In the back of our minds, always, was the question of how we would ever make it out in time to make a flight to Hawaii for a long-scheduled family reunion and vacation.

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We buy a sofa instead of a ski trip, not taking into account that we will get used to the sofa very quickly and that it will stop being a source of happiness, while the vacation will likely stay in our minds for a long time.

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One overlooked alternative is a study-abroad vacation, which is as suitable for long-term university students as for families trying to fill a couple weeks in August.

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The Rice Mill Lofts, a riverfront apartment complex that Cummings plans to turn into a hub for creative-types looking for long-term vacation stays in New Orleans, was built in 2011 using reclaimed wood from the Mississippi River and is decorated with graffiti leftover from when the building sat vacant after Katrina.

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It is also very safe, family friendly, quaint and private, and this has long made it a top summer vacation choice for the very wealthy, especially since real estate prices on Nantucket favor millionaires and billionaires, and it is one of the most expensive vacation communities in the country in which to buy a home.

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With school on the verge of letting out for Christmas vacation, The Princess and the Frog should have a long run at the box office.

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"The first thing is going to be a long vacation, I have been going non-stop for eight years and the Katrina experience was just something that I need a break for, " he said.

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So despite research documenting the health and productivity benefits of taking time off, a long vacation can be undesirable, scary, unrealistic or just plain impossible for many U.S. workers.

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