Are holidays a flex now ?

I wonder if on top of this WFH plays a part? Not so much because people can work from anywhere but because if you work from home, it's harder to properly switch off and work and home life risk merging. Going away helps recreate that boundary.

I go on holiday three times per year, because holidays are fun and I love them. I haven't posted on social media at all in about 10 years.

I really don't understand why people assume others are only doing fun things for Instagram.

Salcombe is seen as posh in Devon, not sure where else In Devon ,

We usually go away at least three times per year between a ‘proper’ summer holiday, a UK weekend or two away plus abroad once more but I don’t post all on SM. I might post from one or two but not all.

We have 4 holidays planned this year , but only one out of the Uk ( at Easter) and all the remaining ones self catering. Trying to break up holidays with teenagers and make a few more memories . Loads of people I know though seem to have multiple foreign trips though .Nothing posted on social media

It comes from this kind of flexing 💪, to show someone how big your muscles are.

I think it’s a reflection of rising inequality more than anything else. Many people who were just about managing before are struggling now, and others who were already doing well before are doing really well now. A lot of these newly visible differences between e.g. people taking 3-4 nice holidays annually and others not taking any aren’t always tied to wage disparities; it’s more about things like when & where you bought your home, when/if you have children, whether you had parental help to pay for university and house deposit, whether you’ve had to deal with major financial shocks, etc. I think that can really throw people for a loop if they are assuming that similar wages should mean similar lifestyles... It is just harder to paper over the widening gap in lifestyles between those who are struggling and those who aren’t.

We are very fortunate and are able to travel a lot with our kids, but I stopped posting about it on my social media feed a few years ago because I thought it would be tone deaf to carry on. I only talk about our plans with small groups of friends now who (I hope!) understand the place we are coming from and will not take any sharing as an attempt to wow or impress.

We will have been on holiday abroad three times this year. We can't afford to go to Devon or Cornwall though! Very expensive.

As someone who was there last summer🙈 there is a reason for the price.

Even when I worked on 26k and DH on little bit less (pretax) we had 4-5 trips abroad and UK (more abroad than UK) . Tbf 1 was always family visit.
We budgeted for it. Lived in cheaper area, didn't go for expensive clothes, collected cashbacks, points etc for it. It wasn't for boasting, we simply wanted to do it.
I did post on insta, but I have under 20 followers since it's just some family and few close friends. We all post about things we like

Another one who has never upgraded from our basic 'starter home' and until very recently (inheritance) always had older cars. Also only had one DC.

We have never done the big two-weeks AI in the school summer holidays. When we were limited to school holidays we would go October, Christmas, Easter, or Whitsun and rented through Owners Direct or similar even before it was mainstream with AirB&B.

Now retired and go abroad out of season and mid-week UK breaks during the Spring and Summer months.

I find the idea that people would go on holiday with the purpose of bragging on SM very odd TBH. Surely if that's what you are prioritising it's because you enjoy it?

Sailing places like St Mawes and Salcombe, I think. I think Rock might be considered posh as well.

I always wonder whether their home insurance will be invalidated if they are burgled after they have advertised that their house is empty all over social media. Everyone seems to do it though, so I guess not.

Where are the posh parts of Cornwall and Devon? Genuine question.

After many years of not travelling, I've decided to start taking several short breaks a year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Don't have socials, so no posting of holiday snaps

I can't stand people who think anyone doing anything nice is boasting. I like talking about, seeing photos and hearing about people's holidays, nice places they have eaten, good places for days out or what they have done with their home or garden.

What is a 'flex'?

Never heard this before.

Is it eck 😂😂

We use to flex our spliffy coats in the 90s 😂😂

I’m going to Dubai in July - it was cheaper than Greece.

😂😂

Of course posting holiday photos is showing off.

it really isn’t. I post my pictures for so many reasons that have nothing to do with anyone else. I lost my dad as a child, I don’t have a single photo of me with him that I don’t have to ask an elderly family to dig out for me ag a time suitable for them. I can’t look at it alone or cherish it. If I die tmw my kids will never have to ask anyone to see pictures of them on holiday with their mother.

if I get Alzheimer’s those photos will remind me of who I was and the things I did.

It’s fine to take either stance, but sometimes people just do things for the love of it, not to show off.

I think ‘flex’ is a gen Z thing. I am lucky enough to have older teens who keep me informed of the current language!

Of course posting holiday photos is showing off. It doesn’t bother me though. It’s harmless.

I have never posted a single photo of me and my family, hols or no hols and have no regrets. I have one friend who constantly posts and it looks like a pressure in itself. Every meal out, every walk, every trip etc. We are in our fifties and she is the only one of our friends always snapping away!

It's often really exotic show offy places and I'm sure some people pick them deliberately for the brag factor

It sounds mad but I’ve been to some exotic places that were cheaper than going to Cornwall during the six week summer holidays.

Exotoc places can be very cheap if you book independently. There is a reason they are popular with backpackers.

Mauritius and Thailand can also be better value than Spain in all honesty. The amount of clients that come to me for a family holiday to Spain or Greece and end up booking Mauritius or Thailand because it’s cheaper is getting pretty crazy! There are a few Maldives islands as well that would fit that category.

I also go to different places, it’s not to brag, it’s because I want to see the world not just Spain.