Why you should spend your next holiday at home

It’s almost second nature to skip town each long weekend but have you ever considered taking time off at home?

The average person gets four weeks of paid holiday a year so it’s crucial to squeeze out every day to make sure you make the most of it! Overseas or interstate travel has long been the holiday of choice.

We’re told to go out and see the world, even if it’s only for a week, because changing your surroundings is the best way to detach and de-stress from the everyday grind, right?

Maybe not. There have been some strong arguments come up recently about opting to spend your holidays at home. Book in a week off work, add in the weekend and you have nine days off. Bliss!

You think about it some more and you really feel like you will benefit even more if you spent those 9 days on an island - even better!

Now before you can get to #InstaFilter status, let’s really breakdown what goes into a holiday. Researching where you want to travel, searching for flights, deciding on layover times, comparing and booking accommodation, planning experiences, organising your visa, packing, getting to the airport, going back home because you’ve forgotten your passport, waiting at the airport, going through security, customs, spending $20 on a salad that you’re pretty sure was 90% lettuce, waiting at the airport some more… and that’s before you’ve even boarded the plane.

Now we know it’s ‘all about the journey’ but when you lay it all out in front of you, well there’s a reason why people say they need a holiday after their holiday.

Travel is wonderful but it can be a time-consuming and an expensive exercise that can leave you feeling just as exhausted as when you departed.

In defence of the staycation

Staying at home on your break gives you the opportunity to renegotiate your relationship with your home space. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day chores with overtime, late night conference calls and life admin. Before you know it, you’re buzzing in and out, treating it more like a hotel than a home.

When was the last time you sat on the couch and spent the day reading a book or walked around your neighbourhood with no actual destination?

Maybe there’s been a neglected hobby you’ve wanted to pick up or a new project you’ve been meaning to get started on. Maybe you want to face your list, try new restaurants, read new books, walk around the park, visit new attractions.

Taking time off at home gives you the perfect opportunity to play tourist in your own town and spend time doing all the things you’ve told yourself you’ll do but never have any time for. It gives yourself a chance to re-set and give your brain space to reflect and get creative.

This part might be a no brainer but without needing to worry about flights, hotels and airport transfers, you’ll come out of the weekend with a lot more cash in the bank too.

It’s important to get in the right mindset before you take your staycation - instead of seeing it as a few days off, really think about it as if you’ll be on holiday. You’ll naturally gravitate towards doing things you don’t otherwise do rather than use it as a chance to just catch up on chores.

Whatever it is that you want to achieve, spending your next holiday at home gives you the perfect opportunity to explore it. There is an immense joy that comes with spending time doing what you love - in your home- on your own terms.