What are the Pros and Cons of a Staycation?

Have you seen the gas prices lately? As my husband and I looked around at different family vacation options, we quickly decided there was no way we could go anywhere. With three kids and little income, we decided that the gas wasn’t worth it. Within a few weeks, we planned a fun trip that consisted of only places we could travel to within 40 minutes or less.

With complimentary tickets to the zoo, a new board game, water guns, a hike, and a swim in the lake, we had plenty to do. It may have been one of the best vacations ever! What are the pros and cons of a staycation?

Pros of a staycation

1. I look at gas prices now and think, how do we drive anywhere? We wouldn’t be able to do anything except pay for gas! Instead of spending money on hotels and gas, you can put money towards something you’re going to enjoy.
2. Having fun around our home taught our kids that we could have fun no matter what. We all enjoyed learning more about our surroundings and enjoying the place we live.
3. There’s one more expense that we didn’t have to hand out. We didn’t have to pay anyone to care for our garden and water our grass. It is hot and dry here! With the days reaching 90°, our grass is yellowing each day. If we were taking a week to go somewhere, we would have had to pay a neighbor to water the grass every night.
4. The kids slept better at home than they would have anywhere else. With long days of fun, our kids are ready for bed at their usual bedtime. We would have had difficulty getting the kids to sleep anywhere else. Sleeping in a new place is not a fun experience if you have kids. 
5. We got to try things that we usually wouldn’t do every day. Because we had a week to do whatever we wanted, we could do something we usually didn’t have time for, like building a cardboard fort that the kids could play in.
6. If you go to Hawaii, you want to get as much in as possible to make the trip worth it. Sometimes the vacation turns out to be more exhausting than it should be. Doing our staycation, we quickly realized what we wanted to o. We didn’t feel like we had to do everything we planned daily. Our staycation became very relaxing. It made me feel like I could conquer the world after a week of fun.
7. We didn’t have to buy food that we already had. When you go on vacation, do you ever want to make a PB&J? You have to buy a large container of peanut butter that you will never get through in three days—doing a staycation, and you already have available ingredients. 
8. Nap time! Without it, plan on crying, kids. During our staycation, we could still have naptime. This is a huge blessing because I know we would never get the kids down for naps in a hotel or tent somewhere.
9. Public restrooms are a must on vacation with kids. kids have to go randomly throughout the day. During a home vacation, you are home with the best restroom. Score! You’re not always stopping to try and find a restroom.

Cons of a staycation

1. You may be tempted to do the everyday chores around the house. By staying at home, you are forced to remember the dishes, the dirty laundry piling up, the grass that needs to be mowed, and so on. Are you strong enough to avoid the chores?
2. Staycations aren’t exciting to show off. Do you get a thrill from how many likes and shares on social media? Most people won’t get a kick out of you staying at home and taking pictures of your staycation. It isn’t Hawaii or Alaska fishing. But what should matter is how much fun you’re having.
3. Are you home all the time? Do you need to get away? A staycation can be a little bit trapping. For me, the point of vacation is to give me a week where I can regroup and become a better person mentally and emotionally. Sometimes this is hard to do at home.
4. Do you have money to burn? If this is the case, a staycation would not matter. Not that staycations is a poor man’s trip. But they aren’t wealthy ones either.
5. Have you lived in the same city your whole life? If so, stayvacation can be a little boring because you’ve seen almost everything there is to see.
6. Doing a staycation means it is hard to tell people you are unavailable when you are "available". For instants, had my dad said he was going on a staycation while we were growing up, people from his work would have nonstop been contacting him? I think secretly, that is why we always went up into the mountains without any service as a family: no cell phones, no emails, and no one stopping by the house. If you know you can’t get away from your responsibilities, staying at home will not feel like a vacation.
7. Sometimes during staycations, you’re tempted to sit on the couch and watch TV all day. This is not a staycation. Would you go to Hawaii and sit in your hotel and watch TV? Don’t use your vacation up by wasting it. You still need to motivate yourself to get up and do what you would if you were anywhere else in the world.

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey."

- Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah