Why staying at home is better than you may think

source: beehiveblog.net

 Want to spoil your wallet and your nerves? ‘Staycation’ is the solution.

Sitting in your desk chair 350 days a year, there is probably one thing you think of constantly: holidays. It’s these two weeks that make up for days of getting up early and spending eight hours at the office. It’s possibly also the main reason many people still work in boring jobs for low wages. Of course, you want to spend your well-deserved vacation the best way you can.

What better place to relax than a tropical island? Spending time on the beach under a palm tree, slurping a fancy cocktail and watching surfers performing risky tricks – what’s not to like here? And you get a tan you can show off to the folks left at home, too.

But the complete opposite climate also promises a more relaxed you when you come back home. If you can’t get enough of Frosty the Snow Man’s favourite weather, then the best place to go to is the mountains. Skiing, sledding and ice-skating are just a few things every ‘winter wonderland’ offers. Afterwards, you can treat yourself to a hot chocolate and a marvellous view of snowy peaks. 

You see, there is no problem in choosing the best destination to spend your special two weeks. The thing that puts many people off is the travelling itself. You spend seemingly forever in your car before you even get near your destination. If you don’t get up early enough, you get stuck in one of the endless traffic jams on your way. And even if you start your travel early enough – when the sun has not yet risen – you will probably still end up in one sooner or later. And you are constantly battling sleep. 

Going by plane isn’t a better option either. There are myriad check-ins and never-ending waiting hours before you are even allowed to board the plane. Once you’re on the plane you experience narrow seating spaces and tasteless meals. Here, results of this combination of limited space and bad food are cramps in your stomach and legs. What an exciting way to start your holiday. And how come you always end up sitting next to a smelly fellow passenger, a very heavy one, or crying children? These are only a few things that make you want to damn the person that invented the plane.

Of course, you could also go by train or by ship. But have you seen Titanic or Murder on the Orient Express recently? If there are already so many problems and dangers on the way to your destination, then I don’t want to know what’s there waiting for you.

So, how can you spend the two weeks that you have spent a year longing for? The solution comes in the form of ‘staycation’. As the name suggests, you simply stay at your place. Your home becomes your tropical island, your winter wonderland, or whatever destination you crave for. Not only will this make your wallet happy (there are no lodging or travelling costs), your nerves will also thank you. Just strip off your socks and trousers, get a beer from the fridge, get out into your garden or onto your balcony, or just open your window if you don’t have either – et voilà: a cheap and stress-free vacation.