4 ms·

I can never read travel writing. It just puts me into this manic state where I glaze out and start thinking about getting back on the road. If I'm going to fi

I can never read travel writing. It just puts me into this manic state where I glaze out and start thinking about getting back on the road. If I'm going to find out about a place, the only way to do so is to go there. So if you're asking why folks like me travel (75 countries, 3 laps around the world, maybe 5 years total abroad and moving over the 10 years before I simply moved overseas for good), the answer is that I've never even considered the question before. Ask an alcoholic why he likes alcohol. Ask your little cousin why he likes his phone. It's the thing you arrange your life so that you can do. It's that important. If you have to ask why, that's just a sign that it's not for you. And that's fine.

ronjouch 11y ago
Interesting. Were you raised by globetrotter parents, or is it a penchant that developed over the years?
- jasonkester 11y ago
  No. My folks did "vacations" of the standard 2-weeks-on-a-beach variety. Usually without the kids. I didn't start traveling on my own until I was like 25. That was a 3 week trip to Thailand. Then a couple years later I did 2 months across Europe. Then a few years later 9 months across Africa and the Mideast, but by then all hope of working a regular job with regular time off expectations was lost. The "how" is easily explained though. I program computers for a living. That's the only skill I know of that pays more than four times what regular people make, and is happy to dish it up in the form of 3 month contracts. It's the ultimate enabler for the modern addicted traveler. Add in the more recent trend toward remote work, and you can pretty much travel as much as you like. As long as there's internet, everything works out.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]