Why I Will Never Be Finished Travelling

“So… when do you plan to finish travelling and settle down?”

It is a question that we are often asked, by friends and family as well as by strangers who we explain our nomadic lifestyle to. Whenever this question comes up, I stumble over the answer because I really don’t know what to say. The truth is that we really don’t know, as we don’t have a set out plan for our future. We’re just winging it as we go along. Most people either find that answer incredibly exciting or completely foolish, but we have come to accept that.

However, the more I think about this question the more I realise that I don’t agree with the basic premise of it. The question itself doesn’t make sense to me, because for me to “finish travelling” sounds just as strange as if I were to “finish reading books” or “finish listening to music” or “finish learning new things”.

Just as I will never read all of the books in the world and be “finished”, I will never feel I have had enough of going to new places and doing interesting things.

I suppose you could stop reading, listening to music or learning or even travelling, but why would you? Travel enriches my life, provides me with endless fascination and excites me to no end, so to decide to “cease and desist” at any point seems silly to me. Just like I plan to keep on reading and learning until I am old and grey, I also plan to make travel a part of my life throughout all of its stages.

Travel creates truly amazing experiences - such as discovering that tigers love belly rubs.
Travel creates truly amazing experiences – such as discovering that tigers love belly rubs.

The difference is that many people don’t see travel this way. They see it as something to be done for perhaps one or two years in your 20s and then never done again. Once your Gap Year is over with, you are expected to sink your roots deep down into a place, commit to a house, career and family, stuff your passport in a drawer and never leave the country again except for the odd beach holiday.

I understand that the more responsibilities you have in this life, the trickier it is to prioritize travel. The reason why people say “do it while you are young” is because when you are 21 years old, have no kids, don’t own property and are strong and supple enough to carry a backpack or sleep curled up in the seat of a bus – travel is a lot easier. You don’t have anything to be responsible for nor accountable to, you can simply roam the earth gathering experiences and making friends.

As you get older, your priorities start to shift. You choose a spot to live and settle down. Instead of hostel dorm beds, street noodles and bottles of beer, you spend your money on mortgage payments, utility fees, cleaning supplies, loaves of bread. You get a dog, or a baby, or both. You get used to your nice cosy mattress and your favourite brand of tea. You build yourself into a community, make friends with your neighbours and have “the usual” at your local cafe or pub.  Travelling, especially for long periods of time, seems like a crazy idea and a frivolous waste. When you think about backpacking across Central America, or riding a motorbike through Vietnam, it fills you with a shiver of excitement but you convince yourself it is just not possible.

I can see why all of these home comforts are appealing to people – they are attractive to me too and I will enjoy them when I have them. However, I don’t believe the two lifestyles are mutually exclusive and I fail to see why having these things means that I would ever have to exclude travel from my life.

Visiting the beautiful Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Visiting the beautiful Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Call me young, idealistic, hopeful or naive, but I believe that at any stage of my life I will be able to make room for a travel experience. Of course, I realise that our current full time nomadic lifestyle will not be the lifestyle we always have. Someday we may have a house, some kids and a dog, but that won’t stop us from travelling. There is more than one way to go on a travel adventure and I plan to create travel experiences throughout my own life that suit whatever my priorities are at the time.

So the answer to the question of “When do you plan to finish travelling and settle down?” is “Never”. There will never be a point when I hang up my backpack for good and decide that I cannot poke my curious head into any more strange and fascinating corners of the world. The world is an infinite library and I’ll be damned if I ever stop reading.

Kelly Dunning

A Canadian freelance writer with a love of art, culture, literature and adventure, Kelly loves exploring foreign lands and expressing her experiences through the power of the written word.

Related Articles

18 Comments

  1. I agree. Even if you can’t travel the world full time or be a travel nomad, never stop traveling and experiencing different cultures and people. Traveling offers the best education and while math was never a strong subject travel is one subject I continue to explore.

  2. I love this article and it definitely makes me feel better about how my husband and I have managed to merge our mortgage, careers, and dog with our love of travel and experiencing different cultures. Although our days of backpacking for 2 months through South East Asia with little more than a backpack and Lonely Planet guide book are over, we’ve still been able to do at least 2 trips every years for the last 3 years since “settling down” (only one being an all-inclusive beach holiday), visited 3 different countries in the same time frame, and we’ve already got plans in the works for us both to take an extended leave from work next year to spend 3 or 4 weeks in Nepal! Travel is something that is like second nature to both of us, and though our days of carrying all our worldly possessions around in our packs are over, we’re never going to stop getting out and experiencing new desinations and cultures.

    1. Fantastic- sounds amazing. I am British national but originally from Nepal.
      I am also planning to travel different prat of the continent for experience and gain knowledge. If you need ant information about Nepal please let me know

  3. wow, you’ve done it well with the answer. it does make sense also when you correlate it with this statement: “finish travelling” sounds just as strange as if I were to “finish reading books” or “finish listening to music” or “finish learning new things”

  4. Why to leave travel ?? to me if someone asked me “when you will leave traveling and settle down” the answer was already “Never” because i can’t leave traveling its the most important thing in my life, i just can’t leave traveling because of this our life is an “adventure” and i love it.

  5. I like the idea of living for decent amounts of time in various places. I must admit that just passing through never really leave me feeling much for a place. This make my type of travel a bit more expensive, but I have lived in loads of different places now and have benefited from many different outlooks.

  6. I am also a fan of traveling. I have recently been in Annapurna region https://asian-trekking.com/annapurna-trekking-an-amazing-adventure/. Annapurna offers many scenic routes that may sound similar, but they vary in length, elevation, high points, visited places and other features. The ethnic and environmental diversity, variety of ecosystems which include tropical jungles, bamboo forests, deserts and snow-covered slopes made the trek an unforgettable experience.

  7. I traveled to almost 7 countries too. traveling Never ending in life. because there are soo many places in the world with natural wonders and modern or architectural wonders. just can travel to a few places and countries. Because of Budget, time, Holidays and 100s of causes effects for travel. Just trek mount Everest Base Camp Trek from Mission Himalaya Treks was so incredible which is natural wonders. 2 years ago travel Singapore. Love the Botanic Garden and universal studio.

  8. Hello Kelly, Greetings from Nepal (The land of the Himalayas)

    Really love reading your article all bout Travelling and as per my experience, I also want to add some of my views that why not to stop traveling.

    Traveling can offer us a variety of benefits, including:

    1. Personal Growth: Traveling exposes us to new cultures, experiences, and ways of life, which can broaden our horizons and help us grow as a person.

    2. Adventure and excitement: Traveling provides the opportunity to try new things, meet new people, and experience different environments, creating a sense of adventure and excitement.

    3. Relaxation and Stress Relief: Traveling provides a change of scenery and a break from the routine, which can help reduce stress and promote relaxation.

    4. Improved mental health: Traveling can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.

    5. Increased knowledge: Traveling provides opportunities to learn about different cultures, historical sites, and ways of life, expanding your knowledge and understanding of the world.

    6. Memory-Making: Traveling creates opportunities for making lasting memories and forming new relationships with family, friends, and other travelers.

    7. Cultural appreciation: Traveling allows us to experience and appreciate different cultures, promoting cultural understanding and tolerance.

    Overall, traveling can offer a variety of benefits, both personal and educational, that can enrich our lives and improve our overall well-being.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button