Staycationing: A Sign of the Times

At what point did Dorothy’s saying, “There’s no place like home,” turn into the motto for staycationers across America? Very, very recently. With soaring gas prices and airfares, a bottomed-out economy, and little time to take off from your job lest you lose it to one of the 10% of Americans who are unemployed and eager to step in for you, it’s easy to see why staying home is the safest, cheapest, and best option for families across the nation. The problem with staycationing has little to do with relaxation. That should and can happen anywhere as long as you let it. The real problem with staycationing has more to do with psychological welfare and distance from the familiar.

There really is no place like home if you’re like me and live in Hawaii, a paradise in its own right. It gets a little trickier, however, if you are one of the millions of people who are right now freezing your tooshy off in the Midwest and Northeast.The reality is that we all can’t be like Paris Hilton and jetset to desirable destinations all the time. We have to be creative at times, and that is a very healthy and perfectly acceptable thing for even the most well-traveled people in this world.

If you’re looking for a few good tips on how to plan a satisfying staycation, you can start by reading these two articles from MSNBC and CNN Travel. I like what MSNBC has to say about preparing for your “trip” as if you are leaving your house even though you aren’t, and what CNN says about “unplugging” your technology to de-stress. Fellow Gadling writers Jeremy and Anna have some other great staycation tips that are worth checking out too.

So grab a great DVD from Blockbuster, or dust off those cross-country skis in your garage. There’s no better time than now to have a staycation in your backyard.