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

[Anonymous]

Grew up lower middle class, we...
-spent a couple of days at a nearby beach, rented hotel room in the middle of the week with frig and bought groceries.
-took one day to go to a theme park, with discounted tickets
-went to visit family overnight, in state , and stopped at a historical or tourist attraction along the way. I still love history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP LMC 40K here. Im up and have insomnia so i figured I'd overshare


A few years back, we did a 2.5 week long trip down the California coast that did not break the budget.

Took some flexibility and A LOT of planning but it was one of the most amazing trips we've ever done as a family, and well worth the investment and sacrifice.

That year our family had experienced a lot of hardship and death, so I wanted to take the kids minds off it all and remind them that there is a big world out there.

Here it goes :

Details Family of 3. One Adult Two kids 8 and 10. Trip was two years ago. Spent about $3K.

Looked like this:

Prepping: No souvenirs that couldn't fit in a backpack rule. I let their journals/digital photos be their souvenirs. I also involved them with sourcing activities on the internet.

Packed - Every person had one backpack with essentials only. No toys. Four changes of clothing ( two jeans - two pair shoes rule) only. No formal wear. Wont list the whole packing plan here, but looked online for great packing tips. Packed dry food for snacking on airplane and ease of security clearance.

Total Cost for a non outdoor camping two week trip to California for a family of 3: About $3000

Here's how I did it (Best that I can remember)

Total Planning time: 6 months
Financial Savings time: 1 Year

Travel - (Total $1300)
Activities Budget ($400)
Food Budget ($400)
Lodging (Total $840)



LODGING BREAKDOWN

4 Nights - HI hostel in downtown San Fran, @ 60 per night, private room

2 Nights - Residence Inn style Hotel in San Fran (Expedia) @ 70 per night, liv room and bedroom and cooking space

3 nights - HI Hostel in Monterrey CA @ 90 per night private room

2 nights - Residence Inn style Hotel in Los Angeles @ 70 per night (Expedia)

3 nights HI Hostel in San Pedro (BEAUTIFUL) by Korean Bell

3 nights - A surprisingly nice AirBnB private apartment @ 90 per night



TRAVEL BREAKDOWN - ( Total $1300 )

Flights - 3 Multicity fares DCA to San Fran, LA to BWI (Total $750) (Booked to travel on Tue-Thur)

Amtrak California Coastal Line From San Fran - Monterrey - Los Angeles. Total ($150)

Uber/Lyft/Local Trolley/Local Bus/Ferry budget for two weeks ($250)
Zipcar budget for two weeks ($150)


Food Budget ($400)

- Free breakfast at every hotel and some hostels. We also had groceries locally delivered/sourced several nights and prepared meals. We ate at local budget friendly restaurants a few times, but less than five times that I can remember, we drank lots of water and packed our lunches

Activities Budget ($400) (Eventbrite was AWESOME for sourcing unique local free to low cost activities, most things we did were free)

- Beach days, Street Festivals, Car Shows, Cultural Events, Film Screenings, Monterrey Aquarium (Got Discounted Tickets from Craigslist), Alcatraz, San Francisco Bay Ferry to Oakland, Museums, Local Parks, Historical Sites, College Campus Tour, Book readings, Church visits, Free concerts, ran a 5K, too many to list!

I know this was long, (maybe better for a thread on the travel forum) but if OP wanted a little inspiration I hope this helps.

Planning, creativity, and priorities are key. We have a very low expense to income ratio in my home so I stretch my 40K per year a little farther than most people could.

This is awesome!! You should start a blog or something with more tips like this!

[Anonymous]

No vacations or family visits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has derailed, but I'll still throw in my utterly MC family's 1980s vacations:

- Weekend at King's Dominion, camping at nearby campground
- Lancaster, PA to amish country (camping!)
- Multiple families crammed into non-beachfront rentals at the Jersey Shore. (No tvs, certainly no AC)
- One of our family friends bought an RV, so there was yes, yet MORE camping. The adults slept in the RV and the kids slept in tents.

Family meals for all of these vacations were cheap, Duggar-style casseroles, maybe grilled hotdogs or campers stew. Generic giant bags of cereal for breakfast, powdered reconstituted milk, bologna sandwiches and capri sun for lunch. Someone might spring for donuts or a crab boil one day. The highlight of any of these trips was the one evening outing where we played mini golf or went to the boardwalk and got an airbrushed t-shirt. Couples would rotate a night out while the other couples watched all the kids.

It was awesome and I remember it so fondly! Simple and fun.

Ahh you brought back some great memories for me! Thanks

[Anonymous]

We went to OC MD for a week every summer. My aunt owned a condo and probably gave my mom a discounted rate. She was a single mom. I am a single mom and we go to visit family or friends. My same aunt owns a house near the beach in SC. We go for 4-5 days.

[Anonymous]

This thread is timely. I’m actually struggling trying to find an affordable hotel/Airbnb near the DELMARVA beach and so far unsuccessful. Can’t afford the big chain hotels and the cheaper nicer motels has a three night weeekend during the holiday weekends or in the summer. We are a household of 4 with HHI of $150K. We definitely fall in the MC group. BTW I hate camping (the tent kind) so that’s a no go. We don’t have family in the country either.

[Anonymous]

I grew up believing that we traveled a lot. I didn't realize there were bigger and longer trips to take, and I loved our little trips. We were in NY, and they were all road trips for 3-4 days, staying in motels with a pool and bringing most of our food in a cooler. Boston, Mystic CT, DC, Philly, Lancaster, Poconos, Upstate NY lakes...

We bought 25 cent postcards for souvenirs, ate at places like Denny's, and used whatever coupons and teachers discounts we're available.

[Anonymous]

What about going to Delaware, NJ or NY state fair and staying in a relatively cheaper hotel with a good pool? You could drive, take a cooler of food (if necessary) or eat cheaply, do the fair, maybe find another local place to stop, there are plenty of parks around. On the way back or even on the way there, stop at the Delmarva beaches for the day and then come home or check in to your hotel. That would be a "cute" in my mind, easy 4 or 5 day trip, during the week in the summer when hotel rates are lower. Especially going north, you can avoid some of the toll roads by taking back roads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is timely. I’m actually struggling trying to find an affordable hotel/Airbnb near the DELMARVA beach and so far unsuccessful. Can’t afford the big chain hotels and the cheaper nicer motels has a three night weeekend during the holiday weekends or in the summer. We are a household of 4 with HHI of $150K. We definitely fall in the MC group. BTW I hate camping (the tent kind) so that’s a no go. We don’t have family in the country either.

I think you're missing the point--you're being too picky/selective and when you are "lower middle class" and want to take your family on vacation, you don't have that luxury.

Maybe don't stay at a DELMARVA beach; look into Virginia Beach, New Jersey beaches, etc.

If the hotel you can afford requires 3 nights stay, check into what it would take for you to stay 3 nights. Are 3 nights there cheaper than 2 at the other hotels?

And you refuse to camp so...

Lower your standards or make other sacrifices so you can raise your vacation budget.

[Anonymous]

Drive to different cities, stay at cheap hotels, visit museums/zoos/aquariums

[Anonymous]

Car camping. Loved it. ( I dont now.) state parks. Rarely ate out. Roy Rogers was a treat. National parks for longer trips. Got a sense of the vast Anerican landscape that has served me ever since. Many flights cross country has given me little of the information two car camping trips did. Learned a lot at all the ranger programs in the parks, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is timely. I’m actually struggling trying to find an affordable hotel/Airbnb near the DELMARVA beach and so far unsuccessful. Can’t afford the big chain hotels and the cheaper nicer motels has a three night weeekend during the holiday weekends or in the summer. We are a household of 4 with HHI of $150K. We definitely fall in the MC group. BTW I hate camping (the tent kind) so that’s a no go. We don’t have family in the country either.

I think you're missing the point--you're being too picky/selective and when you are "lower middle class" and want to take your family on vacation, you don't have that luxury.

Maybe don't stay at a DELMARVA beach; look into Virginia Beach, New Jersey beaches, etc.

If the hotel you can afford requires 3 nights stay, check into what it would take for you to stay 3 nights. Are 3 nights there cheaper than 2 at the other hotels?

And you refuse to camp so...

Lower your standards or make other sacrifices so you can raise your vacation budget.

A PP here and you must be the postwr thinking you are doling out some great wisdom when you mentioned cutting cable

VA beaches cost just slightly less than OC MD and also have the minimum rule. And clearly you haven’t been to OC MD lately bc even the oldest, basic motel in season is easily close to $200 per night (rate + taxes and fees). OC NJ runs about 20% more than OC MD btw.

And I don’t blame a mom or dad who works hard all year and wants a vacation and doesn’t want to camp. They might actually want to take a real break and not have to do all the grocery shopping, start campfires, cook and try and clean up pans at a campsite. They likely also don’t want to be stuck in heat and humidity on an uncomfortable ground sleeping for a few nights. That’s so uncomfortable. And no it’s not being spoiled and yes middle income people deserve a break too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry if original post was snarky. I was just truly curious how average MC families take vacations. I guess DCUM is not a reflection of most MC families. I read these posts and I’m like geez am I failing my kids by not giving them these awesome vacations? People write here like going to the Caribbean and/or Europe is the norm for most families. I know I should be grateful. I’m going to read all this again and read suggestions.

I don't know if this is true for Europe or the Caribbean but I do feel this is true for the beach or Florida and I feel like we don't go anywhere. Florida involves a flight for us (can't tolerate long drives) and we are not fans of East Coast beaches (I can imagine why anyone would spend a mortgage payment for a week in a house in Ocean City or NC). Therefore any vacation we do is going to be pretty pricey so we just don't go. I hate the September question "how was your summer?" like it's supposed to be a fundamentally different time period. Judging from attendance at our community pool though I would say people really do travel. In August our pool is absolutely dead because everyone is away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is timely. I’m actually struggling trying to find an affordable hotel/Airbnb near the DELMARVA beach and so far unsuccessful. Can’t afford the big chain hotels and the cheaper nicer motels has a three night weeekend during the holiday weekends or in the summer. We are a household of 4 with HHI of $150K. We definitely fall in the MC group. BTW I hate camping (the tent kind) so that’s a no go. We don’t have family in the country either.

Look in ocean pines/OCMD or further inland for less expensive rates, and plan to drive to the beach. We stay at afriend's house in Millville, DE 10 mins from Bethany.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry if original post was snarky. I was just truly curious how average MC families take vacations. I guess DCUM is not a reflection of most MC families. I read these posts and I’m like geez am I failing my kids by not giving them these awesome vacations? People write here like going to the Caribbean and/or Europe is the norm for most families. I know I should be grateful. I’m going to read all this again and read suggestions.

I don't know if this is true for Europe or the Caribbean but I do feel this is true for the beach or Florida and I feel like we don't go anywhere. Florida involves a flight for us (can't tolerate long drives) and we are not fans of East Coast beaches (I can imagine why anyone would spend a mortgage payment for a week in a house in Ocean City or NC). Therefore any vacation we do is going to be pretty pricey so we just don't go. I hate the September question "how was your summer?" like it's supposed to be a fundamentally different time period. Judging from attendance at our community pool though I would say people really do travel. In August our pool is absolutely dead because everyone is away.

I can't imagine not going on vacation. We still vacationed as a family of 6 with a HHI of $160ish...including trips that involve planes.

Anyone can travel. It's all about priorities. We live frugally year round so we can take nice trips throughout the year. The people I know who snark at us like "Must be nice to go to X...wish I could afford a trip to X" tend to blow money in obvious ways on lunch at work, Starbucks, mani/pedis, fancy makeup/hair care, cleaning service/lawn service, constantly eating out/takeout, beer/wine/booze, concerts/movies, organic everything, skiing, fancy car, a house they really can't afford, random crap from target, always decorating their houses, etc. Add that up; it's a trip to Europe.