Durn, I didn't realize how many terrestrial types we had on FT. Doesn't anybody still fly? I think a good test might be miles flown vs. miles driven in a year.

Better get cracking on unloading the SUV before the used-car places stop accepting them. It'll be like reselling used Peter Frampton records used to be.

A lot of people are going to have some really painful adjustment because of fuel, but then I give only partial blame to those who bought too far out from a city and thought gas would stay at $1.20 (or that traffic wouldn't get worse). It's not just them, but also the system that supported and even encouraged that sort of behavior. Governments tend to subsidize sprawl and spread the infrastructure costs rather than make new construction pick up all the bill. Zoning and NIMBY politics are very hostile to densities or "new urbanism" multi-use communities, including the quaint sorts of towns built 100 years ago. And you've got tons of vested interests like Home Depot that'll cheerlead with ad dollars for a version of the American Dream that also happens to be optimized for high consumption (or, as the special interests see it, high revenue).

A myth about markets is that they provide what the buyer wants. They provide the most favorable arrangement to the seller that the buyer is willing to accept, which isn't necessarily the same as what the buyer wants.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been any mention of how being accessible to work creates vacation interruptions.

Where I work, a number of staycationers have trapped themselves in workation activities. I often observe coworkers participating (from home) on multiple long conference calls while they are taking vacation days. They are also constantly on the in-house IM system and answering emails. All day long.

My view of vacation is that it is like cash and represents the complete cessation of work activities for its duration. Would you voluntarily take a cut in pay?

One way I cope with the peer pressure to be available on vacation days is to travel to locations where communication is not practical.

Trips with the RV are to remote Texas locations with limited communications facilities (or so I tell them). Today I'm flying to Japan. Kind of hard to get ahold of someone who is over the Pacific!

I truly value my vacation time for recharging my batteries. Stay at home often means work at home. Yuck!

Let me be more succinct. I think the market for gas guzzlers stinks. If you are underneath, you're really underneath.

Excellent post. Would you trade me a Frampton Alive for my SUV?

OK, I'm lost. Is this a staycation thread, a rant on the working stiffs, a rant on SUVs, or another Chicken Little US economy thread???

The idea of spending a vacation at home makes me want to hang myself. Home is where one keeps their belongings whilst on the road, not somewhere to spend idle time. On the rare occasions that the wife and I have spare time, we're as far away from home as possible with our Crackberries mysteriously turned off and "forgotten".

Insofar as gas-guzzlers, I love my truck and it loves me. I really don't care if gas goes up to $6, I'm still driving my Toyota until the wheels fall off.

Oh, and thanks for getting "Show me the Way" stuck in my head...

you're right. very sad. my ignore list now stands at two after making room for TheCrackedJack (not bad, four years in actually)

Then why are older SUV's with higher mileage selling for more than newer cars with lower mileage?

Let me clarify what I mean by "poor". It's relative to each country in that 20K per year might not allow someone in the US to care for themselves. While someone who makes 5K per year in Africa or South America may be able to afford to care for 4 people with that money. You can't make a blanket statement and say anyone who make less than say 24K worldwide is poor. It's not so cut and dry.

My point was simply, If you can't afford to even care for yourself or yourself and your spouse, I wouldn't advocate having children. It doesn't do anyone any good. And LOL, at adding me to the ignore list for that. I know we have some real hot house orchids in here, but really. Anyway, I'm done with that subject. I just wanted to explain my other statements.

You assume that they're selling.

If they weren't selling, the price would be lowered until they do sell. On the Carmax site you can see those as last chance offers.

I agree. ^ I am definitely not available when on vacation, wherever I am. I could be across the street or even in the building, for all I care - I will NOT answer the phone, emails or anything. Period. I've read an article which had an interesting theory about people and work. It basically said that lots of people LIKE to be burried in work because it makes them feel important. (Whether they'll actually admit to that is a different story.) Something along the lines of... being busy and needed often gives people a feeling a gratification; being important feel nice. I've lived in Franced for a while an it was an eye opener. People there really value their off time (and we're talking 5-6 weeks of vacation/year) and as appalled as I was at first, I've come to appreciate that. My time off is MINE and mine alone.

Ewwwww....I think consultants call that a "culture of sacrifice" in the workplace. Can't say I blame you a bit. Sounds like a real Burnout Factory.

Since I'm self-employed and work from home, staying home for vacation is NOT a vacation for me. I need to get away from the piles of work here. So I intend to continue my two, two-week vacations and a few extra days tacked onto business trips per year. Of course, the points and miles I accumulate allow me to travel richly for very little.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...tionPlans.aspx

"Gas prices crimping vacation plans?"

"As prices at the pump hover around $4 a gallon, some Americans are rethinking summer vacation plans."

continues...

gas prices up 33% year over year.

i am not sure what stories you are referring to, but i think this is a *little* different...

in my world, this is "news":

cash (debit) prices in Huntington Beach for unleaded are $4.33 - $4.37 according to gasbuddy.com a few seconds ago.

it's good to see that this amuses you because for a lot of people not so fortunate it has really changed their lives.

what the heck... let them eat cake!