To think people are too obsessed with taking a holiday?

[Tepoi]

I don’t get the attraction of saving for months to go somewhere for 10ish days. Fine if you have money but hearing how people are spending the equivalent of 1 - 2 months take home pay on a holiday strikes me as very odd. Maybe because I don’t have the money to spare.
if you do go on holiday, and it takes 4-6 weeks’ take home pay, can I ask why you go?

@ShineOnBrightly

of course of people want a break and change of scene!

One thing that will never not be confusing to me is people being unaware of their holiday entitlements, and how they're calculated/paid back/earned etc.

Flat baffles me when people come asking questions about PT entitlements, then get wildly wrong answers. How can you now know how much time off you get, even if you don't use it to go away?!

What a bizarre comment. It’s perfectly possible to be happy at home but still enjoy time away - in fact for many of us it’s essential to get away, refresh and recharge.

Agree, barring people with money going spare, months of saving & anticipation build up usually leading to an anticlimax ....and leaving me with thoughts of what those savings could have gone on.

All depends on your throw-away/fun only income.

Not 4 me

Stress of booking and being away from home?

stay home then OP!

Holidays are what i work hard for: life is short: childhood is even shorter. Taking the kids to a new country to see sights, meet new people, try new food; experience a different climate, different culture, it’s exciting, it broadens their mind. Gives them aspirations . It’s quality time together
This could be camping in the UK or travelling abroad. It’s something to look forward to. A change from the norm.

i cant imagining living my life afraid to be away from home. Feeling stressed about booking a trip.

What a holiday "should be" is whatever the people paying for it enjoy doing. If they enjoy spending 2 weeks on a beach, that is what a holiday for them should be. So odd when people think their way is the only "right" way to do something.

I totally agree! I love doing European short haul and don't really get why people consider it a faff if they don't have kids. I can go to bed at 10pm, get up at 4am, train to the airport, an hour or so chilling at a quiet gate with a coffee, then onto the plane with my noise cancelling headphones, long cosy hoodie (doubles as a blanket) and neck pillow, couple of hours napping, and then I'm somewhere totally new and exciting by 10am, fresh and ready to go! As quick and easy as taking a train up north, if not more so.

Lots of people don't have any gumption.

I have to say, there's a huge amount of overlap between people who never travel and people who have no curiosity or interest in the world. In my experience, anyway.

It's one thing if you don't have the means to travel - most people in the world don't. It takes money and privilege. But having the attitude that nowhere is 'better' than home so there's no point in going anywhere? I don't think I'd ever get along with someone like that.

Don't mean to derail but how are you finding Chiang Mai? I've always wanted to go! Was it a faff to get there? There seem to be far fewer flight options than pre-pandemic, and I'm kicking myself I didn't go when flights were dirt cheap and plentiful!

I'm with you OP.
In all my 55yrs, I've been on holiday 11 times and only 2 of those were abroad.
Durations were short, 4 were a week and the rest were only 3 or 4 days.
But, being in a low income bracket, I know I would find it extremely difficult to find £1000s for a few days/week away these days, then there's all the stress, boarding the dog/finding somewhere dog friendly, airports or motorways, food issues (I have a strange diet with loads of allergies/intolerances, so have to be careful what/where I eat), travelling back again, plus, as I'm on my own these days, there's the single supplement, so I'd basically be paying as much as 2 people would.
It's just not worth it.

@Vynalbob

maybe you just need to go on a different type of holiday?

We holiday on the cheap I would say, booking sc apartment or similar which is more us than a hotel. For me it's about spending time together as a family without the distractions of home. Yes you can do this in the UK but unless camping then staying somewhere for 2 weeks is twice as expensive as in Europe. Plus I like the almost guarantee of sun! Possibly my own experience growing up is an influence - we used to spend at least 3 weeks in Spain every summer visiting family.

Sun, sea, sand, food, culture, architecture, what’s not to love? We have holidays booked up until 2025 and planned so far until 2027. The world is my oyster and I plan on seeing as much of it as I can whilst I have my health!

Just nice to be away from the washing, cooking, working and spend quality time isn’t it? X

Because day to day life can be boring, draining and shit.

I think it depends on the holiday. The ones that just spend the whole time in the resort sat by the pool I don’t understand. Mind numbing.
However, personally I want to visit as many countries as I can, and see, do and experience as many things as I can. It doesn’t have to be super expensive, I’m in it for seeing new places and trying new things.

I’m not into travelling/holidays but I can totally see why they excite people. The culture, the food, a bit of winter sun etc.

Even your reply is depressing, cannot imagine not wanting to see the world.

Why is booking time and being away from home stressful? That sounds like quite a negative and Eeyore approach to life. It really doesn't have to be stressful, it can be really exciting and exhilarating to travel and see different parts of the world.

Some people would seemingly prefer to come home every night, shut out the world, and watch TV on repeat until they shuffle off this mortal coil.

Definitely stress-free, but incredibly monotonous and mundane.

Because if the OP and others of her ilk see booking holidays and being away from home as ‘stressful’, I can guarantee they’re not out every night exploring new bars and restaurants, spending time with friends, or hiking up hills every weekend….

That's basically my life now (health issues) and it's driving me round the bend. Like, sure, it's not stressful, it's kind of nice to be relaxed at home, bingeing on all the films I never watched because I was too busy, doing up my flat, not going out of my comfort zone at all, but my God is it boring. I used to be out doing all sorts of stuff. I never knew on a Monday morning what I'd be up to or who I'd meet that week. It wasn't uncommon for me to start a normal work week on the Monday and end up in Paris on the Friday night for a concert, having spontaneously booked a Eurostar, or on a date with someone I hadn't yet met the previous week. It's basically been Groundhog Day the last year, not met anyone new, not really done anything...how do people live like this for years on end?

I'm absolutely living for my holidays even more than normal, with this mundane, dull existence.

Personally I love taking my children on holidays and experiencing new things and making memories. I know I am in a very fortunate position and I really hope my kids still want to come with us when they are older but there is so much of the world to visit. We have not been anywhere since last Christmas and after the weather this summer I can not wait for my holiday, and already planning for next year.

I go because it's hot and I can actually swim in the sea in comfort. I like to wander about a bit.
I also like to sit and let my mind turn numb by the pool, because the other 51 weeks of the year it doesn't stop. 1dc likes sea, the other likes pool. They both like spending time with us; but only for that week. That week is emotional capital in the bank.
Yes, it's a lot of money and gi wonder, would we miss it if we didn't go one year? But that one week of sunshine helps get me through the winter, which is cold and painful.

By the end of this week I will have seen four different films at the cinema and done a half day baking course at Bread Ahead (with lunch out beforehand), walked a few new routes playing Pokémon Go and been swimming. This weekend I'm going to Pokémon Go Fest on the Saturday, and an immersive exhibition on Sunday followed by a walk up to Brick Lane market and some street food; I'll probably go to a yoga class beforehand.

None of this is particularly unusual (bar Go Fest, which is an annual event), and it might be an idea not to make patronising assumptions that everybody who no longer wants to travel overseas much must be an inanimate lump on the sofa, any more that I'm assuming everybody who likes holidays wants to vegetate on a lounger by a pool for two weeks (not that there's anything wrong with either).

Each to their own.