Thursday, May 20, 2010

Using Your Vacation Dollars Deliberately

It's going to be tough this year for most American families to scrounge up the cash for that much-needed summer vacation. Losses of homes, jobs and investments have hit everyone pretty hard in their bank accounts and, as much as we'd all like to take advantage of the falling euro-to-dollar ratio, it still comes out to be a pretty penny. Most likely, if anyone is going to take a summer trip this year, it will be domestic and probably won't be too far from home. So here's an idea: why not be a little bit more deliberate with the way you spend your vacation cash and make it stretch as far as it can for you- and for someone else?

According to this CNBC slideshow, the 10 states with the highest unemployment (as of March 2010) are:

  1. Michigan- 14.1%
  2. Nevada- 13.4%
  3. Rhode Island- 12.6%
  4. California- 12.6%
  5. Florida- 12.3%
  6. South Carolina- 12.2%
  7. District of Columbia- 11.6%
  8. Illinois- 11.5%
  9. Mississippi- 11.5%
  10. North Carolina- 11.1%
Here's the upside to these statistics: these states are spread out in a way that just about everyone in the country can get to one fairly easily; they all need your money (and will probably have pretty good deals going); and just about every one of these is a state worth visiting!

Because it's #1 on the list, because I live nearby in Illinois and because I was born and raised there, I obviously have to plug Michigan a little bit When Chicagoans want a nice relaxing trip, they have two options that are easy to get to and are both wonderful- Wisconsin or Michigan (Chicagoans have an extreme distaste for the State of Indiana). However, if you're looking for a place that has beautiful beaches, great camping, perfect views of the Great Lakes, friendly people- and both WI and MI do- why not go to the one that's in dire need of your support?

The same could be said for any other state on the above list. Instead of going to the Arizona desert, why not go to the Nevada desert? Instead of going to the Tennessee deep south, why not go to the Mississippi delta deep south? Instead of laying on a Virginia Beach, why not on a North Carolina one? As Americans, we're all feeling this recession together and we could all use a little help. If you can raise the money to take a little mental break and vacation somewhere this summer, you might as well spread that money to the states who need it the most. Judging from the 7 states I've been to from that list of 10, you won't be disappointed you in your decision.

3 comments:

RunningCUITE said...

Okay, so you posted this a bit late for my vacation Tim! :-) Does it help that I'm going to Nashville and it was just affected by massive flooding? Sorry I can't be a better vacationer. I appreciate the food for thought though.

Tim Killeen said...

It's certainly a situation-by-situation deal. Of course TN needs money right now, as does LA. It's just worth considering going certain places for people who have complete discretion.

tjk said...

both northern michigan and northern california have a lot of beautiful places.