Am I the only one who hates to travel?

[former player]

many examples of Europe's racist and xenophobic laws you can google

I can't guarantee there are no racist and xenophobic laws in any part of any country in the EU: our laws have evolved in a patchwork over the last one thousand years and keeping them entirely tidy and up to date is difficult.  I can guarantee that any racist and xenophobic laws in any country in the EU are contrary to the EU Treaties and to the European Convention on Human Rights, that the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights will strike down any racist and xenophobic laws and ensure that they are unenforceable and are taken off the statute books as being contrary to the rules of legal certainty as to equality of treatment on grounds of race and nationality.

So if you can find any such laws, you would be doing a favour by referring them to the relevant part of the European Commission.  I would suggest http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=2&langId=en&acronym=contact  Thank you for your service.

[NoraLenderbee]

"Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to."
— Alan Keightley

Yeah. It hit me that I don't have to travel all over the place, the way I've been told to, to have a fulfilling life or to experience the world.

I have traveled and will travel some more; it just isn't the big Holy Grail for me that it is for a lot of people. It's definitely not how I want to spend the bulk of my time.

[AlanStache]

I have had extensive contact with norther Europeans (Dutch/Germans) and there seems to be a dual system going on with them.  On the one hand they are extremely open to visitors of all types, being very hospitable and willing to let most anyone come and visit or (with proper papers) work and live in there countries.  On the other hand if you are not ethnically native you will never be considered a true citizen, even being a tall white dude with a German/Dutch last name I could never become properly German or Dutch I would always be firstly an American/Outsider.  I have also seen overt racism by otherwise good people verbalized in a professional setting over there in a manner that made it clear it was locally acceptable. 

This shits is real:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet  And I have seen photos of foreign counterparts (engineers and company managers) participating in equally revolting displays at official company functions.

Laws vs local custom may differ.

As for saying that one can not learn anything from other cultures, this is ridiculous, one should always remain humble and willing to learn from any source.  If someone does not want to travel-awesome, they can do what they please within biking distance of there front door (provided a public library is included :-). If someone wants to live out of a backpack on endless "around the world tickets on Delta" (google it) fuck yeah-go for it.  Personally I would be happy only going to english speaking countries or all inclusive resorts, in the near future; but I am to cheap frugal to bother in the short term.  Individuals desire to travel is on a spectrum. 

Obviously our shit stinks too in the USA, we are far from perfect (Ferguson / SAE @ O.K. State / etc), I will not get into a 'who is more racist' tangent.

[mrshudson]

yes, I see what you did. I don't begrudge you having your own opinions on travel. Never did I say that traveling is stupid and all people who travel are stupid. I simply said, having traveled a lot, *I* don't understand it.

And yes, this is a thread where people don't like traveling! Go start a "why traveling is the greatest thing ever and how I'm superior because I travel" thread! :P

The travelers here remind me of the folks who are spendy and in debt: when I say I'm frugal/FIREing they get all defensive about their lifestyle! Haha. Go travel! I'm not stopping you. I just don't see the logic in it and it's not for me due to the reasons I described above.

Last time I checked, it's OK to present a dissenting opinion on a public forum. If you have a problem with that, you really are going to have to move to one of those countries you so dismiss as intolerant, tongue-sticking emoticon notwithstanding.

Meta-proof: dividendman  says one doesn't need to travel to broaden his/her mind and asks for proof. All those people who do acknowledge travel as having broadened their minds see where s/he is coming from, but s/he doesn't see other people's point of view. i conclude that travel does not necessarily cause one to have more empathy or broadening one's mind and learning things, but rather people who love travel *correlate* with being high on those things (empathy, broadmindedness etc.). Conversely, those that lack the ability to see another POV or is somewhat close-minded, dismiss travel as not adding any value - I'm not talking about OP here who is genuinely miserable, but people like dividendman who have a dismissive attitude towards travel.

OT, Yes I know, the handle is dividend*man* but sometimes I always choose handles that are not of my gender to maintain neutrality. And because you really want to play this game, dividendman, here you go:

The traveler dismissers here remind me of the folks who are spendy and in debt: when I say I'm frugal/FIREing they get all defensive about their lifestyle! Haha. Go don't travel! I'm not stopping you. I just don't see the logic in it and it's not for me due to the reasons I described above.

See? :D

I might even come up with a fun madlibs version to replace "travel" in dividendman's post with something of one's fancy - like "education".

Seriously, though, I'm not trying to glorify travel (or education, for that matter) or get defensive about my "lifestyle choices" (whatever?), but such a complete and blatantly misinformed disrespect for basically everyone except those that agree with oneself calls for at least a little bit of push back. 

[deborah]

I was not going to travel when I retired because I had got so sick of it during work, but I have now found that I actually do like it. But not for the sake of traveling.

There seem to be an awful lot of people who want to travel so they don't get bored. I really think you are better off learning how to live happily in your own neighourhood before you start to travel. You are likely to travel less, appreciate it more, and do it for conscious reasons.

[dividendman]

yes, I see what you did. I don't begrudge you having your own opinions on travel. Never did I say that traveling is stupid and all people who travel are stupid. I simply said, having traveled a lot, *I* don't understand it.

And yes, this is a thread where people don't like traveling! Go start a "why traveling is the greatest thing ever and how I'm superior because I travel" thread! :P

The travelers here remind me of the folks who are spendy and in debt: when I say I'm frugal/FIREing they get all defensive about their lifestyle! Haha. Go travel! I'm not stopping you. I just don't see the logic in it and it's not for me due to the reasons I described above.

Last time I checked, it's OK to present a dissenting opinion on a public forum. If you have a problem with that, you really are going to have to move to one of those countries you so dismiss as intolerant, tongue-sticking emoticon notwithstanding.

Haha... what?! You can't dismiss the tongue-sticking emoticon!!! That's the laws of the internets :P

[Metta]

I was not going to travel when I retired because I had got so sick of it during work, but I have now found that I actually do like it. But not for the sake of traveling.

There seem to be an awful lot of people who want to travel so they don't get bored. I really think you are better off learning how to live happily in your own neighourhood before you start to travel. You are likely to travel less, appreciate it more, and do it for conscious reasons.

This is just another thread in that tapestry of sanity you keep weaving.  :)

[tobitonic]

It's a good thing some people have curiosity and exploratory drive - imagine of everyone in science/etc was perfectly content with what they already knew!

A world where everyone was content? Sounds like a world without war, violence, assaults, destruction of others or the natural environment...sign me up!

[dividendman]

It's a good thing some people have curiosity and exploratory drive - imagine of everyone in science/etc was perfectly content with what they already knew!

A world where everyone was content? Sounds like a world without war, violence, assaults, destruction of others or the natural environment...sign me up!

This reminds me of:

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it." - Jack Handey

[Molzy]

I am definitely a homebody usually, and I find being at home very relaxing. But it can not compare to the relaxation I get when traveling! I'm sure that'll change when we have kids, but for now, on the weekends when we're at home I feel like I need to accomplish things (errands, yard work, home renovations) whereas on vacation there isn't really anything I need to do. I'm always happy to come home at the end, but I still enjoy the travel. We don't do it much now because it isn't our financial priority (trying to pay off student loans), but I look forward to doing it more in the future. Not constantly, but 2-3 times a year for 2-4 weeks at a time would be nice! While I like the idea of going to another country for months on end, I don't know if I could really be away from home for that long, which is why I think 2-4 weeks is more realistic.

I want to travel more internationally (I've been to England and Costa Rica in my life), I am not against travel within the US! And for now that aligns better with our finances, so last year we went to the MT Hood national forest. We rented a condo so we didn't have to eat out (we ate out a few times but not every meal, that would drive me nuts!). This year we are going to South Carolina, and then potentially doing a road trip to see some national parks in the southwest. In the next few years I'd like to get to Glacier National Park and the Boundary Waters. We like hiking for our vacations, but have also found that not over planning helps a lot. When we were in Mt Hood last year, we did a lot of hiking, but still took a break day to just walk around the condo and relax, and not set foot in a car. I think that really showed us both how important it is to actually take a deep breath and relax while on vacation.

One thing I'm thinking while I write this - I imagine early retirement being a lot like constantly being on vacation! The reason a staycation doesn't appeal to me right now is because of all the things we want to do to our house, and so I'd feel rushed. If I weren't working, I think I would get a lot of the vacation benefits without leaving my house. But I still have a desire to see the world, it just wouldn't be constant travel. That doesn't really appeal to me. I love being at home, and my early retirement dream includes a purchasing some land and a little house that is the picture of relaxation to me (a family home I grew up visiting).