Listen to any conversation drifting around the classroom in the next two days and it’s a safe bet that the topic will be spring break. Students will be heading out in droves come Friday, ready to drown their school sorrows in a margarita or two. With the economy in a downward spiral, though, are students choosing to stay home this spring break to save money? The answer, fortunately, is a resounding “no.”
From the Caribbean to the coast of North Carolina, students this year have found ways to make their budgets meet their destinations. Though some students still chose to continue the tradition of a wild Cancun spring break, others, like Brett Banford, junior in microbiology, opted to travel to places closer to home, like Ocean Isle, North Carolina.
“We chose to stay in N.C. rather than somewhere else for expenses and for travel time. It would be inconvenient to be in a car for 12 hours, so we just figured we’d stay here,” Banford said.
It is clear that many students, when planning their trips, share a strategy like Banford’s. Instead of making the trek to somewhere remote, Brandon Lyon, sophomore in psychology, chose to visit his beach house in Kure Beach, N.C. with some friends. Money was the ultimate deciding factor when planning the trip, he said, though that didn’t mean that he wanted to stay home.
“I went to Cancun last year, so I didn’t feel bad just going to Kure Beach this year,” Lyon said.
Budgeting trips between years of college isn’t uncommon, either. Many students choose to go all out on spring break trips one year, and then scale down the next. Emilie Griffin, senior in psychology, said that was why she chose to go on an all-inclusive cruise to Jamaica and Labadie.
“Since I am a senior this is my last spring break, and I haven’t done anything exciting the last three years,” Griffin said. “So this was my last chance.”
Annie Cohen, a senior in public relations who is traveling to South Beach, agrees. “This is the only time I have ever been on a spring break trip and since it’s my senior year it’s now or never! Might as well go big!” Cohen said.
Some students, however, are fortunate enough to travel on all of their spring breaks throughout college. Ryan Jones, a junior in sports management, traveled to Panama City Beach and the Bahamas his first two years of school, respectively, and now he is returning to Panama City Beach for his third spring break. When asked how he was able to afford such trips on a student’s budget, he answered that all it took was a little creative financial planning.
“I have two jobs now to support myself, so it made it a little easier to afford. Plus, the cost to rent a house in Panama City has dropped since two years ago, probably because of the economy,” Jones said.
It seems as though the economy can occasionally work in the student’s favor, as it did for Jones.
