Are upper middle class family gatherings now just luxury travel pissing contests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My extended aunts/uncles all just got their inheritance and retirement and it’s nauseating - we were solid MC families who did road trip vacations and maybe one flight a year… now they’re planning month- long tours of a continent

I’ve been a traveler my entire adult life, I’m not jealous just annoyed by it all

yes you sound jealous. They are excited to be able to travel, and likely want to do what they can while they are still healthy and physically able to do it all. I'd be excited to to get that at any age.

Ok maybe I do sound jealous, but I’m not - I travel too. The point goes back to the OP who sounded annoyed by the tone of it all, bragging and one-upping each other which I wasn’t clear about being my issue here.

If my extended family was genuinely sharing their plans and experiences I too love that conversation (and it’s what I do with my friends), but they’re not. The conversation is just trying to battle who has the grander plan without any substance, now that they’re rich from their parents passing (my grandparents). I guess it’s better than politics discussion

I do hate Euro bragging. I have an ex-friend who did that and it was so annoying. But often travel is just an easy and generic conversation starter: "So, do you have any travel plans this summer..." etc. It's also a way to bond and share, since most people have some travel stories.

Euro bragging can be banal because in my crowd everyone has been there done that. I reallly hate the Africa safari brags because I'm just not interested. At all. At least I like to hear about something novel in Europe because I might check it out. I will not check out the serengeti or whatever. Ever.

[Anonymous]

It’s a socially acceptable class and wealth signifier. There are certain destinations the middle class hoards don’t know about and can’t afford to go to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My extended aunts/uncles all just got their inheritance and retirement and it’s nauseating - we were solid MC families who did road trip vacations and maybe one flight a year… now they’re planning month- long tours of a continent

I’ve been a traveler my entire adult life, I’m not jealous just annoyed by it all

yes you sound jealous. They are excited to be able to travel, and likely want to do what they can while they are still healthy and physically able to do it all. I'd be excited to to get that at any age.

Ok maybe I do sound jealous, but I’m not - I travel too. The point goes back to the OP who sounded annoyed by the tone of it all, bragging and one-upping each other which I wasn’t clear about being my issue here.

If my extended family was genuinely sharing their plans and experiences I too love that conversation (and it’s what I do with my friends), but they’re not. The conversation is just trying to battle who has the grander plan without any substance, now that they’re rich from their parents passing (my grandparents). I guess it’s better than politics discussion

I do hate Euro bragging. I have an ex-friend who did that and it was so annoying. But often travel is just an easy and generic conversation starter: "So, do you have any travel plans this summer..." etc. It's also a way to bond and share, since most people have some travel stories.

Euro bragging can be banal because in my crowd everyone has been there done that. I reallly hate the Africa safari brags because I'm just not interested. At all. At least I like to hear about something novel in Europe because I might check it out. I will not check out the serengeti or whatever. Ever.

Weird that you can’t listen to something that doesn’t apply to you. I’ll never go to Disney but I listen to people prattle on about it with a smile on my face.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Maybe you just weren’t this prone to jealousy before?

Who's jealous? It's just shallow and boring conversation. Shallow and boring is fine among professional work associates but family are only together a couple of times a year and THIS is the most spirited dialogue now? It's sad.

Travel is not “shallow and boring conversation.” What do you want to discuss? Little Larlo’s soccer? Little Larlo is going into AAP?

You piss money away flying places to eat & booze to try to appear interesting. It's just mindless consumerism.

I don't know anyone who travels for this reason.

Some influencers seem to, but that is there job after all.

Not an influencer, but we are foodies and wine snobs, so yes our travel often revolves around picking restaurants and wine tasting. But not like an influencer. It's simply because it's something we love. So if we are visiting France, it will include 2-3 days in a wine region, same for Italy or Spain. Because it's something we love.

Flying around the globe to literally eat food and get drunk. Are you retirees without grandkids or bored out of your mind DINKs?

I really don't understand why some folks here are getting so worked up. If you don't think it is enjoyable to see different places and try different experiences, then don't spend your money on it. Why would you care and why the judgement?

[Anonymous]

Wealth-hoarding boomers (and their heirs) gotta spend that cash on something...

[Anonymous]

Unless you have a health ailment, you're basically tagged as a boring loser if you don't travel extensively.

[Anonymous]

Wow 30 pages of comments! I haven’t read them. Travel conversation - people need to read the room - same with any topic. If their eyes glaze over pick another topic. If it’s an engaging back and forth, then it’s a good topic.

I was at a thanksgiving dinner with 20 people last week. Same group l usually have it with plus a few new people. About half 40 - 50 years old, the other half kids (tween - young adult). One of the new people in the older group brought up how he was reading the Kama Sutra. Nobody engaged with him thank goodness. Travel plans and experiences are a better topic.

[Anonymous]

Travel is “trendy” now and everyone is all about traveling while they are still young and childless, or traveling to expose their kids to the world, or traveling now that theyre retired and have time and money. So of course it’s a topic people discuss when they get together if they’ve recently been on a trip. Just like if everyone is an avid reader and tries to read 100 books a year (also a trendy thing) they’d talk about books.

I think not mentioning your recent big trip to Paris that you just returned from , out of not wanting to brag, is actually really condescending to the people you’re with. Like “oh, I shouldn’t make the peasants jealous!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My extended aunts/uncles all just got their inheritance and retirement and it’s nauseating - we were solid MC families who did road trip vacations and maybe one flight a year… now they’re planning month- long tours of a continent

I’ve been a traveler my entire adult life, I’m not jealous just annoyed by it all

yes you sound jealous. They are excited to be able to travel, and likely want to do what they can while they are still healthy and physically able to do it all. I'd be excited to to get that at any age.

Ok maybe I do sound jealous, but I’m not - I travel too. The point goes back to the OP who sounded annoyed by the tone of it all, bragging and one-upping each other which I wasn’t clear about being my issue here.

If my extended family was genuinely sharing their plans and experiences I too love that conversation (and it’s what I do with my friends), but they’re not. The conversation is just trying to battle who has the grander plan without any substance, now that they’re rich from their parents passing (my grandparents). I guess it’s better than politics discussion

I do hate Euro bragging. I have an ex-friend who did that and it was so annoying. But often travel is just an easy and generic conversation starter: "So, do you have any travel plans this summer..." etc. It's also a way to bond and share, since most people have some travel stories.

Euro bragging can be banal because in my crowd everyone has been there done that. I reallly hate the Africa safari brags because I'm just not interested. At all. At least I like to hear about something novel in Europe because I might check it out. I will not check out the serengeti or whatever. Ever.

Weird that you can’t listen to something that doesn’t apply to you. I’ll never go to Disney but I listen to people prattle on about it with a smile on my face.

Did you read? I do listen-- and I realllly hate the conversations. It's usually at a group dinner so of course one couple is dying to go or two have gone, and they keep the conversation going together. Now if there's an interesting story like a lion mauling, I'd be up for that. I also don't like Disney convos, but that's not our circle, fortunately.

[Anonymous]

Only the very rich are doing LUXURY travel. The people in our UMC immigrant group are not paying luxury prices out of pocket. Usually it is off-season group travel and/or loyalty points etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you have a health ailment, you're basically tagged as a boring loser if you don't travel extensively.

That’s weird. Extensive travel is often a way for boring losers to have something to talk about. We can see through it though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you have a health ailment, you're basically tagged as a boring loser if you don't travel extensively.

That’s weird. Extensive travel is often a way for boring losers to have something to talk about. We can see through it though.

What, pray tell, are acceptable topics of conversation in your eyes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you have a health ailment, you're basically tagged as a boring loser if you don't travel extensively.

That’s weird. Extensive travel is often a way for boring losers to have something to talk about. We can see through it though.

What, pray tell, are acceptable topics of conversation in your eyes?

I mean, travel can be an acceptable topic among others—I don’t know, books, movies, music, food—but you made it sound like in the absence of travel, you’re marked a boring loser. That’s pretty small minded, and I’m guessing you consider yourself rather worldly.

[Anonymous]

Travel is interesting - whatever your budget. I like to know where people have been. Even if I can’t afford the same as them. Travel to new places is interesting . If you’re jealous then That’s too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the opposite. I keep my travel secret. I don’t know anyone to know where I went or what I did there.

+1
Nobody asks about non-vacation weeks so I keep travel on those weeks completely secret! One woman who always asks about holiday plans will seem annoyed (just for a split second, even though she asked) so I share less or minimize.

Some people like sharing travel talk and those are my people, I usually meet them when traveling. I love hearing their stories and living vicariously for a moment.