4 ms·

Judging from these comments, I must be the only person who does not like traveling. I like hearing stories and learning about other cultures, but the idea of fl

by vinhboy 16y ago

Judging from these comments, I must be the only person who does not like traveling. I like hearing stories and learning about other cultures, but the idea of flying around the world seeking adventure is a hassle to me. Does that make me a bad person? Besides, there is so much to do as is, like learn assembly. =)

hugh3 16y ago
So take a ship. You can learn Assembly on the way, if you must.
mrkurt 16y ago
I've traveled enough to know I'm not a huge fan of it. It is a hassle. That said, I think I'd enjoy living in a unique place 3-5 months out of each year.
- kiddo 16y ago
  Traveling doesn't have to be a hassle. Maybe you should try doing it in a different way. It's hard for me to offer a specific suggestion without knowing where you're from, where you've traveled, and how you've traveled.
sliverstorm 16y ago
Not the only one. I teeter somewhere inbetween. Most places in the USA are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting a new state park, "seen one tree, seen 'em all". Cities nationwide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Rhode Island a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from the Silicon Valley besides 'it had old buildings'. On the other hand, visiting Japan as a teenager was really cool.
- kiddo 16y ago
  There are so many amazing places in the USA. I'm astounded that you're saying most places are unremarkable. I'm not sure where to begin with suggestions. Slot canyons of Utah? Rain forests of the Pac NW? Appalachians? Small old coal towns in the NE PA? Snowy peaks of CO? Thousand Islands? Lancaster County, PA? There are big and awe inspiring places that I love and there are small and curious places that I enjoy too. There is so much here. Such a big country! I live in NYC now, and almost every neighborhood is remarkable in some way. You just have to open your eyes. I'm curious why you thought Japan was cool. Could you explain? Where in Rhode Island were you? What did you do there? Who were you with? Did you meet anyone?
  - sliverstorm 16y ago
    If we are talking about nature, I agree. I love nature, and I love visiting cool environmental features. I was speaking mostly of cities, which is what most people I know want to visit when they talk about traveling. Visiting Japan (suburbs, not city) was like visiting a sort of parallel universe. Everything was fundamentally similar, but totally different. Additionally, I was learning Japanese at the time, so it was rather exciting just trying to converse with native speakers. It was quite a while ago so I can't think of much in the way of specific examples of the 'bests', but they have a number of cultural aspects and traditions I preferred over their western equivalents, such as sleeping accommodations and choice in breakfast foods. (always found most western breakfasts beyond cereal/oatmeal and toast despicable) Providence. Spent the week with a girl, roaming around the city a bit.
    - kiddo 16y ago
      How are sleeping accom different in Japan from the US? What do Japanese people usually eat for breakfast? I imagined Prov to be somewhat different from SV. Isn't SV composed of some smallish towns (PA, etc) and then vast modern suburbs? Isn't Prov an oldish city by US stds? Multi-story buildings with shopfronts, apts above, more pedestrians, less cars, narrower streets, different building materials, a harbor, more mom & pop shops, than SV? Granted, it's not Japan, but what did you expect?
      - sliverstorm 16y ago
        Well, they use a futon (they are different from the Western futon, looks something like this: http://futonmattressinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/futon-beds-Japan.jpg http://futonmattressinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/futo... ) which I found very comfortable. I don't know all the details, but while they still have a 'comforter' and a 'mattress', they were markedly different. The pillows were made of something similar to buckwheat hulls, and kicked the ass of every fluffy pillow I'd used to date. I have since acquired a buckwheat pillow, although it's not quite as good as whatever mystery filler it was. Not quite as cool and fluid. For breakfast, my favorite was hot rice mixed with small bits of meat and a raw egg cracked over it. edit: I forgot about onigiri, that stuff was amazing too Providence is most definitely different from SV. I wasn't disappointed or let down either- I expected pretty much what I got. I guess you could say besides the weather (rain) I felt I could have had pretty much the same experience in any of the US cities I've been to. Japan was different, because I was discovering the place rather than living in it. So, perhaps my lack of fascination with Providence stems from the fact that I am not enamored of m&p shops and old buildings. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
- fragmede 16y ago
  Most places in Asia are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting another Asian country, "seen one temple, seen 'em all". Cities continent-wide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Tokyo a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from Hong Kong besides 'the eyes on everything were bigger.' On the other hand, visiting San Francisco as a teenager was really cool.
  - sliverstorm 16y ago
    You are correct- it is, generally speaking, the change from what you're used to that makes something remarkable.
- harshpotatoes 16y ago
  I think you underestimate how diverse the US is. I enjoy leaving Seattle to visit the south. To get away from the cold shoulders of the pacific northwest, and to talk with very welcoming southerners. Georgia is particularly nice to visit for this reason. I like driving across the US, getting off the major interstate and driving in the middle of butt fuck egypt to stop at a small bar or restaurant in the middle of Tennessee and getting some good barbecue. Do you know how many different styles of barbecue there are? That a memphis dry rub is completely different than the sweet stuff you get in the Carolinas, and still different yet from the stuff in Texas? I like these small differences between parts of the US. Eating hot boiled peanuts off the side of the road in Florida, eating Elk burgers in Montana, seeing the gigantic Wisconsin state fair. When I go traveling, I like to learn about the regional differences in a few of my interests. Those things are: The outdoors, food, music, and idle chitchat. I think the US provides a lot of diversity in these things. It's weird going to a random small fry rock concert in Seattle and watching the crowd stand around and listen. The music is blaring, it's good, and the crowd is going wild, intently staring at their feet, enjoying themselves. Why do they do it? I don't know, you don't see it so much in Portland, it's just how we are in the damp, dark city of Seattle. I could go on about the millions of delicious hamburgers I've eaten everywhere, the blues guitars, the beer and everything. But I guess I'm just trying to say the the U.S. can be fun, and you just have to get to know the people in order to notice the differences between the cities. But, I guess that's only if you like traveling :D. Fortunately there are more experiences which don't require leaving your hometown.
DisposaBoy 16y ago
I think I'm in the same boat, kinda. I love the idea of visiting places, I enjoy learning about other people(culture, their lives, experiences, history) but the idea of traveling there... It's just not for me, I sometimes wonder if I'm simply stuck in the wrong time, because if we had teleportation things would definitely be different.
fourfour 16y ago
I happen to hate flying and the process of traveling in general. It is a huge hassle and it takes a lot out of you. But i literally force myself to do it as often as I can. In the last two years alone my wife and I have lived in the UK (London and Brighton) and France (Paris and Cannes). During that time we road tripped to Italy and Switzerland. The experiences we got from the trip were invaluable, not something you can learn about but something you need to experience first hand. These experiences always reshape me as a person and inspire my work. For a few hours of hassle, you get life changing experiences. That's why we invented Valium :) Anyways, that's my .02. Experiencing another culture first hand changes you, it makes you see your world differently.
m0nastic 16y ago
I'm the same way. My girlfriend and I argue about it frequently. I am happiest when I can sit in my office and be left alone. I don't like traveling, I don't particularly like the "outdoors", and I'm not big on vacations. A couple years back I spent three months on a photography expedition in the Atacama desert, and while it was a rewarding experience, I'd have been just as happy spending that time alone in my apartment; but then again I'm somewhat of a hermit. I think it's probably a useful generalization that people on average prefer experiences, but like all generalizations, it's certainly not true for everyone.
- auxbuss 16y ago
  You can't base world travel on the Atacama desert. I mean, I'd love to go there, but it's one of the most hostile places for life on the planet. I'm all for avoiding people for a break, but there are places with a bit more life and colour without being party town. No disrespect meant to your preferred lifestyle. Just saying that when you do next pop out you might try somewhere less hostile like the Galapagos or Easter Islands. Kind of a moot point, as the next place more hostile than the Atacama is probably the Moon.
  - m0nastic 16y ago
    I wasn't mentioning that as an example of world travel, I was mentioning it as an "experience", which the article suggests are more useful than possessions. My point (which I didn't convey properly) was that by most accounts, that expedition was quite an "experience". I certainly don't regret going (The gallery show when I returned was pretty well-received), and it was nice to traipse around South America with my friends, but I'd have been just as happy sitting at home by myself for a couple months (and would have saved myself a lot of money). As to Galapagos or Easter Island, I have zero desire to visit either. I find nothing interesting about the natural world (which sounds awful, and I don't mean it to). I just got back last week from taking my girlfriend to the Dominican Republic for her birthday (which was a much more traditional vacation). I didn't take my laptop (something she was keen to require); but our hotel had Wifi. I found myself using my iPhone 4 to keep up on things as much as I was able. If it had been up to me, I'd have sat in the hotel bar reading RSS feeds all day.

by vinhboy 16y ago

hugh3 16y ago

So take a ship. You can learn Assembly on the way, if you must.

mrkurt 16y ago

I've traveled enough to know I'm not a huge fan of it. It is a hassle. That said, I think I'd enjoy living in a unique place 3-5 months out of each year.

kiddo 16y ago
Traveling doesn't have to be a hassle. Maybe you should try doing it in a different way. It's hard for me to offer a specific suggestion without knowing where you're from, where you've traveled, and how you've traveled.

sliverstorm 16y ago

Not the only one. I teeter somewhere inbetween. Most places in the USA are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting a new state park, "seen one tree, seen 'em all". Cities nationwide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Rhode Island a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from the Silicon Valley besides 'it had old buildings'. On the other hand, visiting Japan as a teenager was really cool.

kiddo 16y ago
There are so many amazing places in the USA. I'm astounded that you're saying most places are unremarkable. I'm not sure where to begin with suggestions. Slot canyons of Utah? Rain forests of the Pac NW? Appalachians? Small old coal towns in the NE PA? Snowy peaks of CO? Thousand Islands? Lancaster County, PA? There are big and awe inspiring places that I love and there are small and curious places that I enjoy too. There is so much here. Such a big country! I live in NYC now, and almost every neighborhood is remarkable in some way. You just have to open your eyes. I'm curious why you thought Japan was cool. Could you explain? Where in Rhode Island were you? What did you do there? Who were you with? Did you meet anyone?
- sliverstorm 16y ago
  If we are talking about nature, I agree. I love nature, and I love visiting cool environmental features. I was speaking mostly of cities, which is what most people I know want to visit when they talk about traveling. Visiting Japan (suburbs, not city) was like visiting a sort of parallel universe. Everything was fundamentally similar, but totally different. Additionally, I was learning Japanese at the time, so it was rather exciting just trying to converse with native speakers. It was quite a while ago so I can't think of much in the way of specific examples of the 'bests', but they have a number of cultural aspects and traditions I preferred over their western equivalents, such as sleeping accommodations and choice in breakfast foods. (always found most western breakfasts beyond cereal/oatmeal and toast despicable) Providence. Spent the week with a girl, roaming around the city a bit.
  - kiddo 16y ago
    How are sleeping accom different in Japan from the US? What do Japanese people usually eat for breakfast? I imagined Prov to be somewhat different from SV. Isn't SV composed of some smallish towns (PA, etc) and then vast modern suburbs? Isn't Prov an oldish city by US stds? Multi-story buildings with shopfronts, apts above, more pedestrians, less cars, narrower streets, different building materials, a harbor, more mom & pop shops, than SV? Granted, it's not Japan, but what did you expect?
    - sliverstorm 16y ago
      Well, they use a futon (they are different from the Western futon, looks something like this: http://futonmattressinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/futon-beds-Japan.jpg http://futonmattressinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/futo... ) which I found very comfortable. I don't know all the details, but while they still have a 'comforter' and a 'mattress', they were markedly different. The pillows were made of something similar to buckwheat hulls, and kicked the ass of every fluffy pillow I'd used to date. I have since acquired a buckwheat pillow, although it's not quite as good as whatever mystery filler it was. Not quite as cool and fluid. For breakfast, my favorite was hot rice mixed with small bits of meat and a raw egg cracked over it. edit: I forgot about onigiri, that stuff was amazing too Providence is most definitely different from SV. I wasn't disappointed or let down either- I expected pretty much what I got. I guess you could say besides the weather (rain) I felt I could have had pretty much the same experience in any of the US cities I've been to. Japan was different, because I was discovering the place rather than living in it. So, perhaps my lack of fascination with Providence stems from the fact that I am not enamored of m&p shops and old buildings. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
fragmede 16y ago
Most places in Asia are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting another Asian country, "seen one temple, seen 'em all". Cities continent-wide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Tokyo a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from Hong Kong besides 'the eyes on everything were bigger.' On the other hand, visiting San Francisco as a teenager was really cool.
- sliverstorm 16y ago
  You are correct- it is, generally speaking, the change from what you're used to that makes something remarkable.
harshpotatoes 16y ago
I think you underestimate how diverse the US is. I enjoy leaving Seattle to visit the south. To get away from the cold shoulders of the pacific northwest, and to talk with very welcoming southerners. Georgia is particularly nice to visit for this reason. I like driving across the US, getting off the major interstate and driving in the middle of butt fuck egypt to stop at a small bar or restaurant in the middle of Tennessee and getting some good barbecue. Do you know how many different styles of barbecue there are? That a memphis dry rub is completely different than the sweet stuff you get in the Carolinas, and still different yet from the stuff in Texas? I like these small differences between parts of the US. Eating hot boiled peanuts off the side of the road in Florida, eating Elk burgers in Montana, seeing the gigantic Wisconsin state fair. When I go traveling, I like to learn about the regional differences in a few of my interests. Those things are: The outdoors, food, music, and idle chitchat. I think the US provides a lot of diversity in these things. It's weird going to a random small fry rock concert in Seattle and watching the crowd stand around and listen. The music is blaring, it's good, and the crowd is going wild, intently staring at their feet, enjoying themselves. Why do they do it? I don't know, you don't see it so much in Portland, it's just how we are in the damp, dark city of Seattle. I could go on about the millions of delicious hamburgers I've eaten everywhere, the blues guitars, the beer and everything. But I guess I'm just trying to say the the U.S. can be fun, and you just have to get to know the people in order to notice the differences between the cities. But, I guess that's only if you like traveling :D. Fortunately there are more experiences which don't require leaving your hometown.

DisposaBoy 16y ago

I think I'm in the same boat, kinda. I love the idea of visiting places, I enjoy learning about other people(culture, their lives, experiences, history) but the idea of traveling there... It's just not for me, I sometimes wonder if I'm simply stuck in the wrong time, because if we had teleportation things would definitely be different.

fourfour 16y ago

I happen to hate flying and the process of traveling in general. It is a huge hassle and it takes a lot out of you. But i literally force myself to do it as often as I can. In the last two years alone my wife and I have lived in the UK (London and Brighton) and France (Paris and Cannes). During that time we road tripped to Italy and Switzerland. The experiences we got from the trip were invaluable, not something you can learn about but something you need to experience first hand. These experiences always reshape me as a person and inspire my work. For a few hours of hassle, you get life changing experiences. That's why we invented Valium :) Anyways, that's my .02. Experiencing another culture first hand changes you, it makes you see your world differently.

m0nastic 16y ago

I'm the same way. My girlfriend and I argue about it frequently. I am happiest when I can sit in my office and be left alone. I don't like traveling, I don't particularly like the "outdoors", and I'm not big on vacations. A couple years back I spent three months on a photography expedition in the Atacama desert, and while it was a rewarding experience, I'd have been just as happy spending that time alone in my apartment; but then again I'm somewhat of a hermit. I think it's probably a useful generalization that people on average prefer experiences, but like all generalizations, it's certainly not true for everyone.

auxbuss 16y ago
You can't base world travel on the Atacama desert. I mean, I'd love to go there, but it's one of the most hostile places for life on the planet. I'm all for avoiding people for a break, but there are places with a bit more life and colour without being party town. No disrespect meant to your preferred lifestyle. Just saying that when you do next pop out you might try somewhere less hostile like the Galapagos or Easter Islands. Kind of a moot point, as the next place more hostile than the Atacama is probably the Moon.
- m0nastic 16y ago
  I wasn't mentioning that as an example of world travel, I was mentioning it as an "experience", which the article suggests are more useful than possessions. My point (which I didn't convey properly) was that by most accounts, that expedition was quite an "experience". I certainly don't regret going (The gallery show when I returned was pretty well-received), and it was nice to traipse around South America with my friends, but I'd have been just as happy sitting at home by myself for a couple months (and would have saved myself a lot of money). As to Galapagos or Easter Island, I have zero desire to visit either. I find nothing interesting about the natural world (which sounds awful, and I don't mean it to). I just got back last week from taking my girlfriend to the Dominican Republic for her birthday (which was a much more traditional vacation). I didn't take my laptop (something she was keen to require); but our hotel had Wifi. I found myself using my iPhone 4 to keep up on things as much as I was able. If it had been up to me, I'd have sat in the hotel bar reading RSS feeds all day.