Cool, did I say those are the only places I’ve ever gone? No, I said it was the norm where I grew up. As in, this circuit was normal and not unusual. To respond to the OP— “When do you think it become the norm for people to travel so aggressively? I feel like everyone we know travels for every school break and for long periods in the summer (like 2-3 weeks in Europe). These aren’t small driving trips either. The families we know go from very expensive ski vacations (have you ever added up the cost of flights, lodging, lift tickets, gear rentals, etc. for family of 4-5 to ski for a week in CO or UT? It’s nuts) in the winter to luxury beach vacations in the Caribbean for spring break. Or, if they want to “mix it up,” they’ll do Costa Rica for spring break and an African safari for their summer trip. Get it now? I guarantee I’ve done more interesting travel than you. |
^^^This, this right here folks….says it all really. |
This is an example of aggressive travel, you are more interesting and better because of your wordly excursions. |
To be cultured, you have to go to certain countries approved by the Culture Police on DCUM. These Culture Police have reached the pinnacle of being cultured, because as most know, being cultured usually doesn’t involve sitting behind a keyboard and trolling online, unless you’re on DCUM. |
Wow. Somebody’s bored. |
Is It? |
And they had to throw in “expensive” and “luxury.” Sounds cultured to me 😭 And then there’s arguing about how cultured and worldly you are on an anonymous message board. I feel less cultured reading this drivel. |
As a person who grew up in a developing country nothing makes my eyes roll more than wealthy folks blabbing about going off the beaten path and exposing their kids to different cultures like it’s a life lesson. It’s so patronizing. I’ve met people who’ve never left this country who are more open minded than some who have traveled extensively. It’s fine if you enjoy traveling. But don’t use other countries as “experiences/your playground.” |
This right here! THANK YOU. Outright showy materialism got tacky, so now the elite has decided to signal superiority by traveling to show how worldly they are and better than the rubes. It’s the same gross mindset, only with a bigger carbon footprint, which is weird because these people also tend to be liberal pseudo-environmentalists. |
You’re doing it wrong. And most people as well. |
And yet here you are on the *travel* forum. Why?! |
Yeah, being a random transient so you can be a striver bragging about how many countries you've visited is so superior. ![]() |
I think there are some families who are practically allergic to downtime. I see it in families at my Arlington school. Every weekend is full of travel sports, trips etc. Every break is flying somewhere. Some of the kids are exhasted. |
Few places are "adventurous" these days. Going back packing in Indonesia isn't an adventure. It's an extremely well-trod place. Having been to many countries (50+ though doubtlessly some will sniff and say that's nothing) I've lost some of that wonderlust and now prefer to return to favorite places. A tradition of returning to your favorite country in Europe or island in the Caribbean is a pleasure to enjoy and savor if it gives you pleasure. And "harder" travel requiring longer flights and greater inconvenience does get old once you've done it a few times, especially just to see something slightly different from a very similar environment you've already been to. |
You are making a lot of assumptions. We paid less than $150k for the house. It is worth considerably more now because of work we have done, not contracted anything out. We purchased a modest house here to allow us to do this. Real estate and daily COL are considerably less many parts of Europe. |