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Travel to other countries would be nice, but there's plenty to see here in the US. Check the state you live in. Have you seen everything there is to see? I grew up in a camping family. When my dad loaded the car for a camping trip, the tent always went in last. "The tent needs to be set up before anything else comes out of the car". lol There were times when my brother and I would walk home from school on Friday afternoon and see the car loaded for a weekend camping trip on Kentucky Lake, about 25 miles away. We had time to put our books in the house and we were on our way.
I've been out of the country once. We visited my step daughter and grand kids at the Army base in Giessen, Germany. Son in law was deployed so we spent two weeks there. Got in a trip to Paris and Cologne. But I've also spent a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, plus Myrtle Beach,SC, Biloxi, Ms, Daytona, Fl, and I don't know how many other places. We loaded up the station wagon, always with the tent loaded last, and spent a week each summer somewhere.
I'm 67, my wife is 73 and can't handle traveling far in the car so our "vacations" are done with. Last weekend, for her birthday, we stayed at a hotel near Ky. Lake. Only time she gets out of the house is doctor appointments so this was a treat for her.
I'd love to go to Hawaii, Alaska, and more of Europ. But I'd be happy, and be saving a huge chunk of money, just seeing what there is to see in this country. And it doesn't have to be a big well known resort.
For me, what matters is what kind of international travel one does.
One couple I knew said, "Oh we're well traveled. We go to England every summer". Well, okay. Not exactly culture shock.
Another couple that I knew quite well said they were going to Thailand for 2 weeks...on a tour...but had 2 or 3 free days in Bangkok, and wanted suggestions as to what they might do there. I came up with a detailed list, with all sorts of directions, for them, but when I gave to them I said, "But more important than anything else, don't be afraid to talk to the locals. In fact, make a point of it. Don't just look at buildings!" They assured me they would heed that advice. When they got back and wanted to tell me all about their trip, the first thing I asked was, "How many locals did you talk to". None. Even the tour guide was American. Nice that they saw a little architecture, but to me, didn't really learn anything of value about the culture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
Another thing to note about traveling is that the United States is by itself one of the wealthiest, most culturally diverse and geographically diverse countries in the world.
The United States has some of the best accommodations for travelers you will find anywhere.
You can travel just within the states and cover a lot of places that have high quality attractions.
things
Last edited by Mike from back east; 08-23-2023 at 01:53 PM..
Have you seen everything there is to see? Re: US travel...
Of course not - but - one thing in the USA that I've pretty much seen nearly all of - is People. Meaning, by and large, Americans are Americans. Local cultures differ, LA is not Atlanta, NY is not Lexington, and so on - great learning there, folks with different cultures.
But Europe, Asia, etc. - it is an entirely different language and culture. Different food, different native species of plants and animals - different cars, and different habits - and, well, a whole lotta different things you won't find anywhere in the USA. It is for that reason - if you're curious about the world's citizens - that strictly traveling in the USA is not adequate.
You can see many cool THINGS in the USA, but in each case, your hotel coffee will be just like at home...because you ARE home.
Travel is the Millennial version of "keeping up with the Jones". People like to poke at Boomers for their obsession with lots of toys and possessions, but Millennials / Gen Z have their own obsession with checking off the experience and places been bucket list, and it's every bit as unbalanced.
1. Travel funnels experiences. The classic argument for travel is that it broadens people's experiences in life, but does it really? There's some truly adventurous folks who go far away and really wonder off the beaten path - but by and large, when people go beyond the weekend 2 hr drive range, they stick to "best of" lists. Although there's something exotic to far away locations, travelers are really just experiencing all the same sights and experiences as everyone else traveling. National Parks are the prime example. People are willing to take risks trying something out of their box when they are in their own area and it's a quick drive home; they don't take those same risks with their intricately planned long distance travel itinerary. Taking these risks is where we get novelty and new experiences, it doesn't have to just be a change of scenery.
We each have our own special "side of the pond" on this planet earth with the radius around where we live. Let's explore the uniqueness of our own section of the world instead of swimming over to check out all the other shores. Don't like your location? Move! People now are the most unshackled from employment that they've ever been.
2. Do we need more experiences? I truly question if anyone these days is actually understimulated? It seems to be the opposite, where people are stressed, anxious, and overcommitted. Millennials have already had way more experiences in their lifetime already than what humans throughout history have had, how many more experiences does a person need?
What it does seem that we need more of is social connection and relationships. But travel gets in the way of building those. 3 days minimum for each flight - time to research and book, time in transit, and time to recover / do laundry etc when you're back. That's 3 days you are not out socializing. Sure people socialize on trips, but long term relationships are formed with people that we see recurringly, most often people geographically closeby. How many of the van life people are going to be in touch with those they met on their journeys in 12 years? How many social connections did they let wither or never form by not being in a position to see people on a continual basis?
There is this FOMO to travel while young, but why? There's plenty of time to travel after the kids aren't little anymore; people live a long time after retirement. What is the more pressing timeline is getting in a relationship and conceiving those kids.
3. Locals don't really want tourists. Sure the people visiting are enjoying their experiences, but are the locals enjoying your presence? I don't have to post links here, you see it on your news feed weekly: "People in Maui were brought up to resent tourists", "Italian official calls tourists 'vandals' after bad behavior", "Record traffic and lines getting into Zion"... It's obvious here in Taos, when I mention to a shop owner that I'm a local, all of a sudden they open up and really start chatting, instead of the usual casual banter to visitors. True, tourists bring money, but it's simply a chore / job catering to them, unless it's in a location sparsely visited, which sadly is not where most people go.
Not all exchanges have to have this guest / servant type of behavior. Take art - buying or experiencing a piece of art allows you to inwardly travel to the creativity of another individual, meanwhile sending them $$$ to propel their creative journey forward.
4. It's wasteful. Recent estimate I saw was 8-10% of all emissions result from travel and vacation. That's huge. If Millennials & Gen Z were actually concerned about climate change and resources, they'd think twice before booking the flight. Instead we just hear a bunch of talk about how that's someone else's job to work towards fixing that issue.
Obviously I'm not saying to never get on a plane again, just that we need to tone travel down. Take time to relax. Enjoy our own mind via hobbies and introspection - and the minds of others through conversation and artistic expression. There's only so many locations on earth, but there's endless experiences in your mind and through the mind of others. Exploring up that vein will lead to a more balanced and satisfied life.
What do you call a person who can speak several languages?
Bilingual
What do you call a person who can speak multiple languages?
Multilingual
What do you call a person who can only speak one language?
An American
Social isolation and anxiety being at all time high has NOTHING to do with travel. It has to do with social media/texting, etc. causing people not to interact face to face with others.
Due to my father's job, I have been traveling since childhood. This isn't & wasn't a cause for social isolation or anxiety for me or my 2 younger siblings (although I did have to make new friends more often than most but that wasn't isolating rather forced me to develop to my social skills).
A lot of social media is people posting about their travels though. The isolation part may be unrelated, but anxiety is certainly related! Travel is anxiety / stress producing! Between the airport, the booking, the unfamiliarity, time zones. It's expanding but also draining. Just like a day of skiing, it's adrenaline eye opening, but draining. I know when I take trips, I sleep more than normal cause my brain has to process everything exotic I just experienced.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roodd279
THAT is why Grampa waited to travel - because it was dang difficult, not because he was a workaholic (tho he was).
Folks are "obsessed" with travel now for one simple reason: They Can Be. It was simply not possible before the year 2000.
Excellent post. That is something to consider - how fast the information available has changed. The well knows sites may not be easier or may even be more difficult than before, but there's no way it was as easy to see these weird off the beaten path things like the pyramid of Cuicuilco in Mexico City. I can't imagine traveling 1980s style!
Quote:
Originally Posted by roodd279
Have you seen everything there is to see? Re: US travel...
Of course not - but - one thing in the USA that I've pretty much seen nearly all of - is People. Meaning, by and large, Americans are Americans. Local cultures differ, LA is not Atlanta, NY is not Lexington, and so on - great learning there, folks with different cultures.
But Europe, Asia, etc. - it is an entirely different language and culture. Different food, different native species of plants and animals - different cars, and different habits - and, well, a whole lotta different things you won't find anywhere in the USA. It is for that reason - if you're curious about the world's citizens - that strictly traveling in the USA is not adequate.
You can see many cool THINGS in the USA, but in each case, your hotel coffee will be just like at home...because you ARE home.
America is very homogenous, but it's also easy to connect with others experience because of the shared commonality and language. If I went over to Shanxi China, I'd see lots of different things, but I couldn't really grasp it because I couldn't speak the local chinese dialect to actually get an explanation and dialogue on what life is, it would just be a bunch of observations. I couldn't even read things. So unless I had a friend to translate for me, I couldn't grasp it entirely.
Even for food, there's so many weird flavors in wild herbs and foraging that people never experience with the stuff growing right in their own yard or neighborhood... Is it fine dining, no. Is it unique, absolutely.
The thing that has changed recently is there's a lot of good travel material online, so I can a little grasp on what life is like in Balochistan, somewhere where none of us are traveling to due to instability.
I don't know that America feels that samesy. Just go walk into churches around town and tell me people all operate the same way!
What do you call a person who can speak several languages?
Bilingual
What do you call a person who can speak multiple languages?
Multilingual
What do you call a person who can only speak one language?
An American
Which country produces by far the most music? We communicate in more channels than words.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
For me, what matters is what kind of international travel one does.
One couple I knew said, "Oh we're well traveled. We go to England every summer". Well, okay. Not exactly culture shock.
Another couple that I knew quite well said they were going to Thailand for 2 weeks...on a tour...but had 2 or 3 free days in Bangkok, and wanted suggestions as to what they might do there. I came up with a detailed list, with all sorts of directions, for them, but when I gave to them I said, "But more important than anything else, don't be afraid to talk to the locals. In fact, make a point of it. Don't just look at buildings!" They assured me they would heed that advice. When they got back and wanted to tell me all about their trip, the first thing I asked was, "How many locals did you talk to". None. Even the tour guide was American. Nice that they saw a little architecture, but to me, didn't really learn anything of value about the culture.
My point exactly!!!
There's a lot of 1st generation Thai people in the US, you don't even have to go to Thailand to talk to a former local! That's not even counting the people that have done extensive travel over there that are just a conversation away. Which is exactly what I'm getting at - there's hundreds of ways to expand your world besides getting on a plane, whole worldviews to explore if one take the opportunity to talk to those sitting next to them. But people blow by all these easy, readily available encounters. And many international trips under the clothing of cultural experience gathering really end up being more luxury stroll sightseeing than in depth exchanges.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 08-23-2023 at 01:52 PM..
Reason: Merged 2:1
Obviously I'm not saying to never get on a plane again, just that we need to tone travel down. Take time to relax. ...
I do my best relaxing when I am traveling. When I am away, I have no chores that need to be done. I find wandering around new places is exhilarating. Talking to locals is always enlightening. All my responsibility that day is to enjoy my surrounding, embrace a new Culture, new food, etc. It also exercises my brain cells, I have to figure out how to get around. I can relax when I am traveling. At home--I always have something that needs to get done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
"Too obsessed with traveling?" I think the title is already wrong. I think traveling in order to experience other cultures and places is a wonderful enriching life experience for anyone who can afford it.
Agree with you. I have been to many Countries, I have also been all over the U.S.A. Every place I have been has been enriching life experience.
When my son was getting ready to study abroad in Cairo, the nurse that was administering his travel shots said to him, "Be careful what you are about to do, once you get bitten my the travel bug you won't want to stop!".
So, to correct your statement: *we are too obsessed with working and staying within America. *
America is so diverse, even if one travels within the U.S.A. it can be amazing and enrich one's life.
Wyoming, New Mexico, California, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Florida--to name a few.
^ They are ALL SO different.
There has definitely been an increase in tourism all over the world in recent years. My husband and I actually just traveled around Europe and then Egypt for three months. We saw some of the most historic places in the world and learned a lot about different cultures. Traveling truly does make you a more well rounded person. I would rather spend money on experiences like these instead of material possessions.
Keep in mind that people have been travelling in fairly large numbers for hundreds of years, at least. The internet has been used to arrange travel for probably twenty-five years. There were always ways to communicate and make arrangements.
One of the outcomes of travel is to get a different perspective of your own country by travelling to others. We have recently been to South Africa, where people do have their phones but often not smart phones, and it was unusual to see people glued to them as you do here. We also experienced the dreadful outages of electricity which have been occurring for hours every day. Which gave us a perspective of what is likely to happen if our move to all green power proceeds too quickly.
Overseas travel need not be too stressful. I do however find the effort of getting away quite stressful and we have got to an age where we quite like inclusive packages. We use a small local company which is popular with retirees and all bases are covered with this. Welcome to Macleay Valley Travel
I would certainly imagine there would be lots of options like this in the US.
Travelling in our own countries can be wonderful for enjoying the scenery and local history but exposure to other cultures is enriching.
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