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

[Anonymous]

Growing up we would share a beach house rental in NJ with multiple relatives for a week every summer. I loved it. Now we do the same thing since the kids always love it so much.

[Anonymous]

I think most Gen X and Millennials grew up doing driving trips. A special trip to Disney or somewhere else once or twice. Beach trips. That was the norm even within the MC/UMC. Now I look at my kids’ friends and it’s not unusual (we are in a middle of the pack FCPS school) for kids to go to Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc. I think the expectations have changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most Gen X and Millennials grew up doing driving trips. A special trip to Disney or somewhere else once or twice. Beach trips. That was the norm even within the MC/UMC. Now I look at my kids’ friends and it’s not unusual (we are in a middle of the pack FCPS school) for kids to go to Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc. I think the expectations have changed.

Disney has gotten so crazy expensive that you can go to Europe for 1/2 the price.

[Anonymous]

Get a hotel room at a place with a pool and cram a bunch of people in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most Gen X and Millennials grew up doing driving trips. A special trip to Disney or somewhere else once or twice. Beach trips. That was the norm even within the MC/UMC. Now I look at my kids’ friends and it’s not unusual (we are in a middle of the pack FCPS school) for kids to go to Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc. I think the expectations have changed.

Disney has gotten so crazy expensive that you can go to Europe for 1/2 the price.

We just did 10 days in London and Paris and in no way was it cheaper than Disney.

[Anonymous]

The median HHI in Loudoun County is $178k, so by definition, the middle class. But I don’t think those people are going to Europe and Hawaii unless maybe they are DINKS. A lot of people seem to share a beach house with family, in driving distance.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing wrong with asking this question.

Some people cannot even take 2 or 3 days off, even to go camping. Think hourly workers, etc.

[Anonymous]

There are many years where we never went on vacation at all, not even to a relative’s house.

[Anonymous]

My dad grew up in a 3rd world country and when asked why we never went camping as a family, he said growing up poor is literally camping all the time and no interest in reliving it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many years where we never went on vacation at all, not even to a relative’s house.

This. All of our relatives were local anyway. I probably went on a beach trip 5x in my entire childhood. No planes, no cities, and definitely no other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The median HHI in Loudoun County is $178k, so by definition, the middle class. But I don’t think those people are going to Europe and Hawaii unless maybe they are DINKS. A lot of people seem to share a beach house with family, in driving distance.

By definition within 3,000 dollars of upper class.

Virginia
Low end of upper-middle class: $141,515
High end of upper-middle class: $181,948
Median household income: $90,974

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/how-much-you-need-to-earn-to-be-upper-middle-class-in-every-us-state.html#:~:text=Low%20end%20of%20upper%2Dmiddle%20class:%20$116%2C144,of%20upper%2Dmiddle%20class:%20$158%2C125

[Anonymous]

Growing up we went camping at the outer banks. We visited my grandparents in FL. And we went skiing but always stayed in dodgy motels and brought our lunch every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Especially in this area. And I mean middle class not UMC. Not “I make 200k plus but I feel middle class.” Even some of the beaches DCUM sneers at can be pricey. Are people going into debt to afford it?

I have no idea? Maybe they stay home.

We have 3 different residences in 3 different countries so we are always traveling.

[Anonymous]

Some people NEVER stay in hotels and rely upon friends, friends of friends and family to house them when passing through or on a vacation.

My ILs are an example; they are taking off on a two week road trip and have an itinerary and plan to stay with a different family member or friends about every three days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most Gen X and Millennials grew up doing driving trips. A special trip to Disney or somewhere else once or twice. Beach trips. That was the norm even within the MC/UMC. Now I look at my kids’ friends and it’s not unusual (we are in a middle of the pack FCPS school) for kids to go to Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc. I think the expectations have changed.

Disney has gotten so crazy expensive that you can go to Europe for 1/2 the price.

MC and UMC cannot afford Disney or those trips. Be real on what you say is MC. We only went to Disney when we were lower income because we got huge military discounts so it was cheaper than most other trips.