I have four weeks of vacation days each year. I use all of my vacation days every year. But, I feel I haven’t taken any vacation for the past three years.
Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit. But, honestly, I feel that I haven’t taken a vacation for a very long time.
The problem is that we use all of our vacation days to visit families on both sides. My folks live in California. My in-laws live in the Far East. We live in the Pacific Northwest.
The grandparents want to see the little ones. We try out best to visit them. So, every year, we visit the Far East for 2-3 weeks, and then visit my folks in the bay area for 1-2 weeks during Christmas holiday.
With two car seats, a stroller, and two little ones who are getting increasingly active, the travelling is getting harder and harder. Despite all of these, my son took three trips to the Far East in his first 18 months. Each flight took about twelve hours.
I have to admit that I’m getting pretty tired. Visiting families could get hectic and stressful. But, we also want the little ones to spend as much time as they could with their grandparents. It’s a struggle to balance conflicting demands. 
This problem is not unique to us. I was talking to a buddy of mine a few months ago. His parents live in India, while his wife’s family lives in the UK. His three-week of vacation time each year are all spent on visiting the families. Pretty intense. He is trying to figure out a solution.
Is there a solution to this problem? For us, the solution could be
1) We move to either the bay area or the Far East to be near one set of parents. However, the housing price in the bay area is prohibitive. And we feel the Pacific Northwest is a much better place to raise a family. We could move to the Far East, but the education system there is suffocating for young kids. Plus, our quality of life would suffer.
2) Parents move to the Pacific Northwest. It’s a possibility. But, they’re still working (although they’re near retirement age). Plus, they have deep roots in their local communities. It’d be hard for them to move.
3) Start a business that we could run virtually and give us flexibility in term of location and time — we could choose our own hours, and run the business from anywhere in the world.
I’m working hard on option #3. My goal for the next year is to make it happen. I’ll report my progress to you periodically.
Are you facing similar challenge? What’s your strategy?
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Excellent resources:
- The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works
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- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
- Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
- The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less
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