Some thoughts on travelling, “coming home”, building a life and what happens as free-spirited travellers start to get older.
Type “travel ruins your life” or something similar into Google, and you’ll find a whole list of articles that claim that travelling has ruined their authors’ ability to live a normal existence. They’re mostly written tongue-in-cheek, coming to the conclusion that yes, travelling means you will never again be able to return to “normal” life, to dull office jobs and conversations about the weather with old friends, but that this destruction of the status quo is ultimately a positive thing that you will be the richer for.
*The rest of this article has now been adapted and published on Writers On the Run, Medium
Really enjoyed this! I’ve had some of these thoughts, but I’ve never really given much thought to that stuntedness that comes with perpetual travelling until now. I feel odd as I am definitely building skills and improving myself as an ESL teacher, but it’s a career that I probably couldn’t do back home. Lots of the same thoughts and feels over here.
It´s good to see that others also feel that way. I agree with the feeling of being an outcast and the missed connections to old friends. But life goes on and and everyone makes new friends and memories. It´s a strange feeling wondering what life would be like if you had made other decisions. But then again you feel certain that you haven´t really missed much in your hometown and are thankful for the wonderful experiences you had abroad. It was reassuring and sad at the same time to read this article.