# Why do you travel/want to travel?



## Birdy

Being my curious self I've always questioned people's motives for a lot of stuff. I question my motives all the time and wonder what draws me to the idea of sleeping under the stars and riding trains and walking long stretches of highway.

My reasons for wanting to travel are pretty simple and yet some complex.
I like adventure and I need constant change in my life or I feel unsatisfied and scared.
When I think about fitting in with modern society I get really freaked out. I just don't see myself living the way my mom and dad do. Getting up, working, coming home to eat and then going to sleep. I don't wanna be in school right now and yet here I am waking up every morning at 5:30 to goto a building for 8 hours and deal with a bunch of kids my age who have their own things going on. And then I get home and get ready to goto work for another four to five hours. It drives me nuts. I goto school cuz I have to. I work because my parents want me too and as long as they give me a nice place to live I'm going to try and please them as best I can.
But boy when I turn 18 I can't wait to get out there and live the way I want. It'll be hard and not always the way I picture it to be, but I can't wait to find out for myself.



So all that being said, what draws you to the road/tracks =)?


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## BrokeWhiteBoy

Experiencing people, places, and events I would normally never have thought about while sitting on my ass. It's also a way to escape the day-to-day stress, migraines, assholes, and boredom.


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## permentaly damaged

the reason i want to travel is because i want that sense of adventure that living in one place, knowing the same people, doing the same things just doesnt satisfy. I want to be able to see and do everything because this is my only shot at life and i dont want to be just another average joe, working my life away just to come home and drink myself into oblivion and have a life i dont enjoy to the fullest. i dont want to have to pay to live and live to work. i want to leave as soon as i can but i have some things i need to take care of before i do.


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## Ravie

I love to travel because I love the fact that I get to taste the feeling of freedom, love, hate, and see places that those drones in cubicals only dream about or dont even know exist. It's the best and worse that life has to offer, without both of those, you have nothing.


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## Rise 609

I travel because it gives me a whole nother sense of freedom that I cant have by being in one place. I enjoy seeing new things and meeting new people. Plus whenever im on the road it just makes me a happier person all around. In a week i'm gonna be off on the road again, this time im planning on visiting as many states that i've never been to as I possibly can before even thinking of comming back.


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## soleildegemme

The world is too beautiful to be seen through other people. I want it to be in my eyes, in my lungs, in my feet. 
I could never settle down anywhere, unless I'd already seen every single possible place to settle, and had a true choice. 

The people. Beautiful, dirty, bearded people. 

Being real is just too boring and ugly.


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## RnJ

Adventure - The wind against my face is a great feeling.

Stories - A few years ago, I realized that I was going to be a boring-ass grandpa some day--that had to change.

People - When I've got the time, I'd rather hitch my way somewhere than rideshare, because each new person you ride with, is a random person (not a bad apple yet! tho, it's coming...)

Learning - Every ride, city, person, experience (good OR bad), seems to teach you something you don't learn in formal settings. Living out of a backpack makes you realize how much of what you own isn't an actual _need_. The weight of the backpack makes you thinking about getting rid of something unimportant. You see the world from another angle, at another level.


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## moe

-i want to expereience the adventure.
-i'm afraid of being tied down and having to 'earn a living'. i can't sit on my ass anymore, and i'll leave the summer im 18.
-jack kerouac set my mind loose and i want to write about all the shit towns i go to, and the crazy people i meet, and i don't need/want a fucking lameass publishing deal.


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## Mouse

I like seeing new things. meeting new people. creating a new family and life on a daily basis.

granted, I can make it just fine in the "normal" world. but it doesn't satisfy me. I want to set myself apart from the status quo and do my own thing. That, and I hate working for assholes and paying bills.


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## connerR

Why not?


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## Shade

I travel simply because I coannot stand being bound by what our society says is right work to live and live to work. That's not my bag. I cannot stand by and watch my life go nowhere in 1 place I must be free humans have freewill for a reason


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## freepizzaforlife

I don't want to fucking be homebum. and of course, some of the reasons that all these kids that are still in school and live with their parents put.


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## wartomods

wanderlust, pretty lame, there is really no purpose or meaning for me...
but i am more of a weekend warrior, though


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## CdCase123

filming locations for sitcoms. i am still looking for the location of the exterior shot for drew careys house...


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## iamwhatiam

RnJ said:


> Living out of a backpack makes you realize how much of what you own isn't an actual _need_. The weight of the backpack makes you thinking about getting rid of something unimportant.


so true.

i hate getting trapped in a dull routine everyday. i like the freedom of living spontaneously...going where the flow may take me. sleeping out under the open stars out in the elements with some of the most beautiful views all for myself - and not paying a cent for it. not knowing what's gonna happen or where i will end up. creating my own story and destiny....

society is shit - they're trying to spoon-feed us shit to turn our minds/spirits to shit. i don't want to be part of the 'norm' or fit into any mold. everything comes in a box, wrapped in plastic stuffed in a box, wrapped in more plastic that comes shipped in a box delivered straight to your mailBOX, that you can order right from your computer (box) while you sit wasting away watching American Idull on television (box) eating stale t.v. dinners that come in a BOX, until you have to go to work sitting in a cubicle (box) all day, so you barely have enough to pay rent to live in a BOX.
almost nothing that i can think of in nature is BOX shaped. it's all curves. round. the earth is round. I want to live with nature and travel aROUND the earth. so that's about the gist of it......sorry bout the long tangent.


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## genghis braun

I want to experience as much as I possibly can in my lifetime, and traveling helps me do that. I just came back from my first trip recently, and it was the best 2 months of my life.


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## Rash L

the adventure, the freedom, the experiences... and the stories other people tell, but no matter how many stories you listen to you will never get the most important details until you go out and live for yourself: the beauty of weeds on the side of the highway or flowers growing through the cracks... or even just great expanses of land that seem "empty" but when you look up close they are so full of life it just makes you want to sing. The routine of "normal" life doesnt give you the freedom or time to really look at the beauty of the small things in life. It helps you find love in the details that everyone is too busy to look at. I like meeting people because even if 90% of the people you meet are boring assholes, meeting and interacting with that 10% of cool people are what help me get through life as a happy person.

On top of all of this, I have had various "mental problems" for.. well as long as I can remember, but when I get out there and travel... when I get outside of my BOX (thats for you Iamwhatiam) almost all of those problems dissipate... and life just becomes so much easier for me. My anxieties go away when I gain my own freedom, and life is just so much easier. Most people would just say I'm a lazy bitch who doesnt want to work or have responsibilities (and that IS kind of true on some level), but I never feel happier than when I am traveling about... and that is a big factor for me.


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## drunken marauder

Hmmmm.. How bout cause I can??? I figure there will come a time when I cant.. And theres been a few of em already.... So why not take advantage of it alll......


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## Rash L

pritymic said:


> Hmmmm.. How bout cause I can??? I figure there will come a time when I cant.. And theres been a few of em already.... So why not take advantage of it alll......



that too.


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## camthecrusty

I travel to gain knowledge and the sense of adventure. knowledge of beauty, knowledge of people, knowledge of life, knowledge of everything. I also hate being stuck in one place. It's horrible just sitting around and getting fat. It eats at me mentally and sometimes physically. Traveling makes me happy!:applaud:http://squattheplanet.com/images/smilies/clap.gif


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## Gypsybones

I just feel the need too.
I'm willing to bet my ancestors back in Ireland were nomadic cause its a pull I cant really understand.
the best I have ever felt in my life was when I was traveling, alway moving around every few days seeing new things and people, getting drunk somewhere new.

the only reason I'm back in the burgh is I hate begging for anything. I come from a long line of railroad workers that have a strict work ethic that is strongly instilled in my soul.
I'm saving up money to take off again and then when it gets low I have to stop and get a job for a wile. 

I was here for 3 years doing no traveling saving up loot so when my bro got out of the army we could go and travel europe. which I did by the way and I fucking loved it I only wish I could have found a job and stayed longer so I could save up and see more. 
I havent felt right since I've come back I tried moving to nola for a wile then came back (I'm regretting that) 

and to top things off I live right across the street from the tracks and every time a train goes buy I look at my ruck and think about running out and jumping on. looking at the pick on STP doesn't help matters ether. 

but like I said I just think its encode in my DNA to have itchy feet.


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## ianfernite

Honestly, I don't even know any more.
But I guess I'll give this a shot before enlisting or killing myself or whatever.


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## GutterGrayse

Because seeing the world vicariously through other people stopped being so interesting. There's nothing more exciting than getting out there and seeing it all for yourself.

Plus, on a train, you see things that most all people in the world miss out on. It's the radically different experiences you have in life that make social aspects so much more interesting. People love stories, but someone's gotta go out there and make the stories happen.


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## drun_ken

i have never lived in one place for longer than 3 years...untill now my daughter and ex wife have had me shipwrecked in gainesville for a little over 3 years...so moving around became second nature to me...and once out of my parents grip it was all over....nonstop traveling for about 7years...then me and my ex wife decided ta settle down for a min ta save up for a truck....have been in a house ever since....once her and i split up i left ta finally continue my travels only ta get an e-mail telling me we were pregnant...so now i can only make a few quick trips a couple of times a year...i miss the hell out of it tho...thats fer damn sure....


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## finn

I travel because many of my friends are not conveniently located near me.


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## Mouse

finn said:


> I travel because many of my friends are not conveniently located near me.



insanely true. 

I was talking to my boy these past few days about friends.. and how I hate my hometown becuase I haven't been able to make a single friend there in my lifetime. I can't stand the thought of being friends with someone just because they are convieniently close by. My "best friend" from h.s. and I are no longer friends because she's a tainted self-centered twat who woudl always bitch that I was so annoying that I lived 45 mins away and she had to drive down to see me. That's when I knew our friendship was a load of crap.Everyone around this area is like that. My current "friend' from the college I go to whined to me yesterday because she had to pick me up because my tire was flat.. I live 15 mins from her house. or maybe it's just stupid bitches I don't like... hard to tell anylonger.

all my friends are friends I actually like, not tolerate because I have to because they live down the street or whatever. Like tonight, Im' staying up til 4 a.m. to drive a hour away to catch a train 2 hours to DC and then wait 2 hours for a bus to Richmond so I can see my friends. Friends I obviously love becaue I don't do this shit for just anybody. And they have nothing to offer me but a couch to sleep on and good company. That's friendship.


oh, and I met my boyfriend in a resort town 4 hours east of here and he moved from his hometown to come to this dump to live with me because that's how love fucking works. That's why I kept him and will always keep him.


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## ianfernite

Mouse said:


> oh, and I met my boyfriend in a resort town 4 hours east of here and he moved from his hometown to come to this dump to live with me because that's how love fucking works. That's why I kept him and will always keep him.



D'aww!


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## RnJ

Mouse, I don't complain that my friends live 45 minutes away. I just don't come visit them every week or two, because I've got a lot of friends in that city, and don't feel it's necessary to use fuel that much; friends who are not in the same city as me, need to understand what friction of distance is, and how I do not want to be like most Americans who bitch about high fuel prices, but never think twice about still driving. Of course, it's not like you're going where other vehicles aren't already going...but in a case where a friend begs me to come out and see her so often, I feel justified in saying "listen, either you come out to visit me one time, or you shut up and wait til my others friends get their turn with me." Obviously, I say it a little nicer, but the elements and general mean-what-I-say-ness is there.


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## nivoldoog

Because I dont want a white picket fence. Because sometimes I would rather make a new friend then see an old one. I dont plan on living to a ripe old age, and wanna get alot done before my time comes. Because there is something I havent seen but in a book or on tv. Because somepeople never leave the town they were born. 

Freedom... Not having to punch a clock, working for money just so you can pay bills, fuck bills. I like to travel, see new places, meet new people. 

Because if I get bored, I get introuble...

Also soon to be out of the army, 5 years of being told where to be, how to dress, and what to do/not do...


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## CholoMcScumbag

i jsut had to. i always wanted to since i ws a kid. i feel bogged down by things and possessions. i just needed to be free. find myself. meet people. hear stories share experiences. see the world and earn a living my way.


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## drun_ken

Mouse said:


> oh, and I met my boyfriend in a resort town 4 hours east of here and he moved from his hometown to come to this dump to live with me because that's how love fucking works. That's why I kept him and will always keep him.



been there done that...hell i married my road dog of 2 1/2 years...would wish yall the best but don't wanna jinx it fer ya...so ill just say....safe travels yo.....


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## drun_ken

nivoldoog said:


> Because I dont want a white picket fence. Because sometimes I would rather make a new friend then see an old one. I dont plan on living to a ripe old age, and wanna get alot done before my time comes. Because there is something I havent seen but in a book or on tv. Because somepeople never leave the town they were born.
> 
> Freedom... Not having to punch a clock, working for money just so you can pay bills, fuck bills. I like to travel, see new places, meet new people.
> 
> Because if I get bored, I get introuble...
> 
> Also soon to be out of the army, 5 years of being told where to be, how to dress, and what to do/not do...


in da army....sorry about yer bad luck....heres a few more becauses...just fer you yo.....




because all our friends are....because we can't get along with anyone...because we always wear black anyway....because we like writing circle a's on everything....because the parties are better....because we want a political reason for being on welfare.....because its the coolest.....because everybody looks cool in a balaclava.....because everyone rejects us anyway....because we don't want to stand on the street coroner and sell the socialist worker for 50 (what the hell there is no cents sign on this keyboard)....because we like big boots...because the poster art is funkier...because army surplus is so cheap...because it makes spitting acceptable.....because we don't like to wash our cloths...because socialists never put fuck in their chants....because there are no bad hair days....because we are so disorganized that no one can take over the movement...because we never have to show up on time, show up well dressed, or show up at all if we don't want to...because we can scorn consumption yet still drink beer...because anyone can sing the music...because hierarchy's so much more effective when its unacknowledged... because it politicizes kleptomania...because anything can be blamed on the state...because following the recipe is boring...because we can't stick to one ideology...because its fun to beak the law...because you can dream of dying heroically if not painfully...because who can get thru das kapitol anyway...because we are easily bored...because we can glorify our poverty...because there is nothing like the adrenaline rush of jaywalking.....because the flags are so easy to make...because of noam....because jail gives you an excuse ta eat meat and watch t.v....because we are bitter and cynical...because it pisses off our parents...because we need a theory for everything...because we like our attitude problems.... because we doubt....for these and for no particular reasons at all we are anarkishts...


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## stayhighlovelife

*The reasons why we love to travel.*

:fuckoff:I was just wondering why we all do what we do what made you go scope out that train yard for the first time.what were you doing when you got that first pip in your step i think we all feel when a train rolls by.
just whatever you want to reminisce about.


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## Tare

*The reasons why we love to travel.*

Used to paint'em now i ride dem. No paper trails, Jah!


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## tagvolatile

Experience, taking chances, devising ways to continue. I don't really have anything holding me down, and so.
Though I'd like to build a treehouse somewhere, but until then, get an italian passport, already am a european citizen, get a place over there, save up, voyage around Europe, and then Asia, etc. Read books, write, draw, music, learn languages. First hand education. settle down here and there, and then move on again. Rove to learn.


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## Johnny Lightspeed

I get bored easy


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## stanktank

Wanderlust, trying to break the monotony of regular life. Got tired of reading about other ppl doing sweet things while I went to school for a degree that turned out to be a waste of time. Plus. I get tired of being around the same people after a while. 
But what I got sick of real fast was people living through me. Everyone wants to know what it's like to do this or that and I get so fed up with being asked a million questions all the time. And every one asks the same questions. I just wanna slap em!!
Sorry...I digress.


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## wildboy860

I travel for a million reasons! 1st off, it's been a dream of mine to travel this way since I was a teenager. 2nd I hate working a 9~5 job, it stresses me out and I just don't need all the creature comforts to be happy in life. I have an insane thirst for adventure and excitement. I find life on the road to be easier and less stressful and more enjoyable. I like meeting new people and seeing new things every few weeks. I don't have many friends where my home base is, so I travel to see friends and make new ones. To see things from a more realistic point of view vs. seeing things the way a tourist would. Also to find a place that I might want to settle down at when I decide to stop traveling if I ever do. Traveling and living out of a backpack makes life so much more simplistic for me and makes peoples everyday problems so much more trivial, it toughens my skin and make me stronger inside and out. I love telling stories of my crazy travel adventures and my non traveling friends really enjoy hearing them. I dunno that's all I can think of for now.


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## Wolfeyes

I'm in the genetic wanderlust camp. I've got some kind of nomad on both sides of my family, so it only fits to wander...


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## zapporra

Everyone wrote good answers. I'll add that travel reminds me of the magic in life, that a shift in perspective is often more valuable than being comfortable or getting what you want. I like the freedom of doing, going where and being who i want and the respinsibility that comes with that.


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## Tanto

A number of reasons, but mostly just because the longer I stay in one place, the more it feels like I'll be there forever, which freaks me out. I can't stomach the idea of getting tied down or dead before having a chance to see Norway.


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## Rob Nothing

I don't travel really, I don't consider myself a traveler so much as transient. I don't have the time or money to travel. when I see the 'crust punk' on the street I don't feel compelled to talk with them because I'm not interested in their 'scene', but in the skills they've learned to make a life outside. 

I do the things I do more for money reasons than anything. I find the kind of life most 'normal' people lead to be intolerable, damning, and soulsucking. Let me simplify that, Ive found most people to be soulsuckers.. F you and your party life, I just want to eat good food and stay sane, you know?

I'm in love with trains, but it isn't my lifestyle, it doesn't make me a traveler. It's just something I want to do for the sport of it, and because maybe I'm a motion addict. And it's free, and I want it to stay free, and I want me to stay free.


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## MFB

Because I am an artist at living, and my work of art is my life.


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## zea mays

Im convinced that somewhere out there theres a less traumatic way to love, fuck, live, etc. It doesnt seem to be anywhere Ive been though, I guess there's a fine line between travelling and running away.


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## briancray

It's the closest to true freedom I'll ever get in this world. Materials make people cautious because they don't want to leave them behind. After giving all of that up I can now pack everything in a bag and head out wherever, whenever. In the past year that I've been on the road it's never been about the destination, but the journey and people I've met in between.


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## codycodnyk

I dont travel but im about to ready to hit the road as soon as i can get some gear and find some chill people to show me the ropes. But i want to travel because staying home and not ever doing anything different or seeing anything different makes me crazy, literally. I feel like a dog in a cage. I want to travel the world freely, go where i want and not have to worry about bills and rent payments or all these things that society says makes us happy.


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## LilKitKat

Because I'm scared of being stuck in a rut like a lot of the people I grew up with...


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## ausbos

Free


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## sketchytravis

zea mays said:


> Im convinced that somewhere out there theres a less traumatic way to love, fuck, live, etc. It doesnt seem to be anywhere Ive been though, I guess there's a fine line between travelling and running away.



I love this reply. just saying.


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## WanderLost Radical

Because I get sick of routine. If I do something for too long, I hate it. If I know someone for too long, I hate them. And I'm so fucking sick of my life right now, I need to get the fuck out. I'm the kind of guy who wants to see everything, do everything and taste everything. And that's not gonna be done by sitting on my ass.


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## Deleted member 2626

Or posting about it on the internet


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