I am really enjoying this conversation and all the different perspectives. I think travel (esp overseas) is something that you enjoy or you don't, just like any other hobby or interest (lots of people have hobbies, collections and interests that don't interest me at all), which is just fine. Everyone should do what they enjoy, and not everyone enjoys travel. It sounds like alot of people that moved around alot as kids, or traveled nonstop for work no longer see the attraction. Understandable burnout.
DH and I luckily both really enjoy traveling, which is a good thing, since we ER'd and sold our house 2 years ago to go and see the world at our own pace, how and where we want with no set agenda, schedule, or deadlines. We vacationed when working, two 2-week trips a year, but this is so different: fun, invigorating, interesting, eye-opening, even relaxing, and oh yeah, did I say Fun? We feel like kids again! We have met some incredible people, and learned alot about some fascinating places. You do grow more confident in meeting the occasional challenges, and we have always enjoyed learning about history and different cultures and such, so this is truly living the dream for us. If we tried to plan everything out ahead of time, it would feel like one of our vacations when we worked. It is nothing like that. We now have the luxury of time.
We had this dream and plan for years before ER, our friends and family were supportive, but many of them expressed that it was not their cup of tea, like some folks here. That is fine, and I firmly believe there is nothing wrong with any choice about how we spend our time, especially if we are happy.
To suggest that we travel because of ads or being told it is the 'in' thing to do is sort of insulting since it has been our dream for years, but it may be true for some that take an
occasional unwanted trip because of peer pressure or something. I accept that many people are perfectly happy staying close to home. That is not what I want right now, though. Life is short, we are getting older, and we want to see as much of our ever-growing list while we still are able (we don't really have a list!). It is not a contest, it is just having the luxury to finally live our dream (why we saved hard to ER), until we grow weary of it, which I am sure we will one day.
At some point we will be ready to settle down again, but we think we will still want to travel, maybe just less often and more comfortably as we get older. Sone have mentioned that as they cage, and I agree. For now, as some others mentioned, it is such a treat to get a one-way ticket to somewhere in the world that intrigues us each January (after visiting family for the holidays) and take off again for another year playing it by ear as we go. We feel like the world is our oyster, and for now we are having a blast. I completely understand it is not for everyone, but it is for us right now. I think it is that simple.