

Ask HN: What's the most memorable thing you can do with $8000? - zootar

A friend's late grandmother left him about $8000 "to do something memorable".  We need some help, since neither of us is familiar with the range of possible experiences outside of going to class, coming home, and doing   homework.  He's going to graduate in April (at age 22), though, so his time and mobility constraints will be nil.<p>How could he use the $8000 to the greatest fulfillment of the will?
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maxdemarzi
How about a long trip through Africa?

$4,645 + about $2k for flight gets you a 72 day trip from Nairobi to Cairo at:
[http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/africa_tours.cfm?npid=18428...](http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/africa_tours.cfm?npid=18428&nhr=1)

They have longer trips too... up to 120 days (Cairo to Capetown -
[http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/africa_tours.cfm?npid=15961...](http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/africa_tours.cfm?npid=15961&nhr=1))
for $7,170 + about $2k for Tickets.

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brk
Well, nothing says "memorable" like a full-torso tattoo. $8K should just about
cover it.

I'd recommend a couple of months of living someplace unique, I've always been
partial to the Caribbean. You could live for almost a year on $8000, and get
to see places and meet people that would likely have a lasting impact.

Or, lease/rent an RV and drive across the country to experience different
regions.

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robg
Travel far from home. I recommend nols.edu, for instance:

[http://www.nols.edu/courses/locations/scandinavia/scandinavi...](http://www.nols.edu/courses/locations/scandinavia/scandinavian_sea_back.shtml)

Add the plane ticket for under $8000. That's a month he'll never forget.

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DanielStraight
Travel seems an obvious answer. For $8000, you could probably go just about
anywhere on Earth for at least a week.

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zootar
Travel does seem obvious. I'm hoping for more specific answers, though.

He lives in Ontario, Canada. He's already been to Great Britain and France.

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DanielStraight
Agra (site of the Taj Mahal)? Giza (site of the pyramids)?

I think it would depend greatly on his particular interests. I don't think
anyone can tell you, or him, what would be most memorable to him. What has he
always wanted to do? Where did he dream about as a child?

~~~
zootar
Maybe I could rephrase the question: "What would be the most memorable thing
YOU could do with $8000?"

The things he dreamed about as a child are likely to be petty and unmemorable
given his limited exposure to the possibilities.

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DanielStraight
The most memorable thing I could do with $8000 is follow Wir Sind Helden on
their summer tour through Austria and Germany, but that's something very
personal to me. I've always loved the feeling associated with big, open air
concerts. Wir Sind Helden is my favorite band. I'm obsessed with learning
German. And I've been to Germany, and have wanted to go back ever since
returning to the states. None of this, presumably, applies to your friend.

You don't need to know all the possibilities. You just need to know what you
love.

I don't mean to be unhelpful but, "What's the most memorable thing you can do
with $8000," sounds an awful lot like, "What's the right way to spend $8000,"
and there is no right way. There is no "most memorable thing." There is no
"greatest fulfillment of the will." Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. The best is
the enemy of the good. There is no possible way to spend $8000 that someone
won't consider awesome and someone else won't consider a complete waste.

~~~
zootar
I don't find your answer unhelpful.

Before your post, almost all of my ideas were of the form "travel to set of
places X and see what you see." Now, I have ideas of the form "follow y while
learning z", where y may be a band, a sports team, migratory animals, a
circus, or famous trial lawyers in open court.

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jaspalsawhney
1\. Go to a bar and buy everyone a round of drink and another and another till
either you or someone else collapse.

2\. Give it to someone needy or Sponsor a kid

3\. Find a startup/non profit which works in an area which resonates with his
grandmom's interests and invest in them

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noodle
hike the appalachain trail.

buy a RTW (round the world) ticket.

buy some christmas gifts for kids in need.

