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?

Well there's the basic stuff first, that for those days we don't need to cook ,clean,do dishes, stress over random stuff etc.

But the main reason is.. the sea makes me happy. So happy in fact that not only my mental health improves, but so does my physical health. No headaches, my stress rash or eczema or whatever the fuck it is(docs can't agree) disappears, my periods settle and I just feel better overall. Then there's the mental health side of things a whole day lazing about in the pool(being in water also makes me happy ,but it's different when it's outdoors and it's warm and there's no schedule), or just being at the sea, the sight of it,the smell,the sounds.. it quiets down my brain and just soothes me, plus again swimming and being in it and the feel of it.

So yes, in my eyes it's worth it.

Holiday companies are so clever at making people think that's how you buy a holiday, eg... Off to the shelf.

Like euros camps.

Euro camp operator mostly has their own accmd they rent on someone else else's camp site.
If you book direct with the campsite owner, you will often get far superior vans and space. Walk to euro camp area and it's all crammed in and smaller

vans. But people think when you go to holiday park a abroad you go to euro camp!

Duirenell and other places ware good examples of this.

This summer has been shit so far. I've never wished more that I'd spaffed £7k on two weeks with guaranteed sunshine with my kids.

My kids have travelled a lot . I definitely think that this has made them very open and respectful of other cultures .
Mot all holidays have to be expensively. Just look for cheaper alternatives

I sort of get the OP's point. Of course it's nice to see the world - but not if it needs you to slave away the rest of the time.
I used to think holidays were a luxury much like takeaways, expensive hair and nails, etc but these days it seems that many people view it as a 'need'. Much like having a TV.
Like the OP, I think it's odd and somewhat depressing to work so hard, stinge and save for 2 weeks of the year.

But then again depends on who you mix with. Many people are working their fingers to the bone and can barely afford heating, let alone holidays.

A lot of people also go away in the U.K itself... people moaning about rain etc but having been all over the world nice weather is never guaranteed anywhere!

This

Christ it's what gets me through my working life.

Yes, respectful is the word I was looking for.

A change of scenery, sunnier warmer climate, new experiences & to experience a different culture, the food, wildlife, nature, quality time together where everyone is relaxed, just a few of the many reasons!

As a pp said, my dh and I don’t smoke or drink, we don’t go to fancy restaurants or spend lots of ££ on material items. We prefer to spend money on days out as a family, it’s about experiences and making memories with and for our kids. That makes us happy.

We haven’t been abroad for a few years, but we’ve had some fabulous holidays in the UK inc Cornwall, Northumberland and Scotland. As much as I love what is on our doorstep and we will continue to explore the UK, I miss that feeling you get when you go abroad somewhere warm. I love the food, the smells and the lovely atmosphere. We have just booked our first family holiday abroad to Greece next year and we are ridiculously excited. Dd is nearly 4 and is so excited to go on a plane and eat all the fresh olives and tomatoes, as well as swim in the crystal clear warm ocean. Ds will be 15 months old & although he probs won’t remember it when he’s older, we all will and we’ll have plenty of videos and pictures to show him.

Just because you don't get the attraction that means nobody can? There are lots of things people spend money on that I don't understand and vice versa. Strange post.

I don't spend that much, and never really have done, but holidays are, and always have been a top priority for me because it is a complete break. A chance to all be together and just breathe.
That has included a caravan in the rain, and even, when we've been really broke a few days staying with family or friends. We've Youth hostelled, camped and we've stayed in plenty of cottages over the years, as well some foreign trips.

It is something I'd prioritise over other things people spend their money on, because just getting away and completely relaxing does me such a lot of good.

Others with the same budget might spend money on make up, getting nails done, I've seen incredible amounts people spend on getting their haircut on here, getting newer cars, buying clothes, having the heating on higher, 'gadgets', TV packages, hobbies, memberships of clubs or gyms, going to gigs, smoking, drinking, buying lunch out, or regular coffees out, or 1001 other things. All are fine. We all get our 'treats' in life in different ways.

I think I have found my spirit twin

I live for holidays, I have to have something planned and something to look forward to
I have to have a break, even overnight, every 2/3 months.
By the end of the year, I will have been away 8 times

@collectorsedition ah that's great! Glad you enjoy your time at home and on holiday. It sounds like have a lovely life 😄
I think the impact it has on children is a different point. I have a 2 year old and am currently pregnant so all the travelling and working abroad has been done on my own or with my husband.
I will likely take my children on holiday in the future when they're old enough to appreciate it. I don't want them to miss out even if I don't really get lots out of it myself.
Having said that, I do have a lot of eco anxiety and feel incredibly guilty about the carbon footprint of travel.
Finally, I don't necessarily think people who do not like to travel are closed minded.

well some people are so poor they never get a holiday but I also think lives are hard which is why people go.However,i would prefer volunteering with animals and also would take kids to do that.Singles also are put off going by the way they are treated abroad and the costs.However, i think living for your holidays is a little sad and says a lot about life in this country.Also, make the most of it as your planet destroying holidays will end soon due to climate emergency.

I live for holidays. Covid was excruciating for me, not being able to travel. I was absolutely miserable.

I find London is an OK place to live in terms of job opportunities and daily life being reasonably comfortable, but I don't really feel like I'm living here. It's more like surviving. I don't particularly enjoy everyday life here at all, particularly during the pandemic when the little things I loved about living here (being in the audience of talk shows, going to the theatre, random cultural events) were all impossible, and it felt like we were stuck with all the negatives of a big city and none of the positives. It's getting better now things are more normal, but I still definitely feel the need to get away.

I love exploring other cultures and just being somewhere new. I will never forget the buzz I got the first time I went to Asia. I went to Seoul and I just couldn't get over how different everything felt. The excitement was incredible. I don't understand people who feel no need to explore the world at all.

I've also been very burned out the past few years and have enjoyed a few fly and flop type beach holidays. We just don't get the weather in the UK. I went to the Canaries earlier in the year, and it was just glorious...sunshine all day, lying on the beach with a good book, sitting on a terrace having a glass of wine and some tapas. The whole atmosphere was just so much nicer and more relaxed. I just wouldn't be able to get that here.

Now your children are grown @collectorsedition please can you adopt me, that sounds idyllic

So OP what would you do? Looking at it peeing down here and getting soaked just doing the shopping why on earth would anyone want to stay here?

There of course some people who just like to potter around at home and maybe do day trips to the seaside or the countryside. Horses for courses but it is a strange question in that I am surprised that the OP cannot see the attraction…

I agree- I wouldn't stretch ourselves to go on a holiday if we didn't have the means.
Thankfully we do (but at the expense of night outs, lease cars, shopping, etc). That's just our preference.

Could write an essay why. To see the world, see other cultures, landscapes, people. To learn about other people, history. To give yourselves and children the experience of being somewhere foreign and understand about other peoples ways and culture, their food etc. To experience the weather, sounds, smells of new places. To see attractions they'd never see at home. To make memories.
You should not get me life - why would someone not live it how they would like. And why are you asking this question - people live how they wish, spend as they wish, should not be your concern. You do you.

Just look out the window. Look. It’s July 30th and it’s not stopped pissing down all day. Well, pretty much for weeks! Today, I’ve got saturated on a dog walk, I’ve baked cakes, watched a movie with the kids. It’s so depressing, it might as well be January. In two weeks time I’m going to a luxury resort in the Mediterranean, the kids will be in and out of the pool, no cooking, cleaning, washing or work for 10 days. I can not wait.

What level of obsession would you find acceptable? Why do you think that your life is alluring?

Humans in general like instant gratification - so I find it strange that people can scrimp and save just for a holiday. Year after year, with few luxuries in between.
Despite everyone complaining about the rain - we don't even have the wettest capital (https://www.parkalondon.com/the-journal/wettest-capital-europe/) and I CBA to look for it but there are other stats showing even Manchester for example isn't as rainy as it's famously touted to be.

In real life there's a broader mix of people I find, some people go on holiday, some people do 'day trips' but on MN almost everyone sees a holiday as essential. Idk why. Just my impression.

Also @Tracker1234 I'm referring to abroad holidays.
In many cases it is actually cheaper to go abroad than the UK, especially if you don't drive. Cheaper accommodation, food, drink.
But it isn't that much anymore. With travel delays, weather and a myriad of other things it's getting harder than it used to be.

FWIW DH and I spent 2 weeks in SE Asia and he was shocked at how cheap everything was. An eye opener for him 😂

Because 1-2 months take home pay is still a pretty small proportion of our annual salary overall, we are able to save a good chunk a month for holidays and it doesn't impact the rest of our outgoings, and we love to travel.

I live for holidays. It's the thing I get most excited about. I have usually 4 separate weeks away every year. I feel cheated if I have to miss one.

However currently and for the next few years my hols are UK based. Generally cost no more than 2 weeks wages.

I dont much care where I go in the UK, when I go abroad again it'll be far flung places. I have a 8 week holiday hope in Australia, as in I hope it'll happen one day before I'm too old. Its planned to the nth degree.
Also similar hopes to south Africa, Canada and new Zealand. I have one to Russia which I reckon might not happen ever now, but was valid for a long time.

It's what gets me through the rest of the year, knowing that soon I can be away again.