Do You Really Like to Travel?

[brett]

We are striving for a happy medium. I would be happy to go out for six months at a time and to places that are not necessarily in the shiny brochures. DW not so much.

So we compromise Two months is her max. BUT, if I include a stop in Italy I can 'sell' just about any destination!

 

[Chuckanut]

Years ago I was talking to some people and referred to myself as tourist.


One lady immediately piped up and called herself a 'traveler'. Her meaning was clear - what I do when away from home is superior to what ordinary folks like you do.


Fast forward four months. Again talking about recent trips with friends and this time I refer to myself as a 'traveler'. The same lady immediately pipes up "I am a sojourner" in the same my time away is superior to yours manner. Why? I can only guess.



Just be a tourist, traveler, sojourner or whatever you call yourself and be happy. If you like it, great. If you would rather stay home, great.

 

[Chuckanut]

So we compromise Two months is her max. BUT, if I include a stop in Italy I can 'sell' just about any destination!

Obviously, you are a very wise man with very discriminating taste!

 

[ivinsfan]

Years ago I was talking to some people and referred to myself as tourist.


One lady immediately piped up and called herself a 'traveler'. Her meaning was clear - what I do when away from home is superior to what ordinary folks like you do.


Fast forward four months. Again talking about recent trips with friends and this time I refer to myself as a 'traveler'. The same lady immediately pipes up "I am a sojourner" in the same my time away is superior to yours manner. Why? I can only guess.



Just be a tourist, traveler, sojourner or whatever you call yourself and be happy. If you like it, great. If you would rather stay home, great.

This + 100...I've never been a fan of that Twain quote, as I feel it casts aspersions on non travelers and implies they are narrow minded bigots.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

This + 100...I've never been a fan of that Twain quote, as I feel it casts aspersions on non travelers and implies they are narrow minded bigots.

+1. There's a lot of famous people in the news these days who are well traveled because of their careers / wealth, but not exactly the open minded types.

It is probably more useful to look at research on happiness for insights into who derives more pleasure from travel than a single anecdote by one historical figure. One happiness study, based on five personality types, found extroverts getting more pleasure from travel than other types -
https://www.spring.org.uk/2016/04/money-spending-happiness.php

 

[NW-Bound]

...One happiness study, based on five personality types, found extroverts getting more pleasure from travel than other types...

People in my family are mostly introverted type, yet we enjoy travel.

Perhaps we do not derive as much pleasure as the extroverts, but enough to get us going.

PS. And perhaps that's why we do not do 5 trips/year like some posters.

 

[NYEXPAT]

We have a park in the center of town that is a major tourist attraction. It is referred to as "Parque Kennedy" and named after JFK. Problem is nobody knows who JFK was or whether he had ever been in Peru.

To get back on topic: I love living overseas, but hate to travel! Unfortunately, the wife and kiddos love to travel and I must abide. Next year, the Wife will go to New Zealand & Australia (1 month) by herself.

 

[mpeirce]

People in my family are mostly introverted type, yet we enjoy travel.

Same here.

I think part of it is that on the various viking cruises we've done we've met some really nice folks. Yet, they are only temporary friends and go away at the end of the trip. So I guess we get our dose of socializing in and then get back to ourselves.

 

[Mdlerth]

Some things it's better not to know

We have a lot to learn from travelers. To learn how to get lost, to forget our luggage at home...

Sounds like most of our family vacations, only you left out

• to discover where the nearest emergency room is;
• to wish you had thought to pack more Imodium;
• to revel in wearing the same boxers for the entire trip because the airline sent your suitcase to Guadalajara instead of Puerto Vallarta;
• to ponder, when the Wagon Queen Family Truckster leaves you stranded helplessly in the middle of Apache Country, what you were thinking when you decided to bring your innocent children along;
• to encounter new and exciting allergies;
• to delight in finding your Visa card has been suspended two days into the trip due to identity theft;
• to find that nobody at the local pharmacy understands your mangling of their native tongue;
• to bring home unexpected living reminders of your voyage.

And, of course, the joy of having blown a ton of dough on the experience, dough that otherwise could have bought that Hayabusa you always wanted.



With all that going for it, I can't believe I don't enjoy travel. (That screeching sound you hear might be my sarcasm meter going off.)


But DW loves to travel, so I just renewed my passport. The things we do for love...

 

[Scrapr]

Sounds like most of our family vacations, only you left out

• to discover where the nearest emergency room is;
• to wish you had thought to pack more Imodium;
• to revel in wearing the same boxers for the entire trip because the airline sent your suitcase to Guadalajara instead of Puerto Vallarta;
• to ponder, when the Wagon Queen Family Truckster leaves you stranded helplessly in the middle of Apache Country, what you were thinking when you decided to bring your innocent children along;
• to encounter new and exciting allergies;
• to delight in finding your Visa card has been suspended two days into the trip due to identity theft;
• to find that nobody at the local pharmacy understands your mangling of their native tongue;
• to bring home unexpected living reminders of your voyage.

And, of course, the joy of having blown a ton of dough on the experience, dough that otherwise could have bought that Hayabusa you always wanted.

So the casino parking lot?

 

[NW-Bound]

... to ponder, when the Wagon Queen Family Truckster leaves you stranded helplessly in the middle of Apache Country, what you were thinking when you decided to bring your innocent children along...