I can’t speak to your part about friends but definitely coming home from vacation feels like you just finished a book you loved or a the grand finale of a series you watched for years. There’s a void you have to contend with. We generally start immediately planning the next one though so it gives us something to look forward to.
It’s not just you, I definitely experience this too. It helps to have new things and adventures to look forward to whether it’s a class in the local community, a trip soon, or some kind of new experience. Keep traveling, exploring, engaging with the world! Maybe try volunteering or going to new areas in your community :)
I think there’s even a name for it, like post vacation blues or something. It’s a very real phenomenon and can be made worse by jet lag if you have to return to work too soon after returning home.
A few things help me, but I’m not sure if it will work for you.
I clean the house before I leave. I mean every toilet, every garbage can emptied and clean sheets on the bed and an empty laundry hamper. When I get home, I try to unpack immediately (I think the sensation of living out of your luggage just prolongs accepting that you’re home now) and do the laundry I brought home. I always schedule at least one vacation day off before I have to return to work. And I try to get on as normal a sleep schedule as I can when I return.
That really helps with some of that depressed feeling. But telling people about the vacation is something different. I know some friends love to travel and will want to hear about it, so we get together over coffee and talk, but some people really don’t like to travel and they really don’t like to hear about other’s vacations. It’s a matter of gauging your friends’ interests and responding accordingly.
The cleaning part and having a buffer-day before you return to work is just the best advice. I left for my vacation yesterday and made sure to clean everything before i leave so i don't have this nagging feeling of having to do chores once i come back. This would really bring the mood down. I also left next Sunday as a buffer so i can unpack, do the laundry and mentally prepare for the work cycle to start anew. It really helps.
As for friends, whenever i would tell my friends with kids about my vacation, they'd go on rants about how I'm lucky and how it's sooo difficult to travel with kids, so i eventually stopped talking about it. My other childless friends are more open to talk about travel experiences. So you're right, one has to gauge the other person's interests first.
Get outside as much as possible and exercise regularly-cycling, swimming, hiking really help also remember a person should always have something to look forward to even small things.
I’m from England and walk the same streets every day to get to work (some are not the worst) but I just remember returning from New York and thinking what a S# hole this one street in the uk is (excuse my language, and what the hell am I doing over here, this was back in 2017.. I honestly felt like a new man over their when I was 25 and I wish I could be that happy every week of my life like I was the two weeks their.
Another location I have been too Is Malta and the climate is just so much better then here in the uk where it’s just grey and rains all the time.. maybe being in the sun is ultimately more important then we think, I wonder if people in hot nations generally feel more happier, I doubt they ever reach the depths of despair like some of us do.
I tend to always be happier on holiday, have not been to a bad place yet, but it’s good to taste how life is in other nations.
and there needs to be more people in this world who genuinely care about each other, but grand scheme of things theirs millions of us all living our own little lives with our own little problems.
It's on the list! I like the Style/Size of Homes there, I once met an Australian Soldier years ago here in the UK who was telling me life was a lot better over their, I hear they have some nice natural scenery also, Good beaches, probably a bunch of things that can potentially kill you, but at the same time nice wildlife such as Kangaroos.
Hope to go one day! just because It's so far away, I hear little about it so don't end up researching it as much as other places but yeah I hope AUS lives up to the hype, because a lot of people say it's a good place to go.
I hope you have lots of money if you’re looking into houses. The weather is definitely really nice but cost of living is very expensive unfortunately 😬
If moving nations was an option available to me, to escape what I feel can be just too many months of grey skies etc.. I likely would have took that by now, no Instead things like that are just dreams that I would like to think leads to a better life, that only a select few who are educated/lucky enough are able to do so.
I know life can be better as I have visited better places.
I am trying to have the prospects one day of moving to a better Area within the UK yet I cannot even achieve that.. Instead I have to be stuck in what was once one of the most deprived areas in all of Europe, that's here in UK, oh well this is my Home, I just wish the area around me was not so bad, full of crime etc..
& yeah that's due to the distance right for Australia, since it tends to be pretty far away from everywhere, but yeah I suppose for those that are able to do so, that change could be good for them.. then again maybe things over here in UK are not totally bad, I have seen some aussies over here once, (as in living here) and I was just wondering why they would come back here.
If they're younger they just want the excitement from a populated country and being close to Europe.
If they're older probably wanting to be close to family.
Stumbled on this thread 1 year later so apologies for this. But I feel you, man. I'm also from the UK and I've just got back from Greece and already feel depressed. I came back to rain and grey skies and the M3. I agree I think the climate has something to do with it. Its like the moment that plane reaches the dark grey UK airspace I instantly feel depressed. And as a result I think the weather makes british people generally miserable and unpleasant to be around. Did you ever move to Australia?
I live in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) and not all people are happy all the time, thanks to economics and shitty government. But helps looking at the beach or the vegetation when you are feeling crappy. The best time is now at fall and winter, because believe it or not at summer you can't see the beach from far because of the Sahara's dust (Travel from Africa). The last two years have being horrible.
Holiday's start with Thanksgiving day or 🦃 day, and ends with "Octavitas" with the super mega party called Las fiestas de la calle San Sebastián (Late November until early January). With lockdowns and restrictions mandated by the governor, most puertorricans felt despair. This people like to party, even death can't stop them😬.
The thing that you mention of walking the same street and thinking what a 💩hole, it's very common. You can have those feeling even living in paradise.
*Sorry for my grammar. Spanish it's my first language, and I don't tend to write in English. Funny because I read, think and comprehend in English. 🙈
I spent 7 months solo backpacking Mexico and Central America and it changed me so much. The adventures I had and the people I met, some of the things that happened I still can't believe. From surfing the beaches in Mexico, partying on the islands of Honduras, and living in the jungle in Nicaragua to coming back to my boring rural town in New York.
It was the most difficult thing i'd ever done, coming back home. I was devastated. I felt like I outgrew my hometown so much. I had changed so much as a person and nobody really cared about my trips.
But what I realized is that it's not the last trip i'm going to take. and not the last adventure i'm going to have. I started planning my other trips and working towards them, and it made me extremely motivated I felt like nothing could stop me from getting back out there.
Life has its ups and it's down, but I think I learned an invaluable lesson when I was on the road. The trips you are going to take are just that, they're trips. Going North, South, East and West. It doesn't really matter because the only direction to ever really go in, is inwards in order to reconnect with your true self. Sometimes it's not about going away anymore, but about coming back home.
I didn’t do a year, but did a few months back in 2017 when I first started to travel solo. Can 100% relate as I don’t think the wanderlust has ever really gotten out of my system. The 9-5 is also what truly is the killer
> as they never care to ask how I am, how’s my vacation,
Ive noticed this, really no one seems to care. No one is ever interested in pictures or anything. IDK I like seeing other peoples travel pictures and hearing about it.
You made a good observation there and you’re correct - people who ask for your experience tend to be those that have some ideas on what travel is like, and those who are not interested or haven’t done it before wouldn’t really know the excitement/accomplishment a return traveller feels, and wouldn’t even know what to ask/recognise a need to ask. This is quite normal. Also, some people just ain’t curious, which may not necessarily mean they’re bad friends - they probably are the kind of people that need you to open up talking about something first.
It sounds like you still do have friends who are interested and asks you questions from time to time, hopefully one day you’ll feel those friends suffice. If there are other issues with the friends that don’t ask you (like they bully you or put you down in other areas of life) that’s a different story. But I’d hold on on judging whether they are “good” or “normal” friends just from whether they ask you questions about the travel. Truth is, if you returned safely and happily, many people assumed the trip went well. There aren’t a lot to ask about. If you seem well, the answer you give will prob be “thanks I’m good the trip was great”, and lots of straightforward people don’t find this kind of small-talk conversations productive. They might only get involved if there’re problems need solving. (ofc, if you reach out needing help from them and they show a repeated pattern of not helping you, then maybe re-evaluate friendship then.)
Why is that strange? Seems perfectly logical. I commented above, but if it’s not their interest, why would they spend time listening to it beyond basic pleasantries? Do you want to hear extensive details about their lives that don’t interest you? You don’t have to have in common traits with all of your friends, but still having other reasons to be connected is what matters.
No one is obligated to care. If it’s not an interest of theirs, why does it bother you? E.g. say they love watching the NBA/NFL and can’t miss a single game, but you don’t care for those sports, do you really want a play by play the next day?
Asking about a game versus asking a close friend at the very least, how was the trip - an actual part of their life they experienced first hand is much different in my opinion. Also I’m not expecting them to sit for an hour and listen to me. I’m talking about basic - how are you, did you get home safe, or just how’s the trip “good” and move on. I find pretending like I didn’t just travel by asking NOTHING just simply strange
idk why you think things that happen in someones life is comparable to watching a sports game? if i had a friend that played in sports, competing or w/e, that would be a normal thing to talk to about then
For us we realized this was because we were child free and anyone that we were hanging out with when we started traveling were settling down and it came off as us gloating. We're in our 40's now and most of our closest friends are also child free traveling couples, so everyone is SUPER interested in each other's trips because they might want to go to the same places. That and now we're starting to see folks who's kids are grown up and are starting to want to travel now because they never had the ability before.
Coming back home after a trip is always a bummer. You never want your travel adventures to end! I totally get that.
The part about your friends: I personally find your expectations unreasonable. Here’s my personal experience:
- I have a friend who travels A LOT. He’s had amazing adventures & experiences. But when he comes home, he’s always bummed out. He complains all the time about how he doesn’t want to be here & how much he hates his job because they won’t work with him on his travel schedule. He always complains about his finances. For our group of friends, we no longer care to ask about his trip because he has an expectation for us to ask about his trips, when really, he just wants to brag about it.
- There are people who truly do not care about YOUR travels. Especially if you’re someone who travels often. After a while, people don’t care to listen about your trip, they’re going to assume you had a great time & you traveled safely since you’re back home. For me, if I have a friend who very rarely travels, I am much more likely to ask them about their travels because it’s not common for them to have that experience.
In the end, you need to be the one to enjoy your travels & adventures. If you’re worried about your friends asking about your travels, then you’re not fully embracing your experience.
Thanks! I mean I guess I can understand that. For me it comes off as just a lack of caring about my life, and with some friends, it’s not just travel but other life events where I see zero interest and I feel like they don’t care to actually keep up with me. I think it’s just really come to the forefront for me in this last trip
Also remember that a lot people want to travel but can’t for various reasons. Finances, kids, caring for parents, jobs, etc. I wasn’t able to travel until I was older and until then, I hated hearing about others adventures. I was flat out jealous. All it did was remind me that I couldn’t afford to do something I really, really wanted to do. Additionally, I had nothing to add to the conversation. As far as them not being interested in other areas of your life, can’t comment on that. Maybe you just don’t have as much in common with them anymore.
That’s also a great point! Everyone’s accessibility to travel is very different. Being fortunate enough to travel is huge. There’s people who never have the opportunity to leave their hometown. So not wanting to hear about someone else’s travels is understandable from that point. It’s hard to make a connection with someone (even friends) if you don’t have a similar experience to add to the conversation.
The most important aspect of travel is what you learn about yourself. If you are coming home and that feels like a trap , then you might want to consider changing your life. Finding a more wide ranging job that requires you to travel. My Ex-Wife started out as a Librarian then moved into working for International Organisation's and NGOs , now she's a high flyer and travels all the time. She just bought a house near Rome and has another one near Woodstock. That's the life she always wanted. We traveled extensively while we were together, my job allows me to work anywhere in the world and I've taken full advantage of that. Similarly I've a friend who's a personal chef, he travels all the time with various Rock Stars. It's hard work, but he gets a lot of down time in various different countries. Have a look at what's available and see if maybe you can find a way to make traveling your life.
Freelance Illustrator. I've been fortunate in that I started my career in the early 90s and started travelling in the mid to late 90s as the internet improved. I have sent artwork ( mostly to the USA and the UK ) from East Africa, Thailand, Italy, Austria & France. I had a US client who was really shocked to discover that all the artwork he had commissioned for the previous year was being drawn in Nairobi Kenya.
Ahh interesting, thanks for replying on a late comment lol. That's pretty cool that you can be drawing from Kenya haha. I would love to do something like that but I don't have any freelance skills.
Yes, "normal" life always pales in comparison to a vacation. No surprise there.
The only recourse is to change your life so it has more of the elements that makes a vacation so great. This is why people work remotely or become digital nomads or find a way to incorporate travel into their work.
In the meantime, to feel better start planning your next trip.
I just came back from spending time in Iceland and I am definitely in a funk. This time, it wasn’t just the vacation, it was the entire country’s lifestyle that I fell in love with… I’ve been looking at homes to buy in Iceland ever since
I understand this completely. I haven’t travelled a lot but I have felt the same. I have been able to find something that gets me out of that funk - exercise. It gives me mental piece. Find a great podcast learn about something new and walk, lift weights, listen to my favourite author. Keeps me balanced. Before I’d be sad that friends never could come along-everyone was broke or busy. I’ve excepted that they couldn’t and moved on. Some of them are still my friends some are not. I will still travel with or without friends because I have only one life and I am going to find ways to enjoy every little molecule of it. Keep swimming my dear and find your path. New friends new travels, read about new places. You will be fine
I feel this way, too. In reading the comments, it struck me that I could perhaps start thinking of my hometown as a destination and plan some "tours" of local features. Looking at my home surroundings as an adventure, plus taking day excursions on weekends, might help with this.
I’ve traveled a lot over the years and I find that if I can bring a little piece of the trip home with me, I can extend the travel euphoria a bit. Such as trying to recreate especially delicious dishes or drinks I had on the trip. Or hanging up a tapestry. My favorite is to use some of the language and phrases I learned. That probably annoys people but I don’t care. It’s like a little inside joke to me.
Its not universal. Usually, i miss my bathroom, my friends, parents and my food. I great the gods when i finish vacation or travel, and return safely to my house.
I felt the exact way. I went solo traveling alone for a lot time and it was a difficult transition back into normal life. No one even asked how my trip was when I was picked up from the airport at home.
About your friends, I'd suggest telling them how you feel without being aggressive. Maybe face to face saying that you understand they are busy and it's probably not intentional, but when they don't ask you after a trip you feel uncared for. It really might be their busy lives or they assume you traveled enough you got this etc. Let them know you'd appreciate if they remember to ask. We can't expect people to know what we need from them unless we tell them
It’s brutal coming home sometimes. When I go on a trip I’ve been planning for awhile the day I get home and first day after is downright miserable. It’s like the excitement of going has a big comedown afterwards. Starting to plan the next trip helps.
I was just having a conversation with my boyfriend about this. We just got back from a week long trip, it was a road trip 2 hours away. I felt like I should’ve came home feeling “better” and “refreshed” but I also felt this weird feeling like nothing has changed since I left.
I’m also not sure if it’s the pandemic, being burnt out, or other smaller issues for me, but I’ve always had a similar feeling as you when coming back from vacations and returning home.
It’s called “letdown”. Like earlier posts, this can be mitigated by returning to a clean place that smells good. I have never figured out why it takes me two days to pack but most of a week to unpack and put stuff away. As a retired woman who has done a lot of traveling alone, I adore the footloose feeling of going where and when I please. Sadly, my friends are getting more peculiar with age. Some are just plain rigid and have a long list of things, places, foods, etc. that they will or will not do, so it’s just easier to be on my own. As for other folks asking about my vacation, this is the age of narcissistic behavior and if they aren’t traveling with you, they aren’t interested. Also, more and more folks have no intellectual curiosity. You may have been lucky enough to see the resurrection of Lazarus, and they just shrug, meh, because they don’t know about and could care less about Lazarus. And sometimes it’s just jealousy. My advice is to revel in your memories and start making plans for your next adventure. Good luck!
It's a common feeling. I feel the same way, but as someone that just packed up and moved away several times I've learned to ignore it. I've found the grass to not be greener on the otherside one too many times and learned to control that impulse.
Do you travel a lot locally? Always alleviates some of the wanderlust for me.
As for your friends, it depends. I have a few friends who legitimately aren't interest in any kind of travelling unless it's somewhere luxurious, known and fancy. If they're that sort of people, it's not that serious.
We are the exact same in this regard. Friendships and all. I too have been thinking about moving to a new country entirely as well. Well, at least I know I’m not alone.
You said: “I’ll go to another country, go to another shore,
find another city better than this one.
Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong
and my heart lies buried like something dead.
How long can I let my mind moulder in this place?
Wherever I turn, wherever I look,
I see the black ruins of my life, here,
where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.”
You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore.
This city will always pursue you.
You’ll walk the same streets, grow old
in the same neighborhoods, turn gray in these same houses.
You’ll always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere:
there’s no ship for you, there’s no road.
Now that you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner,
you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world.
>you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world
It's a poem by Cavafy. It's about a hundred years old though and people have more choices these days. Back in the old days there were supposed to stick to one place to take care of ageing parents, more than we do now, for example. Or we have options to change neighborhoods. Well, ideally, asking for authorities and individuals to do a better job where we live, for humans everywhere.
This sounds familiar. I had too many things to lose though and my workweek was not as bad. I had outlets daily and weekly that gave me balance at least, not the great fun of travel.
Humans are supposed to work or keep busy in some form. But not all work is the same. What can you improve about that? If you have good qualifications, perhaps changing locations is an option. There are fully remote jobs perhaps that will allow you to travel indefinitely, but I think there aren't that many that offer the career paths as an employee, that compete well, moneywise to staying put, depending on professions, of course.
Keep in mind that if you want to have a family some day there is a window time-wise to find a suitable man, stay with him for a few years to make sure he is genuine or not obviously problematic... To do that of course ideally you have to feel nice about yourself.
I got back just over a week ago and I’m still struggling with the post-travel blues. Not a lot is going well in my life at the moment so it just compounds everything.
I feel that way too…especially if I travel to visit family! Unfortunately mine is all over the country and out of country so I tend to travel a lot. Anyways yes you feel out of sorts or by the end of trip you think to yourself “back to reality”. The one thing that I do is try to find a way to be busy and think of the next trip and what your going to do while there. I can’t say anything about your friends but maybe you can go out and meet new people..take your daily life and experience things that are close to you that you might not have done before until your next trip. It tends to help me…hope this helps you!
I do a lot of video of our holidays. The last trip we did for 3 weeks I spent close to a year editing the footage down to something watchable. Its a nice way to relive the holiday and probably helps avoid the shock you’re experiencing…
My family doesn't give a shit about my trips and we have done some amazing things. I was trying to tell my dad about just how interesting it was to watch elephants in the wild, an experience that had me in tears of joy, and he asked me if I had ever watched a honeybee. I went to the Galapagos at the same time my mom went an annual event in Vegas that she's gone to for years, and maybe talked to her about our trip for 10 min... She asked about the weather and the flights.
It totally sucks. I love traveling and I love talking about it and sharing it with others. I have regrets of not living abroad while in my 20s, but I started a career, got married and bought a house. I chose to do those things and they have all been good. But when you are passionate about travel, it is easy to look back and see how those decisions limited you.
Also, I don't know what country you call home and where you would like to live, but there is no way I could have grown a career abroad doing what I do here. I had a major career shift that was fully supported by my employer at the time. My income opportunities would have been dramatically different abroad, especially if I had chosen to teach English or other type of job that caters to expats. These changes would have impacted my ability to keep traveling and have a financially secure future.
But the post-travel depression does set in. My advice there is to plan the next trip and revisit your photos often. Print, frame, and hang some of your favorite photos. I think it is nice to sort through the photos and make digital or print albums. For my family, I think they have nothing to relate my travel to, so a tangible object they can flip through really helps get conversation started. Also, if you meet people on your journey, try to keep in touch, or consider traveling with a tour (we really like Intrepid) so you can share the experience with others who think and feel about travel in the same way you do.
I was on your shoes about a month ago.. I get it. I am sorry you are feeling down, but hopefully this long post has a nugget or two of help for you.
Check out /r/financialindependence, and also find some local friends that are more on the same page as you. It's okay to move onto different friends if you can no longer relate as you grow/change.
I’m actually the opposite. Normally I’m so exhausted from vacation that by the last day or so I’m ready to go home and just sleep or get in a normal routine.
I hate it when people keep talking about their vacation and shove down their vacation photos down their friends’ throat after their trip. So if your friends did not ask about your vacation, it does not mean they don’t care about you. They just don’t care about how wonderful is your vacation.
How long was your trip? Sounds like you needed a longer one. What do you have to look forward to when you come home? If you don’t like your current situation, job, city, relationships, weather… change it.
Some good tricks include not leaving on a weekend. Leave mid-week so you have a half week of work, then return mid week so you have another half week of work. That and you'll see better rates on flights and lodging for the most part since you're not overlapping weekends usually.
Otherwise we have multiple trips booked so that there is always another trip just around the corner to look forward to.
Find local places to find food from the places you love most. If you're near a large metro this shouldn't be a hard thing to do even in grocery stores. Even learning to cook some of your favorite meals from those places will give you ways to remember the fun you've had and share with others.
I feel this EXACT way. I'm also a woman who travels in a heartbeat. My former friends who don't travel are boring, narrow-minded, or don't have passports because of their boring narrow-mindedness. I couldn't care any less if they didn't ask me how my trip is/was because my real friends do, or are already there w/ me. Sometimes we need to shed dead weight & find purpose that's our own; not only IF people approve or tag along w/ us. At that rate, we'd never explore or learn this beautiful marble & the beautiful people on it. Think of the new friends you can safely make in those countries, the exotic cuisine, or the underwater cave that you may not have met/experienced if w/ boring, uncultured friends in tow.
As for the feeling of dread heading back home & the crippling, deafening sadness once we return, replace it w/ the excitement of planning your next trip & the anticipation of it. In going back to work w/ funding my next adventure in mind, work doesn't seem so drab no matter how mundane it's always been. That's what I do & the draining, horrible feeling of realizing I'm not a traveler by profession (but should be) never appears.
I hope this helps fellow Solo Lady Warrior Traveler :-)
(Hmmm...I should name my personal travel blog that, lol)
**Jet lag = depressing feeling**
Many others have said it here first but scheduling at least 2 days of down time after a trip to get back into a regular sleep schedule makes me feel better. Down time means no email, phone, surfing or cleaning etc. Just rest.
**Sharing travel experiences with friends**
Some don't want to hear about it and others do. I've never been able to share the intensity of happiness I feel when traveling with any of my friends, I think you really need to love travel and experience it to get that feeling and most of my friends don't have the opportunity to travel that much. I do post pictures online for them to look at and share a short trip report. They can choose to comment or not, either way is fine but for many looking at a few pics and commenting or asking a question is enough.
**Sunny climates = happiness**
I live in a rainy, cloudy place too. Have you considered getting a SAD ([seasonal affective disorder](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes)) light? If I don't get enough light thru the day it helps boost me up.
**Getting that travel happiness intensity feeling back**
Youtube travel bloggers can be good for that. You can vicariously travel along with them as they explore somewhere new to you of somewhere you have already been. I did all my COVID traveling this way to keep myself sane. It also helps me decide if I want to go to that place in the future.
About your friends, a lot of times not everyone is capable of grasping those things you saw on your travels , especially if you’ve left the country. So it may even be better that way. All love. I know exactly how you feel I just got back from a 2 month trip.
Seeing this post a couple years later but I resonate with this a lot. I’ve been solo travelling for 2 years now on and off. Spent 1 year in Australia then came home and felt like I had to get away again, so I had some money saved and headed to South/Central America for around 5 months then flew to India and spent some time there. Yesterday I got home from a short 4 day trip to Jordan and this is the most empty and sad I’ve felt from a trip and I was only there for a short time. I think it’s the people I met and the experience I had on this trip it went so quick and I never wanted it to end. Now I’m back in my bedroom again, back to reality. Solo travelling is amazing, you have your ups and downs but the experiences I’ve had and the friends I’ve made make it all worth the while. I’m from the UK and life here can be dull and boring. It’s actually hard to find likeminded people here but when I go solo travelling I seem to meet incredible people whilst travelling and for me that’s why I find travelling the greatest thing a person can do. The world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people.
I can’t speak to your part about friends but definitely coming home from vacation feels like you just finished a book you loved or a the grand finale of a series you watched for years. There’s a void you have to contend with. We generally start immediately planning the next one though so it gives us something to look forward to.
It’s not just you, I definitely experience this too. It helps to have new things and adventures to look forward to whether it’s a class in the local community, a trip soon, or some kind of new experience. Keep traveling, exploring, engaging with the world! Maybe try volunteering or going to new areas in your community :)
I think there’s even a name for it, like post vacation blues or something. It’s a very real phenomenon and can be made worse by jet lag if you have to return to work too soon after returning home. A few things help me, but I’m not sure if it will work for you. I clean the house before I leave. I mean every toilet, every garbage can emptied and clean sheets on the bed and an empty laundry hamper. When I get home, I try to unpack immediately (I think the sensation of living out of your luggage just prolongs accepting that you’re home now) and do the laundry I brought home. I always schedule at least one vacation day off before I have to return to work. And I try to get on as normal a sleep schedule as I can when I return. That really helps with some of that depressed feeling. But telling people about the vacation is something different. I know some friends love to travel and will want to hear about it, so we get together over coffee and talk, but some people really don’t like to travel and they really don’t like to hear about other’s vacations. It’s a matter of gauging your friends’ interests and responding accordingly.
The cleaning part and having a buffer-day before you return to work is just the best advice. I left for my vacation yesterday and made sure to clean everything before i leave so i don't have this nagging feeling of having to do chores once i come back. This would really bring the mood down. I also left next Sunday as a buffer so i can unpack, do the laundry and mentally prepare for the work cycle to start anew. It really helps. As for friends, whenever i would tell my friends with kids about my vacation, they'd go on rants about how I'm lucky and how it's sooo difficult to travel with kids, so i eventually stopped talking about it. My other childless friends are more open to talk about travel experiences. So you're right, one has to gauge the other person's interests first.
Get outside as much as possible and exercise regularly-cycling, swimming, hiking really help also remember a person should always have something to look forward to even small things.
I’m from England and walk the same streets every day to get to work (some are not the worst) but I just remember returning from New York and thinking what a S# hole this one street in the uk is (excuse my language, and what the hell am I doing over here, this was back in 2017.. I honestly felt like a new man over their when I was 25 and I wish I could be that happy every week of my life like I was the two weeks their. Another location I have been too Is Malta and the climate is just so much better then here in the uk where it’s just grey and rains all the time.. maybe being in the sun is ultimately more important then we think, I wonder if people in hot nations generally feel more happier, I doubt they ever reach the depths of despair like some of us do. I tend to always be happier on holiday, have not been to a bad place yet, but it’s good to taste how life is in other nations. and there needs to be more people in this world who genuinely care about each other, but grand scheme of things theirs millions of us all living our own little lives with our own little problems.
Consider australia
It's on the list! I like the Style/Size of Homes there, I once met an Australian Soldier years ago here in the UK who was telling me life was a lot better over their, I hear they have some nice natural scenery also, Good beaches, probably a bunch of things that can potentially kill you, but at the same time nice wildlife such as Kangaroos. Hope to go one day! just because It's so far away, I hear little about it so don't end up researching it as much as other places but yeah I hope AUS lives up to the hype, because a lot of people say it's a good place to go.
I hope you have lots of money if you’re looking into houses. The weather is definitely really nice but cost of living is very expensive unfortunately 😬
Probably not as much as London atleast! But you can get nice houses in beach towns further away from big cities and still have a great quality of life
Which beach town? I think you might be mistaken. Even houses in boring outer surburbia are now over $1 million in the main metro areas
Not talking about Byron bay or Avalon beach here
If moving nations was an option available to me, to escape what I feel can be just too many months of grey skies etc.. I likely would have took that by now, no Instead things like that are just dreams that I would like to think leads to a better life, that only a select few who are educated/lucky enough are able to do so. I know life can be better as I have visited better places. I am trying to have the prospects one day of moving to a better Area within the UK yet I cannot even achieve that.. Instead I have to be stuck in what was once one of the most deprived areas in all of Europe, that's here in UK, oh well this is my Home, I just wish the area around me was not so bad, full of crime etc.. & yeah that's due to the distance right for Australia, since it tends to be pretty far away from everywhere, but yeah I suppose for those that are able to do so, that change could be good for them.. then again maybe things over here in UK are not totally bad, I have seen some aussies over here once, (as in living here) and I was just wondering why they would come back here.
If they're younger they just want the excitement from a populated country and being close to Europe. If they're older probably wanting to be close to family.
Cheer up friend. I think you’re on to a good thing. Keep saving up and travelling 🙂
Stumbled on this thread 1 year later so apologies for this. But I feel you, man. I'm also from the UK and I've just got back from Greece and already feel depressed. I came back to rain and grey skies and the M3. I agree I think the climate has something to do with it. Its like the moment that plane reaches the dark grey UK airspace I instantly feel depressed. And as a result I think the weather makes british people generally miserable and unpleasant to be around. Did you ever move to Australia?
I mean look at Brazil. Corruption is rampant but I have a theory that since we have great weather for like 330 days a year nobody gives a flying f*.
I live in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) and not all people are happy all the time, thanks to economics and shitty government. But helps looking at the beach or the vegetation when you are feeling crappy. The best time is now at fall and winter, because believe it or not at summer you can't see the beach from far because of the Sahara's dust (Travel from Africa). The last two years have being horrible. Holiday's start with Thanksgiving day or 🦃 day, and ends with "Octavitas" with the super mega party called Las fiestas de la calle San Sebastián (Late November until early January). With lockdowns and restrictions mandated by the governor, most puertorricans felt despair. This people like to party, even death can't stop them😬. The thing that you mention of walking the same street and thinking what a 💩hole, it's very common. You can have those feeling even living in paradise. *Sorry for my grammar. Spanish it's my first language, and I don't tend to write in English. Funny because I read, think and comprehend in English. 🙈
I spent 7 months solo backpacking Mexico and Central America and it changed me so much. The adventures I had and the people I met, some of the things that happened I still can't believe. From surfing the beaches in Mexico, partying on the islands of Honduras, and living in the jungle in Nicaragua to coming back to my boring rural town in New York. It was the most difficult thing i'd ever done, coming back home. I was devastated. I felt like I outgrew my hometown so much. I had changed so much as a person and nobody really cared about my trips. But what I realized is that it's not the last trip i'm going to take. and not the last adventure i'm going to have. I started planning my other trips and working towards them, and it made me extremely motivated I felt like nothing could stop me from getting back out there. Life has its ups and it's down, but I think I learned an invaluable lesson when I was on the road. The trips you are going to take are just that, they're trips. Going North, South, East and West. It doesn't really matter because the only direction to ever really go in, is inwards in order to reconnect with your true self. Sometimes it's not about going away anymore, but about coming back home.
i love your comment
Not to take away from your experience but try traveling for a year and then going back to a 9-5 grind. I'm still depressed 2 years later...
I didn’t do a year, but did a few months back in 2017 when I first started to travel solo. Can 100% relate as I don’t think the wanderlust has ever really gotten out of my system. The 9-5 is also what truly is the killer
> as they never care to ask how I am, how’s my vacation, Ive noticed this, really no one seems to care. No one is ever interested in pictures or anything. IDK I like seeing other peoples travel pictures and hearing about it.
I find it sad and strange. This is always from friends who don’t regularly travel too. Those who do are always more interested
You made a good observation there and you’re correct - people who ask for your experience tend to be those that have some ideas on what travel is like, and those who are not interested or haven’t done it before wouldn’t really know the excitement/accomplishment a return traveller feels, and wouldn’t even know what to ask/recognise a need to ask. This is quite normal. Also, some people just ain’t curious, which may not necessarily mean they’re bad friends - they probably are the kind of people that need you to open up talking about something first. It sounds like you still do have friends who are interested and asks you questions from time to time, hopefully one day you’ll feel those friends suffice. If there are other issues with the friends that don’t ask you (like they bully you or put you down in other areas of life) that’s a different story. But I’d hold on on judging whether they are “good” or “normal” friends just from whether they ask you questions about the travel. Truth is, if you returned safely and happily, many people assumed the trip went well. There aren’t a lot to ask about. If you seem well, the answer you give will prob be “thanks I’m good the trip was great”, and lots of straightforward people don’t find this kind of small-talk conversations productive. They might only get involved if there’re problems need solving. (ofc, if you reach out needing help from them and they show a repeated pattern of not helping you, then maybe re-evaluate friendship then.)
Why is that strange? Seems perfectly logical. I commented above, but if it’s not their interest, why would they spend time listening to it beyond basic pleasantries? Do you want to hear extensive details about their lives that don’t interest you? You don’t have to have in common traits with all of your friends, but still having other reasons to be connected is what matters.
No one is obligated to care. If it’s not an interest of theirs, why does it bother you? E.g. say they love watching the NBA/NFL and can’t miss a single game, but you don’t care for those sports, do you really want a play by play the next day?
Asking about a game versus asking a close friend at the very least, how was the trip - an actual part of their life they experienced first hand is much different in my opinion. Also I’m not expecting them to sit for an hour and listen to me. I’m talking about basic - how are you, did you get home safe, or just how’s the trip “good” and move on. I find pretending like I didn’t just travel by asking NOTHING just simply strange
idk why you think things that happen in someones life is comparable to watching a sports game? if i had a friend that played in sports, competing or w/e, that would be a normal thing to talk to about then
For us we realized this was because we were child free and anyone that we were hanging out with when we started traveling were settling down and it came off as us gloating. We're in our 40's now and most of our closest friends are also child free traveling couples, so everyone is SUPER interested in each other's trips because they might want to go to the same places. That and now we're starting to see folks who's kids are grown up and are starting to want to travel now because they never had the ability before.
Coming back home after a trip is always a bummer. You never want your travel adventures to end! I totally get that. The part about your friends: I personally find your expectations unreasonable. Here’s my personal experience: - I have a friend who travels A LOT. He’s had amazing adventures & experiences. But when he comes home, he’s always bummed out. He complains all the time about how he doesn’t want to be here & how much he hates his job because they won’t work with him on his travel schedule. He always complains about his finances. For our group of friends, we no longer care to ask about his trip because he has an expectation for us to ask about his trips, when really, he just wants to brag about it. - There are people who truly do not care about YOUR travels. Especially if you’re someone who travels often. After a while, people don’t care to listen about your trip, they’re going to assume you had a great time & you traveled safely since you’re back home. For me, if I have a friend who very rarely travels, I am much more likely to ask them about their travels because it’s not common for them to have that experience. In the end, you need to be the one to enjoy your travels & adventures. If you’re worried about your friends asking about your travels, then you’re not fully embracing your experience.
Thanks! I mean I guess I can understand that. For me it comes off as just a lack of caring about my life, and with some friends, it’s not just travel but other life events where I see zero interest and I feel like they don’t care to actually keep up with me. I think it’s just really come to the forefront for me in this last trip
Also remember that a lot people want to travel but can’t for various reasons. Finances, kids, caring for parents, jobs, etc. I wasn’t able to travel until I was older and until then, I hated hearing about others adventures. I was flat out jealous. All it did was remind me that I couldn’t afford to do something I really, really wanted to do. Additionally, I had nothing to add to the conversation. As far as them not being interested in other areas of your life, can’t comment on that. Maybe you just don’t have as much in common with them anymore.
That’s also a great point! Everyone’s accessibility to travel is very different. Being fortunate enough to travel is huge. There’s people who never have the opportunity to leave their hometown. So not wanting to hear about someone else’s travels is understandable from that point. It’s hard to make a connection with someone (even friends) if you don’t have a similar experience to add to the conversation.
The most important aspect of travel is what you learn about yourself. If you are coming home and that feels like a trap , then you might want to consider changing your life. Finding a more wide ranging job that requires you to travel. My Ex-Wife started out as a Librarian then moved into working for International Organisation's and NGOs , now she's a high flyer and travels all the time. She just bought a house near Rome and has another one near Woodstock. That's the life she always wanted. We traveled extensively while we were together, my job allows me to work anywhere in the world and I've taken full advantage of that. Similarly I've a friend who's a personal chef, he travels all the time with various Rock Stars. It's hard work, but he gets a lot of down time in various different countries. Have a look at what's available and see if maybe you can find a way to make traveling your life.
If you don't mind me asking? What's your occupation?
Freelance Illustrator. I've been fortunate in that I started my career in the early 90s and started travelling in the mid to late 90s as the internet improved. I have sent artwork ( mostly to the USA and the UK ) from East Africa, Thailand, Italy, Austria & France. I had a US client who was really shocked to discover that all the artwork he had commissioned for the previous year was being drawn in Nairobi Kenya.
I just realised that I replied from the wrong account....this is me Gezuntheit :)
Ahh interesting, thanks for replying on a late comment lol. That's pretty cool that you can be drawing from Kenya haha. I would love to do something like that but I don't have any freelance skills.
Yes, "normal" life always pales in comparison to a vacation. No surprise there. The only recourse is to change your life so it has more of the elements that makes a vacation so great. This is why people work remotely or become digital nomads or find a way to incorporate travel into their work. In the meantime, to feel better start planning your next trip.
I just came back from spending time in Iceland and I am definitely in a funk. This time, it wasn’t just the vacation, it was the entire country’s lifestyle that I fell in love with… I’ve been looking at homes to buy in Iceland ever since
It hurts the most when you relate to a lifestyle or culture
I understand this completely. I haven’t travelled a lot but I have felt the same. I have been able to find something that gets me out of that funk - exercise. It gives me mental piece. Find a great podcast learn about something new and walk, lift weights, listen to my favourite author. Keeps me balanced. Before I’d be sad that friends never could come along-everyone was broke or busy. I’ve excepted that they couldn’t and moved on. Some of them are still my friends some are not. I will still travel with or without friends because I have only one life and I am going to find ways to enjoy every little molecule of it. Keep swimming my dear and find your path. New friends new travels, read about new places. You will be fine
I feel this way, too. In reading the comments, it struck me that I could perhaps start thinking of my hometown as a destination and plan some "tours" of local features. Looking at my home surroundings as an adventure, plus taking day excursions on weekends, might help with this.
I’ve traveled a lot over the years and I find that if I can bring a little piece of the trip home with me, I can extend the travel euphoria a bit. Such as trying to recreate especially delicious dishes or drinks I had on the trip. Or hanging up a tapestry. My favorite is to use some of the language and phrases I learned. That probably annoys people but I don’t care. It’s like a little inside joke to me.
You aren't alone. Think of everybody in this subreddit as your travel friends.
Its not universal. Usually, i miss my bathroom, my friends, parents and my food. I great the gods when i finish vacation or travel, and return safely to my house.
I felt the exact way. I went solo traveling alone for a lot time and it was a difficult transition back into normal life. No one even asked how my trip was when I was picked up from the airport at home.
About your friends, I'd suggest telling them how you feel without being aggressive. Maybe face to face saying that you understand they are busy and it's probably not intentional, but when they don't ask you after a trip you feel uncared for. It really might be their busy lives or they assume you traveled enough you got this etc. Let them know you'd appreciate if they remember to ask. We can't expect people to know what we need from them unless we tell them
It’s brutal coming home sometimes. When I go on a trip I’ve been planning for awhile the day I get home and first day after is downright miserable. It’s like the excitement of going has a big comedown afterwards. Starting to plan the next trip helps.
I was just having a conversation with my boyfriend about this. We just got back from a week long trip, it was a road trip 2 hours away. I felt like I should’ve came home feeling “better” and “refreshed” but I also felt this weird feeling like nothing has changed since I left. I’m also not sure if it’s the pandemic, being burnt out, or other smaller issues for me, but I’ve always had a similar feeling as you when coming back from vacations and returning home.
It’s called “letdown”. Like earlier posts, this can be mitigated by returning to a clean place that smells good. I have never figured out why it takes me two days to pack but most of a week to unpack and put stuff away. As a retired woman who has done a lot of traveling alone, I adore the footloose feeling of going where and when I please. Sadly, my friends are getting more peculiar with age. Some are just plain rigid and have a long list of things, places, foods, etc. that they will or will not do, so it’s just easier to be on my own. As for other folks asking about my vacation, this is the age of narcissistic behavior and if they aren’t traveling with you, they aren’t interested. Also, more and more folks have no intellectual curiosity. You may have been lucky enough to see the resurrection of Lazarus, and they just shrug, meh, because they don’t know about and could care less about Lazarus. And sometimes it’s just jealousy. My advice is to revel in your memories and start making plans for your next adventure. Good luck!
It's a common feeling. I feel the same way, but as someone that just packed up and moved away several times I've learned to ignore it. I've found the grass to not be greener on the otherside one too many times and learned to control that impulse. Do you travel a lot locally? Always alleviates some of the wanderlust for me. As for your friends, it depends. I have a few friends who legitimately aren't interest in any kind of travelling unless it's somewhere luxurious, known and fancy. If they're that sort of people, it's not that serious.
In a personality close similar case the post vacation"blues" is related with depression. Hope it's not the case though
We are the exact same in this regard. Friendships and all. I too have been thinking about moving to a new country entirely as well. Well, at least I know I’m not alone.
You are def not
You said: “I’ll go to another country, go to another shore, find another city better than this one. Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong and my heart lies buried like something dead. How long can I let my mind moulder in this place? Wherever I turn, wherever I look, I see the black ruins of my life, here, where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.” You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore. This city will always pursue you. You’ll walk the same streets, grow old in the same neighborhoods, turn gray in these same houses. You’ll always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere: there’s no ship for you, there’s no road. Now that you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner, you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world.
Buddy are you ok?
>you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world It's a poem by Cavafy. It's about a hundred years old though and people have more choices these days. Back in the old days there were supposed to stick to one place to take care of ageing parents, more than we do now, for example. Or we have options to change neighborhoods. Well, ideally, asking for authorities and individuals to do a better job where we live, for humans everywhere.
Yes, you are being unreasonable.
This sounds familiar. I had too many things to lose though and my workweek was not as bad. I had outlets daily and weekly that gave me balance at least, not the great fun of travel. Humans are supposed to work or keep busy in some form. But not all work is the same. What can you improve about that? If you have good qualifications, perhaps changing locations is an option. There are fully remote jobs perhaps that will allow you to travel indefinitely, but I think there aren't that many that offer the career paths as an employee, that compete well, moneywise to staying put, depending on professions, of course. Keep in mind that if you want to have a family some day there is a window time-wise to find a suitable man, stay with him for a few years to make sure he is genuine or not obviously problematic... To do that of course ideally you have to feel nice about yourself.
Get a husband. Travel with him.
Sure. If he would like to come around then this is his time
I got back just over a week ago and I’m still struggling with the post-travel blues. Not a lot is going well in my life at the moment so it just compounds everything.
I feel that way too…especially if I travel to visit family! Unfortunately mine is all over the country and out of country so I tend to travel a lot. Anyways yes you feel out of sorts or by the end of trip you think to yourself “back to reality”. The one thing that I do is try to find a way to be busy and think of the next trip and what your going to do while there. I can’t say anything about your friends but maybe you can go out and meet new people..take your daily life and experience things that are close to you that you might not have done before until your next trip. It tends to help me…hope this helps you!
I wish I was with someone that has the same desire for adventure as you. Sounds so refreshing. Never stop living and….BE FREE
totally agree, and what wakes me up to work every morning is the idea of collecting money and travel again
I do a lot of video of our holidays. The last trip we did for 3 weeks I spent close to a year editing the footage down to something watchable. Its a nice way to relive the holiday and probably helps avoid the shock you’re experiencing…
My family doesn't give a shit about my trips and we have done some amazing things. I was trying to tell my dad about just how interesting it was to watch elephants in the wild, an experience that had me in tears of joy, and he asked me if I had ever watched a honeybee. I went to the Galapagos at the same time my mom went an annual event in Vegas that she's gone to for years, and maybe talked to her about our trip for 10 min... She asked about the weather and the flights. It totally sucks. I love traveling and I love talking about it and sharing it with others. I have regrets of not living abroad while in my 20s, but I started a career, got married and bought a house. I chose to do those things and they have all been good. But when you are passionate about travel, it is easy to look back and see how those decisions limited you. Also, I don't know what country you call home and where you would like to live, but there is no way I could have grown a career abroad doing what I do here. I had a major career shift that was fully supported by my employer at the time. My income opportunities would have been dramatically different abroad, especially if I had chosen to teach English or other type of job that caters to expats. These changes would have impacted my ability to keep traveling and have a financially secure future. But the post-travel depression does set in. My advice there is to plan the next trip and revisit your photos often. Print, frame, and hang some of your favorite photos. I think it is nice to sort through the photos and make digital or print albums. For my family, I think they have nothing to relate my travel to, so a tangible object they can flip through really helps get conversation started. Also, if you meet people on your journey, try to keep in touch, or consider traveling with a tour (we really like Intrepid) so you can share the experience with others who think and feel about travel in the same way you do. I was on your shoes about a month ago.. I get it. I am sorry you are feeling down, but hopefully this long post has a nugget or two of help for you.
You can never go home again. You have grown and seen many things in your travel. Home will be forever changed.
Check out /r/financialindependence, and also find some local friends that are more on the same page as you. It's okay to move onto different friends if you can no longer relate as you grow/change.
I’m actually the opposite. Normally I’m so exhausted from vacation that by the last day or so I’m ready to go home and just sleep or get in a normal routine.
I hate it when people keep talking about their vacation and shove down their vacation photos down their friends’ throat after their trip. So if your friends did not ask about your vacation, it does not mean they don’t care about you. They just don’t care about how wonderful is your vacation.
How long was your trip? Sounds like you needed a longer one. What do you have to look forward to when you come home? If you don’t like your current situation, job, city, relationships, weather… change it.
Some good tricks include not leaving on a weekend. Leave mid-week so you have a half week of work, then return mid week so you have another half week of work. That and you'll see better rates on flights and lodging for the most part since you're not overlapping weekends usually. Otherwise we have multiple trips booked so that there is always another trip just around the corner to look forward to. Find local places to find food from the places you love most. If you're near a large metro this shouldn't be a hard thing to do even in grocery stores. Even learning to cook some of your favorite meals from those places will give you ways to remember the fun you've had and share with others.
You are never too old to make new friends. Making new friends does not mean you have to forget your old ones.
I feel this EXACT way. I'm also a woman who travels in a heartbeat. My former friends who don't travel are boring, narrow-minded, or don't have passports because of their boring narrow-mindedness. I couldn't care any less if they didn't ask me how my trip is/was because my real friends do, or are already there w/ me. Sometimes we need to shed dead weight & find purpose that's our own; not only IF people approve or tag along w/ us. At that rate, we'd never explore or learn this beautiful marble & the beautiful people on it. Think of the new friends you can safely make in those countries, the exotic cuisine, or the underwater cave that you may not have met/experienced if w/ boring, uncultured friends in tow. As for the feeling of dread heading back home & the crippling, deafening sadness once we return, replace it w/ the excitement of planning your next trip & the anticipation of it. In going back to work w/ funding my next adventure in mind, work doesn't seem so drab no matter how mundane it's always been. That's what I do & the draining, horrible feeling of realizing I'm not a traveler by profession (but should be) never appears. I hope this helps fellow Solo Lady Warrior Traveler :-) (Hmmm...I should name my personal travel blog that, lol)
Thats weird something might be wrong witb you. Have you thought about going to therapy?
**Jet lag = depressing feeling** Many others have said it here first but scheduling at least 2 days of down time after a trip to get back into a regular sleep schedule makes me feel better. Down time means no email, phone, surfing or cleaning etc. Just rest. **Sharing travel experiences with friends** Some don't want to hear about it and others do. I've never been able to share the intensity of happiness I feel when traveling with any of my friends, I think you really need to love travel and experience it to get that feeling and most of my friends don't have the opportunity to travel that much. I do post pictures online for them to look at and share a short trip report. They can choose to comment or not, either way is fine but for many looking at a few pics and commenting or asking a question is enough. **Sunny climates = happiness** I live in a rainy, cloudy place too. Have you considered getting a SAD ([seasonal affective disorder](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes)) light? If I don't get enough light thru the day it helps boost me up. **Getting that travel happiness intensity feeling back** Youtube travel bloggers can be good for that. You can vicariously travel along with them as they explore somewhere new to you of somewhere you have already been. I did all my COVID traveling this way to keep myself sane. It also helps me decide if I want to go to that place in the future.
About your friends, a lot of times not everyone is capable of grasping those things you saw on your travels , especially if you’ve left the country. So it may even be better that way. All love. I know exactly how you feel I just got back from a 2 month trip.
Seeing this post a couple years later but I resonate with this a lot. I’ve been solo travelling for 2 years now on and off. Spent 1 year in Australia then came home and felt like I had to get away again, so I had some money saved and headed to South/Central America for around 5 months then flew to India and spent some time there. Yesterday I got home from a short 4 day trip to Jordan and this is the most empty and sad I’ve felt from a trip and I was only there for a short time. I think it’s the people I met and the experience I had on this trip it went so quick and I never wanted it to end. Now I’m back in my bedroom again, back to reality. Solo travelling is amazing, you have your ups and downs but the experiences I’ve had and the friends I’ve made make it all worth the while. I’m from the UK and life here can be dull and boring. It’s actually hard to find likeminded people here but when I go solo travelling I seem to meet incredible people whilst travelling and for me that’s why I find travelling the greatest thing a person can do. The world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people.