Anonymous wrote:I started working when I was 16. I came as an AP when I was 26 so I was wiki g for over 10 years by then and had finished my masters already. I paid for my program all by myself from all documentation to tix and agency fees. My parents never spent a dime with all my international trips. Let's say I had my priorities straight from early on.

Anonymous wrote:
....
I was an AP and traveled A LOT with that $139.05 salary (good thing I didn't pay rent or food then). I traveled on my own when I was still paying my student loans. It's a matter of priority and being resourceful. ...

So by your definition, "having my priorities straight" means having free room and board, so you can use all your money to travel from a base that's already in a foreign country for you. Got it. Too bad this AP opportunity isn't available to everybody. What you don't have straight is your sense of what reality looks like for the rest of the population.

Signed, frequent flyer abroad

Anonymous wrote:17:47---I have seen the Eiffel Tower *and* Big Ben. In person. Im sorry but I just can't relate to those who have only seen pictures.

*And* you appear terribly cliché.

There are cooler things to see abroad then the two things that look the exact same in a photo as they do. in. person. I'd rather walk through the Forum, swim the Blue Grotto, eat my way through Tuscany, kiss the Blarney Stone and run with the bulls in Pamplona then see the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben. Just sayin'.

^^ Awww that I understand... No judgement here, hugs!!

A former manager's husband has never flown because of fear of flying.

Nanny again- Sorry to take over the post with my typos and tips... But here's another one: I try to book all my hotels on hotels.com because for every 10th stay you earn a free night. I also stay in hostels in a single room, bed and breakfasts, etc. As long as it's safe with a public transport I try to stay as cheap as possible. The USD is bad for Europe but its okay in Asia. I stayed in a 3 star in Beijing for $35, and it included breakfast.

I started working when I was 16. I came as an AP when I was 26 so I was wiki g for over 10 years by then and had finished my masters already. I paid for my program all by myself from all documentation to tix and agency fees. My parents never spent a dime with all my international trips. Let's say I had my priorities straight from early on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Let's try again...

Did you notice that in some destinations the meals and transportation are part of the package? Food is CHEAP there, you don't have to tip, but still you don't want to see it. I'm not saying going to Brazil it's cheaper than staying at your boring beach house cooking for others and cleaning after your ILs. I never said that. I said that traveling abroad is cheaper than most of you are guessing. Mostly because you don't know how to search or don't speak the local language. That's all I wanted to say and so far all you did was attack me with your bad math and silly non sense arguments.

I was an AP and traveled A LOT with that $139.05 salary (good thing I didn't pay rent or food then). I traveled on my own when I was still paying my student loans. It's a matter of priority and being resourceful.

Now, if you still think that Expedia will give you the magic link to paradise, all I can do is LOL while you spend Thanksgiving with your lovely ILs. I'll be waiting for your posts on that last week of November

OK, I give up (for now).

I'm a bit gobsmacked by the nonsensical parts of this post. I'll just put the contradictions out there.

1. You claim you never said the price difference between Brazil and the beach house was irrelevant. Did you forget that you wrote this: "Oh please! We went to Brazil last Thanksgiving and the tix were $550 per person non stop. You guys should learn how to search for deals if you really want to go. Price is such a lame excuse! "

2. You actually admit that you were able to travel because you got free rent and food at one of your first jobs. And as a result you think the rest of the world should be able to travel just out of college, just like you did?

3. The proof that my math is good is that it got you to admit, above, that going to Brazil is more expensive than the beach house.

Again, I think your next "educational vacation" should be to Anacostia. You can grill the "natives" there about why they never travel abroad.

Nanny again- I went to Italy a few months ago and stayed in a convent in Venice, right by the piazza San Marco for $40/night because I shared a room with my friend. There's no need to spend 3600 euros for a week. I'm sorry but not many people can afford that!! At my former convent there were lots of families and it included breakfast. You're never in your hotel when you travel, so I never ever pat more than $100 for a room. I usually pay $60-70, even in Paris! Last year I stayed on the outskirts and just took the metro s few stops. My best friend lives in Europe and makes even less $$ than me, and she travelled with her 2 kids to meet me in rome. She went on Ryan air the cheap airline for $60 for all 3 of them. Our hotel wasn't glamorous, but we arent fancy people we just wanted to see the beauty of the city. I don't care where I sleep when I travel, as long as there is a roof over my head. When I travel with my boss we stay at the four seasons etc and I'm always feeling guilty ordering room service even though I'm allowed. $20 for a soup?! I try to get a room when I travel with a mini fridge and then you can eat really inexpesively. I just eat out at night for dinners and neverfrrl deprived! I'm going to Cambodia next month and then Vietnam for Xmas. I prioritize travel and will go without a lot of luxuries because I know travel has made me a better person. Anyways not trying to be snarky at all, I'm a nanny so I know how it feels when money is tight. I really recommend joining one of those eshopping malls with the airlines because you can collect so many points. I wait until I need a good amount of stuff then shop target online and then qualify for free shipping. Every dollar counts, I get airmiles even for buying my boss' toilet paper!! They are very wealthy so they know I collect airmiles when I do errands and they don't mind at all, in case anyone says what I'm doing is wrong.

What I've learned from this thread:

If you don't have $5K to take your family on a jaunt to Brazil or Europe, then...
(a) You've simply failed to "prioritize."
(b) The reason you don't give priority to foreign travel is that you are totally uninterested in foreign cultures. Not because you want to eat, or pay the mortgage, or save for college.
(c) it's OK that Brazilians don't travel abroad because they want to explore Brazil. It's inexcusable when Americans explore the U.S. instead of going abroad, however. (WTF?)
(d) If you settle for the much cheaper beach house, then this doesn't mean you place priority on paying the mortgage or saving for college -- instead this makes you an ignorant American.

Signed, somebody who had been to 4 continents and speaks 3 languages, 2 of them fluently. But who knows that not everybody has my advantages, and who doesn't want to play the prima donna on DCUM.

It looks lovely. But if you look at the rates, the cheapest rate for a house that sleeps 4 over the summer (high season) is 3,600 euros. That's like $5,000 a week for lodging.

There is a house that sleeps 2+, and you might be able to put your kids on cots, but that's still 1,600 euros or about $2,200 per week for lodging.

http://altabella.com/rates

We went to Italy this summer too. It was an experience I don't think I, or my kids and husband, will soon forget either.

But it was $1,000 a ticket to Fiumicino (outside Rome), for tickets bought six months before the trip. A ticket to Florence or Milan would be more. A rental like the one you link to probably cost at least $1,000, and more like $2,000?

I'm sorry to say this, but it's hard to "make it a priority" if saving $5K is impossible on your budget. "We didn't have a ton of money" really is in the eye of the beholder.

http://altabella.com/home

We stayed here last year. It was amazing!
We didn't have a ton of $ but we wanted to go to Italy so we saved up, went to a travel agent, told her how much we had to spend and where we wanted to go
She figured out how to make it work and it was an experience I will never forget.
I know some people don't have a ton of $ but it is possible you just need to make it a priority if that's what you want to do.
And it wasn't dirty at all and there was no hostel and no teenagers, it was a short drive to many amazing towns and they loved Americans and the food was amazing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ILs never stop traveling, and I just don't get the obsession. Sometimes it seems like they do it to feel superior, take pictures, and be able to tell other people they travel extensively. They come back exhausted, and they don't use their knowledge of other countries to become less racist and classist themselves, or to make the world a better place. It's just an exercise in narcissism.

My aunt and uncle are like that.

Each time they travel, it's as though Edith and Archie Bunker have landed in a "foreign" country.

Yes, I know people like this! They go on and on about how they had the best sushi in Japan, the best pizza in Italy, blah blah. You really can't know the culture of a country unless you've lived there. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person does not make you cultured. It makes you a tourist.

Wait, so now it doesn't matter if we've TRAVELED abroad, we have to have LIVED abroad in order to be "cultured?" Give me a freaking break. You're quite the pretentious twat.

My apologies Edith.

To the nanny, sounds great! Good for you for being so resourceful. Where is your next trip? I use my teaching job to my advantage, too, by going abroad in the summer. This year it was national (CA) but have been to Aus/NZ, India, Europe, Costa Rica, Vietnam, and more. Also, I imagine you are helping the children you nanny for a more global perspective by sharing your experiences with them.

Nanny again- sorry about the typos! I was on my blackberry. But wanted to pass along the American airlines online shopping tip through the eshopping mall, I earn tons of miles that way!!!!

Anonymous wrote:Well, would you prefer that I lie and say that that shit interests me because I want to appear a certain way? I also don't listen to NPR or read the NY Times because I feel it will impress people. And I eat lots and lots of red meat and high fructose corn syrup.

Love this.