From MarketWatch and Leslie Albrecht:
Is now really the best time for a vacation, or should you stay at home and take a “staycation”?Why it matters
People are stressed and burned out. Travel lifts you out of the drudgery of your daily routine and gives your brain a chance to reset. Leaving home can give you valuable perspective on your life and your problems.
You know what I say, “GO!!!!!”
More MW:
But it’s also true that some people simply do not have the money in their budget for travel. One of the things Americans are stressed out about is their financial well-being, and spending money on a trip may heighten that stress.The verdict
Take a modest mini-vacation where you leave home, even if it’s just a trip to the next town over for a night or two.
Having a trip on the calendar gives you something to look forward to, and it’s well-documented that spending money on experiences tends to make us happier in the long run than spending on objects.
“Financial stress often comes when we are not spending money on what is most important to us,” said Sean Pearson, a financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services in Conshohocken, Pa., who focuses on the financial needs of the military and veterans.
Yes, I agree, a trip on the Calendar does give me something to look forward to. Being home most days, retired, and watching too much TV, a trip is always at the top of my list!
Reasons to hit the road: A change of scenery has been linked to enhanced happiness, according to a 2020 New York University study that followed people with GPS trackers and asked them to rate their moods. “The results showed that on days when people had more variability in their physical location — visiting more locations in a day and spending proportionately equitable time across these locations — they reported feeling more positive: ‘happy,’ ‘excited,’ ‘strong,’ ‘relaxed,’ and/or ‘attentive,’” the researchers wrote.
Travel to places we haven’t been before may also help give us “greater emotional agility, empathy and creativity,” wrote psychology professor Todd B. Kashdan with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University. “By spending time in unfamiliar towns, cities, or countries, you become tolerant and even accepting of your own discomfort and more confident in your ability to navigate ambiguous situations,” he wrote in Harvard Business Review. Even though some of my trips are revisits to familiar places, I always try to add a new city or country. On my last trip, I visited Belgrade,Serbia, Montenegro, and the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia for the first time. My return visit to Paris centered on a new experience, the French Open Tennis Championships at Roland Garros. I was able to return to Athens for the third time, as well as utilize Frankfurt as my entry and departure point for the trip.
When we travel to familiar places, like Seattle, Las Vegas, the Central Coast, Monterey, Scottsdale, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Atlanta, we always try to add something new or different, even it is a place to eat. But not always. It gives us great pleasure to return to favorite wineries or restaurants.
But, whatever you decide, I say, go ahead and do it!!!!
golfkat Travel Blog 