Spring break, although often thought of as the time when college students head to the beach and get drunk, is not only for young adults anymore, and is definitely not only for young adults who want to party.  Here are 5 top notch ideas for some spring break trips for anyone and that are a little classier than a being flashed on a beach in Mexico by a bunch of drunken teenage girls.

Hawaii – Although definitely not the cheapest option, Hawaii is a great place to spend spring break.  Cheap Hawaii vacations don’t come easy, and especially not during spring break, which is high season, but you can have loads of fun in Hawaii.  Tons of cultural experiences, entertainment, and relaxation await you on the islands of Hawaii.  If you prefer to avoid all the crowds you might visit Kauai for a some of the trip.  But all of the islands have some amazing things to offer.

NYC – New York City is full of nightlife.  When you walk out of your hotel at 10pm you’ll forget its night time with all those lights glaring.  Don’t miss out on all the Broadway shows, Central Park, visit The Plaza, and spend time at FAO Schwartz.  Be sure and visit some of the amazing restaurants, the Empire State Building, and take a cruise around the Statue of Liberty.  There is tons of fun to be had in NYC at any time of the year.

Cancun, Mexico – There are ways to avoid the drunken night life in Cancun over spring break, and one of the best things to do is to stay at a top rated, all inclusive resort.  Spend time on their private beaches relaxing and participating in fun water activities as well.  You can get Mexico with class.

California – Who doesn’t love California?  California is the place to be and spring break is a great time to go.  You can take your pick on what city to indulge in.  San Diego offers so many relaxing and fun experiences – Balboa Park, Seaport Village, Sea World, and tons of fun nightlife and restaurants all around the city.  San Francisco has a lot offer as well as Los Angeles.  It’s just a matter of finding the city that is the right fit for you.

Park City, Utah  – If you already live somewhere warm and are more interested in hitting the slopes than consider Park City, Utah.  It’s less than an hour away from the airport in Salt Lake City and you can enjoy some awesome shopping and visit Sundance while you’re there.  There is tons of snow to be had during spring break in Park City.

Wherever you decide to go you can rest assured that a classy spring break can be had.  There are tons of places to go and fun things to do, so pick the place that suits our personality and catch the first flight out.  Spring break is a time to expand your horizons and enjoy some good old fashioned relaxation.

Before Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile in 1954, others had already attempted the same feat and failed. Before Marie Curie isolated the element radium in 1906, she herself had already botched numerous similar ventures.  Before the Wright brothers designed and built the first successful powered airplane in the early 1900’s, many inventors had tried to do the same thing but had met with disastrous results. But just like each of these heroes, you go down in history for accomplishing what others previously thought impossible: you can have a car in the city.

Let’s not mince words—certain things about life in the city are different–it sure can be a complicated and frustrating thing to own and operate a vehicle in a city where parking is as scarce as Bigfoot and traffic is as congested as the mail system during Christmastime. But following a few best practices can help to alleviate much of the stress that you’d experience otherwise.

First off, why own a car in the city at all? One big reason is freedom—the freedom to decide exactly when to leave for your next destination, the freedom to avoid long waits at the bus stop or subway, and the freedom to pick your traveling companions. Also, you never know when a sudden need to travel a great distance will arise—and having a car handy can be lifesaver.

Before you jump into your car, consider the potential pitfalls (both literal and figurative) in your travel plan. What time is it? Can you expect rush-hour amounts of traffic? Will you be driving near a baseball stadium, and is there a game tonight? Sometimes just pausing for a minute to think now can save you a whole bunch of minutes later. If you live in the country and have just gotten a job in the city, take a few non-critical trips around the city, just to familiarize yourself with you future commute route. That way, you can focus on finding the best way around rather than stressing about the fact that you should have been at work half an hour ago.

Security is a big issue with city car owners, and for good reason—car break-ins happen all the time. The good news is that you can do something more than the old chestnut advice to keep your car locked at all times. Thieves look for the biggest payout with the least possible trouble, so make sure that you surround your car with as many layers of protection as you can. If you drive something like a BMW with a convertible top, never leave the top open when you’re not around. It makes the life of a robber much easier if the BMW convertible top is down. Park in frequently-trafficked, well-lit areas, and don’t leave anything valuable where thieves might see it. The trunk is your friend.

If you’re new to the area, you might consider trading in your mid-sized sedan for a more compact, fuel-efficient vehicle. This will help you in two ways. For one thing, parking a large car in the city can be the modern-day equivalent of trying to fit a camel through the eye of a needle. Make your life easier by using a car that has the best possible chance of fitting in a tight spot. On the fuel side of things, remember that a car’s fuel efficiency plummets in the city, so paying more upfront for a hybrid could save a nice chunk of money down the road.

It will never be said that city driving is an easy endeavor; but with a little planning and research, you can do it—even if you don’t make it into the history books.

In today’s hectic world (especially for those who live in the city), lots of people simply don’t feel like they have the time or the energy to spend decorating their homes like a page out of a magazine. However, taking advantage of a few basic home décor tips not only makes your home look a lot nicer, but it’s easy, quick and very effective.

Lighting

Room lighting, especially the placement of lights in a room can have a huge effect on how the room looks. While professionals may walk around the room with a light meter and use calculators to come up with that “perfect” light level for the room, doing a few basic things with lighting and lamps can make decorating the rest of the room a lot easier. For instance:

• Using lamps on tables near seating furniture creates small “pools” of light that look great without overwhelming the room.
• Using opaque lamp shades instead of translucent ones will soften the appearance of a room significantly.
• Large kitchens and offices benefit greatly by having halogen torchiere lamps in dark corners of the room. These do get hot so keep them away from drapes.

​Furniture Placement

Where you put your furniture is how someone essentially sees a room. Coordinating your furniture and lighting is perhaps the most important of decorating tips so rearranging the furniture lets you leverage the space in your room to create a completely different feel. You can change how your whole room feels in just a couple of hours and a little effort.

• Grouping furniture by style and size is a great way to make a room visually appealing. You’ll want to place antiques and collectibles in one area while keeping all of the comfortable, seating furniture in another. Mixing them up makes a room look cluttered and junky.
• Side tables and dressers need to be in full view so they’re not bumping into the windows or crushing the drapes. Also, make sure the edges and corners aren’t visually obscured by chair arms or other furniture so you don’t accidentally bump into it as you move around the room.

Wall Decor

What you have on your walls is what balances the room out and makes it visually cohesive and appealing. For instance, rooms with furniture with slender legs will require different wall décor than a room with blocky, bulky furniture.

• For rooms that have a darker “feel” to them, you’ll want two or three large framed pictures so the images won’t get lost in the dark.
• Neutral colored rooms will require some type of color splashes on the wall such as framed pastel cloth or brightly colored paintings.
• Staggering your wall hangings horizontally can definitely change the way a space looks. Instead of hanging pictures all at the same height, hang one a bit higher than the other or one a bit lower to visually change the room.

With a few basic home decorating tips like these you’ll be able to change how your home looks inexpensively and easily. You may not have that magazine page look, but you’ll have a home that you like the way your home looks and feel comfortable living in.