Benefits of a staycation

Our first ever staycation week was a huge success! We had a comfortable and easy week, but it was also filled with new experiences and adventures. I was pondering the benefits of staycation versus travelling to a different city (which we also love) and I came up with this little list of wonderful benefits:

We spent minimal time in transit. There was no need for us to rent a car to drive to the airport, catch a flight, and make our way to a hotel. Depending on how far we travel, this can save up to two full days of vacation time that we would normally spend in transit. I remember spending over 24 hours in transit at the start of our 2014 trip to Osaka and it was exhausting. That being said, it was well worth it, but it was also refreshing to simply wake up and go during our staycation.

We had a comfort level with our surroundings. This expressed itself in a variety of ways — we were familiar with the language, the transit system, the streets, the customs, the money, etc. Of course, sometimes we want to experience the discomfort of travelling to a new place. But our week of adventures in a familiar city was also nice. With this being our first ever staycation, I thought familiarity would translate to boredom, but it didn't. We stepped out of our immediate neighbourhood and tried new things — with an underlying level of comfort that often isn't present when we're in a different country.

We could cuddle with our pets every night. This was hubby's favourite part of our staycation. Not only did we get to see our pets and cuddle them every night, we didn't have to drop them off, pick them up, worry about them, or miss them. It is quite a lengthy process to pack up everything that Truffle and Lulu need while we're away. We miss them terribly and we often worry that they're getting into mischief. Truffle's also getting a bit older and he's been having issues with his teeth. We ended up taking him to the vet during our staycation week because he stopped eating. It was just a minor disruption to our week; however, if we had been out of town, I would have been a nervous wreck.

We stayed well within our budget. This isn’t a fair comparison because we’ve moved beyond extravagant vacations and we're in more of a value-for-money phase now, but it’s safe to say that we’ve spent anywhere from $1,500 to $8,500 per person on 9-day vacations in the past. We clearly did not need to book any flights for our staycation, but we decided to take public transit and sleep in our own bed at night, so we saved on car rentals and hotels as well. In total, for this 9-day staycation, we spent under $500 per person. Truth be told, we didn't have an official budget for this “holiday” — we did everything we wanted to do and ate everything we wanted to eat. Perhaps our spending would have been higher if we had splurged more on fancy restaurants, but we ate very well and had loads of fun for what we feel was a very reasonable cost. Note: I didn't include Truffle's vet visit, and I also didn't include any pro-rated cost for our condo because we would have paid that anyway.

We developed a new appreciation for our city. This was the most remarkable aspect and what I feel was the greatest gift from this staycation. This week opened my eyes to how lucky we are to live in Toronto. There are so many fun things to do, diverse neighbourhoods to explore, and delicious food to eat. Hubby and I ate food from all around the world, including Chinese, Korean, Filipino, East Indian, Sri Lankan, East African, Greek, and more. Now that I've started to simplify my life, I am starting to more deeply appreciate what I already have. In addition to being content with my possessions, I'm now also content with my home. It's liberating to see that I have everything I need at my doorstep, and it's incredible to realize that I don't have to travel halfway around the world to have a new experience. Travelling is fun, but staying home is too.

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Overall, we loved our staycation and we plan to make it an annual occurrence. We'll definitely be spending more time exploring this amazing city, and I hope our staycation adventures inspire you to do the same in your own city. ♥︎