Why do you travel?
 

Just wondering why people leave the security of home to go somewhere else.
To learn? To rest? To experience new things?

All the above & to experience what is totally different from where I live now. And also, because I can. :)

Without a doubt, it is to experience other cultures, broaden my narrow mind, and feel a sense of connectedness with both the earth, its beauty, and its inhabitants.

We live in perhaps the very best pueblo magico in the entire world, but travel to enjoy all experiences.
M

Hi mom04,

To live life the way it was meant to be lived -- at least for a short time.

s

Well being retired to a small town in rural GA, we retire to get away from the stress and bustle.

((I))

Entshuldiegangsie Ira?
Perhaps travel viz retire, lol?
Buen viaje, mi amigo.

I travel to stay sane, I have this bug that I acquired from my parents at a young age. Its called vacationitis. There are just too many things going on outside my little world to stay home. I get a fever after about every six months at home. I wish we were more liberal with our time off as the Europeans are. But then again maybe I wouldn't appreciate the time off as much. Something about not enjoying the sunshine as much without a little rain. To good travels, Here Here, thereyet

Hi mikemo,

3 languages in 3 sentences.

Pretty good. :)

I think it's in my blood.As a kid all ever thought about was going off on adventures/journey's. I'd love to be a modern day nomad. But instead I take little to big trips here and there. One of these days I'll explore my own backyard (Maryland) a little more closely.

:)

To justify my Fodors addiction.

Wakes me up and reminds me of what I'm missing at home.

LOL, according to Someone, it is because some of us are Not Content with their Lives :D
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34928047

Experiencing New Things, teaches you about yourself.

And I don't really look at it as <i> leaving the <b>security</b> of home</i> I feel pretty secure wherever I go.
I hate to imagine sitting in the same place for years and years, getting more and more Dull.

I like to leave the insecurity of home to experience the security of being free and on the loose in the world at large.

I caught &quot;travel fever&quot; in 1981 with my first trip tp Hawaii. There is NO cure so I have to travel to make the hives go away.

When I get home from a 2 or 3 week trip to Europe, I'm on the computer looking for something else the next day. And most times I have another booked before I have even left. It gives me something to look forward to.

The answer is from this old song:

&quot;Far away places with strange-sounding names
Far away over the sea
Those far away places with strange-sounding names
Are calling, calling me.

I'm going to China or maybe Siam,
But I'm longing to see for myself
Those far-away places I've been reading about
In a book that I took from the shelf.

I start getting restless whenever I hear
The whistle of a train.
I long for the day I can get under way
And visit those castles in Spain.&quot;

Those are more or less the words.

I wonder if my longing to travel didn't start when I used to hear the train whistle as a child. The sound is different now, but it still makes me want to go off on an adventure somewhere...

&lt;Wakes me up and reminds me what I am missing at home.&gt;

At the risk of sounding selfish and ungrateful, this is definitely not true for me. The day before returning home from Europe stirs such emotions - I cry each time because I do not want to return home. Perhaps this is because our climate is so horrible, we have so little history, nothing really to see for hundreds of miles, no great cuisines, etc.

I travel for experiences - every single moment to me in Europe is precious. I refuse to take even the small things for granted. To travel is adventure and way of life for me. I would not trade the knowledge I gain for anything. If I could I could I would travel for a living to experience ways of life, cultures, history, food, etc. Not just experience it - live it. I basically live to travel and travel to live.

When traveling I have so much energy that I could go hard all day long so I could not say we travel to rest. In the sense that &quot;rest&quot; means getting away from stressful jobs, even if busy &quot;doing&quot; while traveling, then we have rest in that aspect. We are not the relaxing at beaches type at all.

Mmmm -- perhaps I should have written &quot;reminds me of what I miss at home.&quot;

What I meant was that I find being overseas stimulating. At home I tend to lapse into routine and pay less attention than I should to my surroundings -- I'm a little less alive. What I'm &quot;missing&quot; at home is the sensory overload of travel.

because &quot;the security of home&quot; gets boring.

it depends on the type of trip. some are to relax (Hawaii, Mexico) some are to get some culture (Europe). all are to experience new things and stretch your boundaries.

It is a bit like an addicition - I need to get on a plane going somewhere that requires a passport. Otherwise, I get restless and grumpy. Good thing I am leaving next week for Italy &amp; Paris!

Also, travel is the best education there is.

thank you &quot;travel2live&quot; for explaining my exact feelings for visiting Europe. My problem is no one to experience travel with, would not be enjoyable for me alone.

I travel for many reasons. Fun, cultures, all things posted above. But I also travel for some truth, and to see the reality of the world. &quot;Believe none of what you hear and half of what you SEE&quot; I have been VERY surprised.

After 34 years of travelling I have begun to wonder that. Coming back from Thailand last month I found myself counting the minutes till I got off the flying cattle truck. I don't mind visiting foreign places but the travelling itself is such hard work.

Business, fun and to see new things.

I agree with Kaneda. The actual getting places is a lot of work now, and not fun like it used to be. Where is this Star Trek matter transfer machine anyway????

lsm9831~ Have you tried solo travel?

You say it would not be enjoyable for you, but how do you know until you try it?

- to get away from cooking and cleaning :))

<i>. . . experience new things and stretch your boundaries . . .</i>

I agree with that, but I think a love of travel and new experiences may be inborn. When I was 18, I made my first big trip, flying to Hawaii to join my husband who had been transferred there from Korea. My younger sister said to our mother, &quot;I sure am glad that's her and not me.&quot;

She does like to travel now, but she is much less adventurous than I am. My at-home life is pretty cut and dried--pleasant and fun, but I do need breaks now and then.

swandav2000 - I love your answer. I go to experience other cultures, but also to reset my clock, slow down and enjoy. Not just to see different things but to see things differently.

I can think of lots of reasons but the main one is....because it makes me happy.

Tracy

I've got the bug that so many others talk about...the one that makes me get restless and cranky if I'm not planning a trip. Longer or shorter, the trip's the thing. Packing the bag. Leaving the condo behind. No bill paying, no vacuuming, etc. for a little while. The chores I'm too tired to do at home would be shocked to see me climbing towers, combing museums, and just wandering, wandering, wandering for hours when far away.

And often enough, especially in Europe but elsewhere, too, traveling is a little like falling in love. People ask me what is my favorite place and I'm hard pressed to pick one. I have many loves. Some a bit more passionate than others but each with their own special glow.

LeeParis