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Hey WannabeCPA, I've lived in Hawaii for about 3 years and I agree with your pros and cons for the most part. Coming from Alaska I'd say that Con #1, and 2 are shared cons of both states.
My wife would love to live here forever, I however don't care for it that much.
As for the topic at hand, I've met all sorts of different people. Some love traveling and others love staying at home. If someone is making 6 figures and can't afford to take a vacation every now and then they have some serious financial issues. Whether they want to or not is a personal choice. If they really wanted to I think they could figure it out.
My wife and I travel an average of 2-3 month a year.
I do this all the time. I've been to so many European cities for 3-4 days, most times through mistake fares that were cheaper than domestic US flights. I've met several people with this odd mindset that visiting another country has to be a several week affair, when it actually doesn't.
What is your mechanism for finding these mistake fares, and why do the airlines honor them?
There are any number of travel blogs covering mistake fare, and then there's Flyertalk where a lot of the bloggers get those deals to begin with. As long as there was no fraud on the part of the ticket buyer (fraud example-claiming to live in Denmark in order to take advantage of a bug converting Danish krone to usd at about 10% of what the fare should be) a mistake fare that touches US soil generally is typically honored because its easier for the airline to do that than deal with the paperwork if a customer challenges them under US DOT rules.
The big one in recent months was $187 JFK-UAE mistake that it took Ethiad about two days to notice and readjust pricing on, and those reservations are currently being honored.
What is your mechanism for finding these mistake fares, and why do the airlines honor them?
DOT rules state that airlines with a leg of the trip in the US (either departing or landing) must honor mistake fares. I find them by following various travel bloggers on Twitter and the Flyertalk forums. Since I love to travel, I know where to zone in, and I keep a mental note of when I can have time off, because you must be flexible. They're actually harder to find these days due in part to the airlines putting better systems in place to stop them.
The U.S. is a large country with some of the most diverse landscapes in the world. I personally feel, that you should explore your own nation a bit before venturing outside the borders. European nations for the most part are relatively small (France is slightly smaller than Texas), so you can travel to numerous countries if you mapped out an area in Europe the size of the U.S.
I really think it depends on how the story is told. I used to have a friend that would casually drop that she would be going to Europe. I assumed she wanted some reaction from me. I felt by the way she mentioned it she was bragging.
I, on the other hand, get excited and tell my co-workers, "Guess where I am going??!!" And they get excited for me!
I am a bit different. I work in the travel industry, so everyone I work with has the same opportunities. Every so often I hear people say they don't have money. I think we all use our "liquid cash" differently. I can't understand why anyone would drop a hundred dollars at a bar/restaurant on a weekend. I prefer to save up those hundreds and go abroad. To each his own.
I can honestly say everyone gets excited for me when I go abroad. I inspire them. They actually make me feel great when I come back to work and they say, "How was your trip??!!!".
Etc etc.
San Fran appears to be pretty blah IMO. San Fran is one of the better American cities for sure (because American cities tend to be extremely boring and soulless with their tiny core and large dead suburbs) but it is often overrated. It's progress and liberal only in the context of church and Jesus obsessed America - other countries are past those things decades ago.
Most people don't agree with you. You seem to have some misplaced anger towards the U.S. Odd.
I don't know why so many people think that the only reason people don't travel is because they don't want to or because they have such expensive cars & houses. I love travel, I love hearing about other people's trips. I love planning trips, it's one of my favorite past times. However, it's not easy to save up for a big trip even once a year when you don't make a lot of money. Rent, bills, car insurance, etc sucks up a lot of money out of a paycheck. I would love to take a few trips a year but it's simply not feasible. And no, I don't spend my money going out on the weekends, going out to eat all the time, cars, clothing, etc. I don't have cable, I don't get my hair done every few weeks. The reality is is that many many people have to pay the bills first. I put money away every paycheck into a separate account for travel but sometimes I need to take money out of that account. Don't assume that people waste their money on frivolous things simply because they're not traveling every few months like a lot of people on this forum seem to do.
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
3,352 posts, read 2,852,769 times
Reputation: 10353
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
smug? for what? Hawaii is nice for a winter vacation, but I doubt most people want to live in a hot and humid place year around with very little culture.
Not everyone WANTS to live on a tropical island. I would much prefer living in a sophisticated city with some seasons than Hawaii. You get bored staring at the beach and ocean sooner or later.
I lived in Hawaii for 5 years from 78 to 83 and I do not remember the humidity ever being a problem...I don't remember it being humid there at all....
Unless they specifically say where they are going, visiting family doesn't mean going somewhere boring. For me, going to visit family means that I'm either going to Miami or the Cayman Islands which are places people would love to go for a vacation.
I'm not saying that visiting family has to be boring, but regardless I think it's close minded to only travel for that reason. People can't seem to comprehend traveling just to experience a new place. Like you have to have a reason to go somewhere and visiting family seems to be the only acceptable reason. I'm of the.mind that while visiting family can be fun, roads go both ways and planes fly both directions so I'm under no obligation to go to their towns all the time.
Too many.
London
Lisbon
Paris
Barcelona
Berlin
Tokyo
Madrid
Prague
Amsterdam
Rio de Janeiro
Etc etc.
San Fran appears to be pretty blah IMO. San Fran is one of the better American cities for sure (because American cities tend to be extremely boring and soulless with their tiny core and large dead suburbs) but it is often overrated. It's progress and liberal only in the context of church and Jesus obsessed America - other countries are past those things decades ago.
No offense but I have to ask what in world is your deal? You seem to have this personal vendetta against the USA. Its ok to think another city is better but to go off this tangent proclaiming all the American cities are "boring with no culture," is ridiculous. Get over yourself and your inferiority complex towards the USA.
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