Hacker News Reader

Comment by nhangen | Hacker News Reader

So let me get this right...

Don't spend my money on anything nice, having fun, or treating myself to something special in the hopes that I can travel the world as a beggar or poor person (5k-10k as is a substantially small travel budget)?

View on HN

it's whatever your priorities dictate. If you want to spend all of your money where you are, don't cry that you haven't been able to save any to go travel the world. $5K-$10K is not a small travel budget for a single person if you spend wisely. If you're expecting to stay at 5 star resorts and party like you have a trust fund, then yeah, good luck with that.

If I were still single (and younger), I would have taken that $10K and lived an awesome 6 months abroad. But 15 years ago my priorities were a fast-ish car, a nice apartment, eating out every night, and trying to impress a girl (now my wife). It's worked out well for me regardless.

[edit]Your attitude comes off as very entitled BTW. You complain about "...don't spend my money on anything nice, having fun, or treating myself to something special". Oh woe is me, I can't travel the world and buy that latest iphone and fancy new clothes...sheesh!

You're not seeing any complaints from me about traveling. I'm fine where I'm at. I'm just pointing out the flaws in the parent's reasoning, and explaining why it might not be appealing to people that do have a genuine interest in traveling.

The parent's reasoning is meant for people who do have a "genuine interest in traveling" so I fail to see the flow.

I did say: "if you actually want to visit the world that is, and not just want it to fall on you lap while you enjoy everything else at the same time".

The observation that (advice about travelling) "might not interest those who are not interested in travelling" seems redundant to me.

Some people live to travel and to constantly have exciting new experiences and care more about that than having enough money to buy the latest iphone, enjoy artesian bread for breakfast, or have a nice apartment with a view and plush furniture.

There's nothing wrong or right with either way of life, it's just different personalities.

Travelers may call your lifestyle fake or meaningless, you may call their lifestyle fake or meaningless, but the lifestyles are as real and valid as the person wants them to be.

It's ok to not want what other people want :)

I don't think I ever used the terms fake or meaningless. My point is that the lifestyle being referenced might not be appealing to a majority of people, hence the reason most don't do it.

I'm trying to do it, and I make less than 18k a year(lovely third world country :)).. and manage to save about 5k in a couple of years.

And no, you don't abstain of having fun or having "nice things" And no, you don't travel the world as a beggar.

Most north american people just expend too much in things they dont need.

Your last statement is exactly the kind of reasoning that I'm arguing against. Besides being an absurd generalization, it's also not necessarily true, at least if you're conflating needs and wants, which I suspect is what you're doing here.

If you don't like it, or can't stand to not buy a new car every few years and go out on bars, don't do it. Some appreciate the traveling more than "having fun" by spending money for "nice things" (which for a lot of people are BS throwaways, but they still moan that they can't afford to travel).

It's not like somebody put a gun on your head.

5-10K is by no means a "substantially small travel budget". In fact many middle class families in other parts of the world make it with that or less for the whole year.

Now, if you want to travel the world first class and stay on 5-star hotels, get the budget for it.

Not everybody needs or cares for that -- but we can still travel for months on end on far much less AND have fun.

Not everything is a dichotomy.

Adjust the sliding scale of your combined travel budget/ rest-of-your-life budget as you need/want.

That I can most certainly agree with.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com