Quoting Jamey Fletcher (jamey@???):

> Quoting Rick Moen <rick@???>:
>
> > Quoting Linux O'Beardly (linux.obeardly@???):
>
> >> Thanks for the quick response. I don't know if I'll make it; airfare
> >> from the states to Europe is a very expensive luxury [...]
>
> > (Hi, son of a commercial airline captain, here.)
>
>
> > International (IAD). Round-trip fares are running currently around
> > $340-500. Inexpensive lodging abounds in Amsterdam, and public
> > transportation is cheap and very reliable, not to mention the city being
> > very walkable.
>
> I dunno about you, but I would certainly consider $340-500 a "very
> expensive luxury".

I suppose it's a matter of perspective. I often encounter fellow
Americans who assume it would be far cheaper to go on holiday for five
days to a domestic city (e.g., San Francisco, NYC) than to five days in
Amsterdam, because they never bothered to look up how much food and
lodging costs in SF and NYC relative to Amsterdam. (Answer: much more
expensive. See also: Miami, Santa Barbara, Boston, Honolulu.)

So, if the total of that $340-500 airfare plus other costs is far too
much, and yet a similar stay in a popular domestic city is more, then I'm
certainly sympatheic: It sucks to be unable to find dicretionary funds.
But whether it's a 'very expensive luxury' is a relative matter, and
being anywhere, including at home, also incurs costs.

(I suspect mostly, though, it's just a convoluted way of saying 'This is
unfamiliar, and I'd rather stay home. Which, fair enough.)