No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
There are thousands of travel blogs out there. A lot of them are written by people who travel long-term… that is, their full time job is traveling. They are digital nomads. These people are even paid [in the form of free trips, freelance writing or photography, doing product reviews] to travel. A lot of these same travel blogs have similar posts: How to… Top 10 reasons… Best things about… Worst things about, ect… I am trying NOT to be like these blogs. You see, I am not a full time traveler, nor do I ever plan to be. I’ve never made a dime from traveling. In spite of that, I do get out the door occasionally.
- I’ve traveled the UK and Ireland for 3 months.
- I’ve lived in Campeche, Mexico for a year.
- I backpacked around South America for over a year.
- I’ve spent several months though not consecutively traveling in Europe
but I still don’t consider myself a long-term traveller. Why? Because in almost all these circumstances I’ve had a home base [South America was my most nomadic existence, but even then I rented apartments, did home stays, and did a lot of ‘slow travel’]. Living out of a suitcase sucks. Packing and unpacking every few days suck as well. I know because I spent most of my childhood staying with various relatives. Being in a new environment, not knowing where things are, hanging around bus/train stations–all of that sucks.
For some, the thrill of a new environment gets them going. They love nothing more than to be constantly on the go. I love nothing more than relaxing… whether it”s in my bed, on a beach in Thailand, or sitting in a coffee shop in a new location. I love having a home base… somewhere to come at the end of a hectic day [whether its all day exploring or a challenging shift at the hospital] that’s ‘my space.
Intovert in an extrovert world
I am an introvert; I need alone time to recharge my batteries. While routine stifles me, I do like familiar circumstances. Traveling, being on the go all the time, meeting new people, is exhausting. It’s even more exhausting when you are constantly moving. I don’t really have family roots, but I have strong geographical roots. South Carolina is where I will always consider my ‘home’ to be. Even if I’m living elsewhere, and being away from South Carolina long-term is detrimental to my health. Or at least my spirit. I am at a point now where about the most time I can squeeze into a vacation is a month [and that’s really pushing it]. I know that getting to Point B from point A is the most expensive part of traveling. Spending $1500 for airfare seems like a lot for a 2 week vacation; not so much if it’s spread across of 4 months. A lot of travel expenses are like this.
In a perfect world, I’d work for 3 months and travel for 6 weeks. 6 weeks in one location [or region] is enough time to really explore a region. Still, 6 weeks travelling is not the norm [especially in the USA], but any longer than that, and this guy may forget who I am.
This post inspired by the Beatles’ Long and Winding Road, which always reminds me of being far from home.
