So I don’t ‘travel’ whatsoever. I have no interest, I’m pretty much a local guy. So naturally, I despise this obsession that modern people have with ‘traveling!’
What prompted me to make this thread was signing up for a Seeking Arrangements account (simply out of curiosity). The site is garbage, but one thing I noticed from stalking these young women’s Instagram profiles is how often they travel internationally. How are these girls in their early-mid 20s, working low wage or entry level jobs, affording trips to Barcelona and Paris seemingly every few months? Most likely they are running up enormous amount of credit, going deeper and deeper into debt, to fund the decadent modern lifestyle of ‘travel!’ Even though the plague of travel obsession afflicts everyone, young Western women seem to be the hardest hit.
Not too long ago, international travel was seen as a rare and exotic thing. Now the masses of common wage slaves are doing it.
I think this is due partly to the extreme emptiness and spiritual vacuity of our times- so people seek out travel as a remedy, and partly due to the explosion of social media around the mid-late 2000s.
The good news is that, due to the coming era of resource and capital scarcity, mass international travel will be a thing of the past.
Certainly possible, but not necessarily. These people may probably have low-paying jobs, but they also probably don’t have any “real” adult responsibilities yet: Daddy bought them their car the day they turned 16, they don’t have mortgages they either live at home for free or with friends splitting like $500 rent 4 ways, and travel can be remarkably cheap if you’re smart and have low standards, which early 20-year-olds tend to; all you really have to do is get yourself there, then improvise.
I’m nearing retirement age and for the first time in my life I can afford to travel. Admittedly, it’s only to nearby countries (SE Asia) but I can go on a fucken holiday, experience the streets, the food and the geography of another country.
So, no, I don’t despise the ‘modern obsession with travel’. I’m just so very grateful to have the means and the opportunity to get on a plane and land somewhere where English isn’t the primary language.
consider the possibility that these people might not actually be real.
but yes, I’m kind of fed up with the snotty attitude of people who act like traveling around the world is something you’re “supposed” to do. I guess if you have the time and disposable income, have at it, but don’t deign to tell other people how they should spend significant amounts of their money.
and I wonder how many “travelers” also claim to care about the environment yet seem to have no problem burning hundreds of gallons of jet fuel just so they can go somewhere for fun.
International travel can be done in a “relatively” inexpensive way if you’re not booking rooms at high end hotels and flying first class everywhere.
My sister traveled extensively in Europe and went to Australia twice before she was 25 back in the 80s. I don’t recall now the cost of each trip, but it wasn’t more than a few thousand $, the bulk of which was airfare to and from home. She managed to do this working entry level jobs, paying rent insurance etc and saving every penny. You can do it, you just have to want to.
What I find off putting is this idea of travel as just another thing to be consumed and regurgitated on social media. Rather than being an experience, travel is something you buy off the shelf.
I think the opening of the OP sums it up; it’s not something you’re interested in so you can’t / don’t relate to it. I’ve never had the finances to travel so I’ve never bothered to think about it much, but given the chance I’d love to see other parts of the world. Heck, there’s many parts of the U S I’d like to see.
As far as young people, I can’t speak to how common wage slaves afford it but the crowd I work with come from affluent families and this is the first job many of them have had, EVER, yet they drive nice cars, are able to live in nice apartments and trave l often. Some people just have it easy.
All that being said, it does get old hearing people natter on about travelling. I don’t go to many social gatherings with work folk but when I do, invariably one of the first things I’m asked is “where are you travelling to this year” :dubious:
I’ll note that Seeking Arrangements is a site where girls can sign up to become a latter-day version of a courtesan. The lure is cash - probably more than enough to fund travel to Spain or France.
So you go on a website seeking to connect women to older men who will subsidize their lifestyle, and you are shocked that you find young women living beyond their means?
I… I… I just don’t think I have the words to measure the distance by which you are missing the entire, central, and crucial point.
I"m with the OP. I hate to travel. I traveled a lot for business until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I’m fine staying home. I can see the world on TV and online.
Obsession? Not interest? Or ability? Or choice to spend disposable income on travel?
Couldn’t one say the same about obsession with electronic gadgets or buying the latest fashions or spending thousands on season tickets to follow a particular sport?
I like to take cruises, and a friend hit me with “How can you *afford *all these cruises??” I dunno - the same way people afford things they like and want - I budget for it. We don’t go to bars or to clubs - in fact, apart from dining out, our free time is pretty much spent at home with TV or streaming services. I’m not sure why someone would despise me for that - it’s my money and my choice. Heck, even if it drove me into debt, if I’m not asking you to give me money, why would you care, let alone despise me??
My wife and I are experiencing something similar (I believe I’ve posted about it before.) As we near retirement, we are considering how we want to spend our time and $. Many people suggest we will be travelling. The more we’ve thought and talked about it, the less persuaded we are.
We both HATE various aspects of air travel, although flying 1st class makes it somewhat less horrible.
We don’t enjoy the experience of trying to plan lodging, etc on-line.
A couple of recent experiences family has had w/ bedbugs gives us a pretty significant YUCK!
We don’t like being shuttled around in bovine herds of tourists, nor do we like having to plan itineraries with military precision to avoid crowds.
Travel is VERY expensive, and it can be very difficult to figure out WHERE to spend your money to derive the greatest enjoyment. Far too often, we return from a trip and think, “If we took that trip AGAIN, we’d do it better…”
So the type of travel we prefer is shorter time, and more often driving.
Contradictorily, I like the IDEA of travel, and feel that more people (including myself) should gain a direct appreciation that people throughout the world live quite differently and have different values and interests than those within one’s little echo-chamber.
SE Asia is dirt cheap. Hostels were as little as $3-USD/night in Bangkok; I got a deluxe hotel room for all of $26-USD. Yes, there’s the cost of getting there but the rest of it can be had for peanuts once you’re there.
On the website the OP is referring to it’s pretty much the girls aren’t funding their own way there; their sugar daddies are.
There will always be cheap ways to travel and young people who love to do it. There will always be expensive ways to travel and older and/or rich people who love to do it. I’ve been both and still do both.
There are plenty of things people do that I don’t enjoy, but I don’t despise them for enjoying it.
Well I note that a fairly decent phone is upward of £1000. Last year I bought return flights from London to Cairns, stopping both ways in Hong Kong for £710.
So right there is the direct choice between a shiny new phone or a whole new country. Seeing as I am so inclined, I’ll take the trip.
Isn’t this just a case of different strokes? I can’t stand gaming, have no interest in classic cars, and have rejected my father’s attempts to embed my passions in golf. I’ll take travel thank you.
I’ll admit that travel is probably more common here than in the US - in the UK, if you want to guarantee a week by a pool, it’s safer, and probably cheaper, to opt for Spain or Greece over a B&B on the south coast. There’s practically no one I know who doesn’t travel for leisure at some point in the year.
But it’s not compulsory. And blaming the (very common) desire to see the world and therefore enjoy new experiences on a vacuous existence is just narrow minded, frankly. I’d venture it was the reverse.
Right. Apparently the OP is conflating a very broad concept (“travel”) with some kind of conspicuous consumption. Most people travel somewhere when they get a vacation, even if it’s only to the next county to stay with family or friends.
Once, between jobs, I had to hitch hike from from San Antonio to L.A. with only $50 and a hammock. It wasn’t something I’d planned to do, but it turned out to be a great trip.
Some people have family, friends or work in other countries, so they find ways to go there economically, (or the employer pays). The OP isn’t really talking about travel–it’s some other gripe.