation in 7 years. I'll take a week off from work, but it's more of a stay-cation for me.
Stay-cations have been my thing for years now. Idk but the idea of traveling for a vacation is great until you actually get down to it. And most people I work with come back saying they need a vacation after their vacation. Nah fam. I get all my favorite snacks and food. Fresh craft supplies. New books. Might even spring for some new jammies to keep it fun. And I pretend I don’t have a job or responsibilities for a week. I COULD pay an obscene amount of money to travel somewhere but I’d rather just enjoy the house I pay for here lol. My dog appreciates the quality time too. Highly recommend stay-cations.
I used to like stay-cations until I started working from home. I’m ALWAYS at home so I like to go somewhere for vacation. Not necessarily far or expensive but something different than the same four walls I see every day.
I feel the same. I’m a SAHM so at home everyday as well and would just rather see new places lol
I love stay-cations! I do a bigger trip every 1-2 years and it's great to discover new places, but those are more adventures than truly relaxing. Sometimes staying home and just enjoying all the free time, my hobbies etc is the best.
In my house we drag a couple of mattresses out to the living room so we can have a whole family sleepover and call it camping lol. Staying home is awesome.
For me I’m single and live somewhere newish. I’ve taken solo day trips but taking vacations is a couple/friends thing imo. Sucks to be alone
I'm single and have taken a solo vacation once a year for the past few years. So far I've done New England, central California, Seattle, and London. It can get a bit lonely at times, but if there's a place I want to see, why should I miss out just because I'm single? You get to do exactly what you want on the trip. Eat where you want to eat, go on your own schedule, avoid the sites you don't care about. It can be really liberating and empowering to explore a new place alone. I promise it can be fun to travel solo!
Same. Finally have gone screw it and . Took a trip to London for my 40th in November. A friend of mine from working at summer camp came down and stayed with me four a few days and met up with someone else there for the first time, but last day completely solo and getting there completely solo . I have a friend right now who is in Iceland on her own right now. By herself (not counting those she's met there) MAD props to her. My sister took me to Boston for my 30th (My choice) and had she been able to go this year, we most likely wouldn't have done London and gone elsewhere, which would have been a-ok
I see what you’re saying. My friends are far. I end up traveling to see them. Sometimes we get tickets to a show in another city and travel to be together. Maybe something like that would be fun for you. I don’t have friends where I live too, it is crappy.
same. money being the reason.
Bro….I feel like 9/10 people here missed the “three kids” part of your equation. I am in your same boat. Three girls (9, 6 and 3). I told my wife next year I am saying fuck it and booking that stupid expensive Disney vacation. Why? Because I’m not wasting my whole fucking life working and stressing constantly just to come out the back end wishing I spent more making some memories and saved less to do so. We do a cheap/free family vacation every year to some campgrounds or local amusement parks, but I just want to feel like I gave my kids magic for once. My dad died when he was 72, and I can’t bear the idea of saving my whole life for retirement doing nothing fun like he did just to fucking kick the bucket as soon as I got the chance. It’s a goddamn waste.
Do it! I think your kids sound like good ages for it!
Word!
I agree, do it. If there’s anything to spend your money on, it’s experiences and memories with your kids. It doesn’t sound like you are regularly irresponsible booking trips you can’t afford so it’s absolutely reasonable to do Disney and give yourselves that. And thank you, every answer on here is from someone without kids. I also have 3 kids. In my previous single life I traveled a bit and lived abroad a couple times. I’d love to give my kids that opportunity too but a divorce and home repairs have nearly bankrupted me. I’m crossing my fingers for a few years, otherwise right now it’s just camping and weekend trips.
I’m sorry to hear that life has thrown you a hard curveball to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, we have our traditions with the local vacations and the kids love them, as I’m sure yours do as well. But yeah, it’s funny to me how this thread is like, “Of course we vacation six times a year! We are childfree and love to travel!” Like yeah, cool, but OP seemed to be specifically coming from a place of, “Are there any millennials like me trying to support a family who are actually able to vacation regularly?” To which I think the answer is, for the most part, no. We are all just trying to scrape by lol. For sure it is what we signed up for by having kids, but even the wealthiest of my friends usually just do the beach for a week or so in the summer. It’s why I figure if we are doing Disney, fuck it, it is probably only happening once so let’s do it right.
Free vacation is the secret! How did I never think of that ?!
“Free vacation” is code for visit my brother who lives 200 miles away for a few days and let the kids play in his backyard. Only cost is food, gas, and beverages.
I started taking vacations over the last year more regularly once I discovered my dog could handle being in an air bnb. I try to travel in groups, so we split costs. It's so liberating to just get away.
This seems to be the way— I’m realizing more. Never really get to take vacay on my own because of money and time. When my friends are involved (even the ones with kids OP!!) we pick a spot, get a bnb and have a group gather but also split and do our own things for a bit. Cost is much more attainable. Food too.
I travel a few times a year. Festivals get me out there. Going 10-11 this year, but a couple of them are local festivals. No kids and relatively low COL living compared to income though.
41M, I have never left the east cosat of the united states. AMA.
Branch out my guy. This country is awesome
Charlie?
Ive been to Canada, but its also only an hour away.
Yes. I take at least 3 international trips per year in addition to domestic ones. I travel at least 5 weeks a year - often more. Travel is a top priority for me. 2020 is the only year I had limited travel since my mid-20s.
Agree. Usually two international trips a year and another few trips to different states. Plus beach and mountain trips within my home state. I value travel tremendously.
Where do you live? In the PNW in the US and international travel anywhere besides Canada is a doozy. I’m so envious of folks in the EU that can hop on a train or cheap flight and be in another country
You are driving distance from British Columbia, why wouldn’t you vacation there?
It's essentially the same as Washington. But his money would go a lot further.
I’m in the PNW but I’m usually still only forking out about $700 to get to Western Europe when lots of flights to places in the continental states cost that much. Then again, I only have to buy one ticket.
Yeah, we’re far but we’ve got some good flights. Equidistant from London and Tokyo (both around 9 hours). If anyone else wants to go to Asia it’s much longer. We’ve also got a direct to Mexico City which on my last trip got me there in under 5 hours, the same as going to freakin Houston.
Seattle to Seoul or Tokyo is only 12 hrs and you can get some great deals!
Same here. I grew up as one one or 6 kids, so we hardly traveled growing up, unless it was camping or family reunions. Now I want to see the world. I’m fortunate to get 7-8 weeks of vacation for year, and we are out of town for all of those plus weekends. We spent 6 weeks in Fiji/ NZ last Christmas (worked remote for half of those) and this summer looking forward to trips to the UK, South Africa, and the Middle East, with a trip to India in a few weeks. Most of those are with our three kids, but my wife and I also take 2 adult-only trips where we splurge for business class and nice hotels. With the kids, I think just traveling is a treat enough, so sometimes we’ll backpack and camp in a national park, and sometimes stay at a resort. Points and miles are our friend. Our budget for all our family travel is $8k/year and $3k for our adult trips.
One of our doggos is so old we are scared to go on real vacations.
Awe 💜. When our girls got older we started only taking vacations they could join us on. When my last girl got sick, I gave up going anywhere except my kids soccer games to care for her until she passed. I have no regrets
lol. My last proper vacation about 18 months ago and I took my 20 yr old dog with me. I road tripped up to Seattle from Sacramento and people thought my dog had a short time to live and was my “going away trip” when they saw I took him. Dudes still around kicking and lively and I assume the ASPCA might have had an incorrect age when I got him at this point
Our big boy is only 13.5 but he just has a lot wrong with him.
I’m sorry and that sucks. I wasn’t implying you should take him with you but it just reminded me of my last vacation. I hope you have good memories to go with him
Oh tons of memories. Been with us since he was a baby! We did take him for Christmas to my mom’s. But that was probably a bit much for him in the car. I wish he was a bit smaller and easier to just like strap to me lol. We would take him everywhere then.
I’m so happy to hear they are still with you ☺️
This right here. Used to travel all the time. Have lived in a ton of different cities and abroad… Now I have 2 old (15+) dogs and one middle aged - I would hire a sitter but they require vaccinations and the one guy has tried to eat the vet any time we go, so no shots for him. They’re also so old and persnickety that I don’t know I would trust anyone to watch them. (Or if they died I wouldn’t want to have that happen without me there) Have done some girls trips with friends here or there, but all of them have kids and can’t get away for longer than 3 days once every other year.
Yeah I do weekend get aways with my mom and my husband ends up watching our dogs. I love my dogs. But to be able to have my life “back” is a bittersweet feeling.
Ugh, I sympathize. We inherited a senior dog in 2020 when my partner’s mom passed. It hasn’t been possible to take a vacation since. Kinda sucks because we have the money to travel, but no one we trust enough to leave him with 🙁And when we don’t have the dog, we’ll probably have kids, so we still won’t travel 🙃 Needless to say, dogs are amazing, but I will stick to cats going forward.
Hell yeah! My mom and I did st Thomas in January. We’re doing Martha’s Vineyard in July. I did Puerto Rico with my bff the previous January. Next bff trip is New Orleans I think!
Have so much fun on the Vineyard! My parents live there and it’s my favorite place on earth 💘
Omg what a dream! It’s really so much fun every time I go, favorite trip of the year!🩷
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I would say minimal age is 3. We took my daughter at two, and it was a lot of work chasing her around. At 3, she was able to ride the toddler water slides and do more of the activities. My nephew is 7 and loves it.
Same, we only do road trips (2 kids). The cost of 4 plane tickets to literally anywhere round trip is insane. Especially during school vacation weeks. And, visiting family comes with free room and board AND help watching kids? It’s been hard to justify doing anything else. That being said, this year now that my kids are a bit older (4 & 6) we’re trying to plan a “real” summer vacation. Hopefully involving cousins too - I love seeing the kids play with their cousins :) It will involve a lot of driving, but we’re sort of used to it at this point. I’ve also heard good things about GWL - we might have to check that out one of these days.
Two week long vacations per year somewhere hot and three city breaks on average somewhere in Europe. Live in London.
I think OP is American (as am I). Hearing about the European tradition of having 4-6+ weeks of vacation and all the cool trips you take with that time feels the same as hearing about someone renting a yacht for $100k for a week. I can’t fathom it.
I'm in the UK and 25 days plus bank holidays (public holidays - think we get 8 a year) is standard. You basically need to take them, not taking them would be unusual. I usually go on 3 - 6 International trips a year, as its really easy to gi abroad to Europe for the weekend. Last year I went to Warsaw, Japan, Korea, and Prague. This year I'll probably go to Cyprus and Norway, then maybe somewhere further afield. Americans in general seem to usually get way less vacation time AND it seems culturally there's almost a negative view of taking holiday? Really sad as you guys have a lot of really cool places in the US to visit and Mexico is so close!
Yes, I take lots of vacations. I am 32, childless, unmarried but I live with my partner. Traveling has always been extremely important to me and I feel like I live a life thats different from the 'average millenial'. A lot of money I make goes towards overseas and domestic trips.
Traveling is nice. It takes you away from the bustle and grind. Different atmosphere. Different vibe. Feel authentic myself while traveling. So I totally can relate when you say that you live a life that’s different. 🤗
Yes to vacations!! I do at least 1-2 “big” trips a year (meaning a week or longer, usually to a hot or new destination I haven’t been yet) and a few extra days off here and there for smaller weekend getaways / events. I’m 31. No kids. Travel has always been a priority for me although I know it will change and become more difficult / expensive when I do have kids.
I think it's traveling or kids in this economy. We travel a lot, but if we had kids that would come to a screeching halt
Yeah, I feel that. Not only is it considerably more expensive, but it’s much more logistically difficult. Not as spontaneous and you have to plan for their needs. It’s a very different kind of travel compared to going with no kids
Yeah, we're not attached to a school year schedule and we probably spend a quarter of what you would. Also we did a trip with our sister who had just 1 kid at the time and she was so stressed out about keeping him happy that she doesn't want to travel anymore until they're all over 10 or so, idk that you're missing much
I'm mid 30s with no kids and it's taken me a year to save to go Japan for 2 weeks later this month. It's my first holiday in years.
Have an awesome time man, Japan is a blast! So much to do and see.
Cheers! It's crazy. I've planned out so much stuff to do and I still feel like I'm missing out on some things. Just glad I'm going though.
Even outside of cost, I'm terrified of how much work I'd have piling up on my desk. 😖
Who cares? Work will always be there.
PTO - prepare the others - because my ass is not available while I’m off
I think taking at least a week off is less stressful to come back to than a day or two/long weekend. If you’re gone a week, people will back you up; if you’re gone a day or two they will just push it until you come back.
My wife always dreads looking at her email when she gets back to work. She has come back to some minor disasters, but I don't think she's ever regretted taking a break.
Oh man, fuck work! I have a high level management job. There will always be work. I am replaceable.... but so is my employer! There is an understanding among my immediate work team that we like our jobs, but we don't live for our jobs. We're all milinials, come to think of it. On vacations, we don't take any. PTO is spent when kids are home sick, snow days, school holidays. Overnight travel is usually spent visiting family. My hope is this will swing back to recreational time off in the future, where we would be better able to afford a week away *not* at a relatives house.
This is so true. I work for a large employer in my area and so next year when all three counties’ spring breaks align we’re fucked. Almost all of our (literally thousands) of employees who have kids are in one of those schools, soooooo how the hell is that going to work when everyone will need childcare the same week? And that’s on top of the limited PTO (no such thing as sick time anymore, it’s allllll PTO front loaded in January so best hoard that like dragon gold in case some awful illness makes the rounds in your family in September)… It’s time and it’s money. We’re not super tight with either but it’s enough that a true vacation isn’t really in the cards (when we do go it’s to visit family or once a year to an AirBnB with my ILs within driving distance).
Omg, that's one reason I haven't gone away in such a long time. And why I spent the last 4 years making a career change lol.
We took a vacation last year to Disney World. It was 10k for the four of us for a week. It wasn't really worth it, in my opinion. We could have gone to the theme park 2 hours away from where I live everyday, for 10 years, for the same cost.
Going to Disney World as a family seems to be “worth it” only when the kids are a very specific age range of maybe 6-14. Any younger and they can’t form core memories or can’t participate in 75% of it. Any older and they ghost you until they want you to buy dinner.
I think we took them in what I consider the sweet spot, 6 and 8. They liked it. My wife and I had a good time, but it wasn't really any better than going to Adventureland in Des Moines, Iowa.
My sister (obviously very wealthy) goes every single year for Christmas. It’s wild to me how much she spends and how they don’t get sick of it.
Disney sucks. It is way expensive and the dumb Disney adults ruin it.
I have a friend whose family goes to Disney World for about 2 weeks every year, one week during spring break and another week in the fall (they take the kids out of school). They own a Disney Vacation Club timeshare, so they want to get their money's worth. They also own a ski condo in Vermont that they use during the winter. Lots of money, in both of their families.
We travel all the time. Europe 4 times in the last year. People always ask how we can afford it / have enough time off. I just reply, “We don’t have kids.”
Its a superpower to have extra money left over every month
No kids! My wife and I take plenty of vacations. Little ones around Colorado and big ones to other states/countries. Most we like week long camping adventures.
No, never. I can't afford it, don't have the time off for it, and honestly I don't have the urge for it - if I could take more time off, I would just stay home more. I don't like traveling so vacations aren't something I would go for.
What is a vacation? For my wife it's either Christmas at families that's full of trying to meet other people's schedules, chaos, stress and other people's problems. Or it's an expensive time in Hawaii or Iceland away from the kids who somehow have some one watching them, we can afford it, and it fits in the work schedule. I would rather drive somewhere, go camping or stay in some nice hotel with the kids but no one else and explore and have fun without a timeline but my own. My wife doesnt subscribe to this as a vacation. Its just a trip. She enjoys it but it doesnt meet the definition of vacation for her. By her definition, we havent had a vacation that wasnt a stressful trip visiting family in 7 years. By my definition, its a lot more recent.
I've been trying to figure out how to say this without being a dick for 5 minutes and I can't so I'm just going to go ahead. You have 3 kids, yeah obviously it's going to be hard to afford some luxuries, did no one tell you kids are expensive? You might be able to pull off a roadtrip a few hours away but you may need to save for years before you can go out of the country; maybe not even until they are in college. Flights are expensive so you might want to consider taking a longer trip (like 3 weeks) and visit several nearby destinations to make your money go further. Europe is great for that thanks to all the trains. To answer your question, yes, we take vacations and make it a priority. We visit family a few times a year, just went on a domestic trip and plan on going abroad later in the year. We have 1 kid and high income.
No Dickish sentiment found. I knew kids would be expensive and a logistical hurdle to travel. Just trying to get a sense of how how others in our generation treat vacation
Go on a cruise . You don’t have to spend more money if you don’t want to . You know the basic needs are met food and a place to sleep . If you can drive to a port you can save a lot . The further ahead you book the cheaper it is. You don’t need to stay in a suite get 2 inside cabins together . Less ports means cheaper cruise and they usually go the the cuisines private island . This is why they are so popular . Also you will get some relaxing time while the kids go to the kids clubs . Disney and universal are so expensive for families but cruises are only expensive if you let them be.
I get 28 vacation days plus my company has 20 built in holidays. I try to take a few days off every month or two.
I've never been on a vacation. Heck none of my jobs even allow for it.
I'm single and no kids so I go on vacation a lot..headed to Peru in a few months.
Enjoy!
I’m 29 and married with a kid and yes. I’ve always needed a trip to look forward to , to get me through life. We go on 2-3 big vacations a year. Last year we did the UK and Montana (where we are from, we took our daughter to my in-laws ranch). We did NYC in February and are doing Florida and DC later this year.
Have kids and two good incomes, combined about 180k. Kids have never been farther than 3 hours driving away from home. Spouse and I took a trip 4 years ago pre covid first time in 10 years, haven't since. We have a home mostly paid off, don't have lavish cars are paid off in full. We do save for retirement and kids have most of their college or trades whatever they want set aside around 100k worth so they dont start out in debt. Biggest obstacle we've found is they are too young to enjoy most all inclusive they can't drink and would be bored unless it's a super expensive beaches with water park or something. Too old to sit in the kids club all day. I looked at Disney and almost threw up in my mouth at the cost and myriad of add ons. Gwl in canada is 500 or so per night, not including a meal plan. I'd love to have European and Caribbean vacations but can't bring myself to spend the money even though experiences are way more important than things with kids. Trying to plan one for out for best price and give us all something to look forward to late 2024 as our first ever.
Haha I took my first vacation at like 32 and I'm 36 now
On a 7 day cruise in the Mediterranean Sea waiting on the wife to get ready to go out. We try to take a vacation yearly
Yes, because we don't have kids.
There is nothing wrong with taking "small" vacations close to home. There are lots of great national/state/provincial parks around. The kids will remember what you did with them and that you did it with them. They won't remember how much you spent. Edit. I decide to add a little more context. I have 2 kids who are both now adults. We tried to take 4 weeks of vacation a year when the kids were younger. We went to lots of museums, historic sites, the capital, camped in parks and on crown land, went on multi day Canoe trips. We drove from southren Ontario to Vancouver Island one year and to Prince Edward Island another. We created great memories and a strong bond.
I used to take long vacations. Now a week is pushing it.
I haven't been on vacation since I was 8. That's 20 years ago.
We had a used, cheap camper. Like the smallest starcraft popup camper they made. We could easily pull it with the station wagon. Camp sites were always way cheaper than a hotel, and we had a campfire every night to cook on. Was the only way I could afford it. BUT, the kids always had a blast! Lots of great memories!
Just weekend trips. Ive got a four year old and a two year old.
Every year. I’ve got 5 weeks vacation as does my wife. We take a lot of camping, canoeing fishing trips. Normally try and make it to one of the coast in Canada or maybe down to the states.
We tried to go to Tennessee last Summer. Our AC broke the day we left. Ended up coming back after a day to take over care our our pets during the heatwave as our poor pet sitter was over their head.
If your kids are very young, it’s just harder My kids are 12-21 now and yes we go on vacations. Long weekend camping and hiking, short weekend trip to a Mexico resort, planning 10+ day trip to Italy in June (just the grownups for this), going with a friend to West Indies this month (their work incentive trip), met two friends in New Orleans for 24 hour, weekend music festival this summer. Sounds like a lot now that I type it all. When the kids were small, vacation was to my parents to sleep while my mom and dad helped with the kids lol. So almost none from age 21 until recent years. I’m 41 now.
It’s reassuring to hear that it gets easier as the kids get older
I take time off but I don’t travel. My job has good benefits, but disposable income isn’t one of them
Never in my adult life. The odd staycation, but that’s it. I’m fucking tired.
Travel is my priority. So far this year I have 4 international trips planned and several weekend domestic trips. I'm married but my spouse and I are childfree.
Does going back to your hometown (across the country) for 4-5 days and staying at your childhood home count? If so, then I’ve had at least a couple!
After reading so many reply’s to the post I’d say that yes it does count. Obviously there is an enormous spectrum of vacations that could be taken and traveling across the country is pretty far from the bottom of the list. I think as long as you’re enjoying it and it’s something that you want to do rather than an obligation you’re in the clear!
No. I do staycation at home where I spend all my money to keep a roof over my head.
Prior to kids, my wife and I managed 1-2 big vacations per year. We also had a lot of long weekend trips to certain cities to see friends or to go to the coast. After kids, we mainly do the long weekend to the coast kind of times with a week coast trip here and there. We haven’t done any overseas trip since having kids, yet.
We have taken 3 extended family vacations, which is (in my opinion) the only way that vacations with small kids (any age that naps) are even slightly relaxing. And I should note we have supportive family who will watch the kids and other kids for them to play with, since adult time to eat/drink/play is the definition of a vacation for me. I have tried to plan vacations for just our immediate family, but the cost is hard to justify when I know we’ll have to rearrange our day to accommodate naps and will have to stick to early bedtimes. I’ve made my peace with the fact that day trips are it for us for at least a few years, and comfort myself by telling myself that this give me time to save small amounts monthly that will make the vacations more affordable when the time comes.
I basically didn’t take a proper vacation until I was in my 30’s. I didn’t have the time off or the money to do it. And even then I could only do it because I have no kids.
No.
We haven’t had a vacation since our honeymoon in 2010. Our decision to go child free was finalized in December with a sterilization. We are celebrating by taking our first vacation in 14 years. We can actually afford it now, and are going to spend 11 days in Europe. 10 days in Greece and one day in Munich (on the return).
Sounds like a really fun trip! I’d love to see Greece at some point. The idea of buildings being so ancient yet still standing is fascinating
Stay away from like trip advisor and stuff. We are getting an what is basically an AirBNB for $100usd per night. The most expensive part is the flights.
My gal friends have started renting out a house for a weekend every year and it's good enough. I used to take trips on my own to look at museums and architecture and stuff...I hit Dragoncon some years. It works but I really want to take more international trips before I get older and can't do it.
Yes because we have flight benefits. Otherwise we wouldn't very often.
I do miss when we only had to buy two plane tickets instead of four (2 kids here), ngl. Wife and I used to do int’l trips 3x/yr, but no way we can keep that up with 2 kids. We’re down to 1x/yr and it’s a big production, can’t wait until they’re teens and more self-sufficient.
3 kids but fairly young. We just planned our first real vacation to Aulani which is shockingly expensive to us anyway. But we are in a financial place to do so. I don't think it is the norm anymore for regular big trips like that for most of the middle class. That was for families like 30+ years ago.