Why is travel such a big part of our lives?

[Anonymous]

Regular life is monotonous. It feels really nice to change the scenery and routine.

[Anonymous]

A close relative died (unexpectedly) a few days before I had a travel vacation scheduled. It was traumatic. That said, I went on the previously scheduled vacation (only 5 days) with my husband. It was a flight and hotel/city escape. (The memorial service was scheduled for later, but not because of my plans). It turned out to be fine as we were busy going on tours and eating out, seeing sites, etc. As soon as we got on the plane to come back my mind went back to thinking about my relative (it was a horrible death and I was there). Until that moment I had been doing okay.

In sum, a vacation puts your mind into a different place from where it was. You are consumed by those differences and your mind is busy with that. It is a big mental break.

So basically the trip helped me in some way. My relative had said, "Enjoy your life" before he died.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say this as a true free spirit, having traveled extensively and lived several places, too.

But why do we do it, on such a large scale, and so much? It’s expensive, tedious, bad for the environment, logistically challenging, and sometimes (frequently?) the locals would really rather we weren’t there.

But it’s good for the soul.

[Anonymous]

How so? It makes you feel superior to other people? I guess so if that feeds your DC soul.

[Anonymous]

My family didn't travel much when I was growing up. My H traveled a lot growing up because his father immigrated here from another country so they would go to that country and stop elsewhere on the trip. And now we travel often and enjoy it. I enjoy seeing historical landmarks and experiencing places and cultures I would not ordinarily. I enjoy seeing nature that I don't have here at home, and appreciate spending time in places where few people look like me. We have a medium size house and drive small to medium size cars and don't buy a lot of stuff, so travel and donations is where we spend our extra money. I know some look at travel as a wealth marker, but we have never chose destinations based on what others think and we rarely stay anywhere super high end. Earlier this year we visited a bucket list item of mine and it was incredible...someplace I'd seen on TV many many times and never in a million years thought I would visit. But my H made it happen and that experience means so much more to me than a fancy purse or expensive car. That day lives in my heart.

[Anonymous]

Instagram pictures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How so? It makes you feel superior to other people? I guess so if that feeds your DC soul.

Spoken by someone who has obviously never traveled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instagram pictures.

Many of us travel a lot and have no social media presence at all. We are stealth wealth and actively downplay our travel. We live in our original house and drive older cars.

[Anonymous]

It’s a selfish indulgence that allows us to brag and feel better about ourselves.

[Anonymous]

It’s just a rich people hobby. Like sailing or horses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instagram pictures.

Many of us travel a lot and have no social media presence at all. We are stealth wealth and actively downplay our travel. We live in our original house and drive older cars.

I really hope you’re a troll and not just horribly lacking in self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Why do I do it? Because I love seeing different places, eating different foods. I grew up lower income, and I always dreamed of traveling. And now I can. Even more once youngest DC goes off to college in a couple of years.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a big traveler. Sure, I like it occasionally for a change of scene but my primary travel motivation is spending time with family. Given a choice between a weekend in Paris and a weekend visiting my sister in the midwest, I'd see my sister. If I could go to Paris with my sister that would be great but the priority is spending time together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a big traveler. Sure, I like it occasionally for a change of scene but my primary travel motivation is spending time with family. Given a choice between a weekend in Paris and a weekend visiting my sister in the midwest, I'd see my sister. If I could go to Paris with my sister that would be great but the priority is spending time together.

Adding - this is also how I was raised. My parents had to move away from their families for Dad's job in CA. We grew up really only traveling to visit Dad's family in the midwest and Mom's family on the east coast. I recall only a couple trips that were purely sightseeing.
We're now spread out to midwest, Denver, Bay Area, plus DH's family in NC. So, with making visits to family a priority we really don't have time or money for much else. And that's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is fun/ interesting to see different parts of the world and to meet new people all over.

How many new people do you really meet if you stay in a hotel? I was in Paris recently and met some people from Chicago and some Australians and a couple from Silver Spring. I talked with the guy at the hotel front desk but only to say things like "Key to room 16 please".

If you live in the DMV area, how many travelers from abroad have you met in the last year who weren't family or connected to work?

I did meet people when I was backpacking solo and slumming it, but that doesn't seem the DCUM way.

We usually stay at rentals and go to regular groceries markets, shops, etc. We have met people at dinners. Or hiking.

Lots of ways to interact with others outside of the hostels.