Exclusive | Facing wildly high costs, NYC parents pivot to cultured summer camps abroad: It was much cheaper
Like many New York City parents, Marva Babel has willingly paid upwards of $8,000 to send her tween daughter to an upstate sleepaway camp for the past few summers.It was a pricey way for the Brooklyn resident’s 12-year-old, Aleim Tucker, to escape the city for a few short months — but to Babel, it was money well spent.A wrench was soon thrown into the family’s summer plans when Babel closed her Crown Heights cocktail bar, which she co-owned with her twin sister.As a result, she and her husband no longer had that type of cash to shell out — but they were still adamant about giving their daughter a rewarding, fun-filled summer — one, as Babel puts it, off her iPad and outdoors in nature.The Brooklyn mom began her quest for more affordable summer camp alternatives and found one — in Morocco.“I took a look at the numbers and everything, and it was much, much, much cheaper,” a shocked Babel told The Post, noting that the camp came out to about $800 total.
“Like, crazy.”Babel’s daughter’s goal is to be a competitive swimmer, but she found herself striking out when searching for a local option.“I was looking at swim camps, and it was just so expensive — like, beyond expensive,” the Brooklyn mom said. “I felt like she’s not going to get a substantial amount of practice and support to become a competitive swimmer the way she would like to, because I just can’t afford to give that to her.”Then, after learning from a friend who had already enrolled her son in a Moroccan swim camp run by a former Olympian in the capital city of Rabat — Babel was immediately intrigued.Even with flights and lodging for both of them, Babel spent between $4,600 and $5,000 for the entire trip to Morocco, roughly half of her daughter’s previous camp — plus she’s getting an international vacation and giving her daughter the experience she couldn’t get closer to home.“I went to Morocco, to Marrakesh, once about three years ago and had a great time,”...