The other day I spoke with a friend of mine who was going on a trip to Europe. She said she was “broke,” but I had to quickly bring it to her attention that broke people don’t casually fly off to Germany and then enjoy a quick stay in Paris. Granted, she’s staying with relatives and friends, but not too many American broke folks know decent earning people across the street let alone across the pond.
I know another friend who will be embarking on a nice vacation in the Dominican Republican in a few weeks. While he brushes up on his Spanish, I’ll be brushing up on my expletives as I look at my bills.
Judging from a newly released poll it looks like I’m not that only one that will be cursing in their native tongue versus struggling to order a tropical drink in a second language.
According to a new AP-GKF poll, a third of Americans surveyed said they have already canceled at least one trip this year due to concerns over their finances.
Altogether 42 percent of Americans plan on having a summer trip. That’s down 7 percent from a similar poll taken four years prior. Of that figure 67 percent will still travel outside of their home states while 12 percent will vacation within state lines. Only 19 percent will venture outside of the U.S.
Overall 23 percent will stay with friends or family instead of a hotel to save money.
I haven’t used the word vacation without prefacing it with the words, “I need a…” since…I don’t know, a while.
I believe my last real getaway was the summer in ’95 when I went to chill with Mickey, Donald, and that Goofy character.
As you can imagine, I feel like I’m long overdue for a vacation. Then I think about my responsibilities, the potential hardships that may lie ahead (I mean, I do work in the media), and other ‘needs’ and opt to push it off.
I keep thinking to myself, “maybe next year” and then next year rolls around and I repeat the same message.
I think every person deserves a break from their daily stresses, but breaks aren’t cheap.
Do any of you have some tips on scoring vacation deals? Or better yet, of you 19 percent planning to leave the country this summer how about you sneak me into your luggage. If you’re traveling overseas, I imagine you can afford to pay the extra costs in luggage.
At the very least, someone should send me an e-ticket to Miami. We can call it practice for my own Caribbean getaway.
Email me at therecessiondiaries@gmail.com.
Michael Arceneaux hails from Houston, lives in Harlem and praises Beyoncé’s name wherever he goes. Follow him on Twitter.