My immediate thought was “take a bus to Montreal, Megan!”

But we know that even at $400 plane ticket, there is a lot more that goes into it- uber to/from the airport (cost/benefit of leaving work 2 hours early to take public transport) in BOTH cities; check your bags; eat out while you’re traveling; hotel/airbnb; sightseeing; transport in a new city; visas sometimes; stuff you forget at home and have to buy double of, etc.

Some of that is negotiable but then you have to ask yourself “was it really worth my money to take a vacation to live worse than I do at home?”

I don’t know, maybe the answer is yes. Maybe you have 4 weddings on expensive weekends that year and even though you would rather spend your money to go to Morocco, you have to spend your money on flights and rental cars to Lisle, Illinois or Farmington, Mass. plus gifts and you just can’t afford it all. Or, avocado toast.