To those who travelled or thought about traveling in their younger years

[manlymatt83]

I've done a significant amount of moving in the last 6 years of my life. I moved from North Jersey to South Jersey for College, then moved back to North Jersey after College, then moved to Boston in August.

I find myself wondering where my life will/should take me next. Some areas of the country, such as San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Nashville, Chicago, and Austin, interest me a lot! I wonder how many of those cities are "really all the same", which ones I should avoid, and which ones I should perhaps live in for a while. I also consider possibly heading to the middle of no where in the smack dab center of Iowa and spending some time living in the middle of no where and enjoying the stars, scenery, and people.

But then, I question what is more important: bouncing around from place to place, experiencing it all, or staying in the relatively same area, making a few solid friends, and just enjoying that area for what its worth, traveling to the other areas on extended vacations, for instance.

They say to get these traveling things done young, but 5 people I work with have "traveled the country" since they were 22, as a group. Yes, they've lived EVERYWHERE, and have held 5-6 different jobs EVERYWHERE, but they also are anywhere between 30 and 38, and aren't married yet.... to me, that says a lot. I don't think they've stayed in one place long enough to meet people.

So I ask you ATOT: Just out of curiosity, and those who have traveled, or have wanted to travel in the past/future, what is more important?

Thanks!


Cliffs:
See poll

 

[akshatp]

If I were you , I would ffocus on finding a place with lots of Doctor's...

 

[IanE]

Austin is incredible... you should come hang out :]

In the last two years I've moved from San Antonio, to Austin, to Houston, to San Francisco, back to Houston, back to San Antonio, and back home to Brazil, and now I'm back in Austin/San Antonio...

Austin is San Francisco without the outrageous prices I'd say. It's just groovey.

 

[jagec]

Oh. I thought you meant travelling the WORLD. But then you just mention the US.

 

[Epic Fail]

north jersey == south jersey == big chemical dump

 

[Boztech]

I voted option 2 because if there is one thing I have learned about happiness in life so far, it's that it comes down to personal relationships.

There is a definite joy in traveling and the variety of changing landscape and culture, but without a home and friends to return to and share with, that joy tends to be temporary and something always seems missing.

..but that's one man's opinion and to each his own.

 

[Rip the Jacker]

Whoa. I thought you said 'For those of you who time traveled' rofl.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Rip the Jacker
Whoa. I thought you said 'For those of you who time traveled' rofl.

Your safety is NOT guaranteed!:Q

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

It depends on the person. I voted option 1 because I have more wanderlust than most people. A big part of it has to do with my character. I tend to forget about people. Absolute best friend in high school? Don't talk to him anymore. I have his email, his IM, his phone number, but I'm the kind of person that just kinda goes MIA with distance. My best friend in college? All contact stops during summer vacations. Family? Very little contact. It's not that I don't care about them, it's just that I find it very easy to not think about them. They're big people. They can take care of themselves. They don't really need me around. And they're used to me always being MIA anyway.

Not to mention one of my favorite things about traveling alone is meeting new people. Sometimes you really connect. Sometimes you don't. But all have incredible stories to tell. I want to be that person with all the interesting travel stories to tell, not the "my wife did this," "my friend did this," or "my uncle did this" kind of stories.

I've traveled all across the US, but there are still a few quadrants that I haven't been to yet on solo trips. These include the northeastern US, the Pacific Coast + states around Idaho, and the Arizona area.

 

[rpc64]

I have to vote for travelling as being more important. My attitude is this: If you don't do it now while you can, and you reach a point in your life where you have to stay put and can no longer go anywhere, won't you always wonder what it would have been like and where life could have taken you? I don't think I could live with myself having that in the back of my mind all the time. I'm one of those people that was born and raised in the same place and still live there, so to me travelling somewhere new and different is one of the most exciting things I can imagine.

 

[konakona]

I tend to think it takes time to really learn "enough" about a place rather than just bouncing from one place to another declaring you know the place well. Of course, this is a YMMV subject, depending on what you consider important in judging a town/city/country, and how active you are in experiencing the new surroundings.

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: jagec
Oh. I thought you meant travelling the WORLD. But then you just mention the US.

this is what I thought as well.

I think the answer is different for everyone, but for me there really is nothing quite like the feeling of getting off the train somewhere totally foreign to you. Makes you feel like a kid again

Also, if there is one thing I hear consistently from married people ( except my parents ) is that marriage can wait.

 

[Epic Fail]

Originally posted by: dugweb
Also, if there is one thing I hear consistently from married people ( except my parents ) is that marriage can wait.

You must only talked to men.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think option 1 is better if you are traveling the world not just the US. I love to travel and traveling alone is one of the most fun things in the world. You are free to do what you want when you want it. And while it may seem like you are alone, as long as you are a outgoing person you will have plenty of people to talk with and make friends.

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: mjuszczak
I've done a significant amount of moving in the last 6 years of my life. I moved from North Jersey to South Jersey for College, then moved back to North Jersey after College, then moved to Boston in August.

WRONG. All you've done is move around one corner of the nation.

But coming back to your thread title, my answer is this: figure out what is important to YOU, then DO IT.