How not to feel bad when other families go on a trip every break

[Anonymous]

Meh, traveling with kids is a lot of hassle:
Norovirus
Bed bugs
Germs everywhere
Flight delays
Taxi/shuttle problems (unsafe, price gouging, uncomfortable)
Rudeness/extortion from locals
Exploitive tourism where locals often appear to be treated unfairly
Trapped on planes on runways
Lost luggage/valuables
Pickpockets
Sleep schedules ruined
Food quality bad and or unhealthy
Foreign hospitals with lower standards
Foreign police/governments which are dysfunctional and/or corrupt

All of these things are of course 10x worse with kids. I think it’s also somewhat selfish to travel a lot with younger kids who thrive on the stability and safety of home and really benefit from more time bonding with their local friends. Teens are a different story but traveling with them is a whole other nightmare.

I travelled throughout my twenties and early thirties to central, South America, Europe and the Middle East. I love it but am realistic about the toll it takes. I think car travel trips are better for families and kids especially if you are staying with family.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

Same here. Money not an issue but won't travel just to impress someone else.

We travel a lot. I don’t travel to impress others. I love to travel.

Me too!

Me three! It is not exhausting if you can afford to pay for convenience - direct flights from preferred airports at times that are not disruptive to family (no super early mornings or red eyes), Clear and precheck, closest parking lot at airport or uber, nice hotels/resorts with amenities in central location, etc.

If not in your budget, check out to points and miles game - plenty of tutorials online.

Many of the best places to visit require connecting flights and/or red eye flights.

Sure, but those can wait until summer. If you want a 1 week spring or winter break that is relaxing you choose a nonstop destination in the US or Caribbean to minimize time change. For Europe, I'd personally only do nonstop during those flights. There's a daytime flight to London that is priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

Same here. Money not an issue but won't travel just to impress someone else.

We travel a lot. I don’t travel to impress others. I love to travel.

Me too!

Me three! It is not exhausting if you can afford to pay for convenience - direct flights from preferred airports at times that are not disruptive to family (no super early mornings or red eyes), Clear and precheck, closest parking lot at airport or uber, nice hotels/resorts with amenities in central location, etc.

If not in your budget, check out to points and miles game - plenty of tutorials online.

Many of the best places to visit require connecting flights and/or red eye flights.

Sure, but those can wait until summer. If you want a 1 week spring or winter break that is relaxing you choose a nonstop destination in the US or Caribbean to minimize time change. For Europe, I'd personally only do nonstop during those flights. There's a daytime flight to London that is priceless.

I thought they cancelled it? Or was it just seasonal?

Regardless, there is more to Europe than just London, Paris, and the other usual big cities.
There's even whole other continents besides Europe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meh, traveling with kids is a lot of hassle:
Norovirus
Bed bugs
Germs everywhere
Flight delays
Taxi/shuttle problems (unsafe, price gouging, uncomfortable)
Rudeness/extortion from locals
Exploitive tourism where locals often appear to be treated unfairly
Trapped on planes on runways
Lost luggage/valuables
Pickpockets
Sleep schedules ruined
Food quality bad and or unhealthy
Foreign hospitals with lower standards
Foreign police/governments which are dysfunctional and/or corrupt

All of these things are of course 10x worse with kids. I think it’s also somewhat selfish to travel a lot with younger kids who thrive on the stability and safety of home and really benefit from more time bonding with their local friends. Teens are a different story but traveling with them is a whole other nightmare.

I travelled throughout my twenties and early thirties to central, South America, Europe and the Middle East. I love it but am realistic about the toll it takes. I think car travel trips are better for families and kids especially if you are staying with family.

Yes to all of that but NO to local friends! All the local friends are traveling during breaks, I used to have the mindset that during breaks that kids could get together but NO their families are all traveling during breaks. I mistakenly thought my DD could meetup for some playdates during summer and to my dismay the other family was gone the ENTIRE (2 months) summer traveling in EUROPE. NO one is in town.

[Anonymous]

I used to love traveling, but now I’m over it. It’s a huge hassle. All the decent places are incredibly expensive and/or super crowded. Plane travel is like a cattle car. I think travel has become a competitive sport and it’s all about posting the coolest pictures on social media.

I’d rather stay home and spend my money fixing up my house. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

OP - if it’s your kids who are envious (or you!) , I’d ask what they are envious of (the change of scenery, the activities, the bragging rights) and then try to get a little bit of that locally/in the parameters you can afford time and money wise.

I’d also explain why it’s not something your family does frequently- time/money/dislike of travel - and if there’s something the family all wants to do, is there something you can do together to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Get off of social media. Make your home the best place to be.

I love traveling too but in recent years when we go to any major attractions it seems all anyone is concerned with is documenting the experience. It bums me out.

[Anonymous]

We typically use breaks to see family because none of them live locally. I do get a little FOMO when I hear about friends going on vacations but the truth is traveling with young kids is not that fun. We also both work very busy jobs not from home and need downtime.

[Anonymous]

My kids much prefer to visit grandparents over break than to go on any fancy vacation thatcweve done in the past

[Anonymous]

We travel more than you but honestly it’s not a good use of money - we should be saving more, so that’s one thing to know!

I travel less than my rich friends and relatives and that can be hard. But some of them lead miserable lives because they prioritize money. The other ones have been more fortunate in their choice of partners than me in a way that created more economic opportunities. I feel more jealous that they have functional marriages than that I can’t travel as much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

Same here. Money not an issue but won't travel just to impress someone else.

We travel a lot. I don’t travel to impress others. I love to travel.

Me too!

Me three! It is not exhausting if you can afford to pay for convenience - direct flights from preferred airports at times that are not disruptive to family (no super early mornings or red eyes), Clear and precheck, closest parking lot at airport or uber, nice hotels/resorts with amenities in central location, etc.

If not in your budget, check out to points and miles game - plenty of tutorials online.

Many of the best places to visit require connecting flights and/or red eye flights.

Sure, but those can wait until summer. If you want a 1 week spring or winter break that is relaxing you choose a nonstop destination in the US or Caribbean to minimize time change. For Europe, I'd personally only do nonstop during those flights. There's a daytime flight to London that is priceless.

thanks for coming here to brag about all the premium travel you can afford to OP who cannot afford travel and feels bad about it? are you callous in general?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids much prefer to visit grandparents over break than to go on any fancy vacation thatcweve done in the past

Same

[Anonymous]

OP, I guess we're one of those families who's gone each school break, except we don't go on luxurious vacations. We moved from the DMV a decade ago to a series of really terrible places, so our inexpensive road trips allow our children to experience the world and gain insight outside of their poverty-stricken towns.

But there's a tradeoff. Our home has suffered, because we're not home as much to do repairs and clean. We don't have money to spend on things like eating out or even clothes. And I am fairly certain our kids would prefer to have spent more time with their grandparents, all but one of whom have passed away. Just some things to consider when you're feeling bad that the Joneses are out of town again.

[Anonymous]

I want to travel with my kid more than we can, but we do take trips: camping, long weekends in other cities, farm stays, train trips. We don't ski or go to Europe but we do cool things.

We also try to travel with grandparents or meet them somewhere fun. I know that's not possible for everyone but two birds / one stone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to travel with my kid more than we can, but we do take trips: camping, long weekends in other cities, farm stays, train trips. We don't ski or go to Europe but we do cool things.

We also try to travel with grandparents or meet them somewhere fun. I know that's not possible for everyone but two birds / one stone.

We so this too a little. Granted its a ski trip but we do that with grandparents as they like it more than beach. Our friends are a mix of staying local for breaks and traveling. I like experiencing other places with my kids so we take a couple trips a year now that the youngest is past naps