Many people prioritise/ live for holidays above all else

[Elizo]

Recently went on a wonderful/ expensive group holiday with DC having saved up/ extended mortgage. We aren’t wealthy/ don’t go abroad often but from the chat with others think holidays are huge priority and what they really look forward to all year above all else. Saving/ working hard all year for ski-ing/ trips to US etc - clearly that sort of travel out of reach for most of us. Loved our holiday and wondering if we are odd ones out in this!

Holidays are about 2% of our net income.

I’ve read plenty of threads over the years where it’s 10-20% of people’s net, or even more.

For me, that would just stress me out. It would feel like putting too many eggs in one basket.

What if one of us was sick? Not sick enough for travel insurance to kick in, but sick enough not to enjoy the holiday. It would feel like too much pressure.

I do think that there are many people for whom the holiday is the be all and end all , I’m not one of them 3 days anywhere and I’ve had enough .

I can sympathise with this. Sometimes I think the anticipation and day 1 of the holiday is the best bit and then it sometimes just feels like the high is over.

Everyone has different priorities. Some people spend their spare money on beauty treatments, some on clothes and some on having a pony. For example. Some people have to have a holiday every year.

There are lots of places I would love to go to and things to do - but I do feel that unless it was a "won millions on the lottery" scenario I really couldn't justify it. I would feel guilty.
On my list of things we need, followed by things I want - a big holiday is fairly low on the list.
While a nice hotel, beautiful beach, glorious sunshine etc sounds amazing - I seriously would feel guilty for spending out to experience it for just a week or two.
That's a bit sad really 🙁
I would like it....but I really can't prioritise it.

We had a big holiday for my 40th but don’t have a holiday every year, I would say that is more typical of most people but that’s because of who I mix with.
I guess MN is full of pretty affluent people and not typical of society in general.

Lots of posts about taking expensive holidays at the moment.

Not really for me, though I know many do and don't understand that I don't particularly yearn to get away. I've found that no matter how gorgeous the views (because beautiful scenery is what I care about, more than food/cultural experiences or adventure), I'm actually happier when I come back home. The discomforts associated with the journey are a big negative for me, personally, and I miss/worry about my pets when I'm away. It's just not worth it, in the end.

What I do crave is time, meaning longer periods of obligation-free time off to do the thing I want to do at home, but that's become more difficult with self-employment. It's easy to take extra hours off on any given day, but taking several days at a time is less appealing when you have to work harder to keep up, either beforehand or afterwards.

I spend very little on holidays because I am kind of over them. I travelled a lot when younger and now I don't find it as enjoyable at all anymore. My money now goes on creating a life and a home that I don't want a holiday from. Quite satisfying really.

Clearly not, @Machiavellian. This terrifies me. I've just attended a climate conference and have sort of felt all life drain out of me. Flying abroad definitely feels like fiddling while Rome burns.

In the spirit of the thread, may I recommend camping in the UK? This is what we do, year in, year out, and I honestly never tire of the extraordinary beauty of the British Isles. I'm not even from here, and to travel 'home' is tricky and rare as we don't fly, but my heart sings with awe and wonder at how exceptional nature is here. There is a bit of saving and prioritising involved, but it's fairly light touch once you have a good basic set-up. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

A previous poster mentioned their autistic DC; camping has worked out amazingly for my autistic DC: all the kit is familiar, we often return to the same places and can, if not too far from home, take a couple of hours to schlep home for a night and go back again.

I definitely prioritise holidays. What I used to waste on clothes and alcohol I put in a travel fund. It keeps me focused on not buying stuff I don't need.

We go away a lot & always have both before dc & since.

We have zero interest in resorts /beach or pool holidays or all inclusive - my idea of hell. When dc were younger we sometimes did two centred holidays such as Venice for 4 days then onto Lake Garda for a week with a car so we visited Verona etc. Or Palma for 3 days followed by a week in Soller. I know it was important to dc to experience the beach etc but honestly they were absolutely not my favourite trips.

We do lots of city break type trips & generally favour 4 - 7 days over 2 weeks which enables us to go on more in a year.

We've also been on longer 3 week to a month trips to Canada, Australia, America, Tasmania & most recently a month in Paris with late teen dc which was incredible. We had an air b&b in the 5th arrondissement. Magic!

We go to Italy every year & I will have been there 4 times by October- some work related trips & some just holidays.

I would be depressed if I could not travel & it was one of the most miserable aspects of lockdown for me. I have incredibly itchy feet.

We're lucky that we have a nice house, in the countryside but close to a city so we have a nice set up & our home is very comfortable but some of my happiest memories are of exploring places with dc over the years & we regularly talk about or reference different places. I'd say travel is one of the top priorities in our lives.

OP, going abroad for me is just another treat, like eating out and going to gigs. I don't prioritise it above everything else and if I was skint, I'd rather enjoy myself at local events, not save up and sit at home until my 'one big trip'. So you're quite normal.

I don't travel for the sake of 'travelling' unlike many of my peers who just want to tick countries off. I go because there are things I want to see. Like the Grand Canyon. Northern Lights. Etc.

Unpopular opinion but I also think that many people see travelling as morally superior compared to other forms of consumption like clothes and nights out.

It's really not.

I’ve always had a home/life I don’t need a holiday from. Good job, nice friends, live in a great part of the country. Doesn’t mean to say I don’t love holidays! It’s not either/or - you can like both.

My kids are grown up but some of their best memories are the four of us, setting off together and doing something new. And that could be driving to stay with family/friends, camping or mobile homing in Cornwall, driving around the US or snorkelling in the Caribbean.

It would depend on our budget every year but we always enjoyed those adventures away from TV, work, routine and yes, our own beds, so much. We never did hotels, always self catered for variety and never, ever did kids’ clubs. It totally bonded us as a family.

I'm glad that DH and I did a lot of travelling in our early twenties before the DC came along. It was definitely a priority then, but nowadays I find that I'm less bothered. I love my home, and I really enjoy my job and our 'normal' life so don't particularly yearn to get away from it all. DH and the DC absolutely love holidays though and really look forward to them, enjoy the planning etc. I always enjoy the holiday once I'm there but Im also always pleased to be home and not having a holiday every year wouldn't particularly bother me. We tend to alternate between a big long haul holiday one year, UK holiday/ short flight the next. Plus DH and I do a long weekend city break each year while DC's are visiting GP's. We wouldn't do it if we couldn't afford it though and would never consider going into debt for a holiday.

For people that say "travel" is important to them - I am curious if that includes all the touristy places in the UK too?
Last weekend I did go on a rare day trip to a historical tourist place in England.
I had a fantastic day. I was googling what else was in the area and there were so many little historic places, museums, amusement places and amazing countryside etc that I realise I would love to explore and go to - and how there is so much of the UK I have never been to.
I find a lot of people say they love to "travel" but it always seems to be abroad.
I live in London and I know children (my daughter's friends) who have been to all the typical abroad holidays (camping in the south of France, skiing in Switzerland, amazing beaches in the Seychelles, all inclusive hotels in Tunisia and all that) - but have they been to a cottage in the Cotswolds?
No 😂

For people that say "travel" is important to them - I am curious if that includes all the touristy places in the UK too?

Yes. We’ve just spent a month(we are retired) in the Scottish Highlands, Northern Ireland and North Wales. It was fantastic. We’ve also holidayed in Cornwall, Northumberland and most of Wales. I get what you mean though, I'm sure there are people who have seen more of Europe than the UK.

@Needmorelego UK holidays can be quite expensive compared to similar abroad. Especially if you don't drive - I do but hate long journeys and am the only driver in my household. I've been to most of these places to visit family which kept costs down but I priced up a visit on our own and it wasn't worth it.

I live near the Peak District and enjoy plenty of sights 1-2 hour drive away. It's why I don't see the need to go abroad just 'for a break' I can do that here!

@OneCoolPearlOP I get it about driving, DH and I both drive so we can share. But re long journeys - I love the joy of leisurely travel, of going at your own pace. We are all different.

We prioritise holidays and go away a lot, but our mortgage is paid off. I would never get in debt for a holiday.

Because one individual not going on a flight is going to make exactly zero difference to anything while China has over a 1000 coal powered plants and are approving another two every week. No point martyring yourself for a cause that is unfortunately already lost.

After years of no holidays due to running a business we have prioritised them over the last few years - mixture of UK and abroad and I've loved every minute

However, this year an unexpected large bill means we are not going away this summer - I'm quite happy with the that as I would never go into debt for a holiday but save each month so I always have a holiday fund (which I was able to use for something else as necessary)

My husband & I often comment that there seems to be 'house people' or 'holiday people'
But basically in our circle there are 2 families who go on multiple holidays a year but their houses are a bit run down and there are 2 families who go on 1 holiday a year at most but only ever to Europe but have much nicer, renovated, decorated homes.
There's 1 couple who can afford both but they are childless so that's probably why lol!
I think its just a difference in preferences, some people want their day to day to be more comfortable and interesting. Others would rather sacrifice day to day comforts and save that money to go on holidays.
We're in the holiday group, our house really needs decorating, I'd love to change our shower cubicle as its so old and grubby, our kitchen could really do with a refit - my mum thinks we're absolutely mad not to have done these things and can't fathom how we live without improving our house. But we just love travelling, we like to go long haul, not extravagant but we like the experience and enjoy the planning, and the shared memories.
We have small old second hand cars, we rarely eat out or get takeaways, buy all our clothes second hand etc etc and use all those savings to go on cool holidays (after topping up our emergency savings when necessary!)

You extended your mortgage to pay for a holiday???

We're in the holiday group, our house really needs decorating, I'd love to change our shower cubicle as its so old and grubby, our kitchen could really do with a refit - my mum thinks we're absolutely mad not to have done these things and can't fathom how we live without improving our house. But we just love travelling, we like to go long haul, not extravagant but we like the experience and enjoy the planning, and the shared memories.

I think the memories are really important. Doing up your house isn’t the kind of thing you’ll be reminiscing about in years to come.

@jolota I'd agree with you on that. I was a holidays person rather than a home person but Covid changed that for me. I did up the whole house top to bottom, over a couple of years, and I do feel happier now being at home. For me it's gone more 50/50. One year I'll have a holiday, the next I might buy some stuff for the house/garden (I'm a maximalist so it's never really "finished").