If you are looking at Int'l flights, that could be a plus, but your travel days line up with Thanksgiving, so I am guessing that will drive up the price, unless travel does not include connections in US @:-) If you get two days off like I used to, that is a good reason to use fewer vacation days

$500 could probably get you to Costa Rica as there is quite a bit of competition. One useful tool is Google Flights where you can pick dates and origin and the map will populate with potential destinations, hopefully under $500.