Summary

The article discusses the potential cost-effectiveness of a month-long trip to Spain and Italy compared to two weeks in New York or San Francisco, emphasizing strategic financial planning for extended travel as part of a semi-retired lifestyle.

Abstract

The author of the article presents a counterintuitive perspective on international travel expenses, suggesting that spending a month in European cities like Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Rome, and Naples can be cheaper than a shorter stay in expensive U.S. cities such as New York or San Francisco. The piece outlines an upcoming series that will track and compare the costs of a February trip, including flights, accommodations, and daily expenses, against domestic travel. It also highlights the importance of cash allocation and flexible work arrangements for those who wish to maintain a semi-retired lifestyle that includes frequent travel. The author invites readers to follow the series for detailed insights into managing travel expenses effectively.

Opinions

The author believes that strategic money management is crucial for those who wish to work less and travel more, especially for individuals with modest means.
It is suggested that European budget airlines like Ryanair offer consistent value, providing a decent travel experience without hidden costs or excessive restrictions.
The article posits that significant savings can be found in Europe compared to the U.S., particularly in intercity travel, lodging, and dining out.
The author expresses that the ability to travel frequently and extensively is a key motivation for adopting a semi-retired lifestyle, which preserves physical and mental health.
The piece implies that the cost of domestic flights between popular U.S. cities can be higher than international flights to European destinations, even when booking in advance.

Is Spending A Month in Spain and Italy Cheaper Than Two Weeks in New York or San Francisco?

Doing the math on a key component of the semi-retired life

In a recent installment of my Never Retire newsletter, I detailed how it can be less expensive to travel internationally than stay domestic.

For context, that post opens with the rationale behind including travel as part of a personal financial strategy—

Many of us who will Never Retire embrace this reality out of choice and necessity…

You work less now so you can work longer, in part, because you want to do things like take time off (minutes every hour, hours every day, days every month, and weeks and months every year) and travel frequently and maybe somewhat extensively.

However, if, like me, you simply make decent or better money — you’re of modest means — you have to manage your money strategically and make sound spending choices to live this semi-retired life now and for the duration.

If this description looks and sounds exactly or a lot like you, there’s a good chance you want to travel as much as possible now. And you want to travel more and more as you age.

It’s one of the main reasons to work less — to preserve your physical and mental health so you have the capacity to enjoy life through traveling or whatever else you like to do.

It seems counterintuitive to think you can actually save money — and take longer trips — by opting for big cities in Europe rather than the United States. So counterintuitive you might dismiss the entire idea out of hand.

After all, it’s big and popular European cities — Rome, Florence, Madrid. The thereabouts equivalent of Manhattan, San Francisco, Los Angeles.

Using a trip to Italy and Malta from earlier in the year, the above-linked article details the costs incurred on that trip and makes some quick comparisons to domestic travel.

Today, we kick off a series that chronicles spending for a month-long trip my girlfriend and I have planned for February.

In this series, we will —

Track the cost of all elements of the trip, leading up to it, during it, and afterwards. Everything from plane flights and train trips to food, drink, and other entertainment.
Compare these expenses to the equivalent in the US, using Manhattan and San Francisco as examples.
Detail the importance of cash allocation and flexible work as part of a Never Retire strategy that centers on living the semi-retired life.

If you’d like to receive a notification each time I publish a Medium article, go here. This way you can keep with the series.

Anyhow, the February itinerary looks like this —

Barcelona-Valencia-Madrid-Rome-Naples-Barcelona

We have already secured nonstop, roundtrip flights from LAX to Barcelona for $485.87 each.

Had we waited a couple weeks, we could have snagged the same flights for about $405 apiece.

So the main flights come to $971.74 for two people.

In searching for nonstop flights from LAX to New York City, I’m consistently seeing $244 as the lowest fare. On American Airlines and widely available between now and February. So you could plan ahead.

This comes to $488 for two people.

No surprise the main flights are less expensive domestically, especially between two big and popular cities. I should note I used basic economy fares in both cases. You have to be okay with the restrictions — no checked bag and no advance seat selection (at least not for free).

Also, the cool thing about Ryanair is you don’t have to search for deals. They have the grocery store equivalent of everyday low prices. And, unlike Spirit, a low-cost carrier I refuse to fly, Ryanair actually offers a halfway decent experience. No frills whatsoever, but it doesn’t suck either.

So far, you can spend less to go to New York from LA. However, it’s on traveling between cities, lodging, and eating/drinking out where you really save in — in our example — Spain and Italy.

At this point, I have only booked two flights for travel within Europe. So we’ll cover the costs and compare them to some two-day trips you might want to take from New York City.

As we start booking train tickets, Airbnbs (the real savings in Europe versus the US) and make updates from the ground next year on food and drink (also huge savings), it gets even more interesting.

Anyhow, while in Europe, we’re flying between Madrid and Rome and then Naples and Barcelona.

Total cost for Madrid to Rome (on a Wednesday) for two people — $62 on Ryanair.

Total cost for Naples to Barcelona (on a Friday) for two people — $68 on Ryanair.

Note, I sprung for advanced seat selection on both flights, increasing the total cost of each by $14. So the flights could have been $48 and $54, respectively.

For comparison sake, let’s say you wanted to leave NYC for a couple days and spend two or three nights in Boston. Great idea. Except the lowest fare I’m seeing for that journey — pretty consistently through February — is $148 roundtrip.

So $296 for two people.

You have trouble finding — I’ll stop short of saying can’t — anything even close to less than $100 for one person, let alone two, betwen New York and Boston or New York and Washington, DC.

This is where you start to realize the savings.

As I book more elements of the trip, I will publish an article with the money-related details.

I will also discuss how I plan to structure work while traveling.

I hope this, if nothing else, is an enjoyable departure from some of the other, sometimes depressing, though quite often hopeful and helpful personal finance articles we publish.