With $100k annual travel budget...

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.
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?
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.
 
I never thought of Sbooker as the trolling type but evidence to the contrary -- saying something like that to a roomful of Americans. :troll:
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.
 
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