Tech-free vacations

I wonder if part of the value of a big price tag is the thought "I am spending so much to stay tech free, I better comply to make the cost worthwhile". If you set up your own affordable trip, you may be tempted to 'cheat'. But these places are designed for people who live 'time is money' lives. It's just a high end all inclusive.

Wow, you can really sell anything these days as long as it has a high price Tag. People think, the more i pay, the better it will be. I have many mini Tech free vacations right in my own home when ever i want. You can too, for free.

Some people may not have the self-discipline to disconnect, but there are a lot of places in the Appalachians where you can't get a signal, at a tiny fraction of the price of Hawaii. A fellow cyclist has a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains that has no signal, and he says it clears his mind as he de-stresses while hiking and reading.

I'd imagine $3200/night for Bill Gates is like nothing, or at worst a rounding error.

I love the idea of technology-untethered time as a vacation feature Big Mike. I feel like it would be beneficial, and that I could use it. For me I get that time on my annual backpacking week with a group of old friends. I think the change in location / context is really helpful in happily breaking technology use patterns, as is the fact that you can't connect when you're 40 mi out in the Montana Beartooth wilderness.

Of course like most addicts gone to rehab once you're out it's really easy to slip right back into old patterns regardless of your intentions. But I do definitely always end up loving the time away from devices.

Mike I also wonder if there's something generational about the disconnect thing. Jobs and Gates are boomers, I'm Gen X. I'm not sure if millennials or Gen y broadly register a need or desire for disconnection from devices, or guilt or worry about too much time. I'm sure some of them, but so many grew up from the start with Mom and Dad and the iPad ...

Hank, that's a good point. Kids nowadays are practically born with a tablet in their hands. At my private school we set aside classes devoid of devices, where books are read and there are actually hand-written assignments. We talk to each other!

Yes, I'm old relatively speaking. We used to be outside playing all of the time, come home to eat dinner as fast as possible, then outside until mom called us, we reluctantly went home. Mary and I were talking about this on a recent evening walk about the lack of kids outside playing. I won't get into the mental health crises plaguing our young people.

At times I've found myself on the phone while on vacation for no good reason other than habit, so I left it at the hotel one day. My wife's phone is enough. It was a refreshing change.

Love the device free classes, great idea