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Well, as the saying goes different strokes. I personally love to travel, and could never be in a relationship with someone who hated it. I took my first overseas trip a little over twenty years ago and haven't stopped since (46 countries so far). Some of my most memorable experiences have been while travelling (observing the annual migration of wildebeest in Tanzania, going inside one of the pyramids, walking through the Colosseum, visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau). And I'm sorry but watching a YouTube video isn't the same as being there.
Since DH & I retired 3 years ago, we've spent more time traveling than we have at home and we plan to keep it up as long as health allows. We love it.
But I've known many people who feel differently, they're quite happy staying at home. I don't see anything strange about that at all. Curiosity and a passion for life can take many different forms, people don't need to leave their home communities to live fulfilling lives. Different strokes for different folks.
Also, even for those who enjoy traveling there's a whole gamut of experiences. For example, we never take week-long canned excursions. If we're going to a new place or one we've enjoyed in the past, we generally stay at least 2- 3 weeks and rent a home/cottage/apartment. For us, a shorter stay doesn't suffice. That doesn't mean we look down on those who take shorter trips and hop from one hotel to another, it just means our idea of travel is different.
It's all good.
This is one of the things I'm looking forward to in retirement, unfortunately can't do that now so do the visiting for three or four days. I'd really love to pick someplace and spend a month or so there really getting a chance to soak everything in. I already have several places in mind to rent an apartment or condo for a month or two.
Exactly, david ...if you have a bug to travel I think that is wonderful ...I used to...
then I saw ...people are all the same; some ruder, some nicer...different clothes, different spices.
We have mountains, beaches, the Grand Canyon, incredible art and
fabulous foods and wines here, also.
I'm happy here ... now.
And I have the memories of Europe, England, Ireland and the Caribbean, Rain forests galore...
airports, taxis, leprechauns at 3am in the mist, the sounds of screaming Christians at the
Colosseum...
I'm pretty sure that a lot of people would love to wake up in many different places. It's getting there that comes between thinking about it or doing it. I commute by air, and it's really easy for me because I fly so often and get every perk known. As a leisure traveler hauling a heavy bag and having to sit in a coach seat for 12 hours, after a connecting flight, having to haul stuff to the airport at 3AM, having to go through security, customs, etc? Who can blame anyone for not wanting to go anywhere after if it means being subjected to myriad indignities, stress, and discomfort?
What I really don't get is US people who havn't seen a bit of the nation (except maybe Orlando and their home state), who swiftly proclaim it "all the same" or "boring" when stacked up against anywhere that boasts a foreign address.
Yes, of course Des Moines is like OMG SO BORING compared to London. But, it's boring compared to Chicago too, and that's right down the road.
I used to have to travel a lot for work so the novelty of traveling has kind of worn off for me. Plus I kind of hate flying. There are still places I'd like to visit but I'm not in a big hurry. For the next few years there are a few places that are within a 2 day drive for me to visit that I wouldn't mind checking out before I fly anywhere again.
This^^^^
Plus my parents were globe trotters and had no problems taking us out of school to travel.
By the time I was 35 I'd visited over 50 countries and every state in the US except Alaska and Hawaii.
At 49 I really have no desire to go anywhere.
Part of that is that I live in South Florida and where I like to travel now are tropical places.
I'm already here.
After flying 100,000 miles a year for years, I'm done.
We recently got into a discussion at work because I was heading off on vacation to a country I'd never been to before, and we all started talking about places we wanted to visit. I asked one of my coworkers what places she wanted to go to and she said she couldn't think of anywhere.
I must have kind of stared at her in shock and repeated the question, but she just shook her head.
I think of myself as a homebody in many ways and I love where I live, but there are so many places out there I would love to see in my lifetime. It's inconceivable to me that someone has no desire at all to travel. So I'm curious if anyone here feels the same way or knows someone who does? In this person's case I'm pretty sure it's not a fear of flying or anything - she just seems to have no curiosity about different places.
I don't understand it either. I love to travel, explore, and adventure. It's what makes life worth living . New places, experiences, tastes, people, etc. I've always wanted to be loaded rich, but not for fancy clothes, or a mansions, or exotic cars. It would allow me the time and means to travel to the nearly endless list of places I want to explore.
We recently got into a discussion at work because I was heading off on vacation to a country I'd never been to before, and we all started talking about places we wanted to visit. I asked one of my coworkers what places she wanted to go to and she said she couldn't think of anywhere.
I must have kind of stared at her in shock and repeated the question, but she just shook her head.
I think of myself as a homebody in many ways and I love where I live, but there are so many places out there I would love to see in my lifetime. It's inconceivable to me that someone has no desire at all to travel. So I'm curious if anyone here feels the same way or knows someone who does? In this person's case I'm pretty sure it's not a fear of flying or anything - she just seems to have no curiosity about different places.
I have lived and traveled a varitey of places in teh coutnry and even ventured outside the country...and hoep to do so again in the future.
BUT: I have in places where there are peopel who LITERALLY have neve left the county they were born in. No kidding.
At one time I lived on Cape Cod, for example, connected by two bridges to the rest of Mass. There were people who lived there, for instance, and had NEVER BEEN OVER those bridges!
I could not live that way. But it doens't seem to bother those who never left the town/county, and in one case, never left the very HOUSE she was born in!
My dad is like that. He actually does wind up traveling quite a lot because it's important to my mom, but if left to his own devices he would rarely venture far. His argument is that he has worked hard his entire life to afford a luxurious home, so why should he pay extra to *not* sleep there.
I, on the other hand, take after my mom. I can't fathom not having a curiosity about the world beyond your front door.
I'm not a big traveler. Although I've been to 11 (?) other countries, I haven't even been as far as Canada in the last 10 years. But lately I've been getting more of an itch. We'll see if I actually go.
I've been just as happy as a non-traveler, as a traveler, though.
I'm over traveling. I don't even like to drive somewhere that's 2 hours away. Did that last week. Makes for a really long day.
There are so many things to not like about traveling, if you think about it. Flying is such a drag now. You have to get there hours ahead of time, delays seem to be inevitable. You can't take this and that. They make you take off your shoes. So, one really unhappy day going and coming is a given.
Then, you finally get to your destination. Is the room clean? is it quiet? Does it have bedbugs? Is the mattress comfortable?
Then, you deal with any traveling options while you are there. Bus? Taxi? Train? Pickpockets? Can you trust the food?
And of course, there's the cost.
There are a lot of places in the world I'd love to see, if I could beam there for the day, and then beam home. Since that's not an option, I choose to live somewhere that I love. Ocean out my front door, giant redwoods in my backyard (7 miles away). I just don't need more than that anymore, really. I've come to accept that I won't see much of the world in this lifetime, and that's okay. I know I could - if I wanted to deal with the cost and discomfort, etc.
I also do not learn languages easily. So, anywhere with people not willing to help me out, as an inept language-learner, English speaker - AKA France, is definitely out.
Not everyone finds dealing with the challenges of traveling worth it. Some people would rather go to the local cinema or museum or Starbucks and go home to their own bed.
I also have absolutely no interest in white water rafting or extreme sports, for instance. Never have, even when I was young. That includes roller coasters, too. An adrenaline headache rush is not my idea of fun.
So, as the old saying goes, different strokes for different folks.
Just because a traveler is willing to endure all that is involved in traveling - doesn't make them superior to someone who is not.
All this, plus, the cost of travel.
All these factors can cause a great deal of genuine anxiety in a lot of people. As in, they would need medication to get through it level of anxiety.
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...if you have a bug to travel I think that is wonderful 
...I used to...
