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Original poster

Home improvements or a trip to India

62 replies

GiraffeInABath · 21/12/2022 17:49

Struggling to decide between paying for further improvements on my flat or a trip to India.
i’m 27, own my own flat and work as a healthcare professional. I am single so bills are solely down to me. I have managed to save a £5K emergency fund this year- this isn’t a huge amount but it’s around 4 months living expenses for me. My flat is ok- living room and bathroom are decorated. My bedroom is being decorated this January but I still need to buy new furniture (chest of drawers and a mirror) and the kitchen needs painting/new flooring. In total I need to spend around £2.5K more on the flat.
however, I have itchy feet currently and dreaming of a trip to India. I desperately want to do the golden triangle and to have a break (I get bored on the typical beach sunbathing holiday).
I expect my trip would cost around 2.5K including vaccines and visas etc. My heart wants to do the trip to India- but my head says spend on the flat and enjoy your home everyday, not just for 14 days away. I am planning to save by doing lots of extra bank shifts and could save this in around 2 months. From April I will have a new monthly expense of a car so saving will be slower. Any advice would be appreciated!

OP posts:
Original poster
GiraffeInABath · 21/12/2022 20:19

Thank you all for confirming!!! My heart said India and this has cemented my decision. I expect flights to be around £600-700 and then the small group tour I want to do is approx £800 including hotels. I am planning to have a few nights after the tour in Delhi alone and would like to stay in a high end hotel as I will
be alone at that point so that’s a few hundred more. I would love to do the whole trip alone but a small group tour seems like the safer option as a woman. Would £600 spending money be a reasonable amount? The tour includes entrance to the Taj Mahal etc.

OP posts:
Stompythedinosaur · 21/12/2022 20:32

Go to India.

Your house is perfectly livable and there will always be something around the house that needs doing. You may never be young and free again. I travelled a fair bit when I was younger and I never regretted it.

Banana1642Dramas · 21/12/2022 21:23

India

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horseymum · 21/12/2022 21:30

Hated my trip to India, felt so exploitative as a tourist. ( Wasn't organised by me but a family member who is indian and wanted to show us around) Hotel staff must get paid peanuts and basically slaves, the poverty is something else - going into service station toilets and the girl handing you toilet paper for a tiny coin, with her baby lying on some cardboard at her side, destined to grow up and do the same. Being hustled all the time by people selling souvenirs at attractions, didn't want any of it but know they need it to live. Not being able to believe anything, ie being shown crafts etc that are meant to be handmade by families- probably made in a sweatshop. A very difficult trip and not one I would repeat. It might be possible to go ethically but not sure how.

FleasNavidad · 21/12/2022 21:34

I don't want to go to India personally but I'd pick travel every time. So, India

Tinytigertail · 21/12/2022 21:36

In ten years time, will you look at your decorated flat with a nostalgic glow? Nope, didn't think so - go to India!

HermioneWeasley · 21/12/2022 21:39

Erm, neither. You don’t have 6 months living expenses in savings which is the rule of thumb as a cushion.

pimlicoanna · 21/12/2022 22:12

Yeah I'm with you @horseymum. It's in no way a holiday destination for me.

Needmorelego · 21/12/2022 22:18

I think I must be a nester because I would go for home improvements 😂

Sweetpea1989 · 21/12/2022 22:19

I went to India about 5 years ago for a couple of weeks.

I would go back in a heartbeat everyone we chatted to was so friendly, it was so eye opening and changed my outlook and attitude. It's hard to explain but if you go you will understand.

If something took your opportunity away tomorrow what would you regret most, not travelling or not doing the renovations?

Ylvamoon · 21/12/2022 22:20

Go to India/ travelling.

Last year this time I booked a trip of a lifetime and went in June... couldn't book it now due to civil unrest!
So if you can, go ahead, you never know what's around the corner.

NewToWoo · 21/12/2022 22:25

India. It's not just two weeks. It's a lifetime of memories and experience.
I'd look for good quality second hand or freecycled furniture and spend on travel every time.
I've never regretted money spent on travel. I have felt hacked off at money spent on home improvements!

megletthesecond · 21/12/2022 22:25

India.
I did it twenty years ago the wimps way. Golden triangle for a week in 4 and 5 star hotels with a guide and tour group.

grayhairdontcare · 21/12/2022 22:45

I would travel but not India.

Deniseee89 · 21/12/2022 22:46

Go to Thailand instead

bilbodog · 21/12/2022 22:56

India - golden triangle and across the rajasthan desert 32 years ago - the best 3 weeks of my life!

OhCobblers · 21/12/2022 23:04

GiraffeInABath · 21/12/2022 20:19

Thank you all for confirming!!! My heart said India and this has cemented my decision. I expect flights to be around £600-700 and then the small group tour I want to do is approx £800 including hotels. I am planning to have a few nights after the tour in Delhi alone and would like to stay in a high end hotel as I will
be alone at that point so that’s a few hundred more. I would love to do the whole trip alone but a small group tour seems like the safer option as a woman. Would £600 spending money be a reasonable amount? The tour includes entrance to the Taj Mahal etc.

This sounds so sensible OP - the best way of doing it alone. I would always always choose travel.

Buy yourself a lovely souvenir there to bring home!
As others have suggested second hand furniture is a good idea!

userxx · 21/12/2022 23:14

Just think how much enjoyment you'll get out of a chest of drawers and new flooring.

Obviously I'm joking..... India all the way.

inglese · 21/12/2022 23:21

India

PlusLaMeme · 21/12/2022 23:31

Definitely India. I've been several times and it's a wonderful place, with an electric atmosphere.

I much preferred the South of India to the north though. If India calls you again after this trip (and it will), consider going to Kerala or Tamil Nadu xx

Original poster
GiraffeInABath · 22/12/2022 09:40

Thank you all for the tips!! I’m very excited and just booked my travel vaccines for next week. Does anybody know of any hotels in Delhi which would be good for a lone female for two nights? Does £600 spending money sound ok for two weeks?Very true regarding nostalgically looking at a floor 😂

OP posts:
Rickandmortified100 · 22/12/2022 13:44

India is SO cheap. I travelled for about 6 months before I met my (Indian) DH and spent around £1000 for everything including food and accommodation! Definitely do India. Be sure to visit the south too - Kerala and Goa - for a more relaxed vibe (especially as a solo female traveller - I’d recommend flying into Kerala and going from there to ease yourself in to India. Rajasthan can be a bit intense (as in people trying to pull you into their shops and beggars etc) but it’s a fantastic experience and a life changing one. You’ll have an amazing time! You can renovate any time. Live a little !!

Rickandmortified100 · 22/12/2022 13:46

Don’t spend a few days in Delhi. It’s a very dull city outside of the obvious things to see and not especially safe. There any so, so many better parts of India!

flawless29 · 22/12/2022 13:49

India, for sure!

ThisSolstice · 22/12/2022 13:56

India. I’d echo a pp’s suggestion about starting off in relatively low-key Kerala.