*Re-worded so its not a relationship question.*
I’ve noticed most people seem to really enjoy travel. That its one of their core life goals, and if they have spare money or time they want to put that into travel. They’d rather say travel, then get a new car or an asset they own.
I’ve never enjoyed it once. I’ve travelled briefly and I just always found it stressful and unenjoyable, I just prefer to spend my time at home, go to the gym or the beach or something. Thats not even getting into the outrageous cost. I feel this is really conflicted with what nearly everyone else seems to want.
46 comments
Many people dislike travel. Many people like and/or dislike everything.
I’m a small business owner with only one employee, me. The business stops operating when I stop working. It makes it hard to enjoy week long vacations, or traveling any kind of distance.
Most peeps like ice cream, some don’t. Doesn’t mean anyone is crazy.
I enjoy traveling but hate flying. And while I do like traveling I always love coming back home. I’ve been all over the world and still wouldn’t leave my home state unless I had to for the sake of my family (needed a job or similar)
It depends what you want to get out of your travel – exploring a new place, a new culture, some specific activity, tourist attractions, general sightseeing, aimless wandering, or just chilling at a resort somewhere. Also depends on how you travel and with whom – planned itinerary with family is very different from roaming around aimlessly with friends or backpacking.
I’m not big into touristy things but one of my favourite activities is to just rent a car and drive around aimlessly, sometimes off the beaten path to see what’s out there. Sometimes just walk around.
Maybe you just haven’t found your combination yet.
You do you! I love traveling but totally get what you are saying and love the homebody life doing projects around the house too…. no need to travel just cause you think you are supposed to
My wife loves it. I really don’t care for it, I’d rather spend the money on more motorcycles and guns.
I like it, sometimes. The travel part can be an ordeal and with kids it’s stressful. Work travel, I miss my kids and it’s more fun with colleagues than alone.
What about travel do you find stressful and unenjoyable?
What do you find de-stresses you and what do you find enjoyable?
I hate it! Sitting basically shoulder to shoulder with a stranger on a plane, airports that are overly crowded, security that takes forever to get through. Waste all this money on plane tickets, or gas, hotel, food if you drive or no hotel and be in a crowded house. Get to hear the kids complain about being in the car to long or fighting in the back. Nope, not really a fan of traveling long distances. Keep it not to far away and I am golden!
I think most people actually either don’t like travel or can’t afford to
I personally loved traveling internationally when I was young. I still like it but the return has diminished. I don’t really care about sites. It was just seeing the world for better and worse and having serendipitous experiences and meeting people. It’s gets harder to recreate as you get older and richer
I still have some vivid memories
[deleted]
I don’t dislike travel but it’s way down my list of priorities and preferred spending.
I love it because when I’m travelling, just about everything I’m doing is new and interesting. It’s beats the usual 9 to 5 life. That being said, I don’t enjoy getting there (if we’re talking about flying – I disagree with the saying that getting there is half the fun) but I enjoy being somewhere different.
I’m quite happy with my car, I don’t need a new one. I don’t get people who would happily drop six figures on a luxury car but that’s just me, I’m not a car guy. I’ve been overseas (live in Australia) and want to travel more but my current life goal is to pay off my mortgage. One day I’ll travel again though.
It’s not for everyone though. It can be a pain sometimes, I’ll agree. The “getting there” part is not necessarily fun. I often end up getting sick after I fly (because planes spread germs).
Can’t relate, I love travel. It is one of the few things I truly live for. But if you don’t, that’s fine too.
I love being in new places and seeing new cities – who wouldn’t want to walk around NYC or Rome?
What I dislike is the hassle of travelling to places and how long and tedious it is. And also how it can take 6 months of saving all your spare cash just to have 5 days or so of pleasure.
I enjoy travel a lot but I don’t really think it’s this big, life-changing thing that everybody else makes it out to be, or that I’m somehow a better person for having clocked up a bunch of air miles – I just like going to places and looking at the cool stuff they have.
I can definitely see why people wouldn’t like it, but I’m glad that I’ve had the experiences in my life that I wouldn’t be able to have if I stayed home.
I think there is now a herd mentality due to Instagram and social media in general, every woman under the age of 30 is now describing themselves as a “wanderlust globe trotter” who’s only goal when abroad is to take an “inspirational” instagram photo.
​
I like to travel myself, mainly because I can have a drink at 11am on the beach instead of being sat in an office with colleagues I can barely stand, but it’s never been the “life changing opportunity to discover myself” everyone seems to brag about.
I hate the physical process of travelling, as we all probably do.
I love seeing new sights and exploring ruins and visiting famous landmarks and all that good stuff but I hate having to get to them, and the number of people as well.
A bustling new city to me isn’t an exciting, vibrant place- it’s a hellhole. If I can explore somewhere and there are no other people around that’s fine, but in my experience most travelling has involved meeting/being around lots of people, and that’s not my thing.
I have the time and money to travel and I do want to travel. But I don’t have a massive boner for traveling like other people do. Planning these trips drains me and I don’t have anyone to travel with either. I tried traveling alone and it was kinda depressing. I also don’t want to be in a plane for more than 8 hours. Also the language barrier poses a problem.
You’re totally right. The dirty sticky feeling you have when you get off a long haul and have to catch a connecting flight is the worst. But, I love traveling because I always try add purpose to the trip, like having work to do or stop by at friends. If I see something cool on the way that’s fine, but endlessly ‘traveling’ to find yourself or experience new things is bullshit.
I’ve travelled but I’m not a traveller.
You have every right to not enjoy travel. People like vacations, but for some it means relaxing near home. I like to travel, but on most weekends it means going for runs in my neighborhood.
For me it depends on how I choose to travel and I’ve discovered what works best for me over the years. Solo travel is the best because I can operate on my schedule. If I’m with friends, I make it clear that we don’t all have to go to all the same attractions together. And I no longer visit more than 2 cities within a week (tried this once…never again). I also pick one or two attractions max to see per day and the rest is unscheduled time to do whatever, including resting, wandering, or relaxing at a cafe for a while.
As for the expense, I’ve been lucky to have jobs/projects in other cities/countries so I find ways to explore cities during or after my work commitments, so at least my plane tickets are covered.
Mid thirties (but female).I don’t mind looking at new places in my home country but ive almost zero interest in travelling any further.
I think it’s like with anything that takes some effort – one needs to want the end goal. It’s not easy for sure. The flight. Hotel and car logistics. Extra seats now w have kids. Car seats now we have kids. Carry our own gps and ez pass. Finding good restaurants for our dietary needs. Putting up with kids whining and jet lag on way there and back. It’s exhausting.
But then if we didn’t do that, we would never leave the house or go anywhere or be forced to do something new so for us it’s worth it. It requires money and patience and sometimes we have a great time and sometimes we have an ok time.
Scotland was amazing, Alaska not so much. Japan and Singapore were exhausting but here we are going to Japan again this year due to cheap tickets.
The actual travel part of travel sucks, but the payoff once you’re in a new place is so worth it. It’s a shame that some people aren’t interested in exploring our world/other cultures, but to each their own.
I ~hate~ travelling, and I’ll admit it. It costs a ton of money, and at the end of the day you go back home like nothing happened… paying to entertain the tissue matter in your brains for a few days… absolutely ridiculous.
Some people think that travel makes you free. No, dude… you’re still a prisoner on this earth. you were born here and you will die here, there is no escape.
I’ve traveled a lot in my life. It kinda ruined travel for me. I’ve learned that, once you see past the different clothes and different scenery, most places are all pretty much the same. I’m most comfortable in my own home and with my own things, so why would I pay to be in less comfortable surroundings? I’m with you, OP
I have a cousin who hates travel. He’s a doctor, only child, and has no kids, so no debt or major expenses. He could go anywhere. But he prefers to buy things. Has a Lamborghini and a viper.
His wife finally convinced him to go on a eupeam trip after 8 years of marriage due to it being centered on a Lamborghini factory tour.
I’ve never had enough money to travel by myself. I’m going to go to Vegas this year (crazy cheap flights, it’s a Casino conspiracy I tell you!), rent a car there, and just drive around the West Coast area for about 4-5 days. See Northern California, Malibu, try to avoid the LA traffic. Make a left turn in Albequerque, then I’ll get back to you.
I would *much* rather travel than have a super nice car. Generally, I find doing new things fun, but it is more than that. For me, it is experiential learning combined with a way to learn how to empathize on a more global scale.
Although, after 7-10 days it starts to be exhausting for me and I am ready to be back in my routine.
I get why some people might not like it, but whatevs.
Here’s my thing on travel, and you may think I’m an idiot, but I don’t care: I won’t go anywhere I can’t smoke weed.
Only if I am the operator of the vehicle involved I sometimes enjoy travel.
I used to like flying but the completely ineffective and obnoxious TSA combined with the awful tiny seats that di not fit an average size in shape adult american male (even on business class) and customer service of airlines has ruined that.
I’ve tried greyhound and other buses but with the stops and how slow they go, it takes an entire day to travel what I could drive in 3-4 hours. Also I’ve not had good luck with the quality of people seated next to me.
Driving or riding my motorcycle are fun but I own my business and don’t get paid when I don’t work, so every hour i’m not working i’m getting more stressed, so time off is no longer relaxing at all.
Ever since I read this quote it’s all I can think about
“Travel is something boring people do to seem exciting”
Now obviously it’s overstated but I always laugh when it is true. I have fun sometimes traveling but it’s just ok for me
I enjoy traveling to new places but I don’t fetishize it like some do (see various earlier comments re: Instagram) and I don’t prioritize it higher than other activities, like having time to read for extended periods, getting to play video games, playing my cello, training for inline speedskating and cross country ski races. Also I like working on my house and building things, and I wish I had more time for that. But only so much is possible with 3 kids, a commute into Manhattan and a demanding job.
Also as I’ve gotten older, I prefer to go to one place and stay there for an extended period. For example, this summer spending a week in Provence in one spot and then 10 days in my father’s hometown in Italy. Being constantly in motion is exhausting
Love traveling, hate flying, airports, waiting, planes etc. I wish teleportation was invented !
I love staycations! Make a to-do list that has a lot of hobby related stuff on it and just getting stuff done. I realize this isn’t typical so I do have vacations with the family but I often take a week off after the family vacation to recover from the family vacation and really relax!
I toured as a musician for years in my late teens until around my mid twenties. Mid thirties now and I crave yet despise any travel simultaneously.
Having access to a beach, as you mention in your post, surely makes travel overall less compelling. Beaches are one of the main attractions people travel to, and you, apparently, don’t have to. In effect, you’re already there.
Nobody likes travelling: they like the destinations they reach after enduring various uncomfortable, stressful and tiring ordeals.
We should call it ‘destinationing’.
For me it’s about escaping: when I’m alone in a new country I’m free to do what I want – away from the pressures other people try to put on me. Escaping my family, my culture, the awful social matrix.
Further, when I lose all the pointless attachments of day to day life: it feels like shedding an old skin and getting back to the core of who I really am.
I hate paying for it, but that’s about it.
Getting from A to B is always a chore. Visiting other countries and experiencing different cultures and cuisines is one of my favorite activities.
Traveling abroad? Not a fan. I would absolutely do it for a SO that wanted to though without being a stick-in-the-mud.
I know it will sound odd, as you’re…y’know…on-the-move traveling – but, I hate the feeling of being stuck somewhere I can’t up and walk away from, doesn’t matter if it’s out on a trip to France or a party up the street. I always feel the need to have an out. Ditto for being locked into some itinerary for longer than a few hours/day.
The extent of “travel” I do enjoy are things like camping or hopping on a sportbike and “getting away from it all”. More “weekend away” type stuff over a week abroad for the most part.
I’d love to do a North American or just US tour on motorcycle for instance. But, hate the idea of a 5 day/4 night Caribbean cruise. Which is a curious thing, considering the motorcycle tour would be much more “travel” and time invested.
So, I guess I’d say I enjoy the Outdoors (and spontaneity those activities bring), over planned traveling.
To each their own though, I can definitely see why some people “live for it”. My Grandmother was a HUGE traveler (the times I’ve even been on large trips was as a child with her) – she’s been around the world and back countless times and never tires of it.
I LOVE traveling. Going new places and seeing new things is super exciting to me. What I dislike are most “events.”
Concerts, live sporting events, etc. The outrageous prices, the traffic, souvenir hawks… ugh. Let me just go and see and do things on my own.
I agree and i dont care what people think.
Why travel when I can look at pictures of the place? Saves hundreds of hours of boring painful wasted getting there, thousands of dollars, etc
All I fuckin do is travel for work man. I cannot STAND travel anymore because 70% of the year I’m not at home and shuffling through airports and rental cars or ubers and hotels and whatnot.
I will say that it is quite fun to travel with an SO or friends, but its just not my choice anymore for something I’d do for fun if I get the chance to choose.