did your 18 year olds go to Europe the summer after graduation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD did a 3 week backpacking trip with a friend last summer after graduating. They both worked all school year to have enough money to do it, planned it out themselves. Parents paid for the round trip flights as their graduation gift, kids otherwise fully funded it. Both spent the rest of the summer working too.

Discovered during the trip that they thought you booked hostels by nights instead of arrival day / departure day so there were a few nights they had to scramble to find a place to sleep. They got a Euro-rail pass and crammed quite a lot into their three weeks! Was a great experience.

Definitely not rich.

If you have money to buy your kid a r/t ticket to Europe, you are rich.

It was $680, and her high school graduation gift. We own one car, live in a 1000 sq foot apartment, take camping trips for vacation. You make a lot of assumptions about one plane ticket.

I don’t have any extra money after paying bills. Ditto for most of America.

Just because you are poor, doesn’t make someone who can purchase a plane ticket for $680 rich.

$680 plane ticket isn’t the only cost. How much for hotels/food/admissions to museums or historic sites/ etc.

Do you really think a trip to Europe only costs $680.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Backpacking in Europe aint what it used to be. Arabic is more useful than German or French.

Sadly true

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD did a 3 week backpacking trip with a friend last summer after graduating. They both worked all school year to have enough money to do it, planned it out themselves. Parents paid for the round trip flights as their graduation gift, kids otherwise fully funded it. Both spent the rest of the summer working too.

Discovered during the trip that they thought you booked hostels by nights instead of arrival day / departure day so there were a few nights they had to scramble to find a place to sleep. They got a Euro-rail pass and crammed quite a lot into their three weeks! Was a great experience.

Definitely not rich.

If you have money to buy your kid a r/t ticket to Europe, you are rich.

It was $680, and her high school graduation gift. We own one car, live in a 1000 sq foot apartment, take camping trips for vacation. You make a lot of assumptions about one plane ticket.

I don’t have any extra money after paying bills. Ditto for most of America.

Just because you are poor, doesn’t make someone who can purchase a plane ticket for $680 rich.

$680 plane ticket isn’t the only cost. How much for hotels/food/admissions to museums or historic sites/ etc.

Do you really think a trip to Europe only costs $680.

My DD and her friend worked their senior year to earn the rest of the money they needed. They bought a euro rail pass with 10 stops, and stayed in dorm style hostels. For me, it was the only cost.

[Anonymous]

Nobody I know does this. I do know some kids study abroad in college though.

[Anonymous]

For rich kids, very. For the rest of ours, no.

[Anonymous]

My DC's have doing study abroad since 6th grade. What OP is bragging about would be boring to my DC's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bunch of unsupervised teens in a foreign country isn't something I can agree to.

I think it’s great that teens want to explore the world, but personally, I’d feel more comfortable with a trip like that after they’ve had at least a year of college or living away from home. That first year can be a big adjustment—it helps them learn how to manage independence, make safer choices, and become more aware of their surroundings.

While I know the movie Taken is fiction, it touches on a real concern: many teens, especially those raised in sheltered or privileged environments, may not fully grasp that there are people out there who will try to take advantage of their inexperience. A year out on their own, navigating day-to-day adult life, can give them stronger instincts and better judgment when traveling abroad.

That said, every teen is different—and some might be fully ready at 18. But I’d lean toward giving them more time to build life skills before encouraging a big overseas trip with peers.

I was assaulted and kidnapped (taken somewhere in a car) at 18 in another country. We were staying at a camp site near touristy places. We went to a club and I couldn’t find my friend because she left with a guy. I started walking, someone stopped and said he would help me find my campsite. He didn’t. I was lucky he let me go and I found the police. My friend by then was sleeping in the camper. Watch out for the girls obsessed with guys and they are the last ones adults would suspect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours enrolled in the German Language School in Berlin and had an amazing experience. Highly recommend the school and their program if your child wants to learn German and experience life in Berlin. She made lifelong friends, became fluent and had an incredible time.

Ooh, what’s her ILR score?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Backpacking in Europe aint what it used to be. Arabic is more useful than German or French.

pepper or bear
spray it and say it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD did a 3 week backpacking trip with a friend last summer after graduating. They both worked all school year to have enough money to do it, planned it out themselves. Parents paid for the round trip flights as their graduation gift, kids otherwise fully funded it. Both spent the rest of the summer working too.

Discovered during the trip that they thought you booked hostels by nights instead of arrival day / departure day so there were a few nights they had to scramble to find a place to sleep. They got a Euro-rail pass and crammed quite a lot into their three weeks! Was a great experience.

Definitely not rich.

If you have money to buy your kid a r/t ticket to Europe, you are rich.

It was $680, and her high school graduation gift. We own one car, live in a 1000 sq foot apartment, take camping trips for vacation. You make a lot of assumptions about one plane ticket.

I don’t have any extra money after paying bills. Ditto for most of America.

Just because you are poor, doesn’t make someone who can purchase a plane ticket for $680 rich.

$680 plane ticket isn’t the only cost. How much for hotels/food/admissions to museums or historic sites/ etc.

Do you really think a trip to Europe only costs $680.

My kid spent maybe a total of $900 over two weeks in Europe that they funded from their own earnings over their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC's have doing study abroad since 6th grade. What OP is bragging about would be boring to my DC's.

Is that because your DCs are losers?

You do know that most of these European hot spots are populated by other…Europeans who still get a ton of enjoyment training from say France to Barcelona or Germany to Italy for a couple of weeks over the Summer.

I gather you live in the US and also travel to other parts of the US, no?

[Anonymous]

Nope, I wouldn't allow that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Backpacking in Europe aint what it used to be. Arabic is more useful than German or French.

This is why I might let my son backpack through Europe, but not my daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Backpacking in Europe aint what it used to be. Arabic is more useful than German or French.

This is why I might let my son backpack through Europe, but not my daughter.

Why exactly is that? What’s the issue with people who speak Arabic and your daughter being around them?

[Anonymous]

We're in a wealthy neighborhood and no graduate I know did this. They have already experienced multiple international locations with their families or on school trips, and they all knew they would do study abroad programs with their colleges. We are French, are pretty widely traveled, and my kids don't feel the need to go to another country as a sort of rite of passage.