Curious…by the time your kids graduate HS

[Anonymous]

My kids are 12 and 14 and we’re doing our first overseas plane trip this summer. It’s been sort of a slow build up to a more ambitious trip every summer, peppered with lots of random long weekend-type trips nearby. Our best memories are in the most random spots, and I hope that they’re learning to keep expectations low and be pleasantly surprised by the little things. Our list of places will not be impressive to anyone who frequents this site. But when they head off on their own, I hope that they’ve learned to move confidently (and safely) through unfamiliar places, to be curious, to enjoy small pleasures and to make the best out of challenging situations.

[Anonymous]

We have tweens/early teens and a HHI of $800k, though 5 years ago it was probably $300k.

My kids have been to Europe once before COVID (we're returning this summer). They've visited NYC many times (it's a family favorite). They've gone skiing in Colorado a couple of times, visited Acadia twice. We've done Disney/Universal an embarrassing four times in the last year and a half, since we missed some of the prime ages to go thanks to COVID, and they were tiny the last time they went.

We were planning to take them to Puerto Rico in a few weeks for a work reward trip, but they have too much going on so they're staying with grandparents.

I know what you mean, OP. It seems like some of my kids' friends are always in Cabo. One of them is visiting New Zealand right now. We're not as much beach people other than local beaches in the summer, but we probably seem like we're always zipping off somewhere to other people. To me, having an excuse to be together is what matters. These moments are precious; the details of where you go and how much you spend aren't as important.

When the kids were in preschool we bought a second home in the mountains. It was such a godsend during COVID, when we couldn't go anywhere or do anything. It's nice to have somewhere to spend time together where we're all relaxed. Maintaining a second home obviously cuts into our potential travel budget. Maybe we'd be going to luxury resorts all the time, IDK (still doubt it). We more enjoy places with a lot of activities or sight seeing.

[Anonymous]

I have lived on four continents and outside my home country for 25 years. I have no idea how many countries I or my kids have been to. It would never occur to me to count. Why do people do that?

[Anonymous]

We've traveled with DS since he was 1, to visit family in India, trips within India and elsewhere. We like to travel and hope that DS will too. For the past few years, we have prioritized the outdoors, with long hut-hut treks and backpacking trips all over - the desert Southwest, the US and Canadian Rockies, Sierras, White Mountains, Dolomites, Alps, Pyrenees, Scottish Highlands, Iceland, Scandinavia, Patagonia (Argentina and Chile), the Andes (Peru). Covid put the kibosh on Kilimanjaro and the Everest base camp treks but we hope to do those sometime before DS heads off to college. Otherwise, we have spent time in Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, various cities in Europe/Asia, sometimes due to work travel, which we extended.

[Anonymous]

This is fun to think about. My younger is about to go to college and the older is in college. They have both been to around 20 states, mostly on road trips, but also flying to New Mexico and Oregon (family visits).

Older has been to France, Great Britain twice.
Younger has been to Great Britain once, Israel, and Belize.

I've been to 46 states and around 20 countries so obviously I like to travel a fair amount. We don't have a lot of money but do a good job economizing on trips and have often combined travel with staying with good friends and family, especially internationally.

[Anonymous]

We have a must-do list that is based on the ages of kids and their ability to do certain activities - for example our early elementary kids are not ready for white water rafting.

My husband’s must-do list of big trips -
Alaskan cruise with grandparents and siblings
2 week “out west” trip with a ranch, Grand Canyon, rafting when kids are in Jr high
Visiting friends in Germany - we’ll align this with a 4th grade school exchange program or me running the Berlin marathon.
Hawaii - probably renting a house for 2 weeks over Christmas with grandparents and/or siblings.

My must-do list -
Costa Rica
Iceland
Trip for each kid to the European country whose language they choose to study in school

Our “nice to have” list -
San Diego and Disneyland / Lego Land - spring break 2024
1 week at a Caribbean or Central American luxury beach resort
Mexico resort trip with my parents - Christmas ‘23 or ‘24
Maine / Acadia
Vancouver, BC
Glacier National Park or Banff

Our “3-4 day weekends without sports” short list - we try to do 2-3 a year, one being a driving trip for fall leaves.
Charlottesville / Wintergreen / VA State parks / Shenandoah / Fingerlakes / Eastern shore
Boston
Savannah
Chicago
Austin
Assorted NYC area - day trips when visiting family
UP Michigan
New Orleans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 12 and 14 and we’re doing our first overseas plane trip this summer. It’s been sort of a slow build up to a more ambitious trip every summer, peppered with lots of random long weekend-type trips nearby. Our best memories are in the most random spots, and I hope that they’re learning to keep expectations low and be pleasantly surprised by the little things. Our list of places will not be impressive to anyone who frequents this site. But when they head off on their own, I hope that they’ve learned to move confidently (and safely) through unfamiliar places, to be curious, to enjoy small pleasures and to make the best out of challenging situations.

I love this approach. Our kids are 6 and 8 and our most adventurous trip so far was Puerto Rico, given a 2 year lull where we didn’t fly during Covid. We made a list of our dream trips and favorite memories from our childhood and plotted out the activities and ages to best participate and enjoy them - as well as whether or not it’s a first flight. Our vacations are vacations - not trips. Dragging a napping toddler all over Europe or dealing with jet lagged kids just so I can say I took them to Paris, is not enjoyable to me. As our kids have dropped naps, increasingly been able to walk all day, do strenuous hikes, contribute to kayak rowing, carry their own luggage, and been more flexible with bedtimes and eating new foods, we have slowly added longer flights and more unfamiliar situations. My kids may not see every continent before they leave for college, but they will have an appreciation for the culture and geography of major regions of the US and will have some experiences navigating a city where they don’t speak the language.

[Anonymous]

HHI 300k with two older teenagers. We’ve done: Yellowstone/Grand Teton, San Francisco, Williamsburg, Chicago, Boston, Disney, Acadia, Philadelphia, Iceland, Bermuda, Cancun, New York, Smoky Mountains, Finger Lakes/Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon/Sedona, Moab Utah.

We only did local beaches when very young then ramped up to bigger trips.

My family growing up always went the same place every year so I always try to give our kids a broader set of experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are Indian-Americans and most of our annual trips were to India to see the grandparents. My kids have gone to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and around 8 Indian states (road trips) and several big cities on our annual trips to India. We have also visited England, France, Canada, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Chile, Peru, Iceland. Some of these were by breaking our trip to India and staying from a couple days to up to a week in some of these countries.

We have done several long road trips and seen many national parks in the US. These were due to going to out of state for competitions, camps, internships, college visits etc. DH is pretty good about wanting to travel. My kids on the other hand hate traveling. They don't mind visiting tourist sites, but they hate the travel. The planes, the airports, the road trips. They like fancy food in fancy restaurants and they like luxury hotels, but getting to and fro the destination bugs them and most of the times the historical sites or tourist destinations do not move them, the same way they move me.

We have never gone on a cruise because my kids hate the idea. They do not like the beach or the ocean. They hate shopping too. We went to Disney world and universal studios a few times but my kids are not big fans and never wanted to return to it.

We are looking forward to travelling without the children now that they are in college. Taking them with us was for me a royal pain in the butt. My DH on the other hand wanted them with us all the time. I think they will like going with their friends rather than going with us parents.

Curious, what is your Hhi? These are some fancy trips

400K now. Obviously less than that over the years when we were raising them. We live fairly frugally in terms of housing, cars, schooling (public) etc. The trips were usually add-ons to existing trips. Maximized airline miles etc.

[Anonymous]

By the time DC graduated HS these countries and a bunch of US states

Brazil couple times
Panama
Montreal
Belize
Bahamas
Aruba
Puerto Rico
England
France three times
Spain few times
Italy several times
Greek Islands 3 times
Dubai
Philippines
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Thailand
Mexico couple times
Cyprus
Netherlands
Nepal
India

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived on four continents and outside my home country for 25 years. I have no idea how many countries I or my kids have been to. It would never occur to me to count. Why do people do that?

People do that when their number is very low. I’ve also lived on four continents and cannot count the countries I’ve been to since infancy. However, for my very young child I can still count. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Many Americans traditionally did not travel much out of their country, due to high costs, less time off, and far distances. It’s a much different story for someone from Europe who gets 6 weeks of paid vacation, and chooses from 6 countries all within a 4 hour drive. You really cannot blame anyone here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived on four continents and outside my home country for 25 years. I have no idea how many countries I or my kids have been to. It would never occur to me to count. Why do people do that?

People do that when their number is very low. I’ve also lived on four continents and cannot count the countries I’ve been to since infancy. However, for my very young child I can still count. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Many Americans traditionally did not travel much out of their country, due to high costs, less time off, and far distances. It’s a much different story for someone from Europe who gets 6 weeks of paid vacation, and chooses from 6 countries all within a 4 hour drive. You really cannot blame anyone here.

Such a measured and mature response

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is “cheating” as we live overseas on military orders. We are on one government salary, with a 4yo and 6yo. They’ve been to 24 countries so far, even with being sidelined for 18 months due to pandemic travel restrictions. EU travel is very affordable overall when you’re already based in the EU, and we live close to several countries you can easily do a weekend trip to. We are due to return to the US next year; I am sure it will take a couple decades or more or never after that for them to visit another 24 countries. (Favorites have been Baltic states, Scotland, Morocco, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece).

And this here is the key. You can have all the money in the word, but if you live in the geographically isolated US, it is very hard to show your kids the world on one or two week trips to Europe. You just end up hitting the most overtouristed spots like Paris, Lisbon, and Copenhagen. Our family also lives in Europe and we have been able to visit so many off the beaten path places and countries that would never be possible from the US. It’s a combination of time, exposure, and ability to stay in Europe long term that is the key, rather than HHI. That’s why American kids, even from rich families and cities, still seem so unsophisticated in comparison.

Why do you need to show your children the world? it will still be there when they grow up and they can see it on their own. Just giving them a taste of what’s out there is enough.

Is it still going to be here though? I feel some sort of urgency to show some of the world to them before it’s not accessible or disappears.
I think travel will become even more out of reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 12 and 14 and we’re doing our first overseas plane trip this summer. It’s been sort of a slow build up to a more ambitious trip every summer, peppered with lots of random long weekend-type trips nearby. Our best memories are in the most random spots, and I hope that they’re learning to keep expectations low and be pleasantly surprised by the little things. Our list of places will not be impressive to anyone who frequents this site. But when they head off on their own, I hope that they’ve learned to move confidently (and safely) through unfamiliar places, to be curious, to enjoy small pleasures and to make the best out of challenging situations.

OP here. Thanks for this perspective.

[Anonymous]

My HS kids have been to 13 countries and 27 states. HHI about $450K. We love to travel.