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I know people from humble, working-class backgrounds who put aside money for backpacking trips across Europe. Did they fly first-class and stay in the most glamorous hotels? No. They flew on budget airlines and stayed in what you call "crappy" youth hostels. But they didn't let that take away from their experiences, which is really what travel is all about. With your attitude, you might as well stay home because you don't sound like the kind of person who would enjoy a getaway unless you were pampered the entire time.
There are people from humble, working-class backgrounds who don't have money to put aside for the holidays. What is it about this you don't understand?
Accommodation is part of the holiday experience. Yes, being in some seedy hostel with 15 other people takes away from my experience, if that makes me "pampered" then so be it. Same goes for food: if I'm visiting another country I like to discover the local cuisine, and eating out every night is rather expensive.
Yes, you can fly last-minute on a budget airline, stay in a * hotel or a youth hostel with a bunch of strangers, bring your own food, and not go on any trips that cost money, but that's not my idea of a fun holiday. I don't feel the need to go abroad at all cost, just to have something to brag about. I'd rather save money for 10 years to go on a major, long trip to a place I've always wanted to go, with a budget that allows me to do all the things I want to do. Actually, you're not that far off the mark. I do like to be pampered when I'm on holiday, to get away from the stress and responsibilities of every-day life for a while. I don't want to worry about money or safety or privacy or any of that.
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You live in the Netherlands. From there, it's a short trip to many different countries: Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, the UK, and others. There are airlines, buses, and trains that go to those countries (and others around Europe) for very little cost. Like I said, if there's a will there's a way. I'm not even talking about flying overseas, which IS expensive. These are shorter trips that, in the United States, would be like going from New York to Chicago. Not unfeasible for anybody.
For someone my age, there are more important things to save money for. Travel abroad is not near the top of my priority list; getting my driver's license, buying a car, paying off my student loan, and renting/buying my own place are. Travel abroad is a luxury that I can't afford right now.
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, France and the UK - that's six countries. Even if I visited all those countries I'd still be "pathetic" to you.
There are people from humble, working-class backgrounds who don't have money to put aside for the holidays. What is it about this you don't understand?
Accommodation is part of the holiday experience. Yes, being in some seedy hostel with 15 other people takes away from my experience, if that makes me "pampered" then so be it. Same goes for food: if I'm visiting another country I like to discover the local cuisine, and eating out every night is rather expensive.
Yes, you can fly last-minute on a budget airline, stay in a * hotel or a youth hostel with a bunch of strangers, bring your own food, and not go on any trips that cost money, but that's not my idea of a fun holiday. I don't feel the need to go abroad at all cost, just to have something to brag about. I'd rather save money for 10 years to go on a major, long trip to a place I've always wanted to go, with a budget that allows me to do all the things I want to do. Actually, you're not that far off the mark. I do like to be pampered when I'm on holiday, to get away from the stress and responsibilities of every-day life for a while. I don't want to worry about money or safety or privacy or any of that.
For someone my age, there are more important things to save money for. Travel abroad is not near the top of my priority list; getting my driver's license, buying a car, paying off my student loan, and renting/buying my own place are. Travel abroad is a luxury that I can't afford right now.
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, France and the UK - that's six countries. Even if I visited all those countries I'd still be "pathetic" to you.
In my experience, coming from Canada, travelling within Europe has gotten more expensive since the introduction of the Euro.
There are people from humble, working-class backgrounds who don't have money to put aside for the holidays. What is it about this you don't understand?
Accommodation is part of the holiday experience. Yes, being in some seedy hostel with 15 other people takes away from my experience, if that makes me "pampered" then so be it. Same goes for food: if I'm visiting another country I like to discover the local cuisine, and eating out every night is rather expensive.
Yes, you can fly last-minute on a budget airline, stay in a * hotel or a youth hostel with a bunch of strangers, bring your own food, and not go on any trips that cost money, but that's not my idea of a fun holiday. I don't feel the need to go abroad at all cost, just to have something to brag about. I'd rather save money for 10 years to go on a major, long trip to a place I've always wanted to go, with a budget that allows me to do all the things I want to do. Actually, you're not that far off the mark. I do like to be pampered when I'm on holiday, to get away from the stress and responsibilities of every-day life for a while. I don't want to worry about money or safety or privacy or any of that.
For someone my age, there are more important things to save money for. Travel abroad is not near the top of my priority list; getting my driver's license, buying a car, paying off my student loan, and renting/buying my own place are. Travel abroad is a luxury that I can't afford right now.
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, France and the UK - that's six countries. Even if I visited all those countries I'd still be "pathetic" to you.
Eating: You could try the local cuisine once or twice and pack your own food the rest of the trip. Problem solved. You don't spend that much money, and you still get to sample the local offerings.
Accommodation: You could go with a group of friends and then you would be around people you already know. You could also split the costs for a shared hotel room if you don't want to be around strangers. Or would that also be too "low-class" for you?
Short trips vs. longer trips: Why not do both? I go on a few short, inexpensive trips within 500 miles (which in Europe would cover a few countries) each year while saving for more expensive, long-distance trips that I take less often. I can see people under 23 not being able to afford longer, more expensive vacations overseas, but they could easily be able to see more than six nearby countries by that age. In your case, you could add Czech Republic and Poland to the list. That brings you up to 8. It's really not that hard to see 8-10 countries by the time you're 23 if you're fortunate enough to live in Europe, where there are usually a good number of countries within a 500-mile radius.
Well, except for Canada, I hadn't been outside the US until I was 46. But I haven't stopped travelling since and have lived in two other countries. So far I've visited about 16 countries with plans for more.
It's not how many countries you have visited that is important but the quality of time you spend in the ones you do visit and the memories you had there.
True. Making a trip to Amsterdam to buy some stuff and coming back home the same day isn't visiting a country.. Going to Spain for a business meeting isn't visiting a country. Same about staying in a beach hotel during one week.
Most young europeans travel in Europe like an american would in the US. We are not going to Bruxelles as tourists, but because we've got friends there, or because there is a huge concert.
Young europeans really visit countries with their parents (2-3 weeks trip in Greece for example) or during their studies : Erasmus, school trip. You'll take your time to explore a city and its countryside during holidays when you'll get older.
And seriously, going to a foreign country during 2 weeks hardly open you mind. You need to live there during a year at least. It's more about having fun and to see new things.
And it's a misconception about europeans to think they are huge travelers. Many europeans like to travel to the same place again and again, because they've got friends, secondary homes, family (which is very important in some places), etc. And because we have much more holidays than american, we can't spend all our money in two weeks or we'll have to stay many weeks home. Which is BORING.
As said earlier, many people can't afford to travel. Yes, you can always save money. But what's the point to live like in the middle age during one year to enjoy one week in a foreign country ? Enjoy your life home first. Or move definitly to your dream place. There is plenty of other ways to enjoy life.
Eating: You could try the local cuisine once or twice and pack your own food the rest of the trip. Problem solved. You don't spend that much money, and you still get to sample the local offerings.
Accommodation: You could go with a group of friends and then you would be around people you already know. You could also split the costs for a shared hotel room if you don't want to be around strangers. Or would that also be too "low-class" for you?
Short trips vs. longer trips: Why not do both? I go on a few short, inexpensive trips within 500 miles (which in Europe would cover a few countries) each year while saving for more expensive, long-distance trips that I take less often. I can see people under 23 not being able to afford longer, more expensive vacations overseas, but they could easily be able to see more than six nearby countries by that age. In your case, you could add Czech Republic and Poland to the list. That brings you up to 8. It's really not that hard to see 8-10 countries by the time you're 23 if you're fortunate enough to live in Europe, where there are usually a good number of countries within a 500-mile radius.
Maybe I don't want to cook my own food or share a room with a group of people when I'm on holiday? Like I said, I like to be comfortable and carefree, that's a big part of the holiday experience for me. I don't feel pressure to visit a certain number of countries before a certain age; I will visit the more faraway places in my own time, when I can afford to spend my time there exactly as I want to. I don't go abroad just to impress people like you.
Maybe I don't want to cook my own food or share a room with a group of people when I'm on holiday? Like I said, I like to be comfortable and carefree, that's a big part of the holiday experience for me. I don't feel pressure to visit a certain number of countries before a certain age; I will visit the more faraway places in my own time, when I can afford to spend my time there exactly as I want to. I don't go abroad just to impress people like you.
You have every right to forgo travel for the reasons you stated. And I have every right to call you pathetic.
Labeling someone (or a group of people) "pathetic" for whatever reason doesn't make one right or wrong. It's subjective.
Then what's the point of calling her pathetic? You obviously think that opinion has some validity. There are good opinions, based on intelligent reasoning and facts, and poor opinions based on ignorance and lack of experience.
Labelling someone pathetic because they do not have the same priorities as you, doesn't make them pathetic, just different than you.
If you truly wanted to contribute to the discussion and had any empathy or openness to others ideas you could have framed your statement differently, however I suspect you are not here for that.
Last edited by Natnasci; 07-08-2013 at 06:31 PM..
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