You would think that after making the case to not travel that I wouldn’t shortly have a post about traveling. After all, the whole point is living where you’re at, not waiting for the PTO and money but doing it right now! Before you pick up the pitchforks of hypocrisy, I never said that you shouldn’t travel at all. I said there is a case for traveling less and exploring places closer to home. 

However, you will have already read that I have traveled. I have gone to Europe, the Caribbean and Central America. I have also traveled a bit around the United States, so I can’t say that I never travel. I am in the process of making travel plans again. Travel has its place. Don’t think it doesn’t!

There are many well meaning movements with catchy slogans that work well in a number of places but can’t be transferred to all places. Take the “No Mow May” which is a movement to try and get people to hold off on mowing their lawns until June in order to give pollinators a chance to emerge from their winter hibernation. The movement was started in the United Kingdom which is much smaller than the US, has a different ecosystem and weather. It’s a specific movement that works in the UK. Not mowing the lawn until June simply doesn’t work for places like Georgia. So my travel less may not work for everyone depending on where they are. People living near the coast with big cities, tend to have a lot more going on near them than people living in “fly over country” in the middle of America.

And what do I mean by travel less? For some people traveling less may mean “no leaving the country”. The US is a BIG place. We have states bigger than some countries! Okay, maybe not leave your state then. But the states themselves can vary widely by size, Rhode Island is extremely tiny and Texas is HUGE. Is it the travel time from home? My daily commute is about 40 minutes, 20 of which is in the city I work in and it can largely depend on traffic. Perhaps the miles traveled? The carbon footprint of taking a long train ride is still smaller than a shorter car ride. The carbon footprint of travel? Maybe? But not everyone has access to public transit! It’s easy to get lost in the legalistic interpretation. The basic premise is that rather than traveling around the world for a specific experience, see if there isn’t an experience nearby; to look around you to see what people travel to your area for. It’s about reducing travel, not forgoing it altogether. However, there are just some experiences and places that cannot be replicated. There are some people who can’t be replicated. Which brings me to my case for travel. 

I tend to travel for two reasons, the first is to see the people that I know and love. If I happen to be able to check off some bucket list items on my visit all the better. Experiences are meant to be shared and it’s much more fun to reminiscence with the person you were there with rather than tell your tale once to a few semi-interested people and never share again. No one ever asks me about my semester in Germany and if they do they get a general “it was an amazing experience”. I have yet to have someone respond to that with “no tell me all about it!” In fact, we were coached to give a two minute synopsis of our time there because people weren’t going to want to hear it. Visiting people and having them join you on your adventures is always fun. It’s a chance to form stronger bonds and to see people in a new light. 

I had known my “Uncle” Jay for years, but spending a few days in his house near Boston showed me a side of him I hadn’t seen before. I got to see all the different pieces of art he had made over the years from baskets to glasswork. I learned he is a rather amazing cook. Plus, he knew exactly what to show me and where to go in the area because as a local, he is quite intimate with the area, something Trip Advisor just can’t replicate. I did get to check some things off my bucket list, but my best memories will be of him. 

The other reason is to see those things that just cannot be replicated. I want to see a geyser and other geothermal activity. I was excited to find a geyser in my home state and started making plans to go see it. Unfortunately, it’s not a result of geothermal activity and more a man-made oops. Needless to say, I stopped making plans. If I just want to see some water squirt up from the ground I can go see a sprinkler at any of my neighbor’s gardens. My only choice is to travel some distance to see it, but I tried to see it locally first.

Now my travel bucket list is a carefully curated list of items that I will be trying to travel for. This isn’t a list of “oh that sounds cool” or a list of “I could go see that”, no these are things that I have dreamed of seeing for years, have watched documentaries on, read books about, looked at pictures, things I really want to see and there just isn’t an acceptable substitution. If this sounds like you, then by all means save up and go! 

Travel is meant to allow you to see and experience things you don’t in your everyday life. To interact with people who think differently, speak differently, act differently and live differently. Travel can expand your horizons. As we all know social media lies and documentaries can edit things almost as much. Going to a place allows you to see it with your own eyes. There is also elements of smell, touch and taste that cannot be transferred through a photo or with words. 

Travel gets you out of your element and forces you to take some risks. This can boost your self-confidence, help you learn new skills and stretch you. When I was studying in Germany, I took it upon myself to travel to the different nearby countries figuring (rightly) it would be many years if ever I would get to see Europe again. However, being a poor college student it meant that I didn’t have money for a travel agent or fancy hotels. It meant booking hostels online, navigating to the budget airline and sometimes going places where I didn’t even know the language like France and Italy. I’ve taken that experience with me ever since, often rolling up my sleeves and thinking “well if I can get lost in Paris and still find my way back without speaking French and before smartphones were even invented, how hard can this be with google at my fingertips?” 

When traveling with my mother, she went off on a small excursion without me and ended up having a lovely time with a local booth owner because of her Spanish skills. She took a risk and was rewarded with special memories, great prices on her souvenirs and even got to pet a sloth! After that experience, I noticed her confidence about moving in the world had increased. Sometimes getting out of our comfort zone can help us learn just how capable we really are.

If you must travel, do so carefully and thoughtfully. When I went to visit a family friend in Vermont, I timed it to coincide with the total solar eclipse. I also scheduled a few days to see other parts of New England and visit the aforementioned Uncle Jay. When I see my boyfriend who lives in Michigan, he often will take me to various places in his state. 

Are you having to travel a long distance by car? Check your route for cool things! Several years ago my boyfriend went to school in Arizona, he planned extra time for a road trip so he could see the many national parks along the way including arches. He had to make the trip anyway, but by being mindful, he was able to see his own bucket list items. Though he wouldn’t call it a bucket list. 

Remember, travel was never the enemy, only our limited perspective on it being necessary to live a full life. So go ahead pack your bags, order that plan ticket and be off!