Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What is exhausting about it? We travel frequently, more than 5 trips a year, there is nothing exhausting about it. People make travel a thousand times more difficult than it needs to be. DH just booked a trip in to Europe for mid March, it took him about an hour. Packing takes about an hour, including helping DS.
Takes about an hour to get to airport, throw in an hour of fluff time, we are talking a 4 hour investment before we get into airport.

I get what that PP was saying, even though I love traveling, look forward to it, and don't find the planning or logistics especially tiring. But traveling with multiple kids, who may have multiple needs, not used to interacting with each other all that much day-to-day (different grades, groups of friends, etc) can get exhausting, even if everything goes smoothly in terms of flights, etc.

Once ours are older and (hopefully!) out of the house, 5 trips/year sounds great. But doing that many trips while working full-time is reasonably too much, I think.

PP here, we both work full time. The kids not getting along is a kid problem not a travel problem. Kids fighting or complaining while on a vacation/trip would not be acceptable, lay down the law. Our son is great to travel with and we frequently bring a friend of his with us. He understand that it is a privilege and that not a lot of people are as fortunate.

NP. Could you drip anymore condescension? (Signed another mom of an only who understands that traveling with multiple siblings is more complicated). Stretch your imagination a little. It’s seems rather limited.

What is more complicated about it?

LOL. PP is purposefully obtuse. I have three kids. I'm a pretty experienced traveler - aren't we all? - but don't travel 5 times a year because a) paying for 5 RT tickets is crazy (I just paid $6K for a domestic trip); b) kids schedules as they age are crazy, and I do not pull them out of school; c) we have a sports tournament every other weekend; c) hotels do not allow 5 per room so we always get an AIRBNB. My lodging costs are usually $2k+; d) we have to rent a larger car, which means a minivan everywhere we go - $1k most times. If you have only one child, I'm happy for you, but the travel expenses for five are quite different.

And to preempt any PPs who say you should've had less - No. I wanted three. I'm happy with my 3 but damn do I spend a lot of money in travel.

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. Completely. With no children you can travel every month!

OP: stop comparing yourself to people who may have more money than brains, and maybe you won't feel so inferior.

We enjoy travel, but the truth is it can be a hassle. And some of the places people on this board propose traveling to with kids sound ridiculous. Antarctica (basically uninhabitable), Iraq (war zone), the Amazon (can't be good for the rainforest). Really?

Maybe it's an age thing, but I'm so burned out from travel. In my twenties I spent month at a time traveling. I'm originally from one of those countries on everyone's bucket list, but have had it with all the travel hassles and crowds and getting sick overseas and jet lag.

I'm quite happy learning about places through books and videos, and don't necessarily feel the need to visit every place in person any longer. I've had some great vacations and experiences within driving distance of DC.

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.

I do this & it's not a money thing really, we make a lot less than typical people on here -- we just have low expenses (one child, small house), do the Points Guy credit card/mile stuff and travel light.

What is an exclusive trip?

We travel a lot, probably 10x per year. I don't work. Travel is my passion. I loved to travel when I was younger and childless. I enjoy travel with family, friends, kids, etc. I have always traveled more than my friends, when I was in my twenties and now in my forties.

Everyone has different priorities. I'm not into jewelry. I have the least amount of jewelry amongst my friends but I probably travel the most. I would much rather go on a vacation than buy a bracelet.

Unpopular opinion on this board: you can figure out college tuition later. Some of your kids might not go. Don’t miss out on making memories as a family to save everything you have for college.

We travel a lot more than our friends, though we have approximately the same amount of money. I just think Americans generally don’t like to travel, as far as I can tell. I suspect for them the reasons they give are just excuses for not doing something that they don’t particularly want to.

My evidence is that most of them, when they do actually go somewhere, head to a gated all inclusive in the Caribbean where they can be walled off from any grnuine interactions with anyone except the bar tenders.

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.

We are “rich” by most peoples standards and can’t afford to do anything close to this so you’re not alone. I get jealous too!

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.

+1. I could travel that much (or more) if I wanted to, but why? I just got back from a two week trip and I had intended to plan a trip for the spring, but all I want to do is stay home right now. And then in the summer, everything will be crowded….

We make about 10 plane trips a year. 3 or 4 are international. We have no debt of any kind. We paid for our own college by working FT + commuting. Lowbrow by DCUM standards + not super rich for DCUM-- $3M net worth. We just love o travel so that is the only thing we spend money on. By this point, I am a travel guru. I know all of the sites to use, and I love researching.We both work FT. We have 1 kid... live in the city + have always had just one car. We both walk to work.

We travel a lot, probably at least 5 big trips a year, but it is a priority in our budget and comes at the expenses of other stuff. We live in a small space, have "only" two kids though deep down I wanted 3...Also, I am not into fashion and wear the same few pieces over and over again and don't own a single expensive purse or pair of shoes, although we could afford designer stuff. DH is the same. But we love travel and nice hotels and splurge a lot on that.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Iceland and London are such short flights that anything other than economy is a waste. Sadly the prices have skyrocketed this year.

Original PP here you can track the rates on Google. We have had great luck so far. We don’t stay at fancy hotels which costs costs greatly but I enjoy the experience of travel I didn’t have as a kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What is exhausting about it? We travel frequently, more than 5 trips a year, there is nothing exhausting about it. People make travel a thousand times more difficult than it needs to be. DH just booked a trip in to Europe for mid March, it took him about an hour. Packing takes about an hour, including helping DS.
Takes about an hour to get to airport, throw in an hour of fluff time, we are talking a 4 hour investment before we get into airport.

Sounds like you just have one kid? That’s why it’s easy!

Yes, the travel itself isn’t complicated, but work, family, kids activities/sports, and travel becomes a little bit of a chore- especially if you’re jet setting all over the globe on “exclusive” trips. We fly for vacation about once a year, maybe twice sometimes. We have done a lot of trips out west- my favorite, but sprinkle in an overseas trip once in a while. Other than that, it’s road-trips to see family, localish camping, the beach…etc. My kids, IMHO, have been on some great trips- Europe a couple times, Caribbean, Canada, and all over the west. Still their favorite vacations are our trips to Outer Banks with their grandparents and cousins. They actually embrace the simplicity of it- beach, fishing, kayaking, volleyball games. I say this for those that are envious of expensive fat-flung trips. Sure, there are great aspects to these trips, but a Facebook feed highlighting these travels probably isn’t healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What is exhausting about it? We travel frequently, more than 5 trips a year, there is nothing exhausting about it. People make travel a thousand times more difficult than it needs to be. DH just booked a trip in to Europe for mid March, it took him about an hour. Packing takes about an hour, including helping DS.
Takes about an hour to get to airport, throw in an hour of fluff time, we are talking a 4 hour investment before we get into airport.

I get what that PP was saying, even though I love traveling, look forward to it, and don't find the planning or logistics especially tiring. But traveling with multiple kids, who may have multiple needs, not used to interacting with each other all that much day-to-day (different grades, groups of friends, etc) can get exhausting, even if everything goes smoothly in terms of flights, etc.

Once ours are older and (hopefully!) out of the house, 5 trips/year sounds great. But doing that many trips while working full-time is reasonably too much, I think.

PP here, we both work full time. The kids not getting along is a kid problem not a travel problem. Kids fighting or complaining while on a vacation/trip would not be acceptable, lay down the law. Our son is great to travel with and we frequently bring a friend of his with us. He understand that it is a privilege and that not a lot of people are as fortunate.

NP. Could you drip anymore condescension? (Signed another mom of an only who understands that traveling with multiple siblings is more complicated). Stretch your imagination a little. It’s seems rather limited.

What is more complicated about it?

One child was definitely the right number for you.