[EN] Freedom (and money)

One of the things that social networking gives us is the opportunity to silently see (and judge) how others live. We can see how often others travel or struggle with work; if their photos are of their possessions or their families or friends; see if they go to concerts, museums, or if they spend time in traffic.

I'm quite convinced, that some people prepare their photos a lot more than others, they make sure everyone is smiling, and frame it, so the photo is worthy of going viral.

During the summer season, it's common to see who has the freedom... or money... or both to go out on vacations, and that got me thinking.

I can see in my networks people that clearly have a lot of money. They travel a lot more often than once a year... maybe once a month... maybe more... they stay in luxury hotels, flight in Business Class, etc.

I can also see people that travel less often than once a month, more often than once a year, and maybe they stay at non-luxury places, and they enjoy nature, walking in the forest or beach, and relaxing with friends and/or family.

And of course, one can also see people that put all their effort into being able to travel once a year, and that trip becomes the highlight of their year. And unfortunately a lot of people that can't afford to do either.

It's not uncommon that the people in the first two groups, those that have a couple of trips a year or more, say that the important part is not the number of stars in the hotel rating, but spending time with family. It's easier for the second group, those that have a lower profile in their trips to feel that is not about the money but the time spent with the loved ones.

The part of this thought pipeline that has been... bothering (?) me... is that in these cases (the low profile, but often and long vacations) it's minimized the role of the freedom that money can buy. One can say that they don't stay in an expensive hotel, or they don't eat fancy food in a restaurant where the chef goes tableside to toss the garden salad. But it's not said that being able to stay away from work for a week... or two... or more is a privilege that comes with money. Taking vacations goes beyond paying for hotels. Going on a trip requires the ability of all involved in the trip to be able to take days off from work, at the same time, it requires to pay to someone to take care of the pets, and it requires that the family can pay in advance for the financial commitments that are due during the two weeks off.

In order to enjoy a vacation, even without spending a lot of money on the trip itself, one needs to have the financial stability to be able to actually do it. The privilege is not only reflected in the amount of money spent on hotels and restaurants but in having the option to stop worrying about real life for a couple of weeks twice a year.