Upper Middle Class not well travelled AIBU?

[Tabbytiger122]

There are some very wealthy folk we know & some I'm acquaintances with on fb from college. All seem to run off similar schedule for holidays... Christmas skiing in France/Switzerland (same place every year) Midterm said place again, summer is always spent somewhere in France ,Italy or Greece (but always the same town)
That's it never different countries... it seems to me they are not well travelled & that familiarity is more important than going somewhere new for the heck of it! Aibu?

People are free to like whatever they like!

This often happens if a family own a holiday property. You don't pay to go stay in someone else's "for a change" when you have your own. DH, the kids and I have been to France and Spain a lot, simply because our parents have property there. A friend skis in Tignes every year because its where her auntie has a chalet.

I don't think it's to do with class. It's personality.
You like the excitement of change; they like the familiarity of the known.

My parents go to the same ( UK) place they've been to for 45 years. They've got enough savings to go anywhere they like 2-3 times a year. They like that they know where to park, what things there are nearby, what the traffic is like on a Tuesday evening etc.

We went to the same ( or nearby) place for 4 or 5 years because we needed to know that ds ( who has asd) had places he was comfortable with.

My dd and partner like to try new things, so they've been to more countries in the last 3 years than my parents have been to put together in their life - and df travelled a bit with work and dm hitchhikers round Europe at least a couple if times with friends.

I would also add we often have to work on holidays so going to those familiar places with a good wfh set up and internet access is also one reason why we do it

The same money point is not true though. A week or two in the same summer apartment in Spain can be 2-3k, there are lots of cheap flights. A week in Mauritius or Barbados in Feb half term is £10k.

Ime (raised in a more modest home but married to posher DH), upper middle class folk dont typically spend as much relative to their income on holidays or cars.

Skiing is totally a social marker. I remember when I first started working, there were people who looked at me like I had 3 heads when I said I’d never been. We’ve ended up going a few times but I don’t love it having learnt as an adult but am keen for the children to know what they’re doing at a basic level.

I can see how people who have been forever and can afford a swanky resort in Feb half term might just continue that out of habit. It’s the most expensive time to go, in some workplaces it feels like that is the ‘done thing’ and lots of them will genuinely love it and live for that week.

What's it got to do with you?
Why does someone need to be 'well travelled'?
Why can't they go on holidays they enjoy rather than to show off?

Is this a humble brag - are you itching to tell us how well travelled you are compared to them.

I hate to see people jetting off to ever more remote & 'exotic' locations which are then harmed & damaged by the tourism.

We can afford to go anywhere, between us when we were younger DH and I have travelled as far as Brazil, China, all over the US, Australia, SE Asia but I no longer have any desire to go further than skiing in the Alps in the winter, a couple of lovely villa holidays in Italy, south of France or Greece in the summer and a European city break. I like nice places to stay, good food, good wine and a short commute. We can afford to pay for our DC and grandchildren to join us. What’s wrong with that?

Im not upper middle class though. I very much agree with the pp that said certain groups of people prefer luxury over roughing it. Our former long distance trips have been exhausting, lots of accommodation swapping, lots of travel both to get there and whilst over there trying to cram in as many sights as possible. Fun, a great experience, but not a holiday.

This has to rank among the stupidest threads ever on MN

I'm one of these. I don't like to drive far and the kids love it so why not. It's easy and it's fun.

I'm also far from "upper middle class" but surprisingly well travelled.

I thought you would say exploring the Amazon or Borneo. I've been to both Barbados and Mauritius on holiday. Nothing stood out as being particularly special. Mongolia though...

You’re adding your own layer of interpretation here, which is actually judgement. I go to lots of different places and it isn’t just to ‘tick them off’. I am extremely unlikely to return to a hotel I’ve stayed at before. Does that make me better than people that do? No. Am I expressing it in a way which makes me sound morally superior? No. I couldn’t give a shit what anyone else does and neither should you

Who cares? The only thing here is you’re jealous of their financial situation and would spend the money differently.

I do wonder about some people who consider themselves "well travelled". Often it seems to be jaunting around as many places as possible with the same group of people doing the same thing (getting drunk and taking pics in front of landmarks along with thousands of others for instagram).

I also honestly don't see why people use this as a point of pride when the climate is in the state it is in.

Maybe they just like holidaying in certain places?

I think you are confusing two seperate things. Some people in general like routine and to go to the same place/places every year. Others like variety and to see as many places as possible.
Add money to the equation does chenge these basic types.

I don't count a person as being well-travelled unless they've lived in a different countries.
Interrailing and island hopping makes for an excellent holiday but to really experience other cultures you need to live somewhere for at least a year. Blasting through India on a gap year, 3 months around South America after graduating, all great experiences and lots of fun. But not "well travelled".

So you've just discovered that different people like to do different things for their holidays. It's not really earth-shattering news, to be honest.

We go to familiar places nowadays. It's easy, my idea of a great holiday is going to a 4-5 star hotel with a pool or spa, in an area with lots of places to visit... Sorrento, Cologne etc. Eating out, going with the flow...

I don't really like the modern trend of going places we maybe shouldn't. Antarctica, Galapagos etc. And the "trending" holidays - Japan at the moment for instance - I have a friend working there and she says tourist influx is HUGE and is really spoiling access to the very places tourists want to see.

You suggest that going on holiday to different locations is equivalent to being well travelled. That's just ridiculous. Going on holiday for two weeks, especially in a family group, does not immerse you in a foreign culture. It's like saying eating paella teaches you all about Spain. It doesn't scratch the surface.

Absolutely spot on, in this response and in previous ones. The excitement of an intrepid adventure somewhere new completely loses its sheen if you travel a lot for work.

It totally depends what type of holiday you want.
Going back to somewhere you go to frequently is nice and easy. It’s familiar, you know what’s what. You don’t have to think about it in the same way.
Going to somewhere different each time, you have to perhaps put in more effort.
Having a holiday home / static caravan somewhere definitely changes what you might choose to do too.

Don’t think it’s a class thing. I work with / know people from all different walks of life and some love to go back to the same place they’ve been before and some love to go and explore somewhere new.

And for some people it changes as they get older. We travelled a lot when we were younger, now we have a holiday home we go back to each year. Some of our friends have done the opposite and now travel loads.

My best friend, who you would call upper middle class, never goes to the same place twice. The last two holidays she has been on, she hasn’t enjoyed much and has come back exhausted because they have to fit everything in as they’re “never going there again.” I don’t get this at all but horses for courses!

It is because they have nothing to prove and do not need to show off and try and impress the rest of the world, whereas OP maybe sees it as a tick-list and the more destinations you can tick off and publish on social media, the more you communicate your succes in life?

I mean why the idea of being horrified at going to the same place twice? Do you crave novelty to the extent that you can not go to the same restaurant twice? Eat the same meal twice? Wear the same clothes twice? Why? What?

What's your definition of 'well-travelled', OP? Someone who spends a week barely leaving a resort in a different destination every year might tick off a lot of countries after a while but I don't think you could describe them as 'well-travelled'.

Greece would be preferred to the Caribbean in the summer due to the weather. Same with Mauritius.

Even UMC are subjected to school terms, albeit, slightly longer holidays, but why travel so far for potential storms.

Slightly off topic, but if you can recommend anywhere better than Greece in the summer I’d love to know!

I feel like the sentiment of this post is that clearly ‘upper middle class people are clearly not as cultured as I am’ haha

OP, I feel like it’s not that big of a deal - most likely just holiday homes. I do get the curiosity though! I am a nosey nelly