How Did Choosing Not to Travel Become Code for Being 'Boring'?
In Defence of Slowness, Staycations, and Settling
Do we really need to travel all the time?
Lately, I’ve found myself wanting to stay put, but I’m told staycations are lame.
I’ve noticed that somehow, hopping on a plane to some on-trend location has become the only acceptable holiday pursuit. I used to enjoy travel but as somebody who moved to the other side of the world and started literally from scratch, I’m now in a season where my desire to build and create is greater than my desire to discover and explore.
Yet, I seem to have a hard time articulating this desire, and I wonder if you do too.
Every time my lifestyle doesn’t ‘fit in’ and I try to explain myself, it drains my energy. Sometimes so much that I end up going along with what’s expected. But once all expectations and responsibilities are taken care of, there’s little ‘free time’ left. Spending it in a way that’s misaligned and draining serves no one.
That’s why I think it’s time to back ourselves, fellow homebodies (or anyone currently designing a lifestyle where they are).
Here are my thoughts on why we may not need to travel to have a great time.
1. Luggage, Logistics, and Locating Things - Travel Is a Glorified Commute
Booking rental cars, hiring dive gear, waiting for public transport, scrolling through restaurant reviews, checking into hotels, begging for napkins, and wrangling suitcases…
How about using all this time to create or connect? Or rest and be slow?
2. Staycations Are More Sustainable Than Wanderlust
Not only are they more sustainable environmentally, due to a smaller carbon footprint, but they are also more sustainable in terms of our own capacity.
How often do we return from an exciting holiday, filled with great stories, only to find ourselves already in need of another break? Travel is expensive, tends to disrupt our sleep, and it’s often hard to find healthy food and clean water.
3. Enjoying Beauty Is Great. Creating Beauty Is Great Also
Some set sail seeking paradise. Others start building.
Some want to see all the trees in the world. Others want to plant a forest and see their children's children walk in it.
Can we really judge which one is better?
4. When the Going Gets Tough, Commitment and Meaning Beat Freedom and Pleasure
Self-gratification is enjoyable - until it’s not.
As Mark Manson puts it (after extensively traveling the globe):
There's a certain depth of experience and meaning that can only be achieved when one picks a single piece of creation and says, "This is it. This is where I belong."
From my experience, genuine growth happens when we stop running and face the music. Travel is an antidote to ignorance because it brings new perspectives, but for those who are already vastly open-minded and possibly unclear about their own identity, worldview whiplash doesn’t help the situation.
Also:
5. Pets ...
With less travel, it’s much easier to have cute, fluffy pets - and, of course, fewer bed bugs.
In conclusion, most people like to travel the world; some like to travel on the inside. Some are building, and some watch the busy frenzy that has become the norm and decide to just rest.
Those who go slow and do less are not boring - they don’t get bored.
They are not settling - they are establishing a lifestyle they don’t have to escape from.
They don’t wonder where they should go but appreciate where they are and wonder what really matters.