Why should you travel? | Squat the Planet

Why should you travel?

Matt Derrick

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Here are some of my thoughts on why people should travel. While writing it I decided that this would probably make a good thread to sticky in the Introductions thread, so we all can add our own opinions and advice as to why those reading this should hit the road. My hope is that this thread will snowball into a collective voice letting those new to this lifestyle know why they should join us :)

Why Should You Travel?

I’m not going to pretend that traveling will solve all your problems, and neither should you. It’s entirely possible that you might find out that wandering the world just isn’t your calling. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that; but I would at least encourage you to give it a try, at least once. Even just dipping your toe into the world of underground travel is likely to change your life in ways you can’t imagine.

Why is traveling important? Imagine you’ve spent your whole life seeing the world from a single point of view. Seeing the same things, the same people, talking about the same things that are popular in the area you live in. The fact is that when you surround yourself with the same things all the time, it leaves very little room for you to experience something new. It’s entirely possible you’re in that situation right now and you might not even realize it.

Someone once said ‘travel is rebellion in it’s purest form’ and I completely believe this to be true. When you get out there and start seeing the world, you’re putting yourself into a situation that’s the complete opposite of standing still. You’re seeing new locations, people, cultures, and situations every day. Exposing yourself to these things teaches you how people from different parts of the world interact with each other, and the situations you come across in your travels will help expand your mental horizons and understand points of view outside of your own.

Ultimately, travel will help you evolve as a person, test your personal limits, and teach you things about yourself in the process.

There’s other benefits as well, such as seeing a place for the first time, witnessing an epic display of nature, or having an experience that completely changes your view on life. Anything is possible once you’re ready to take that first step.

The media and society as a whole has done just about everything they can to convince us that deviating from social norms like going to college and working towards a career will permanently exile you into a world of poverty and misery. The truth is that there is a long and crowded history of people striking out on their own, whether it was to live simply and see the world, or simply go do their own thing and start a company that made them millionaires.

The point is that there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t just take a chance and see what the world has to offer. The chances that won’t be able to resume your previous comfortable life are slim, and if things don’t work out, you can always jump back on the hamster wheel and resume being a cog in the machine.

Whether you adopt a lifestyle of travel for just a few weeks or the rest of your life, it’s likely to be a choice you’ll look back on fondly for the rest of your days.

Why do you feel the need to travel? Why do you think others should travel? Post your replies below!
 

beersalt

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And to reply I personally travel as an act of rebellion in itself, a way to distance myself from capitalist living, and have the freedom to go where needed for activism and direct action. Also I travel to ease the stress of being constantly bored with life, escape four walls, and learn the skills id need to live outside of capitalism when it falls of if I find a place it's clutches haven't been able to reach. It's also been amazing to meet such a diverse and fluid community
 
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i think when i was younger i started traveling because i wanted to see more of the world then just the town that i went to middle school and ended up dropping out of highschool in. it started with bike trips on weekends rushing home just in time to make it back to goto school on mondays. ide be lying if i didnt say i was impressed by zines like cometbus/scam and other travel zines that deffinetly talk more about the romantic things about the lifestyle and leave out alot of the cold lonely nights or freezing yer ass off on a grainer porch while its been raining for 12 hours and you got a hole in yer tarp. ide met a few hitch hikers/train hoppers in my teens while going downtown to goto punk shows and always ended up talking to them about where they'd been where they were staying and i was pretty blown away that most of them wernt much older then me but had way more life experience. fast forward 15 years and now ide deffinetly consider myself a "40 miler" but i think itll always be a huge part of my life, just the places ive seen and shit ive been through it makes it hard to convey that to somebody who has no frame of reference so i kinda feel like ill always see the world through like some kinda "traveler goggles" or something like whenever i see stuff i feel like my experience is always going to be drastically different from somebody who hasnt lived a life similiar to mine. so i guess i still crave short trips because i love the adventure but as far as picking up and going cross country on a whim again, i think that part of my life is put on the back burner because im trying to build a life in one place right now.

why should others travel? shit the same reason i started, its a fucking adventure man people wernt meant to just work and then die if you dont take some time and step back and find something that makes you happy thats a real fucking bummer. and for me it was unconventional travel.
 

Bedheadred

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I started traveling because I was depressed and my life was boring. Everyone around me was miserable and only ever talked about their dumb bullshit problems. I felt like I was going to lose my mind or become an alcoholic if I stayed in my hometown. It didn't help that it snowed and was dark half the year there. So I quit my job, gave away most of my possessions, and hit the road. That was damn near two years ago and not every day is exciting and sometimes I'm still sad, but I've never been happier or felt more alive.
 
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I started traveling because I was depressed and my life was boring. Everyone around me was miserable and only ever talked about their dumb bullshit problems. I felt like I was going to lose my mind or become an alcoholic if I stayed in my hometown. It didn't help that it snowed and was dark half the year there. So I quit my job, gave away most of my possessions, and hit the road. That was damn near two years ago and not every day is exciting and sometimes I'm still sad, but I've never been happier or felt more alive.

yea depression and generally being unhappy was also a big thing for me, im pretty sure thats a big part of why most people hit the road.
 

Whereamiwhatdoido

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Since I went out as a nineteen year old, without much cash at hand and just let myself embrace the circumstances that came my way, I became addicted to those circumstances. Living mundane life doesn't throw you into many unpredictable situations, if any at all, therefore hitting the road - especially underground travelling will cause you to live life so much closer to eye-opening experiences, life-lessons, counter-cultures, awesome people, hearty friendships, good-willed strangers and a side of humanity that just isn't expressed in day-to-day life.

I might add more later....
 

Mongo

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Why do I feel the need to travel? Mostly to get a grip on reality, when you're stuck in the same area you become insulated from the rest of the world hearing the same thought processes over and again. The world is a vast place filled with many different ways of life and thinking that people can learn from. I also need to affirm that people can be good too otherwise i start becoming misanthropic because while people are generally good, for some reason sitting in the same area you start to notice how vapid, petty, and greedy people can be.

Why should other people travel? Mostly to get that new perspective. It can also reinvigorate your lust for life at times, which is something else people tend to lose, grinding life away into a sedintary death.
 
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Matt Derrick

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Matt Derrick

Retired Wanderer
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
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10,542
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Location
Portland, OR
Website
youtube.com
A traveler is really not someone who crosses ground so much as someone who is always hungry for the next challenge and adventure. ~Pico Iyer


not really relevant to this discussion... please keep it on topic!
 
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