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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can't read all 27 pages but pretty sure others must have pointed out that travel is much cheaper now than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. I grew up solidly UMC, went to private schools, and in those days a trip to Europe every year was on the extravagant side. It was known, yes, but not common. Things were already starting to change in the 1990s as flights became cheaper and it also became much easier to plan a trip overseas yourself thanks to the internet age. Imagine booking a trip in the 1980s pre internet pre email?

Come to think of it, I remember a family trip to England in 1994 and it cost 10,000 for two weeks, including flights and accommodation and food and sightseeing. That same year 10,000 was the tuition at my private school. Today the same school charges 40,000 a year in tuition. The same family trip, traveling the same level we did in 1994, would cost probably around 16-18k.

That's how much cheaper travel has become. [/quote]

1.  Private school tuition has far exceeded inflation
2. 16-18k is still extravagant[/quote]

Key components of traveling have become much cheaper relative to the 1980s/1990s, mainly flights. The 1990s saw the arrival of the discount domestic flights like Southwest and international flights also became cheaper. It's cheaper, even when factoring in inflation, to fly to Europe today than it was in 1990. I can buy a ticket to Switzerland for August for 700 today, which is less than what you'd have paid in 1995.

Traveling is never cheap-cheap, there's always a cost. But in the basket of eggs for an upper middle class family, traveling is the one egg that has become cheaper relative to the other eggs. That's why people travel more often. [/quote]

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