With $100k annual travel budget...

jimk

jimk

Active member
OK this is a fantasy thread, but if you had a fairly hefty annual travel budget, say $100k, where would you go and what would your schedule look like?

Now that I'm retired I'd have the time to really get out there, but do I have the energy for constantly living out of a suitcase and frequent hopping to different motels? My wife is even less inclined for that than me. I'm also not crazy about doing a lot of flying, but would consider a small amount of it if properly motivated.

I guess maybe something I'd consider is picking three good locations and visiting each for several consecutive months. For example, Jan-May in Utah, Jun-Aug in Hawaii, Sep-Dec in Florida? Then perhaps change it up the next year and mix in one or more new places? But where would I call home and what are the implications of not really having a home base?
 
it's hard to establish friendships when you have 3 places...
my kids live in NYC and Boston...So will probably establish a base somewhere between... We will be getting property in Fla and Capecod....Fla is a small condo , but nice... I enjoy fla cause it's meca for fishing and other warm weather activities , but that's about it... That said, not ready to leave my house that's just north of NYC...Hard to leave my friend group and world class MTB...
 
My first reaction was that with recent travel inflation (recently discussed here), $100K is not a pie-in-the-sky travel budget these days. I also checked and found that since retirement starting 2011, our ski expense has averaged $23K and other travel expense $35K per year.
jimk said:
For example, Jan-May in Utah, Jun-Aug in Hawaii, Sep-Dec in Florida? ................ But where would I call home and what are the implications of not really having a home base?
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In that scenario, at least one of them would really be a home base. Does jimk not feel quite at home the 4 months he's in Utah now? But perhaps it's Jason's point, long time friends, sports or arts season tickets, etc. that are ties to a specific place. As much of a travel junkie as I am, I'm not sure I'd want to be away for a year continuously.

If you have a windfall that enables bucket list travel, there are plenty of companies that will be happy to handle all the logistics and keep you in comfort doing it to unusual destinations that you might not want to DIY. A year ago we were with Travel Masters in Namibia. They are focused mainly on wildlife travel including scuba diving.

The February India trip was with Wilderness Travel, who also co-sponsored the 5 eclipse cruises since 2005 on the Paul Gauguin.

I have never been on one, but Princeton Journeys takes small groups of alumni to interesting places, usually accompanied by a professor specializing in the history and culture of the area. I'm sure many other alumni groups do the same.,

A couple could blow through the entire $100K in not much more than a month with these types of companies.
 
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From an outsider’s perspective it seems to me you have a pretty sweet existence as it is @jimk

From my own viewpoint it’s not a budget that’s restrictive as much as time. I’ve got a 44 week commitment to the owner of the business I work out of and my wife can only get 6 weeks off work per year.

But in a fantasy I would not be in Brisbane between about December to mid April. Mainly to avoid the heat combined with humidity.

And even with an unlimited budget and I still wouldn’t travel much differently. For example I can afford to fly business class now but wouldn’t dream of paying for anything above cattle class. Same goes for lodging. I can afford fancy but always opt for modest.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
I never thought of Sbooker as the trolling type but evidence to the contrary -- saying something like that to a roomful of Americans. :troll:
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Certainly not trolling. To be clear - generally Aussies get 4 weeks paid leave per annum. Kylie has negotiated another 2 weeks of unpaid leave. The total being 6 weeks.

I am paid commission only. No base salary. No sick pay. No holiday pay. My 8 weeks a year holiday probably costs me at least $40000AUD in income.
 
EMSC said:
I've never ridden much back east. While I know there is some world class back east I'm curious where that description and that level meets at your locale. Shawgunks?
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Actually the great riding is on the border of Northern NJ and NY. I have ridden all over the country and have a trip to the Dolomites planned in early Sept. Not to make this a MTB discussion, but my fav place #1 is Bentonville, Teton Pass, Santa Cruz and Moab/Zion. But if i couldn't get to those places again, I would be content with my local trails.
 
EMSC said:
I've never ridden much back east. While I know there is some world class back east I'm curious where that description and that level meets at your locale. Shawgunks?
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jasoncapecod said:
the great riding is on the border of Northern NJ and NY
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I concur on the quality of riding along the NJ/NY state line and other locations throughout southern NY, e.g. Port Jervis, Stewart, etc. They don't have the scenic visuals of out west; however, tree canopies are great during the heat of summer and of course foliage season. What may be a big surprise for non-residents is the amount of world-class riding throughout Pennsylvania. My expert-level brother raves about it.

The Gunks OTOH have stunning views with fantastic non-technical cruising -- the bike (mountain or gravel) version of Grand Targhee -- as seen in a couple of my reports: Sept 2008 and August 2021.
 
jimk said:
C&O Canal 2019 trip report.
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That's a great report. I wasn't aware of that canal and how you can ride and camp along it, then return via Amtrak: very cool. I didn't see your reply to someone's question: why didn't you do it in reverse -- take the train uphill to Cumberland and ride to DC on the downhill? How about the iron man who said that he did the entire stretch in one day?

Growing up in Central NY less than a mile from the Erie Canal, I'm a big fan of them and can't imagine how they were built by hand through dense forests and malaria-ridden swamps in the early 1800s. Check out this interesting clip about the canal's last remaining aqueduct, which is located in our town and was restored 15 years ago. The only disappointment is that neither of these two people have the brutal rust-belt accent that you hear in our region. :icon-e-wink:

 
jamesdeluxe said:
I didn't see your reply to someone's question: why didn't you do it in reverse -- take the train uphill to Cumberland and ride to DC on the downhill? How about the iron man who said that he did the entire stretch in one day?

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The difference in elevation is only about 500' in 184 miles, so negligible either direction. Catching the train back from Cumberland, MD to DC worked better for my situation.
I know the iron man well, he's a former college ski racer, current ski race coach, and a fairly hardcore cyclist. He's also about 20 years younger than me :-)
I still aspire to cycle the Great Allegheny Passage Rail Trail (150 miles and a much better surface than the C&O Canal towpath) from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. Maybe later this summer? My 80 year old brother wants me to do a 200 mile hike with him in Portugal in Sept. Not sure I can get either of these ideas cleared past my wife :-) I burn up a lot of brownie points each winter dragging her to Utah, although she enjoys some of her time out there.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
I concur on the quality of riding along the NJ/NY state line and other locations throughout southern NY, e.g. Port Jervis, Stewart, etc. They don't have the scenic visuals of out west; however, tree canopies are great during the heat of summer and of course foliage season. What may be a big surprise for non-residents is the amount of world-class riding throughout Pennsylvania. My expert-level brother raves about it.

The Gunks OTOH have stunning views with fantastic non-technical cruising -- the bike (mountain or gravel) version of Grand Targhee -- as seen in a couple of my reports: Sept 2008 and August 2021.
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I was thinking more about your post. I keep seeing amazing places that I had previously not known about.
I’m absolutely convinced that the USA is the number nation on the planet for diverse natural beauty. If there is another nation that can match it please let me know. You folk are so fortunate to have it at your fingertips.
 
Sbooker said:
I was thinking more about your post. I keep seeing amazing places that I had previously not known about.
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Glad that you enjoyed the Shawangunks photos. The northeast U.S. and Quebec get a bum rap due to the more low-key beauty than out west but there are a lot of scenic places if you poke around.

Sbooker said:
the USA is the number nation on the planet for diverse natural beauty. If there is another nation that can match it please let me know.
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You know which country is incredibly diverse for its size? France. Think about the varied regions across a land mass only the size of Texas.
 
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