# Anyone else despise the modern obsession with 'travel?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2019, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093 "2019-10-01T11:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/41 "2019-10-01T17:01:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > To be fair, in the title of this thread, you use the word “despise,” which you then repeat in the first line of your original post. “Despise” is a pretty strong word, and synonymous with “hate” for a lot of people. [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) defines it as “to regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe,” while [Thesaurus.com](http://Thesaurus.com) lists “hate” as one of the closest-in synonyms to “despise.” > > So, thank you for clarifying, but note that your word choice set that tone among those who have responded. Yes, I despise the thing (tourism), not the people engaging in it (tourists). Hate the sin not the sinner. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/42 "2019-10-01T17:02:00Z")
Cool. George was inspired by the I Ching, I believe. Another lyric from the song: “The farther one travels, the less one knows.” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/43 "2019-10-01T17:06:23Z")
So one who sits in a closed box in a closed room in a closed building knows more than anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/44 "2019-10-01T17:15:34Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > Whether they’re being subsidized or not, it seems like damn near every young Western woman aspires to this kind of lifestyle. Seeking Arrangements simply inspired me to make this thread, but from what I’ve observed personally, this demographic is the most travel! obsessed of any in the world. Where are you finding these young women and their travel habits? Yes, millennials are traveling more than young people in the past, but please don’t say you’re reaching this conclusion because of social media posts. “Instagram reality” and all. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/45 "2019-10-01T17:34:51Z")
I completely disagree with the OP. In fact, I regret not traveling more when I was in my 20s, and now I’m trying to make up for it during my 30s. When I was in college I _wanted_ to travel, but I believed I needed to get a job and save some money first. The catch 22 with that is having a job means I don’t have enough time off to really do the sort of travel I’d really like to do. I have however managed to visit Australia, Costa Rica, Norway, Cuba, East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania), Iceland, and I just got back from Greece a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/46 "2019-10-01T17:37:38Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > So one who sits in a closed box in a closed room in a closed building knows more than anyone else? I don’t know anything about the context of that saying, but it seems to be highly interpretive to me. If you’re in a closed box in a closed room, you quickly know “everything,” as that is all there is to know from your perspective. And the more you venture out and discover “beyond the box” the more you realize that what you know is much less than there is to know. Hence, that’s one way of looking at “the more you travel, the less you know.” I have no idea whether that’s a valid interpretation in the context, but that’s one read I have on it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/47 "2019-10-01T18:04:36Z")
I can see how there may be a distaste for travel as “another thing to conspicuously Instagram about”, much in the same league as constantly posting pictures of your dinner plate or of your shopping spree or any other part of the influencer-lifestyle. But that means the travel part is only one specific expression of a broader phenomenon. (And as far as how people afford it, heck how do people afford anything? Some are better at managing their accounts than others, or have different priorities. ) But as as they neither break my arm or pick my pocket, what is it to me? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/48 "2019-10-01T18:11:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t know anything about the context of that saying, but it seems to be highly interpretive to me. If you’re in a closed box in a closed room, you quickly know “everything,” as that is all there is to know from your perspective. And the more you venture out and discover “beyond the box” the more you realize that what you know is much less than there is to know. Hence, that’s one way of looking at “the more you travel, the less you know.” > > I have no idea whether that’s a valid interpretation in the context, but that’s one read I have on it. I like your interpretation - it hadn’t occurred to me to look at it that way. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/49 "2019-10-01T18:23:31Z")
Well maybe if you didn’t [spend so much money on prostitution](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852369), you’d have saved up enough to travel. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/50 "2019-10-01T18:31:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And the more you venture out and discover “beyond the box” the more you realize that what you know is much less than there is to know. Hence, that’s one way of looking at “the more you travel, the less you know.” > > I have no idea whether that’s a valid interpretation in the context, but that’s one read I have on it. I appreciate your final qualification. For my part, I have a more pessimistic view of the value of travel in broadening one’s understanding. To carry on your metaphor, I’d say people tend to bring their boxes with them when they travel, and so insulate themselves from really getting out of their comfort zone. If you fly first class to Dubai and stay in a four- or five star-hotel, you haven’t really experienced anything particularly unique. For that matter, coach and in a hostel wouldn’t exactly impress me either. The point is, g-you are traveling to tourist spots and remaining in spheres that tend to be occupied by similarly suited individuals. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if it’s something you enjoy doing, I just wouldn’t credit it too much for broadening one’s world view. As to the OP, I think **Ravenman** pretty much nailed it on page one: > [@Ravenman](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/51 "2019-10-01T18:32:28Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > 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!’ I don’t know that your conclusion follows from your premise. Isn’t, “Not caring what other people do with their free time” an option here? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/52 "2019-10-01T18:37:00Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > 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. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well maybe if you didn’t [spend so much money on prostitution](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852369), you’d have saved up enough to travel. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/53 "2019-10-01T18:40:01Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well maybe if you didn’t [spend so much money on prostitution](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852369), you’d have saved up enough to travel. I’m doing quite well financially, thank you very much. Well enough that I could afford to travel as much as these girls and not go a single red cent into debt. And no,I don’t pay for prostitutes, why would I do that when I got your mom and your sister working for me? On a serious note, stop bringing up old threads, especially ones that are in no way relevant to what’s being discussed here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/54 "2019-10-01T18:49:11Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Yep; drive 8 hours North from Como, Italy and you can reach Ramstein AFB in Germany. Drive 8 hours North from Tucson, Arizona and you’re at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and still in Arizona. So? You’re still travelling. “Travel” doesn’t need to be international. My family’s vacation plans of one week in one place, two in a different one (one beach, one interior) were always in Spain, but we certainly were travelling a lot more than people who never went more than 96km from home (96km away or less being the distance to the two nearest larger towns). > [@jz78817](#): > > yes, of course. but unlike traveling, there probably isn’t a small cadre of snobs who look down their noses at you because you don’t game, like classic cars, or play golf the way there are people who think traveling is something one “must” do. For any hobby, fancy or fetish in the world, there is people looking down their noses at those who can’t stand it. And people looking down their noses at those who like it, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/55 "2019-10-01T19:08:30Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > 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!’ Back in the early 1980’s, when I was 17 years old, I raised sufficient funds to send my self to Belgium and France for a few weeks, including a week in Paris. I mean, I wasn’t even out of high school yet and I pulled that off. Not on credit - I wouldn’t have a credit card until my 30’s. Of course, it helped that I had a couple years to plan, got in with a tour group, bought a cheap ticket (flew Detroit\>Nova Scotia\>Reykjavik\>Brussels so far from a direct flight), stayed in cheap motels, ate frugally (my French was sufficient to allow me to, for instance, go into an ordinary grocery store and buy sandwich materials instead of eating in restaurants all the time), and so forth. _If you really want to travel_ you can do so for remarkably cheap amounts. If you don’t mind a lot of walking, staying in the equivalent of Motel 6, and so forth. But… you know… while I enjoyed the trip immensely I don’t have an urge to travel extensively. It’s kind of been there, done that. I’ve had other things I wanted to do more. So I get not wanting to travel. A lot of people don’t travel. And as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing wrong with either way of doing things. However… I question that website you were on. Are you sure those women are legit? There are a lot of scam artists out there. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/56 "2019-10-01T19:25:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You misspelled “bleeding edge packed-to-the-gills.” You can buy half a dozen “fairly decent” phones for that price. ha! I think that’s a classic case of being divided by a common language. “fairly decent”, where I come from, would mean something pretty special. My phone is absolutely fine and cost £130 but my point was that many people think nothing of spending the best part of £1000 on a phone, I wouldn’t dream of it and would much rather spend that cash on travelling. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/57 "2019-10-01T19:33:49Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > On a serious note, stop bringing up old threads, especially ones that are in no way relevant to what’s being discussed here. Stop bringing up extremely targeted and niche websites to support your argument that travel is insipid, especially ones that are in no way relevant to the idea of travel as an enjoyable way to spend time. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/58 "2019-10-01T20:32:41Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > Fernando Pessoa said something along the lines of (I’m paraphrasing heavily here) “a wise man doesn’t need to travel, he can know the entire world from his chair. Only extreme poverty of imagination justifies the need to travel.” The same could be said for virtually any endeavor that large swaths of humanity find fulfilling. Platonic relationships, romantic relationships, parenting, art (creation or appreciation), good food, whatever. Just sit in your chair and goddam imagine it. That should be good enough for anyone. Hell, it can be even _better_ than the real thing. Just skip imagining the jet lag, awkwardness, disease, arguments and despair that are an inevitable part of a life lived out in the real world. You would love [The Machine Stops,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops) or at least the first part: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual now lives in isolation below ground in a standard room, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Travel is permitted, but is unpopular and rarely necessary. Communication is made via a kind of instant messaging/video conferencing machine with which people conduct their only activity: the sharing of ideas and what passes for knowledge. > [@Marcus Flavius](#): > > If it’s not within a 250 mile radius, I’m not interested in going there. I would have a modicum of respect for your position on international tourists if you actually wanted to travel but forced yourself to abstain. But as it is, you admittedly don’t like travel, you’ve quoted an obscure literary figure who implies that people with wanderlust are intellectually deficient, and you’ve declared all international tourism to be “shameful consumerism,” regardless of the circumstances of the traveler. This sounds like an unpleasant blend of intellectual snobbery and/or sour grapes. Enjoy your chair, I’ve got a plane to catch. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/59 "2019-10-01T20:35:41Z")
Why? Because I’m curious about the world and get a thrill going outside my comfort zone, which may involve a transatlantic flight and joining a tour. I’m not adventurous at all not going to Mars or hike up to Angel Falls. But a road trip or some flight to an interesting place for kicks, a wedding, graduation or because of eat pray love- Leave your sphere of influence now and then you’ll gain insight about others and yo self ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093/60 "2019-10-01T20:37:41Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well maybe if you didn’t [spend so much money on prostitution](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852369), you’d have saved up enough to travel. There are times when someone digs up an old thread and you wonder ‘what the hell did that have to do with this discussion’, and there are times when you read it and say ‘it does not surprise me at all that the person posting this thread posted that thread’. This one is the latter, and with the context it doesn’t seem to me that the complaint is really about the travel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-despise-the-modern-obsession-with-travel/841093.md?page=4)