Would you bother going on holiday if your life was like this?

[Becauseisaidsook]

Live abroad, house with small pool, quiet road, able to walk to the beach and countryside. Space to ride bikes, plenty of beach bars, beaches, restaurants nearby. Lots of playgrounds and things to do.
Would you spend money and have the hassle of going somewhere else when kids were small or stay where you were for your two week holiday?

yes. But I travel to experience different places and different cultures. We are all different!

Travel expands your mind and experience.

What you've described sounds nice but after a while it would feel rather provincial to me...

Being a Londoner, I'd miss the huge number of art galleries, museums and bars & restaurants, things to do (talks, book signings, lectures) and places to see.

The say "travel broadens the mind", which is usually not a bad thing for kids. Apparently 20 Million overseas tourists a year come here to London; and although our home is a 20 minute walk from a huge park with an adjacent world heritage site, we still go to other places for a holiday. It's nice to see things that are a bit different for a change and definitely good to introduce DC to things that we don't have here.

I think the OP is talking about going on holiday, not moving around!

Yep! This! @Becauseisaidsook

My sister and her family have this setup although they have (in my opinion) an unbearable amount of family members getting free holidays out of them for weeks at a time every single summer. We invited them over to south of France this month and they couldn’t come because their house was as always full of guests.

They do city breaks and cultural trips, never beach / lakes.

I had this set up and did take holidays but only because it was mainland Europe so super easy to drive to other countries easily and enjoy other cultures and languages. That said , it was a brilliant situation in the Summer without leaving home as summers were super cheap … municipal outdoor pools , long bike rides and picnics, swimming in the sea. Blissful while it lasted !

Yes I would, because for me holidays are about a change of scenery, visiting new places and the excitement of travelling somewhere. We live in London and still love doing city breaks to other cities (as well as other types of holidays too), and often do exactly the same kind of things we do here, but it's different because they are different places.

Why would having one child mean I don’t have lots of menial tasks to do?!

Yes. Everyone needs time away from the day to day no matter how their surroundings are.

I live in the Caribbean, so lovely warm weather, the ocean is on my doorstep and I live between 2 ramsar areas, so protected surroundings and secluded, flaminogo's are a stone throw away, same as beach. When our DC was younger we would not travel much, family coming to us mainly. Once he became a bit older, so after age of 6 we started going on holiday. Not every year as quite expensive to travel of the island, but spending time together without daily tasks,relaxing, seeing new areas and other culture is definitely something that I love. Would not book a beach holiday in the Caribbean or in Europe though as that would be too similar to home. Sometimes we book a weekend in a hotel on the island, still gives you bit of a holiday vibe

Always, I love a change of scenery. Especially if it's a different country, get to experience new food, culture etc Plus when you go away you don't do any housework or cooking, bliss!

That sounds amazing, can I come and stay 😄

We went on 2 holidays when our son was very small and decided to stop! It was much harder than being at work! And felt like a total chore and absolutely not a holiday. So now we take time off, stay home and he stays in childcare, or we do days out locally all together. We get actual time off in the days, an easy life in the night with normal routine and we will go on proper holidays when he’s old enough to remember it. He’s happy anywhere with a playground. Saved lots of money, made the garden and house look so nice that now we can’t afford to go away anywhere nicer than our own home lol! 🤣🤣🤣 Stay put until they’re old enough to appreciate a holiday abroad I would. Unless you have a burning desire for travel that cannot be slaked.

Well we live in a part of the UK where large numbers of people come on holiday and whilst we very much enjoy what there is here we like to travel too. I think there's something to be said both for appreciating what you have on your doorstep and exploring other places. Growing up in the countryside meant that my DC to some extent took for granted some of the things that holidaymakers look forward to, but on the other hand I remember the first time we took them to London they were wildly excited about mundane things like going on the tube or the top of a double decker bus because those were completely new experiences for them. Everywhere has something different to offer and it's not essential to have a holiday away from home every year and certainly not to travel abroad for every holiday, but if you are able to it's good to experience different things and see different places, particularly as children get older.

We get that reaction a lot. Of course there are down sides living in the Caribbean as everything needs to be imported so it is incredibly expensive. One of our great hoys of holidays abroad is shopping in well sorted supermarkets 😂. But we know we are very luckily to live somewhere which is a dream holiday for many others. First years living here I had no desire to travel abroad, started only few years ago, so try every other year) every three years

I think it depends on the DC's ages. If they are babies/toddlers then no, not worth the hassle and expense of going away. If they are schoolage then I would try to have some break away at some point (may be something different like a snow holiday?). I look back on childhood holidays and the thing I remember most was my parents were relaxed and had time to spend with us away from the very day thing at home. I think you don't always get that if you holiday at home as there is always a chore to do or an email to respond to.

I live somewhere that sounds similar, beautiful beaches, beautiful forests. We travelled to the city when my dad became really ill, my son was four and I thought too young for a city break. But it was more fun that I could imagine. We'd get up at five and walk from the hotel to a pretty, landscaped park, chat with the early rising joggers and dog walkers, watch the city birds (different, so interesting to little one!), then on the way back to the hotel buy some still warm, freshly made cardamom buns and fancy pants espresso at a posh cafe. The rest of our days were spent at dad's bedside so we didn't even get to museums and galleries and all. Dad made a full recovery so the holiday only has positive associations, and we've added city breaks to the annual itinerary.
Also, sometimes in the high season we go camping in the middle of nowhere, well off the beaten track, to get away from the tourists!

You don't need to go away to have a break from 'cooking and cleaning'.

I think in your circumstances you could benefit from staying at home but taking a break from day to day life. Eat as if you're on holiday - eat out, have BBQs, get easy ready prepared food etc. Use the money you're not spending on travel and accommodation to treat yourself. Sit in the garden and read a book while DC play in the pool.

Are there places like waterparks or theme parks nearby for outings?

Get a cleaner or just not do anything for a few days. You could even not do any washing for a fortnight and tackle the post holiday washing mountain afterwards like you would if you went away .

Yes, I would. Because a holiday (for me) is a chance to do something different from normal life. It's a break from routine and time to explore somewhere new and do new things.

This

I lived on a tropical island in a resort-style complex when DC was small. We still travelled. We just made sure our holidays were suitable for that stage of our family life.

For me it would depend on the current temperature where you live. Is it cool enough to be outdoors at the beach for example or would a big part of your day have to be indoors?

Would I travel? Yes I would despite the pool in the garden and having other things to do because a change is as good as a rest. My children all travel over the holidays with their young children as there’s so much more for them to experience outside of the very good lives they have where we live.

When they were really small - maybe not. Holidays are just same shit, different location before they’re 4 or 5. But once they’re that sort of age I definitely would.

With a young child, I would prioritise resting and refreshing.

To add variety ..
You could arrange a day trip.
You could invite family or friends to visit you for a weekend.
You could cook and eat an adventurous menu for a few days.
You could attempt to paint a room, plant a garden or sew a quilt etc.
As your child grows older you could join a swap house/holiday group and stay at another location while your home is being enjoyed by others.