When did this become the norm?

[Anonymous]

^You've got people buying gold at Costco now. I'm not sure what that means, but it's not going on a vacation.

[Anonymous]

I agree. A lot of it is keeping up with the Jones’, which is exacerbated by social media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. A lot of it is keeping up with the Jones’, which is exacerbated by social media.

And I can't help but think it's why so many people think they aren't doing well financially. When they're actually doing fine, they just have unreasonable expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is also a move away from things towards experiences, which has been well-documented. Younger people are much less interested in acquiring stuff and much more interested in spending disposal income on new experiences like vacations and events. I think about things my grandparents treasured, like they had a whole cabinet full of silver ornaments (that required frequent polishing!) and “best” china in addition to the daily set, and even things like watches, jewelry, fur coats. I don’t care about any of those things but I do love traveling with my family.

It was a lot more difficult and expensive to go on a trip back then (you had to pay a travel agent and options were limited). I remember having to pick up my plane tickets at the travel agent office (and very expensive). Lots of business was done with live people over the phone or through the snail mail. So planning was much harder. Plus people had larger families. Yes, I am old. Also people could not work from anywhere (no computers) so you had limited vacation time. I lived in a more rural area and people who work on farms cannot just leave the animals to take care of themselves. Jobs were more labor intensive. Even taking care of your house (changing out the storm windows, no lawn service, painting because there was no vinyl siding just to name a few). Cars were also more expensive back then and they broke down a lot. More moving parts (no computer chips). You had to fix them yourself (we changed our own carburetors, spark plugs, oil, timed the engine, etc.) or know a good mechanic ($$). Physical community was important (because no internet) so people met in their homes for socializing. Dinner parties were a thing. Going out to dance and/or socialize at the tavern, play billiards, bowl on a league, etc. More people went to picnic at the park or enjoy a boat ride at the lake (if you go to a park you will see many immigrants doing these things here). It was just different times. And when hard times came, they could sell the silver or the watch or the jewelry. People had lived through the Depression and did not forget that.

We're not comparing travel to 1975; it has exploded even since the few years before COVID.

Maybe people realize you can’t take it with you. Imagine knowing that ten thousand fur coat is sitting in a closet because no one wears real fur anymore? Or that antique silver is sitting pristine because few people have the patience to polish silverware? And yet some of those folks never went anywhere regularly that wasn’t within driving distance. I don’t begrudge anyone for buying nice things but travel opens you up to the world , to people, to cultures and if you can do it, why not? I love exploring new places and I don’t post my travels on SM. I work hard, spend way too much time away from my family so those trips are priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People aren't tied to a desk. People don't pay for air or hotel, they use points. It's easier to travel. People prioritize travel. International real estate is more obtainable.

We have a house in Europe. We spend 8 week in the summer there and 2-4 other weeks throughout the year there. We bought outside of town because we couldn't take anymore of the insta tourists.

You are not MC/UMC. Who the hell can take 10 weeks off per year? You are not relatable.

Did I say anything about taking time off from work?

DH works while we are there. He just needs to be near a phone throughout the day. And be able to get on a computer for an hour or so in the evenings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People aren't tied to a desk. People don't pay for air or hotel, they use points. It's easier to travel. People prioritize travel. International real estate is more obtainable.

We have a house in Europe. We spend 8 week in the summer there and 2-4 other weeks throughout the year there. We bought outside of town because we couldn't take anymore of the insta tourists.

You are not MC/UMC. Who the hell can take 10 weeks off per year? You are not relatable.

Did I say anything about taking time off from work?

DH works while we are there. He just needs to be near a phone throughout the day. And be able to get on a computer for an hour or so in the evenings.

That is not the reality of remote work for most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People aren't tied to a desk. People don't pay for air or hotel, they use points. It's easier to travel. People prioritize travel. International real estate is more obtainable.

We have a house in Europe. We spend 8 week in the summer there and 2-4 other weeks throughout the year there. We bought outside of town because we couldn't take anymore of the insta tourists.

You are not MC/UMC. Who the hell can take 10 weeks off per year? You are not relatable.

Did I say anything about taking time off from work?

DH works while we are there. He just needs to be near a phone throughout the day. And be able to get on a computer for an hour or so in the evenings.

That is not the reality of remote work for most people.

That is career dependent. DH isn’t “remote”. That’s how his job was even before Covid and remote work was popular.

[Anonymous]

I think people enjoy having breaks and relaxing or adventuring. I'm not sure what's different about this for poor and rich both? I think the difference nowadays is there's plenty of options to where you can go. I think a lot of it is desire- visual via social media but also in terms of stress - what else are you going to do if you can't get away? Sorry but any disposable income I have I'm gonna prefer not camping or sticking around here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People aren't tied to a desk. People don't pay for air or hotel, they use points. It's easier to travel. People prioritize travel. International real estate is more obtainable.

We have a house in Europe. We spend 8 week in the summer there and 2-4 other weeks throughout the year there. We bought outside of town because we couldn't take anymore of the insta tourists.

You are not MC/UMC. Who the hell can take 10 weeks off per year? You are not relatable.

Did I say anything about taking time off from work?

DH works while we are there. He just needs to be near a phone throughout the day. And be able to get on a computer for an hour or so in the evenings.

That is not the reality of remote work for most people.

That is career dependent. DH isn’t “remote”. That’s how his job was even before Covid and remote work was popular.

So then you aren’t actually traveling. You have multiple residences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people enjoy having breaks and relaxing or adventuring. I'm not sure what's different about this for poor and rich both? I think the difference nowadays is there's plenty of options to where you can go. I think a lot of it is desire- visual via social media but also in terms of stress - what else are you going to do if you can't get away? Sorry but any disposable income I have I'm gonna prefer not camping or sticking around here!

Poor people don’t go on vacations. They don’t work, they don’t get paid. Maybe you are thinking MC.

[Anonymous]

People were traveling in the past. My grandparents were flying to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Not every year but every few years they had a nice long trip. And went to the Middle East and visited Egypt and Israel and Syria in the 1970s, and several African safaris in the 1980s-1990s before they finally aged out of travel. They were solidly UMC, not rich.

Agree the volume of people traveling these days is much higher but I don't begrudge anyone for wanting to travel.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the rate they have on their mortgage. Some are saving $2500/mo on rates

[Anonymous]

A combo of:

1 People have more money.
2 Covid made everyone want to travel a lot (pent up demand + realization there can be things like a pandemic)
3 Ease of travel
4 Social media influence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People were traveling in the past. My grandparents were flying to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Not every year but every few years they had a nice long trip. And went to the Middle East and visited Egypt and Israel and Syria in the 1970s, and several African safaris in the 1980s-1990s before they finally aged out of travel. They were solidly UMC, not rich.

Agree the volume of people traveling these days is much higher but I don't begrudge anyone for wanting to travel.

While not begrudging anyone, the volume of people visiting major cities and attractions has encouraged us to seek out smaller places and less well known attractions. We've had a great time in Canaan Valley, West Virginia and a bird reserve at the Somme estuary, for example, versus queuing up for hours for the Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People were traveling in the past. My grandparents were flying to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Not every year but every few years they had a nice long trip. And went to the Middle East and visited Egypt and Israel and Syria in the 1970s, and several African safaris in the 1980s-1990s before they finally aged out of travel. They were solidly UMC, not rich.

Agree the volume of people traveling these days is much higher but I don't begrudge anyone for wanting to travel.

While not begrudging anyone, the volume of people visiting major cities and attractions has encouraged us to seek out smaller places and less well known attractions. We've had a great time in Canaan Valley, West Virginia and a bird reserve at the Somme estuary, for example, versus queuing up for hours for the Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building.

I kind of agree with this. That said, even travel to localish places, like Canaan Valley has grown substantially. In particular, 20 years ago nobody had never heard of Dolly Sods, WV, now on summer weekends there is no parking space at trailheads and backcountry camping is crowded. I blame social media on this.

Travel is great, but it loses appeal if you’re jet-setting all year. I can have just as great of a time in places that are a short drive, without setting foot on an airplane.