In the last few months, we have skipped a few forts, museums and churches because “we knew exactly what we were going to see” and didn’t want to pay the admission cost. These were small attractions in small towns and I am pretty sure we didn’t miss much, but it was something we would have paid for a few years ago. Are we being lame? It got me thinking about things…. and sometimes it helps if I write about it and see if I can understand what I am thinking :>)
We have been retired nomads for almost 5 years and we have been traveling together for over 35 years. We have been to a lot of countries and seen a lot of things on the top of our bucket lists. We have been to many art museums, seen a lot of ancient Roman ruins and been in more historic churches than I would like to admit. We have sat on many of beautiful beaches on tropical islands and have been to some the most amazing snorkeling sports in the world. At some point, will we lose our enthusiasm for travel? Will we stop doing things because we have “seen it before”. Travel can be difficult and we have had some travel days where a change in travel style looks appealing. Will that actually happen to us?
Most of us retired nomads have heard the questions from friends and family- How long are you going to be doing this??? It is a tough question to answer, we have a list that is similar to a lot of other nomads. Although we know some people have other reasons to stop full time travel.
- Physical issues (illness, mobility, or mental health)
- Our parents need us
- Our kids need us
- Our grandkids need us (we don’t have any, but you never know)
- Our friends need us
- We run out of money
- Relationship issues
But there is another aspect that we have seen affect some folks in our nomad community and that is what I keep ruminating on.
8. Are we going to get bored? Do we miss staying in one place and having a home? Are we going to lose our enthusiasm for seeing new places? When are we going to get that craving for slowing down, because we keep seeing the same stuff in different places?
We enjoy meetups and our nomad community. There are places in the world where we can stay for a long time and actually live among nomad friends in a town for more than a lunch meetup. Places like San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Chang Mai, Thailand, and Da Nang, Vietnam, all have groups of nomads that have decided to stay a bit (or a lot) longer than a week or few. Many of us are choosing to embrace that community a bit more and cut down on the amount of new exploring. It is intriguing to think that we might be able to stop traveling for a while and have like-minded friends to see regularly. But is it really time for us to slow down? Does this yearning for community really mean we have lost the spark of travel?
We have been in Europe this fall and saw a lot of old towns and beautiful town squares. They all seem to look alike after a while. We visited a lot of art museums, history museums and old historic churches. They also can be a bit repetitive. The “wowness” factor of being in Europe has definitely worn off after returning for so many trips. Yes, we are still going to new countries with different histories, but many of the old town sites are surprisingly similar. But, I still enjoy learning the history of each country, region and town. I am interested in how each area made it through the middle ages, the Renaissance, and the World Wars and Communism. And while all different, its fascinating to visit multiple countries in a region (like the Baltics this fall for us), and understand where their histories are similar and/or intertwined. The threads of history get more rich the more we see and learn. I enjoy seeing art in each location and seeing how it relates to their specific history as well as the history of Europe. I also am not tired of having a coffee or a beer in the European town square. I will never get tired of spending my afternoon with a drink in a European bar or outside terrace and soaking up the atmosphere. While it has become a bit ordinary after all these years, it has not become boring. We still like traveling.
We have been on a lot of beaches and have snorkeled in some of the best places in the world. I don’t think I there are many places that can beat some of the snorkeling we have seen. Sometimes, we will start swimming and realize that the quantities of fish will not rise to that level. What is the point to seeing “OK” fish and coral? This is not as good as the Australian Great Barrier Reef or swimming with penguins, sea lions and turtles in the Galapagos. The answer is…. I still like it. I like being in the water and swimming with fishies. It is still really fun and relaxing even if I am not seeing the best reefs in the world. I’m happy even if I only see a few boring fish. It is OK to enjoy stuff for what it is..,… We don’t need to be “blown away” by everything.
I have hiked my whole life and have seen a lot of the best trails in Washington State, as well as in many National Parks. I have seen more mountain views and waterfalls than I can count. We also do a lot of walking everywhere around the world. We consistently have around 14,000 steps a day when we are on the road. Walking is a lot of our exercise and entertainment. Sometimes the sights are amazing, but most of the time they are just ordinary. Is that going to make us bored? Nope, we just like walking. We can see new things wherever we are even if they don’t make award winning photographs. Being in so many different cultures makes it easy to continue to enjoy it. Just wandering around a non-touristy neighborhood or town has its own charm. We always see something new, even in towns that seem to be like any other town…..
So, I know we can still find “joy” in the regular activities in living on the road, but what do I need to in order to still keep that enthusiastic attitude that we experienced years ago during our first international travels. We still have places that excite us and bring us out of our comfort zone. We are currently on our first transatlantic cruise which is something we have not considered trying before. In the next year we are planning on renting a tuk tuk in Sri Lanka and exploring a country that is very different than anything we have experienced. We are going to China for the first time which is going to hopefully open up a whole new area of the world. We are also currently planning a Northern Spain trip that is far from the regular tourist path that we have largely kept to during our trips to Spain. We are looking forward to new experience and we look forward to these new areas to discover and enjoy.
But we also need to keep staying in places that we like. It is OK to stay for a few weeks in places we know really well and enjoy. You can call it slowing down but it is still “traveling” to us. When we return to Bucerias, Mexico for a month this year, we will know our way around like it is home. This will be the 6th year in a row that we have visited Bucerias for long stays. We have our favorite restaurants, our favorite spot on the beach, and we know where things are in our local grocery store. Seeing the “same old things“, can also give us joy. It doesn’t really seem “boring” to us. In our travels there are many places we loved and have thought about returning for longer stays. It might be time to start doing more of those stays. We have some nomad friends that are settling down in places for even longer, and I don’t consider that being “boring”. Everyone should do what they enjoy.
So writing all this down has helped me understand my thoughts. We are not tired of seeing the sights, but will pass on some things that are not important to us. For us, this style of travel isn’t about being in tourist mode all the time, it is about living life in various locations around the world. We still have the enthusiasm for seeing new things, and we need to challenge ourselves to continue finding those new experiences. We also need to embrace places we love and not feel “lame” if we return to places that we have already seen. Our travel style is always evolving and we just need to continue to follow our hearts and do what we really want to do.
The answer to my first question of “When are we going get bored?” is“never”.
We will always do what we want to make our travel lives interesting for us.
Hi — I enjoyed reading this post. I’m a senior, solo woman traveler in my second year of nomadding, and am wondering if I want to “settle down” somewhere (NOT the U.S.), or keep traveling, health/physical ability allowing (I just turned 80 — which is impossible for me to believe!) I do find that many nomads seem to concentrate on a particular region or particular activities, or particular way of traveling. So, perhaps the antidote to boredom is to mix it up — travel where and how you haven’t before. Get out of Europe; spend time in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, for example. While it’s great to return to places where you feel comfortable or have made new friends, I’ve also found there is “comfort” to be found everywhere — in a favorite cafĂ©, down time at your lodging, reading in the park, befriending locals who minutes ago were strangers. So far, it’s been a good life for me.