How To Staycation

Staycation’s the buzzword of the summer with record gas prices, record airline ticket prices, record… you get the idea. Staycation? The vacation you take when you stay at home, since transportation and lodging are the two biggest costs of a vacation. Here’s the catch - lots of people try to staycation and not many succeed at it. Let’s look at how to do it right.

What Vacation Is

Vacation is not going away and spending lots of money. Vacation is fundamentally about a change in routine. Think about it - what makes vacation great? Doing different things, having different experiences. Sure, room service and housekeeping at a hotel are nice, and so are lots of meals out. There’s nothing wrong with a traditional vacation…

… except the price tag. For a family of four, budget $100/night or so for a cheap hotel, $200 in nicer places (especially after taxes, fees, etc.), anywhere from $50 - $150 a day for food (unless you go solely the McDonald’s route), and however much it costs to get there. A four day vacation for a family of four could easily run you $1,000, all for just a change in routine.

Vacation is about doing things differently, keeping a different schedule, and being open to new experiences.

Preparing for Staycation

The first and most important part of staycationing is to delineate exactly when you’re going to go on break, and stick rigidly to that. Commit to turning off your devices, going off the grid, and being out of touch, just as you would for a regular vacation.

Prep work is essential for a staycation. Download and install Google Earth (it’s free) and type in your home address. Start to explore around where you live. I took a look around my house and found that not a mile from my house, off a side road, there was a public beach on a lake. I had no idea that beach even existed.

You’ll save a heck of a lot of money if you turn on a couple of layers in Google Earth - parks & recreation (many state parks are free or very cheap), and

Check out local calendars on Craigslist, Eventful.com, and Upcoming. You’d be amazed at the sheer number of events happening every single day in most greater metropolitan areas. Commit to doing one thing you ordinarily wouldn’t - go to a concert, see a play (community theatre can be surprisingly good), even volunteer for an activity.

Give yourself explicit permission to break routine. Laundry gets done on Tuesdays? Not on staycation. Alarm’s usually set for 7 AM? Unplug it. Normally listen to pop music? Retune your radio to something else, or better yet, burn a CD of some new podcasts for the car, music and entertainment you normally wouldn’t tune into.

Turn off your devices. Stop checking your email, power down your phone or turn it to silent, and disconnect from the routine of your life.

Power Staycationing

Want to really amp up the experience of a staycation at relatively nominal costs? Part of the fun of a standard vacation is not having to fend for yourself all the time - housekeeping, cooking, etc. Here’s a few ideas for how to supercharge your staycation.

Hire a maid service for two cleanings, one at the beginning of your staycation, and one at the end. Be sure to shop around - the “brand name” cleaning services can often run double what a more local service can offer. For a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, there’s a service in Boston with a flat rate of $90 per cleaning - which is less than a hotel stay, and your whole house gets cleaned (instead of coming home to a messy house).

Consider hiring a personal chef for a day. Personal chefs are typically culinary consultants who come by your house and cook as few or as many meals in one shot that you order. Meals you don’t consume immediately are prepped for refrigeration or freezing, and are typically tailored to your tastes. Costs can be on par with dining out - in the Boston area, a personal chef can prepare a meal for four for about $50 (plus materials) - a night at Pizzeria Uno can do the same damage.

Unpaid plug: if you’re in the New York City area, check out personal chef Mark Tafoya. Great guy, and damn good cook, too.

After The Staycation

One of the beauties of the staycation is that it changes your appreciation for what’s nearby, what’s local, and what’s exciting that you never thought to look for before. Unlike a regular vacation, where coming home can be depressing, a well-planned, well-enjoyed staycation will not only save you money, but deepen your appreciation for the place in which you live. All the secret places off the beaten path in your own neighborhood stay with you after the staycation’s over, and you know they’re not far away.

Are you considering giving a staycation a go? What tips, tricks, etc. do you have to share?