Questions and Comments Frequent Travelers Hear Frequently
The more you travel the more you’ll hear people you encounter say the following things. Frequent and long-term travelers often hear these remarks whenever their plans or past travels come up.
Tell me have you heard (or said) the following at some point?
- “Must be nice.”
- “I wish I could do that.”
- “I wish I had the money.”
- “You don’t have kids yet do you?”
- “When are you coming back/going home?”
- “What do you do for a living?”
- “Where have you been?”
Two other great travel bloggers also added to the discussion on Twitter. Stephanie Yoder from 20 Something Travel @20sTravel says:
Carrie Marshal @globetrotteri who writes My Several Worlds tweets:
Funny, I was just asked that yesterday by someone in Texas when it came up that I had been to the Philippines. There are certain stigmas attached with traveling and travelers. I’d be curious to hear what you’ve heard or would add to this list? I’ll be taking a closer look at the issue next week and look forward to your comments.
[photo by: tranchis]
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My name is Anil, a traveler and travel enthusiast. I created foXnoMad to connect with other travelers, discover their world, and share what I’ve learned about mine.
Haha, Heard all of them before. It is the same questions for everyone isn’t it.
Yes! They’re all so familiar it’s almost a good idea to have canned elevator pitches for each of them
I’m guilty of it myself. I see friends coming back from 4 months on the road and then are immediately planning their next long trip. I wonder (but don’t usually say it), “how do you pay rent??”
I think secretly we all want to know how other travelers make money. Almost always it’s an interesting story.
Thanks for including me! The luck question really does boggle my mind. I mean, I AM lucky for a lot of reasons, but traveling is completely a product of initiative and hard work. Luck isn’t so much a factor. It’s usually coupled with “I wish I could do that.” I always want to tell people- you can!
Stephanie, I appreciate the input! I’m a converted optimist from years of pessimism and I (*cheese alert*) believe that you can make your own luck. Adaptability is far more valuable than luck.
Those would definitely be the biggies that I hear over and over! I can’t even think of another classic one, you’ve covered them!
I wish I could keep a running count of how often I’ve heard each one
Good coverage of remarks. Some ask about the best things I’ve seen which is such a trickyt question to answer. The luck thing annoys me a bit as it is a sense of priorities that let’s most travellers travel.
The best places are hard because there’s a “best” for a variety of reasons. Personally I think the Philippines has my favorite beaches but it’s a different experience than the Aegean or Caribbean. Ask a traveler where they love to travel and you usually will hear a long list!
This is the best explanation of traveling I’ve heard in a while and it came from an acquaintance of mine.
“My brother makes a lot of money, but he has a huge house, a 2008 SUV, huge debt and can’t afford to take a week off. I make less, have a smaller, older house, own a 1997 Toyota and take the kids traveling every summer.”
I love it! I’ve found there’s usually a direct connection between money, time, and things. It’s a balancing act between the 3 and a matter of choices. Unless you have a ton of money…
Hi Anil, great topic and the luck question especially annoys me too. Frequent/Long term traveling as a lifestyle is unconventional I guess, that’s why people still see it as something exotic, once-a-year or a crazy thing to do.
There’s also a hint of resistance or a slight negative reaction from some. Some are really enthusiastic and “want to do it too” but others are outright hostile about it. It’s about choices, some which are difficult to make, which holds many people back.
Ha! maybe it’s because I am a solo female traveler, but the one I get the most is “Aren’t you AFRAID???”
That’s certainly one I didn’t think of although I was in India right after the Mumbai attacks and was asked that a few times. I’m sure many female travelers hear that all the time – one more to add to the list!
I was thinking of something entirely differnt when I saw the post headline. I was thinking more along the lines of the FAQs you get asked by airport security: are you carrying liquids? can you get them out? do you have a clear plastic bag? do you have a laptop? can you get it out? can I see your passport? Are you from New Zealand? (as they read my passport). Does anyone else feel the same or is it just me?
I get that too quite often. I like the “why are you here” or “why did you go to X” questions after taking a look at the passport. Did you pack your bags yourself is a good one. Reminds me of the video I posted last week.
I remember once when I was asked to turn my laptop on but it didn’t since the battery had run out so they just let me go through (in Turkey). Another time I was asked to power on my laptop and it crashed going to a blue-screen of death. Guess it was realistic enough to ease their worries!
Oh, I hate the “you’re so lucky” comment. That one drives me crazy.
But, the one that always, always surprises me, is “Well, it makes sense to do it now before you have kids.” Of course, this person (without knowing anything about me at all) speaks to me as if traveling long-term is sensible AND that we are planning on having kids. You know what they say about people who make assumptions.
haha yes. I’ve heard that one so many times…so many times…
It also assumes that you can’t travel with kids. I, and I’m sure you as well, read so many travel blogs by families who travel with their children.
I have heard many of these. “I wish I could do that/had the money to do that” is probably the most common. As I’ve learnt; wishing is meaningless unless you work towards changing your situation for the better. A lot of people (myself included) have one time or another wished for a change without expecting to having to work for it. Not the best approach.
Sometimes it feels like beginning the work is like leaving the wishes behind since that’s when they start becoming reality. That’s held me back in the past, so now I just take bigger leaps.