3 ms·

living abroad and traveling are quite different things. I agree that traveling, also "deep traveling", is mostly bullshit. It's tourism, it's consumption. But

by kome 8y ago

living abroad and traveling are quite different things. I agree that traveling, also "deep traveling", is mostly bullshit. It's tourism, it's consumption. But living abroad, and especially learning another language and another culture, is something that is really illuminating on so many ways... and you don't have to be rich for that. In fact, most of poor immigrants do just that. The rich one, they call themselves expats.

collyw 8y ago
I read "deep traveling" as "living abroad" - mainly because that's what I have done for a large part of my adult life. Though in the context of this article it is just trying to differentiate their service.
zimablue 8y ago
I'm not saying travelling is terrible, or teaches you nothing I'm saying that if someone goes to a foreign country for a long time and it's not as a byproduct (as in they have a career NOT related to travelling, picking a career specifically to travel doesn't count) of their work, then what it statistically indicates about them is that (privilege + propensity to try and socially signal) is greater than some number, but a lot of people seem to take it purely as "virtue".
- kome 8y ago
  again, I won't conflate the two. traveling is way of more ephemeral than living abroad. but then of course, there are people that are living abroad and it's like they are at home, like British pensioners in Spain. And it's also fine, I guess...
- empath75 8y ago
  As someone who went backpacking for three months when I was recently bankrupt and only had a few thousand dollars I had saved over three years because I was afraid to spend money on anything but food, I can assure you that it does not require any particular economic privilege, only a severe case of not giving a fuck about your future. It worked out for me because I met my wife who was also traveling and came back and lucked into a good job, but that was by no means guaranteed when I left. Of all the people I met at hostels in guatemala, there was only one that I would say was really privileged, and a lot of people who simply prioritized travel over everything else in their lives.

by kome 8y ago

collyw 8y ago

I read "deep traveling" as "living abroad" - mainly because that's what I have done for a large part of my adult life. Though in the context of this article it is just trying to differentiate their service.

zimablue 8y ago

I'm not saying travelling is terrible, or teaches you nothing I'm saying that if someone goes to a foreign country for a long time and it's not as a byproduct (as in they have a career NOT related to travelling, picking a career specifically to travel doesn't count) of their work, then what it statistically indicates about them is that (privilege + propensity to try and socially signal) is greater than some number, but a lot of people seem to take it purely as "virtue".

kome 8y ago
again, I won't conflate the two. traveling is way of more ephemeral than living abroad. but then of course, there are people that are living abroad and it's like they are at home, like British pensioners in Spain. And it's also fine, I guess...
empath75 8y ago
As someone who went backpacking for three months when I was recently bankrupt and only had a few thousand dollars I had saved over three years because I was afraid to spend money on anything but food, I can assure you that it does not require any particular economic privilege, only a severe case of not giving a fuck about your future. It worked out for me because I met my wife who was also traveling and came back and lucked into a good job, but that was by no means guaranteed when I left. Of all the people I met at hostels in guatemala, there was only one that I would say was really privileged, and a lot of people who simply prioritized travel over everything else in their lives.