WEBVTT - How busy people can travel more

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is about how busy people can travel more. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if you have a job and a family, it is

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<v Speaker 1>possible to have at least a few travel adventures. The

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<v Speaker 1>key is rethinking some common stories about what travel entails,

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<v Speaker 1>so travel tends to feature prominently in people's memories. My

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<v Speaker 1>guess is that you don't really remember a random week

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<v Speaker 1>from six months ago all that well, but you might

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<v Speaker 1>remember a week you spent in Yosemite National Parks six

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<v Speaker 1>years ago quite vividly. Our brains have a tendency to

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<v Speaker 1>pay attention to new experiences, which makes time seem more

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<v Speaker 1>thick and rich. Of course, one reason travel produces memories

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<v Speaker 1>is that we tend not to do it all that often,

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<v Speaker 1>or if you do, it's often that you are flying

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<v Speaker 1>to the same business location again and again, which may

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<v Speaker 1>not be all that memorable either. By its nature, leisure

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<v Speaker 1>travel won't be every day Travel tends to take time, effort,

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<v Speaker 1>and money, all of which can feel in short supply

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<v Speaker 1>during the busy years when people are building their careers

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<v Speaker 1>and raising their families. It makes sense. But when I

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<v Speaker 1>ask people what they'd like to spend more time doing,

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<v Speaker 1>travel comes up a lot. When I suggest people make

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<v Speaker 1>lists of one hundred dreams with their life goals, the

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<v Speaker 1>first third is often the thirty three places people would

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<v Speaker 1>most like to visit. So how can busy people travel more?

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<v Speaker 1>I know there are a lot of practical tips out there,

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<v Speaker 1>but in today's episode, I want to share two mindset

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<v Speaker 1>shifts that help make travel in the busy years slightly

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<v Speaker 1>more possible. The first is to get your head around

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that even if you have a family, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to do all your leisure travel with your family.

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<v Speaker 1>In particular, you don't need to travel with your spouse. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know, it is probably a lot more fun to

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<v Speaker 1>travel with your other half. Maybe you have limited paid

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<v Speaker 1>time off, it might seem wrong not to reserve that

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<v Speaker 1>PTO to travel with your family or at least your

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<v Speaker 1>significant other. But one of the big reasons people don't

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<v Speaker 1>travel as much as they want is that they can't

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<v Speaker 1>imagine bringing their kids to a certain place, or it

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<v Speaker 1>would be a lot more expensive to travel with their kids,

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<v Speaker 1>and they don't have coverage for those kids. Asking another

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<v Speaker 1>family member to stay with your three young kids for

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<v Speaker 1>five days is in fact a fairly big ask, But

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<v Speaker 1>if you have a co parent, that person can easily

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<v Speaker 1>be the coverage. You just obviously can't travel with him

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<v Speaker 1>or her. If both parties are interested in traveling more

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<v Speaker 1>but are stuck on the problem of paying to take

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<v Speaker 1>kids somewhere they might not really appreciate, or the problem

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<v Speaker 1>of finding overnight childcare, each parent could commit to covering

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<v Speaker 1>for the other for the equivalent of two long weekends

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<v Speaker 1>a year, or perhaps one week. The other party assumes

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<v Speaker 1>all parenting responsibilities, knowing that the co parent will pay

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<v Speaker 1>this back. The upside of this is that solo travel

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<v Speaker 1>can be easier and certainly less expensive. It's only one flight,

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<v Speaker 1>only one museum admission, only one meal at a restaurant.

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<v Speaker 1>I know some people are wary of traveling solo, though,

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<v Speaker 1>as a woman who has traveled by myself a reasonable amount,

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<v Speaker 1>I can tell you that if you keep your wits

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<v Speaker 1>about you, you're probably going to be fine. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you think it won't be fun, get a friend to

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<v Speaker 1>make the same arrangement with their spouse and travel together

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<v Speaker 1>with your friend. Or in my family, my husband and

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<v Speaker 1>I have both taken one of our older kids to

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<v Speaker 1>cool places. If you've got a good relationship with your teens,

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<v Speaker 1>they can be excellent travel companions while your spouse stays

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<v Speaker 1>with your other kids. As for a limited PTO, this

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<v Speaker 1>solo travel might not consume as many days off as

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<v Speaker 1>you think. If you are strategic, If you've got a

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<v Speaker 1>long weekend somewhere, you could take one extra day, leave

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<v Speaker 1>on Thursday afternoon or evening and come back Monday night.

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<v Speaker 1>That gives you at least three point five days somewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>Some folks use leave strategically around a day like July fourth.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a Thursday the year I am recording this,

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of offices were closed both Thursday and Friday.

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<v Speaker 1>If you took one extra day, you could leave Tuesday

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<v Speaker 1>night and come back Sunday night, scoring at least four

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<v Speaker 1>point five days somewhere. In any case, in this spouse's

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<v Speaker 1>trade off scenario, both of you might be happier getting

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<v Speaker 1>to go somewhere you think is cool, versus both of

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<v Speaker 1>you spending time and effort and money doing things you

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<v Speaker 1>are less happy about. Just because you think it as

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<v Speaker 1>a rule that everyone has to spend their days off together.

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<v Speaker 1>It isn't If you change that mindset, all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>possibilities open up, and the second mindset shift you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to go somewhere for long for it to be fun. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>travel itself, as in the process of getting from point

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<v Speaker 1>A to point B, is often not that enjoyable. It

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<v Speaker 1>can be more of a necessary evil. But people tend

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<v Speaker 1>to think that if they flew or drove all that way,

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<v Speaker 1>they should stay a long time. The corollary of that

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<v Speaker 1>is that if they can't stay a long time, it

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<v Speaker 1>isn't worth it. I would encourage you to get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of that story right now. The travel time is a

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<v Speaker 1>sunk cost of going somewhere cool. It takes about seven

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<v Speaker 1>hours to fly from Philadelphia to Paris, whether you go

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<v Speaker 1>for fourteen days, four days, or zero days. If you

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<v Speaker 1>can't go for fourteen days, that doesn't mean zero is

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<v Speaker 1>the only other option. You can go to Paris for

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<v Speaker 1>a long weekend. Even though it was a short trip,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll still have been to Paris. Whereas if you decide

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<v Speaker 1>all that flying is too much bother, then you won't.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not talking about every weekend, but going somewhere at

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<v Speaker 1>least semi exotic twice a year well why not. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>of course there is the cost, but as with the

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<v Speaker 1>travel time, the getting there is somewhat of a set cost,

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<v Speaker 1>however much time you spend there. Yes, it can be

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<v Speaker 1>expensive to fly cool places, but if you can't fly

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<v Speaker 1>there for a month, that doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

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<v Speaker 1>I would also note that if you are flexible about

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<v Speaker 1>where you go, you can often find some reasonable deals

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<v Speaker 1>if you are looking. I was poking around online recently

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<v Speaker 1>and found that flights to Dublin from Philadelphia were literally

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<v Speaker 1>one thousand dollars cheaper than flights to Madrid for the

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<v Speaker 1>same days. I am not sure why, but if your

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<v Speaker 1>hope was to travel more and you are flexible about

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<v Speaker 1>where you are going, that suggests letting the serendipity of

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<v Speaker 1>the airline pricing system guide you. If you are traveling solo,

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<v Speaker 1>that is probably not too hard to pull off. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case. By letting go of the idea that you

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<v Speaker 1>have to travel with your family or at least your spouse,

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<v Speaker 1>and letting go of the idea that you have to

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<v Speaker 1>travel for a long time to make it worthwhile, you

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<v Speaker 1>can open up a lot more possibilities. Maybe in a

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<v Speaker 1>perfect world you could spend two months a year traveling

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<v Speaker 1>and always travel with your significant other. But the alternative

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<v Speaker 1>to that isn't doing nothing. Do things a little differently,

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<v Speaker 1>and you just might have some more travel in your future.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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