Curious…by the time your kids graduate HS

[Anonymous]

The truth is that little kids will barely remember where you take them, and definitely won't remember the details (like exactly where they went, which place was which, the names of places visited). Once they get older (ie teen, pre-teen), they may start to remember more specifics but eventually it will still be a bit of a blur.

While they will likely enjoy themselves on these trips and have a good time, taking them to say Europe or Africa, will very likely not be any more meaningful to them as kids then a week at the beach or Disney or sleepaway camp. Kids just have a completely different reference point than adults when it comes to travel, and IMO kids don't "value" travel in the same way that many adults do.

Personally speaking, my family didn't travel alot while I was growing up. We just visited the same beach every summer (huge family trip), and trips to see family. I never even left the South. I adored those trips and look back on them very fondly. I was able to study and travel abroad extensively during college and grad school, and immensely enjoyed it. I think I got far more out of traveling on my own terms as an adult than I would have as a child or young teen.

For my own child (now a teen), I take him afar with me to the places I'd like to explore, and he appreciates it. It has broadened his perspective of the world, and I like that. We haven't been to a huge ton of places and we're fine with that. I look forward to him deciding his own travel priorities as he gets older. He's enjoyed some really fun and fancy trips with me but when asked, he'll tell you that by far his favorite travel memories are his sleepaway camps with friends, his school overnight trips (again, friends), and annual family trips to the (same) beach each summer. The wonder and awe of historical, fascinating, far-flung and exotic places that woo me as an adult, get a bit lost on him, lol. And that's okay.

[Anonymous]

14 year old twins. As a family we have been to:

Hawaii
Canada-Montreal, Quebec, Toronto
Italy
Sweden/Norway/Finland
Most states on the East Coast- and Florida locations several times.
cities like NYC, Baltimore, Chicago, Richmond, Boston, San Fran, San Diego, Seattle
Colorado

[Anonymous]

Single mom $125k HHI but no student loans ( public service forever) and no other income. DC metro.
7 year old son.
Domestic: California, New York, Florida, South Carolina, Delaware, Massachusetts, Georgia, Colorado, Hawaii

International: Jamaica,Costa Rica, Portugal, and Thailand for thanksgiving 2023 and Japan April 2024. I prepay all of my vacation.

In exchange, my son is in public school, we have a small condo (700sqft), a 2011 car that’s great on gas ( hello road trips), and shop at Lidl or Trader Joe’s/ Aldi. He only gets two weeks in summer camp and we do all the free stuff. We skip out on going out to eat, and I use credit card points and save my butt off. No local family or support.

[Anonymous]

I grew up poor and our family vacation was a local theme park. I could not study abroad or backpack through Europe like many college students because I had to work. So, my kids are the recipient of my being able to afford the trips I want to go on. But, like others, we only did local beach trips until our kids were 7 and 9. They are now 13 and 15. Our HHI is about 700k. We have done: a Montana dude ranch, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska 3 times, Scotland, the Arctic circle, Costa Rica, England, Norway, Zion, Yellowstone, Park City. Next year we will go to Chile. But honestly, those are trips for me. I think my kids have just as much fun, if not more, on our annual Florida spring break trip.

[Anonymous]

My kids (17, 10, 9) have only left the country once (Canada). But since moving from the DMV to a small town, we try for a small road trip once a month, plus a few flying trips a year. HHI $225-ish.