I have friends who have asked (some in a round about way, others who have just come out and point-blank asked) how did you go to Europe for almost a month? Isn't it expensive?
Well, yes, And no.
Here's what I have always told my students for 20+ years: you will have dozens of friends and acquaintances once you graduate high school. Love or hate facebook and other social media today, it does make it easy to keep in touch. And also it's easier to meet friends of friends.
Chances are, you have friends, family members, or former colleagues who are living in a beautiful and interesting place in the US or overseas. They may be stationed somewhere with the military or there for a job or school.
You know when someone says, "Hey, I'm living in _________ now. You should come out and visit!"
Well, you should do that.
Seriously.
It is simple as that.
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| Loch Ness, Scotland, April 2002 |
Here's the other thing----
Most of my friends don't live in an isolated area where they literally have 2-3 choices for dining (and none are great---or expensive), where they can go 3-4 weeks on a tank of gas because the commute is so short, and where they drive a beater car because you would be foolish to drive a nice car in a place with very limited auto repair facilities.
We also don't pay a mortgage or utilities here---it's provided free as part of the "perks" of living here.
I bitch, moan, and complain about living here sometimes (many times), and island fever is a real thing and I sometimes worry about going all Jack Nicholson-The Shining on people, but life is cheap and entertainment is limited and sometimes (many times) life is boring here. Our survival tactic is to budget a little bit of civilization into our lives during the summer in the form of travel.
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| Glasgow, Scotland 2002 |
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| Mission District, San Francisco. 2001 |
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| Chinatown, NYC. Dec. 2004 |
So back to travel and cheapness. Even if you have bills and you have limited vacation time (or unpaid vacation time), for a little more than the price of a plane ticket (or gas, if driving cross-country is your thing), you can have a fabulous vacation.
There are friends and friends of friends. You would be shocked once you start asking around at how many people are willing to take a total stranger in for a week (or longer). I've had friends and former students offer to contact relatives in far away countries to put me up for vacation. There are hostels and Couch Surfing and small, family run hotels. There is also Air BnB and people who know people who are looking for house sitters during the summer. It's not the Ritz, but you can either spend, spend, spend, and only go on vacation once in a blue moon, or you can do it on the cheap and learn about other cultures in the process. We are lucky and know people who live all over the country and the world, so we were able to visit Germany and Macedonia while staying with friends. I loved it because we don't see them often, and you get a unique perspective staying with someone from the community where you are visiting.
There are also advantages and disadvantages to doing package deals or DIY travel.
Last summer we found a great deal on a vacation to Mexico through Travelocity. My husband called a service rep to ask about arranging transportation from the airport to the hotel, and through that conversation, we ended up getting two weeks for a little more than the one week price, and two rooms for the price of one. We didn't have to figure out all the logistics of a hotel, flight, and other transportation because we did it as a one-stop shop. Sometimes this works best (especially if trying to coordinate all these things causes you major anxiety, like it does me). For a family with 2 kids, including one child under the age of 10, this was also the best trip option for us at the time.
This year we went through the website SkyScanner and found great air deals with airlines not usually featured on the big travel websites. We flew Condor to Frankfurt. There are several no-frills airlines out there---Wow is another one---where you have to decide, do I want to carry a huge suitcase, or do I want to pay less than half price for a ticket that requires me to bring no more than 5 outfits? Movies, large suitcase check, meals, alcohol---these are all extra on no-frills airlines, but there is no way it adds up to what you pay for a ticket on major airlines. Our son traveled on another cheap airline from Germany---TAP, out of Portugal.
Through SkyScanner and Travelocity, Orbitz or Kayak, Travelwatchdog or any other travel site that sends you monthly (or weekly) travel deals, you can find great prices on tickets. We have airline miles and get emails from those companies, as well. It takes some time to go through and find the best price, but if you are paying outright for your tickets, sometimes you have to do a little work.
A great option for those people who do pay monthly bills, credit cards that have travel miles can get you tickets quickly. A few of my friends are very thrifty and can follow a budget, so they put all their monthly expenses on a credit card, pay them off immediately, and get enough miles for 2-3 trips a year. If we ever get back to the real world of making monthly payments for a mortgage or utilities, I will definitely consider doing this.
Traveling via train and small airlines is a great deal in Europe. For $20, 30, or 40 you can fly round trip to another country, spend a couple of days in a hostel or cheaper hotel, and spend a few days for less than a single day in some of the big US travel destinations. Bus travel is another option---we've been all over Mexico in buses. Just make sure to learn about the different classes of buses and get one that is air-conditioned and has a bathroom. The price difference is usually only a few dollars.
I have friends who love Disney and go every single year. This is great if it's your thing. Personally, I hate big crowds. The thought of standing in line for an hour makes my stomach churn.
As I told my parents once, why would someone want to spend thousands of dollars to see pretend countries at Epcot, when you can enjoy a real country (and for a longer period of time) for much, much less?
There are friends and friends of friends. You would be shocked once you start asking around at how many people are willing to take a total stranger in for a week (or longer). I've had friends and former students offer to contact relatives in far away countries to put me up for vacation. There are hostels and Couch Surfing and small, family run hotels. There is also Air BnB and people who know people who are looking for house sitters during the summer. It's not the Ritz, but you can either spend, spend, spend, and only go on vacation once in a blue moon, or you can do it on the cheap and learn about other cultures in the process. We are lucky and know people who live all over the country and the world, so we were able to visit Germany and Macedonia while staying with friends. I loved it because we don't see them often, and you get a unique perspective staying with someone from the community where you are visiting.
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| Baden Baden Germany, 2012 |
There are also advantages and disadvantages to doing package deals or DIY travel.
Last summer we found a great deal on a vacation to Mexico through Travelocity. My husband called a service rep to ask about arranging transportation from the airport to the hotel, and through that conversation, we ended up getting two weeks for a little more than the one week price, and two rooms for the price of one. We didn't have to figure out all the logistics of a hotel, flight, and other transportation because we did it as a one-stop shop. Sometimes this works best (especially if trying to coordinate all these things causes you major anxiety, like it does me). For a family with 2 kids, including one child under the age of 10, this was also the best trip option for us at the time.
This year we went through the website SkyScanner and found great air deals with airlines not usually featured on the big travel websites. We flew Condor to Frankfurt. There are several no-frills airlines out there---Wow is another one---where you have to decide, do I want to carry a huge suitcase, or do I want to pay less than half price for a ticket that requires me to bring no more than 5 outfits? Movies, large suitcase check, meals, alcohol---these are all extra on no-frills airlines, but there is no way it adds up to what you pay for a ticket on major airlines. Our son traveled on another cheap airline from Germany---TAP, out of Portugal.
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| My bright green carry-on got me through Europe for a month. |
A great option for those people who do pay monthly bills, credit cards that have travel miles can get you tickets quickly. A few of my friends are very thrifty and can follow a budget, so they put all their monthly expenses on a credit card, pay them off immediately, and get enough miles for 2-3 trips a year. If we ever get back to the real world of making monthly payments for a mortgage or utilities, I will definitely consider doing this.
Traveling via train and small airlines is a great deal in Europe. For $20, 30, or 40 you can fly round trip to another country, spend a couple of days in a hostel or cheaper hotel, and spend a few days for less than a single day in some of the big US travel destinations. Bus travel is another option---we've been all over Mexico in buses. Just make sure to learn about the different classes of buses and get one that is air-conditioned and has a bathroom. The price difference is usually only a few dollars.
I have friends who love Disney and go every single year. This is great if it's your thing. Personally, I hate big crowds. The thought of standing in line for an hour makes my stomach churn.
As I told my parents once, why would someone want to spend thousands of dollars to see pretend countries at Epcot, when you can enjoy a real country (and for a longer period of time) for much, much less?
And honestly, the best secret of cheap travel is knowing a teacher. Teachers get paid for the days we work (usually around 190 a year) and most have the option of getting those paychecks stretched out over the summer. We get anywhere from 6-8 weeks off in the summer for vacation (unpaid vacation---I mentioned that we don't get paid for that time off, right?!?!). Many teachers are great at budgeting to have extra money in the summer. Many of us are also very good at scrimping and saving because, face it, we are getting paid a whole lot less than many of our non-teaching friends. But hey, we get the (unpaid) summer!!
Teachers for the most part also are curious about the world. Teachers are perpetual students. Depending on what we teach, we are always reading and learning about other cultures, other parts of the world.
So find a cheap, adventurous teacher friend, and I can promise you he or she will have great ideas on how to travel for little money. I was lucky and found a teacher friend who has been my travel buddy to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and San Francisco for a wedding. She has lived in Scotland and Germany and I've been to visit her at both locations. For 18 years now, she has helped me wrap my head around travel because I am awful at planning trips (thus the all-for-one stop vacation destinations when I plan a trip).
The bottom line is whether it's a last minute deal on a travel site to a city in the US or a week-long trip to another country, you owe it to yourself to see how the rest of the world lives. Climbing pyramids in Mexico, driving through Monument Valley, searching for the Loch Ness monster, getting lost amongst the canals of Amsterdam, and watching my kids order pastries in Germany are memories I'll cherish forever. I've given up a life of a new (or even a nice) car, a big house, and a large wardrobe. I no longer spend lots of money on first edition books, my big, nerdy, expensive hobby. I love my mis-mash of old and new furniture and don't really care that it doesn't always match. I made a decision in my 40s to give up material things for a life of experiences.
It's difficult living far away from my US family here in Cuba, but it's also made these experiences possible. I know it's not for everyone---my friends who have made roots (especially my friends in my hometown of Monticello, MS) have something I wish I had---the desire to stay in one place. They have a present that is set in a history that is slowly fading from my memory, and I feel a lot of sadness when I go back and realize I don't recognize people anymore and don't know or remember most the people they are talking about. They have a life many of my own students, who have lived nothing but a peripatetic life, would love to have. And many of them also manage to have their own adventures---and have a home to return to.
Home for me is with my family, not a place. But for those of you who have a home that is a place---cherish it. Be proud that you know what you want and you know where you want to live. I may get there one day, who knows. In the meanwhile. . . hit me up and maybe we'll plan the next great adventure together.
Teachers for the most part also are curious about the world. Teachers are perpetual students. Depending on what we teach, we are always reading and learning about other cultures, other parts of the world.
So find a cheap, adventurous teacher friend, and I can promise you he or she will have great ideas on how to travel for little money. I was lucky and found a teacher friend who has been my travel buddy to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and San Francisco for a wedding. She has lived in Scotland and Germany and I've been to visit her at both locations. For 18 years now, she has helped me wrap my head around travel because I am awful at planning trips (thus the all-for-one stop vacation destinations when I plan a trip).
The bottom line is whether it's a last minute deal on a travel site to a city in the US or a week-long trip to another country, you owe it to yourself to see how the rest of the world lives. Climbing pyramids in Mexico, driving through Monument Valley, searching for the Loch Ness monster, getting lost amongst the canals of Amsterdam, and watching my kids order pastries in Germany are memories I'll cherish forever. I've given up a life of a new (or even a nice) car, a big house, and a large wardrobe. I no longer spend lots of money on first edition books, my big, nerdy, expensive hobby. I love my mis-mash of old and new furniture and don't really care that it doesn't always match. I made a decision in my 40s to give up material things for a life of experiences.
It's difficult living far away from my US family here in Cuba, but it's also made these experiences possible. I know it's not for everyone---my friends who have made roots (especially my friends in my hometown of Monticello, MS) have something I wish I had---the desire to stay in one place. They have a present that is set in a history that is slowly fading from my memory, and I feel a lot of sadness when I go back and realize I don't recognize people anymore and don't know or remember most the people they are talking about. They have a life many of my own students, who have lived nothing but a peripatetic life, would love to have. And many of them also manage to have their own adventures---and have a home to return to.
Home for me is with my family, not a place. But for those of you who have a home that is a place---cherish it. Be proud that you know what you want and you know where you want to live. I may get there one day, who knows. In the meanwhile. . . hit me up and maybe we'll plan the next great adventure together.
