The same way I deal with malcontents on this board, I ignore them.

It is sad when friends and family make hurtful remarks about your travels. Assuming that you are a responsible adult and pay your bills, how you spend your money and leisure time is up to you. Possibly your friends and family are jealous of your adventurous spirit. I have found travelling throughout Europe much less expensive and much easier than travelling throughout the USA (and I live in the USA). Believe it or not, it is cheaper for me to fly from Boston to London for a 4 day weekend to go to the theatre, than it is for me to make the same trip to New York. Suggest that your family and friends start looking into some trips abroad. <BR> <BR>Also, stop letting your MIL interfere. Cut the umbilical cord, stop making telephone calls while you are on vacation and stop spending the time shopping for the appropriate gift. Don't feed into you MIL's jealousies. You're supposed to be on vacation enjoying yourself, not feeling guilty.

After years of my family's comments about begin ssssoooo rich as to travel and wanting all our vacations to be spent with them, I simply quit telling them about our travels. Just because they are family, does not mean you share everything with them. They do live 1200 miles away, so that helps. <BR> <BR>My husband's family and our friends are happy for us and politely listen to the stories.

For me, jealousy usually works the other way. Sure, I travel alot more than my friends. That's because I don't have a wife to buy a house with, or kids to save tuition for, or a satisfying career to work long hours on advancing. <BR> <BR>I'd gladly trade all my future travels in for the right mother-in-law ("right" referring of course to who she's the mother of!)

I don't have many people in my life who don't share my love of travel - both my family and my husband's are frequent and great travelers, so it's more common for me to hear "How GREAT you're going to wherever" than to hear complaints. People who seem to be jealous or negative aout our travels are people I just don't want to deal with, and I don't - though I can't recall any in recent years, except some friends of friends who thought we were mad to take off for London for a 4-day weekend in November of 1999. Well - TOO BAD! We had a smashing time, thank you. <BR>I think my family has had enough years of me to know that there is nothing they could possibly do to deter my travel obsession (heck, they STARTED it - my dad was a headmaster with summers off, and we took 3-month trips all over the US and Canada when I was a kid). We don't have friends or family, though, who disapprove of our travel, as some of you seem to have. We've got people who think we're nuts to have bought a house in France and go back to the same place over and over again, and people who think we should rent a RecV and "tour America" - (over my dead body) - but we don't have anyone on either side of the family who complains about our travel lifestyle. Lucky us. They all want to come visit us in France, though, and that's another story.

Why care what anyone else, even relatives or friends, thinks of your travels? My hubby and I are happy travelers. We don't need a pat on the head to make our choices more valid, nor does the disapproval or jealousy of others spoil our plans.

Get a new husband to travel with and maybe the new one will have better friends and a really cool mother! <BR>Or, live with what you've got, don't ask strangers for advice,and talk about it with your husband..although if you have been living this way for 8 years, it might be too late.

You thrive attention, otherwise why would you complain on a forum about not getting attention from your friends, or not the type of attention you like from MIL? Travel for your own joy and satisfaction, that way you won't need to get any from your friends. About the MIL, she sounds like a meddling witch to me, don't give her the power, if your husband is allowing her to have that much power, you need a new beau.

Oh whoever mentioned Sex & the City has the same exact picture in mind as I do (re:MIL) <BR> <BR>Frustrated with friends, ask them why they are not interested, and maybe you will find out whether or not you need to find new ones or how to correct the situation.

I understand where the orginal poster here is coming from. For myself a big part of the enjoyment of any major trip I take is to relive it in a way through looking at my photos and from relaying to my friends some the the funny or enjoyable events or places from the trip. I find it hard to beleive these people here who write that it doesn't matter to them if any of their friends are interested in their long trips and don't want to know anything about it. Isn't part of our love for travel also the love of sharing our enjoyment with the people we are close to? It certainly is for me.

The shoe is on the other foot as far as hubby and I are concerned. We wish (not jealous) that we could travel like all of retired friends can. We manage to take one big trip a year and several long weekends. Jealous is a very strong word. Why can't people just be happy for other people? <BR>

Why this infectious assumption that people who have other interests than you are jealous? Does anyone taking this position realize its implications when talking about YOUR lack of interest in other people's hobbies?

ttt

Jaba: Perhaps the original poster and some of these people need to be BETTER friends to their friends (by not expecting their friends to endure their travel stories or bragging).

I confess, there's one friend I handle very poorly in this instance. After a recent three-day weekend with my husband, I said, "Oh we shopped, had really good food and just enjoyed lounging around in the hotel."<BR><BR>She gets extremely jealous of loving togetherness like we share. She and her husband treat each other badly -- he's got a housekeeper, she's got a big diamond and house. (Again, to each his/her own.)<BR>

My family could care less, they don't travel out of the country. I respect their choice. Some friends have a better financial situation and can travel several times a year. I envy them but am not jealous. My walls are covered with framed gift posters from all over France, or photographes I have taken. These may prompt a request to hear about an area. If not I don't bring it up.

W O W...I am counting my blessings that my friends and family are very supportive of my love of travel. In fact, the last trip I took was to Brazil with my mother, sister, aunt, cousin & 2 friends. Sure not everyone I know is into travel, just like I'm not into cars or sports. But I try not to demean others hobbies, and I hope they do the same. <BR><BR>PS: I've made it a rule to NEVER talk about my travels at work. Talking about your latest trip is like talking about your salary...people think they would like to know, but they REALLY don't want to.

Topped for Windy et al. Starts about jealousy but covers the range...

Tell the people who can appreciate your travels and don't tell the people who can't.<BR>And remember there will always be those who have an &quot;one-upsmanship&quot; attitude about everything rather than just keeping quiet and letting someone else &quot;shine.&quot;

Thanks for topping this for me, Cassandra.<BR><BR>Windy