Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to travel, maybe consider getting a job in the airline or travel business.

That's what I did and travel is just a way of life. It might not get you rich but when you don't have to pay for flights you can at least travel like a rich person

Airline? Asking for one of my dc who would like this life I think!

Yes I work in the corporate office for an airline. Regular 9-5 job. It's a great industry, a lot of fun and will take you so many places.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so weird me to that people on DCUM have been on multiple international vacations. I never have (business travel, yes). But popping over to Europe for a long weekend? Cannot relate.

You can get flights to places like London and Iceland as low as $300s range at times $225 ish for KEF. Stay at a Premier Inn or Budget hotel and you are spending less than you’d estimate.

In economy, though.

Economy is not the end of the world. We've even flown to Asia in economy, real no big deal. I would rather travel in economy than not travel at all.

Op curious what your income is and how you spend your money. While I get that in some income bracket it is hard to afford travel I think that there are other times when you can prioritize travel. For use we don't drive luxury cars, haven't done house renovations that I would love (kitchen, bath), bought a house below what we "could" afford and so on so as to prioritize travel. When we do travel we opt for less expensive accommodations over luxury resorts.

I am jealous of people who have the time to travel. I only get 3 weeks of vacation a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so weird me to that people on DCUM have been on multiple international vacations. I never have (business travel, yes). But popping over to Europe for a long weekend? Cannot relate.

You can get flights to places like London and Iceland as low as $300s range at times $225 ish for KEF. Stay at a Premier Inn or Budget hotel and you are spending less than you’d estimate.

In economy, though.

Anonymous wrote:I travel like that. It is my highest priority. But my trips are cheap. I’m astonished by what people pay. People always assume I’m paying a lot. But I’m not at all. I haven’t bought a ticket over $500 in years. Most of my domestic trips are about $100 round trip. I make convenience sacrifices, fly weird times, have connections and don’t take luggage.

Not possible if you have a demanding job. E.g., I have a friend who always flies Spirit, but she's in retail and can always find someone to cover for her if she doesn't make it back, whereas I need to be back when I say I will (cannot work from a hotel or airport).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We typically take 3 international trips a year but here's the deal:

- Our home is paid off, so no mortgage.
- Our cars are paid off
- We have no children
- We both work decent paying jobs
- We now live in a lower COL area than DC (Chicagoland, so not a gigantic difference but it is lower than NOVA)

Way to bury the lede! Should have started with this one - its the only one that really matters.

LOL -I thought the same thing. Guess what!! A lot of us were very frequent travelers when we didn’t have kids.

Seriously. When you start adding airfare, you're talking real money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We typically take 3 international trips a year but here's the deal:

- Our home is paid off, so no mortgage.
- Our cars are paid off
- We have no children
- We both work decent paying jobs
- We now live in a lower COL area than DC (Chicagoland, so not a gigantic difference but it is lower than NOVA)

This is us except we have kids. I’ll be traveling internationally 3 times this year (Europe, Asia, Caribbean). Kids on 2 of them.

I am good at travel on the cheap. For example, I got a trip to Asia last December for 44k airmiles round trip. It’s doable if you are willing to fly weird schedules and have long layovers.

Where in Asia and which airline?

The Philippines, through United but it was a mix of providers. Thai, Singapore, United.

I stayed at a place where all-inclusive except soft drinks and alcohol was $1k/week. Accommodation was nice and great chef, owner is US expat. There are many lovely places in the world that are cheap to visit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I travel like that. It is my highest priority. But my trips are cheap. I’m astonished by what people pay. People always assume I’m paying a lot. But I’m not at all. I haven’t bought a ticket over $500 in years. Most of my domestic trips are about $100 round trip. I make convenience sacrifices, fly weird times, have connections and don’t take luggage.

Some of it is also contingent on your flexibility. Some people have to travel at the most expensive times (teachers, for example), so they are less likely to be able to get bargain airfare.

The fix to this is going to off season places. Finding non-peak locations to visit during your time off that match your budget needs.

Yes who doesn't love Myrtle Beach at Christmas.

Anonymous wrote:We typically take 3 international trips a year but here's the deal:

- Our home is paid off, so no mortgage.
- Our cars are paid off
- We have no children
- We both work decent paying jobs
- We now live in a lower COL area than DC (Chicagoland, so not a gigantic difference but it is lower than NOVA)

Why are you frequenting a parenting forum

I often feel travel jealousy, but find that it dissipates the second we actual take any kind of vacation. It doesn't have to be a super expensive vacation to a far-flung destination. We could rent a house with a pool an hour away and spend a long weekend relaxing, and I find that I suddenly don't care about what fancy vacation some other family is taking.

Something I always consider is that I'd rather be doing whatever it is I'm doing with my spouse and DC than doing something really amazing with someone else's family. So, for example, I have always wanted to do a safari in Africa and I always feel soooo jealous whenever anyone I know goes. I play it cool and ask them questions and don't let on, but it's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid and just have not found the timing and finances to make it work yet. But something that helps me a lot is asking whether I'd rather be on a safari with my friend's DH and my friend's kids, or at home with my own family. The answer is always at home with my family. It helps put in perspective what I truly value.

We're going to make that safari happen, though. Maybe for my 50th.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I travel like that. It is my highest priority. But my trips are cheap. I’m astonished by what people pay. People always assume I’m paying a lot. But I’m not at all. I haven’t bought a ticket over $500 in years. Most of my domestic trips are about $100 round trip. I make convenience sacrifices, fly weird times, have connections and don’t take luggage.

Some of it is also contingent on your flexibility. Some people have to travel at the most expensive times (teachers, for example), so they are less likely to be able to get bargain airfare.

The fix to this is going to off season places. Finding non-peak locations to visit during your time off that match your budget needs.

Anonymous wrote:So jealous of some family that take 5 exclusive trips a year. It is just too expensive for us. We have kids and with the cost of college rising we just don't have enough. And travel prices are so expensive now. I don't know how people do it. My husband and I both work tirelessly and still can't get by.

There is no point in being jealous of what others have. I am grateful for what I have. Nobody's life is perfect even if they go on five vacations a year. I'm sure if you asked you might be surprised how people are jealous of you..for your kids' health or having good jobs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So jealous of some family that take 5 exclusive trips a year. It is just too expensive for us. We have kids and with the cost of college rising we just don't have enough. And travel prices are so expensive now. I don't know how people do it. My husband and I both work tirelessly and still can't get by.

I love to travel, but "5 exclusive trips a year" sounds exhausting.

It is exhausting and an example of seeing the grass as always greener.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We typically take 3 international trips a year but here's the deal:

- Our home is paid off, so no mortgage.
- Our cars are paid off
- We have no children
- We both work decent paying jobs
- We now live in a lower COL area than DC (Chicagoland, so not a gigantic difference but it is lower than NOVA)

This is us except we have kids. I’ll be traveling internationally 3 times this year (Europe, Asia, Caribbean). Kids on 2 of them.

I am good at travel on the cheap. For example, I got a trip to Asia last December for 44k airmiles round trip. It’s doable if you are willing to fly weird schedules and have long layovers.

Where in Asia and which airline?

Anonymous wrote:We typically take 3 international trips a year but here's the deal:

- Our home is paid off, so no mortgage.
- Our cars are paid off
- We have no children
- We both work decent paying jobs
- We now live in a lower COL area than DC (Chicagoland, so not a gigantic difference but it is lower than NOVA)

I always wonder why someone without kids who doesn't live in the DMV would be frequenting a website called DC Urban Moms.

Anonymous wrote:So jealous of some family that take 5 exclusive trips a year. It is just too expensive for us. We have kids and with the cost of college rising we just don't have enough. And travel prices are so expensive now. I don't know how people do it. My husband and I both work tirelessly and still can't get by.

I love to travel, but "5 exclusive trips a year" sounds exhausting.