Is this a normal or excessive amount of travel?

[Anonymous]

This has been on my mind since I just saw my sister over the holiday. Her big complaint in life is not being able to travel as much as she'd like. By my reckoning, they take an annual ski vacation over Christmas, a trip to somewhere in the Caribbean in February, another week long vacation in April to a warm place like Disney, Europe or a national parks trip in July, beach vacation in August. She has 3 kids.

So we're talking 5 full weeks here. Plus a couple weekends (Memorial Day weekend, Jewish high holidays). And they ski so they spend most weekends in the winter doing that.

And she still complains about wanting to do more and her husband not "letting" her.

I tried to mention how this seems excessive to me but she said most people she knows travels like this if not more. They live outside of NYC.

[Anonymous]

Sounds normal to me

[Anonymous]

A lot with three kids.

[Anonymous]

This is very typical almost boring IB family travel. I see why she is frustrated. It’s same old same old. I bet DH likes going places he knows.

[Anonymous]

Do Jewish private schools have a ski week? How are they traveling Feb?

And I so wish Christmas was not two weeks in December — that’s so much of my vacation time and it all goes to family and holidays.

[Anonymous]

That sounds like our schedule - minus we don't get a week in February - usually 5 days. We travel some long weekends and not others.

Is her compliant about frequency or location? I am not sure we could do much more. . . I get tired and looking forward to home time after travel with kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do Jewish private schools have a ski week? How are they traveling Feb?

And I so wish Christmas was not two weeks in December — that’s so much of my vacation time and it all goes to family and holidays.

Did the OP say they’re Jewish? Public schools often get the high holidays off, as does our (non-Jewish) private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do Jewish private schools have a ski week? How are they traveling Feb?

And I so wish Christmas was not two weeks in December — that’s so much of my vacation time and it all goes to family and holidays.

Many NYC area schools (public) have a February break. We used to be put on planes to go to Florida to visit our snowbird grandparents. It was very strange being in places like Cocoa Beach and running into four kids from school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is very typical almost boring IB family travel. I see why she is frustrated. It’s same old same old. I bet DH likes going places he knows.

What does IB mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do Jewish private schools have a ski week? How are they traveling Feb?

And I so wish Christmas was not two weeks in December — that’s so much of my vacation time and it all goes to family and holidays.

Many NYC area schools (public) have a February break. We used to be put on planes to go to Florida to visit our snowbird grandparents. It was very strange being in places like Cocoa Beach and running into four kids from school.

Yeah the NYC area has a week in Feb plus the Jewish holidays off. This seems like a lot of vacation to me - we take 2-3 trips a year most years (a week to ski, plus a two week trip in the summer). THis seems like a lot but if they can afford it, I don't think it is "too much." I have trouble figuring out how you'd fit in much more travel than this assuming the parents work and their kids are school age. Also, if they live in the NYC area and are wealthy, they may be sending their kids to sleep away camp for 7 weeks each summer, which cuts down on opportunity for summer family trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sounds like our schedule - minus we don't get a week in February - usually 5 days. We travel some long weekends and not others.

Is her compliant about frequency or location? I am not sure we could do much more. . . I get tired and looking forward to home time after travel with kids!

Both. Her DH does prefer going to the same places (hence they go skiing, to the Caribbean, and the beach every year). I think they do a thing where he picks a destination, then she picks, etc. and he always picks the same places which she finds frustrating. But she also wants a sixth week long vacation in the fall - I think she wants to time it with the Jewish High Holidays. We’re not Jewish but in NY you get those days off from school.

Anyway, my attempts to tell her that if your problem in life is that your DH is too cheap to pay for a SIXTH annual vacation, your life is not that bad, etc. fell on deaf ears.

I’m surprised by all the people saying this is a normal, even “boring” amount of travel!

[Anonymous]

I have a question. How much money do you think they spend on this?

5 weeklong vacations for 5 people is a lot and I think it would be expensive. Especially since it sounds like at least 2 or 3 are to international destinations.

[Anonymous]

We do similar travel plus a 4-5 long weekends visiting family. I also do twice a year trips by myself-one a group girls trip (4 days) and another where I visit 2 friends who both happened to move to one of my favorite cities. Do not understand why you are dissing her? Just because travel isn't something you put a high value on doesn't mean it's not important to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do similar travel plus a 4-5 long weekends visiting family. I also do twice a year trips by myself-one a group girls trip (4 days) and another where I visit 2 friends who both happened to move to one of my favorite cities. Do not understand why you are dissing her? Just because travel isn't something you put a high value on doesn't mean it's not important to her.

I am dissing her because she complains about her DH being too cheap to pay for a sixth week long vacation.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like she's doing something right, in my book!

This year, I'm going the Caribbean between Christmas and New Years, going skiing in Colorado at the end of January, going to S. American at the end of February, and will take at least two weeks in the summer (not yet sure if they will be consecutive or separate trips). I also have one weekend trip planned and will like do a few others. Life's too short to not do what you love!