This year, I actually saved a few vacation days till the end of the year. My wife is off of work and I thought it would be a good time for us to get away. Upon weighing the options of where to go, when to go and how much to spend, we have decided to stay at home. The logistics of traveling with two babies is a nightmare and you end up coming home needing to relax but have to go back to work. This year, we opted for the "staycation," and so far I'm enjoying it. For me, the purpose of a vacation is to recharge my batteries, hag out with people I care about and I get to do those things. It also makes me more dedicated to finding things to do close to home. We've already planned a few day trips with the kids for next week. I like that I'm spending less money, and that money helps boost the local economy.
There is also an environmental force at work (of course). We usually travel twice a year. One long plane trip and one driving trip to the beach (or somewhere else that you can drive). So if I replaced the plane trip every other year with a staycation, I would be able to save money, which could be used every other year to go on a really good trip, and save the environment a little in the process. One transatlantic flight for a family of four creates more CO2 than that family generates domestically in an entire year. Source. That means I could drive a Prius every day, but take my family on a trip to London and have the same affect as a family of four who drove a hummer all year and stayed home for vacation. Maybe I'll save my money and every 2 years take a 2 week vacation somewhere. The CO2 impact would be the same but I would be getting twice the vacation. What are your thoughts? Is anyone else considering a staycation? I know I would go crazy if I never went anywhere, but some times I think staying home is an excellent alternative.
My Green Vacation
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6 comments:
Awesome post Trev. Just please reserve the use of words like "staycation" for Martha Stewart and Oprah
Trev, I also am guilty of using the "staycation" terminology. I too stayed at home for Christmas this year, and it was nice. Not only for the lack of travel-related stress, but for the fact that I did my small part in reducing my carbon footprint. Of course, my trip to Italy last month left a Sasquatch-sized footprint which will take years to bring down to treehugger levels.
Hi Trev,
Being in the banking industry, I also opted for a staycation and did an eco-tour on the westside of Cleveland. I'm an eastsider, so it really was an adventure! We visited a couple of green stores, a green building and ate some eco-friendly restaurants. It was cheap and fun.
Have a great year!
G Johnson, good to hear that others are getting in on the staycation action. For me, it's a sacrifice that I won't always make, but this year it was nice.
I'm up on all the trendy Oprah words.
If we were like the Europeans and got a month or two off at a time, I'd consider traveling to other countries via ship. Much more environmentally conscious. Doesn't work with 1 - 2 week vacations.
An eco-tour sounds like fun. I'd probably have to travel to another state to do that, but maybe I'm overlooking some things nearby.
I had no staycation this time. Marija and I drove down to Florida and have been burning more fuel going between Tampa and Auburndale. This will be the first year since we met that we have not traveled out of the country, but I'm sure we will burn those carbon credits up next year when her dissertation is complete.
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