How Much Does an Amazing, Month-Long, International "Mini-Retirement" Cost?

Author

Matt Viera
June 02, 2023

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about “mini-retirements” and why you need to take one.

In short, a mini-retirement is an “alternative to binge travel.”

It’s an alternative to the traditional vacation.

It entails relocating to another place for 1 to 6 months.

Since 2018, I’ve been on 3 amazing, month-long, international “mini-retirements.”

My 4th is planned for this summer.

You might be curious, “How much does a month-long international mini-retirement cost?”

Let’s dive into the numbers:

The cost of an international mini-retirement is variable depending on the following:

  • Food

  • Location

  • Airline tickets

  • Accommodations

  • Length of mini-retirement

How you choose to spend your mini-retirement may be utterly different from how I choose to spend mine.

As a result, the expense may be more or less than what it’ll cost me this summer.

As for the length: I like to go away for at least a month in Europe as it gives me time to exhaust my exploration options and divorce myself from my day-to-day life here in New York City.

In 2018 and 2019, I spent about a week in a different city for a month (4-5 European cities each time).

While exploring different cities was great, the downside is that I lost a day traveling between each city.

Last summer, I spent a week in Seville and a month in Barcelona.

While I prefer staying in a city for a more extended period of time rather than city hop, this year I’ll try 2 weeks in one city (Vienna) and 2 weeks in another (Budapest).

Pro-tip: try staying in a city (or wherever) for at least 3-4 weeks.

Now you may be thinking: “If I’m going anywhere for a month, I want to see as much as possible,” i.e., city-hop or an agenda full of “must do” activities.

That defeats the purpose of a mini-retirement.

That’s binge travel.

As I mentioned, “A mini-retirement is an alternative to binge travel.”

However, you do you.

Remember: mini-retirement design is entirely up to you.

Costs of Airline Tickets

Round trip tickets from NYC to Europe in 2018 & 2019: ~$600.

From NYC to Madrid in 2022: ~$900.

From NYC to Vienna in 2023: ~$1000

I paid $0 each time.

Pro Tip: Use credit card reward points to pay for airline tickets.

Remember: pay your credit card balance in full each month.

Accommodations

Completely dependent on you, your needs, and your budget.

Choices:

  • Hotels

  • Airbnb

  • Hostels

My accommodation of choice: Airbnb.

In 2018 and 2019, I stayed for about a week in a different city, staying only in hotel rooms.

Hotels can be hit or miss.

My favorite was a hotel suite in Prague, which offered a massive breakfast each morning.

The cost at the time was ~$50 per night.

Last year I stayed in an Airbnb in Barcelona for a month which was a completely different, positive experience.

Total cost: ~$2500

This year: ~$2800 for Airbnbs in 2 different cities.

Why Airbnbs?

With an Airbnb, you can pick where you want to stay within a city based on the following:

  • Price

  • Location

  • User reviews

With an Airbnb, you have more room to spread out.

Plus, I like to stay in places with a balcony to enjoy morning coffee and evening drinks.

Pro Tip: reserve your Airbnb through an account that rewards you.

I made my Airbnb reservations through my M1 brokerage account and received 2.5% of the total cost invested into my account.

Location

Completely dependent on where you want to go and what you want to do.

The sky is, literally, the limit.

I choose Europe for a variety of reasons,

Mostly for:

  • Walkability

  • Ease of travel

  • Laid-back way of life

  • Variety of things to do

  • Variety of places to eat & drink

Food

I didn’t keep a daily budget during my previous mini-retirements.

I admit this is not a smart way to travel and an easy way to overspend.

Thankfully, any European city, with exceptions, is typically cheaper than New York City when it comes to food and drinks.

This year I set a $50 per day budget ($1500).

Plus, staying in an Airbnb saves on food costs.

However, I will go out to dinner every night.

Let’s review the cost for an amazing one-month mini-retirement (for 1 person):

  • $~1400 accommodation

  • $~1500 food/spending money

  • $~1000 round trip airline ticket (FREE!)

  • $~50 first-class train ticket from Vienna to Budapest

Total: ~$2950

I still have to pay essential expenses back home.

However, since the entire trip is paid for (based on what I saved in my travel fund), any money I earn in July and August (excluding expenses) will be saved and invested.

Sure, there are many other things you can do with $3000.

However, I challenge you to search online for the average vacation cost.

A quick online search revealed numbers that exceed those I presented here based on the variables listed above (with one or two exceptions), e.g., staying in Croatia for a month may be cheaper than staying in Vienna & Budapest (I’ll post a link below).

Again, the numbers I presented are not set in stone and are entirely variable based on where you go, where you stay, how long, and how you spend your time once you’re there.

Remember: one of the best investments you can make is an investment in yourself.

This is an investment in myself for a life experience I choose to take advantage of.

And it will be some of the best money I ever spent.

I encourage you:

Step out of your comfort zone.

Go out and explore the world.

And always remember:

“Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” —George Addair.

Interesting reads:

Thanks for reading!

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