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?

Travel / holidays are a top priority for us & always have been.

We tavel a lot between work & leisure. We both work in creative areas & have frequently travelled as a family for work purposes which makes us very lucky.

Our dd is 18 now & has been lucky enough to visit many many places from Canada to Austraia to Thailand. We've only ever done 1 'beach' holiday which was to Mallorca when she was about 11 or 12 & dying for a beach/ pool holiday. We did 3 days in Palma & 7 days in Soller & we all enjoyed it for what it was.

But we've no desire to holiday like that every time. Sunbathing/ pool & beach hold no appeal to me though dh enjoys it for a bit.

But the world is so big & there are so many things to see & do & experience.

Experiences like that are life to me.

Because the weather here is fucking shit

Here in NI we’ve been battered with rain and storms and occasional sunshine since start of July

Mine don't cost as much as the OP, and I have a week at a time.

I think that one of the responses to the struggles of life, going back to the 80s even, is to make more of events, and holidays is just one aspect. Alongside hen/stage weekends not just a night out locally, 'big' birthdays, the amount spent on Christmas, baby showers, year 12 proms, to give some examples.

i really miss going on holiday but now I am on my own and have nobody to go away with and I am too anxious to travel alone. I have been to loads of different countries and am so glad to have done this, at least I have some good memories.

Worth it for me for warm sea.

I enjoy the U.K. sea too, once it’s warmed up a bit, but properly warm Vitamin Sea is heaven.

Because there's more to life than just the mundane day to day shit happening in everyone's lives.

We never had holidays growing up so I don't have the habit. My colleagues find it bizarre when i don't go away in my AL.

I spent a few months going round the world when i finished school and have had quite a few trips away round UK and Ireland and an AI in the Canaries and I think that's me done. The odd posh hotel near the seaside every so often is ok. Can spend time with the kids, relax and eat well at home.

I don't get wanderlust and I absolutely hate the admin, the logistics and the boredom of travel. I hate not having my own things and not really being able to retreat (either because you are around other tourists or because of the, albeit self-imposed, pressure to get out and do things and see things).

Plus DC don't travel well and money is tight so it works out ok! And I'm lucky to live in a beautiful and central part of the UK so can be at lots of amazing places relatively quickly.

The most we have spent on a holiday was the equivalent of 2 months of income. It was a month long road trip round North America. We don’t have a mortgage and haven’t since we were mid thirties so have had 20 years covid years aside of very nice holidays.

Its a break from crap op. Everyone pulls out us at home elderly etc so we treasure our breaks away.

My holiday for me and three kids always costs around a month of my take home pay, I shop around for the best deal and use the free child spaces. I always pick somewhere scorchio and all inclusive, mainly because I just want a nice week away with loads of good food, amazing weather and a beach to slob on. No real point other than I enjoy it, I look forward to it all year, it makes me and the kids so happy and we always have a great time.

I've always put away money each month for holidays and for Christmas. When my children were very young, I had a part time job with the opportunity for occasional overtime. I saved all the overtime money - it didn't always amount to very much but it made sufficient difference for us to have a holiday. A caravan in a beautiful part of the UK provided lots of fun and a very welcome break from routine (and for many years it was all we could afford), even if the weather couldn't be guaranteed. Happy memories of family times together - priceless.

For me a holiday ticks a lot of boxes. It broadens the children's horizons and introduces them to the greater world, it gives us a change of scenery, gives us some dedicated family time and a total break from the mundane routines, hopefully some better weather etc etc. We haven't been abroad for years so I am very much looking forward to our holiday this year. It doesn't have to be hugely expensive, just the doing something different is greatly appealing.

Variety is the spice of life and all that.

I love my day-to-day life, but sometimes it’s nice to go somewhere different. There are so many places to go, cultures to learn about, foods to try, experiences to have, views to see.

Me and DH spend a lot of our disposable income on holidays. Next year’s holiday will cost the best part of £10k but we’ve been saving for it since Covid and it’ll be a once in a lifetime trip.

People find money for the things they value. If my dc enjoyed travel more I would try to find more money for it, but it's difficult with ASD DD. My favourite holiday pre kids was travelling round a country and a few city breaks, but she would hate those. We did 10 days at Eurocamp and she managed that fine. That cost over £2k, upper end of our budget. We can't afford it this year so it's Devon again.

I love travel and am jealous of people whose kids enjoy it and who have the money to do it!

I’m the same. I mean I could probably save and have a holiday but for us it’d mean budgeting in other areas. Cheaper food, possibly dropping an activity for the kids. Cut the treat budget so no more ice creams when out and about. I’d rather have small regular treats throughout the year than save up for one big holiday blowout.

Everyone is different though.

I love them - they are a chance to step out of the everyday and reset, remember who you are and what you want. To spend time just being with the people you love and really like just being. To get out and swim in the sea, go on hikes through forests and mountains, eat different food, experience beautiful cities and galleries. To experience new places (including gettin to know different bits of the UK) and see beyond your own horizons - or just fly and flop and rest.

I’ve had some hellish ones like everyone and they are quite hard work with little kids, but I think there’s a reason why 19C unions fought so hard for them - they remind us we are human, not just cogs in a machine.

I wouldn’t bankrupt myself for them - but I think if you can possibly swing it it’s a priority for heath - fortunately I don’t mind camping so happy to do that when necessary, mercifully that’s only weekends these days.

My parents never once took us anywhere and I resented it, so I like to take my DCs away. It feels special, having an adventure together.

Top priority. After you’ve got your living costs covered they are our top priority. What’s the point otherwise drudging away in the same environment.

This is the best thing. I can spend hours bobbing around when I can.

I'm the other way around - so used to going on my own now that I can't even imagine going with someone else! I just do exactly what I want at all times. Even the airport experience is less stressful alone. No bickering, no back and forth about where to eat or someone with a face on if I want to go round the airport shops instead of drinking in the bar.

You get used to it really quickly. I started out small, just going to Paris and other nearby European capitals, and now I'd go to Thailand or Japan without thinking twice.

I'm not a lover of holidays
Getting there really twists me melon and within 2 or 3 days I'm bored bloody rigid

So many people are stressed out and exhausted by everyday living. Ft work, running a household and being a parent all carry expectations. A holiday is one week of the year where you get to slow down and enjoy being with the people they love.

We spend loads of money on holidays. We don’t eat take always. My family holidays are everything. Time together, worth every penny.

Life really is too short, do what brings you joy,
We didnt have loads of spare cash but splashed on father Christmas in the northpole my my LO was 4, Disneyland paris and did the Disney stacations along with all 4 grandparents. We thought it would be a lovely way of creating memories and werent sure how many opportunities we would have left to do that where the grandparents could travel.
My DH then died unexpectedly last year. I can't tell you how thankful I am that my child age 7 will have those memories with DH and Its scary to think we may not have done them.

I guess we should all stay at home then and never go on holiday ever again