Where do lower to middle class families go on vacation for the summer?

[Anonymous]

Camped in Shennadoah for two 4 day weekends and rented an old, un air conditioned cottage in Nags Head. This was early 80s so Nags Head wasnt what it is today. Our place didnt even have a phone.

We paid the old man next door in cash. Fifty dollars a day. I remeber my dad handing over what seemd like an enormous wad of money.

Old man's wife used to bring us baskets of fresh tomatos, squash, butter beans etc. She was a really sweet old lady. Used to make us rice cripie treats with M and Ms in them. Thought it was the fanciest thing ever!

Exact same vacations evey summer!

[Anonymous]

ETA:

I had no idea we were poor. My uncles would join us sometimes and they'd sleep on the floor. Cottage was 3 beds one bath, probably 600 sqf. Th ebedrooms were like 9x9.

My uncles fished so we at tons of fresh fish and salads. My mom would cook for a week before the trip and freeze stuff (chicken spagahetti, lasagna, sausage balls, cookies).

We played in the ocean all day, ate well at night and slept hard.

No TV in the place either. Played lots of cribbage and dice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents were mid-west middle class. When my dad worked for an airline, we'd go standby to lesser known beach cities in FL once every few years. Other years, and after his lost his job post 9/11, it was camping. When we were younger, he were happy to just go to a hotel with a pool when the winter for a weekend, far enough away that it felt super far to us littles! (maybe an hour?) We ordered in pizza and got to watch cable!

DH and I are upper middle class for DCUM. We haven't quite figured out what our budget is for vacays, but most likely day trips for awhile, off season to VA or MD beaches. Some camping too. Once the kids get older, hopefully we'll have had some raises by then.

If you are UMC for DCUM you would already be taking your kids to Nice and Vienna.

[Anonymous]

camping, staycations and dentist/doctor/therapist (I burn half my PTO on DDs appointments).

[Anonymous]

And the sweet anecdotes about what you did as a child arent' really helpful - how about some suggestions that are working now!?

camping, staying with family, 1-2 days in an airbnb near the water.

[Anonymous]

Visited family or my mom’s HS best friend who was UMC and had what seemed like a mansion at the time.

Day trips to the beach or nearby cities.

[Anonymous]

I visit close family who live in Maine. As a kid, we would go to a family cottage on the Jersey shore. We also go camping with other families.

[Anonymous]

Growing up it was camping in Virginia Beach. We’d put up tents in a camp ground that had a swimming pool, shower/bathrooms, arcade, etc. It was pretty fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And the sweet anecdotes about what you did as a child arent' really helpful - how about some suggestions that are working now!?

camping, staying with family, 1-2 days in an airbnb near the water.

Seriously. Very few people traveled to Europe in the 80s. Going to the beach or grandmas house was middle class/the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Camped in Shennadoah for two 4 day weekends and rented an old, un air conditioned cottage in Nags Head. This was early 80s so Nags Head wasnt what it is today. Our place didnt even have a phone.

We paid the old man next door in cash. Fifty dollars a day. I remeber my dad handing over what seemd like an enormous wad of money.

Old man's wife used to bring us baskets of fresh tomatos, squash, butter beans etc. She was a really sweet old lady. Used to make us rice cripie treats with M and Ms in them. Thought it was the fanciest thing ever!

Exact same vacations evey summer!

Back when Nags Head was nice. Still like OBX, but it's not like it used to be.

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid our vacations were mainly long drives to visit relatives and once an RV trip around California (where I grew up). My DC-area working-class relatives always (and still) had an all-summer RV site at a campground in southern MD.

[Anonymous]

We went to Kings Dominion or wild world. Busch gardens was considered fancier. We mainly stayed home and played at the local parks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Kings Dominion or wild world. Busch gardens was considered fancier. We mainly stayed home and played at the local parks

Again people are asking about current options.

[Anonymous]

Currently lots of road trips. Finding hidden treasures in areas that are not typical tourist destinations. National and state parks. I’m also good at finding good deals or coupons for places of interest. Bringing food from home for picnic lunches. Staying in a place with at least a mini fridge. Better kitchen is a bonus but I’m not doing full on cooking like at home.

[Anonymous]

Current options? A trip for a couple days during the week to Ocean City or Virginia Beach. Weekend is too expensive. Day trip to Kings Dominion. A staycation where we sleep in and do stuff locally.