25 Things That Inevitably Happen When You’re Addicted To Traveling

Image - Flickr / imkelsi
Image – Flickr / imkelsi

“Wanderlust, the very strong or irresistible impulse to travel, is adopted untouched from the German, presumably because it couldn’t be improved upon. Workarounds like the French passion du voyage don’t quite capture the same meaning. Wanderlust is not a passion for travel exactly; it’s something more animal and more fickle – something more like lust. We don’t lust after very many things in life. We don’t need words like worklust or homemakinglust. But travel? Anatole Broyard put it perfect in his essay Being There: Travel is like adultery: ‘One is always tempted to be unfaithful to one’s own country. To have imagination is inevitably to be dissatisfied with where you live…in our wanderlust, we are lovers looking for consummation.’” – Elisabeth Eaves

1. You know how to swear in at least two other languages.

2. One of your favorite things to do is look up airfare to random places and because of this you always know roughly how much flights are to dozens of countries.

3. The smallest things fuel your desire to travel. Everything from a movie to song lyrics to reading a book can renew that sense of wanderlust. You’re always finding reasons to travel.

4. When you go on a first date you always ask them if they like to travel and try to gauge how serious they are about it. You’ve realized you just can’t really date someone who isn’t as curious about the rest of the world as you are.

5. You probably have at least one travel themed tattoo or are planning on getting one.

6. Your family has stopped asking what you want for your birthday or holidays. They know now that you’re always going to want something travel related.

7. You don’t wait around for other people to travel. You’re comfortable going off on your own adventures and love the rush of traveling alone.

8. You always have your passport with you or know exactly where it is just in case the opportunity to use it comes up.

9. You try imagining living in one city for the rest of your life and you just can’t. The idea of only staying in one place seems completely unimaginable.

10. You’re always adding destinations and adventures to your bucket list. Everything you want to see and do before you die is travel related and by now your bucket list is at least 5+ pages long.

11. You have tons of favorite travel blogs you visit regularly. Anytime you’re bored you love reading up on your favorite bloggers and seeing where they’re at. Their blogs give you ideas for your own future trips and make you consider different places you didn’t think about before.

12. Even if you’re a seasoned traveler you still get that heady feeling of both nervousness and excitement when you book a flight to a foreign country you’ve never been to before.

13. You’ve successfully mastered the art of being able to fit your entire life into a backpack or suitcase.

14. You’re abroad more often than you’re at home and often stopping at home is just a pit stop before you’re headed to your next destination.

15. You’re always thinking about your next adventure or the next country you want to visit. When you don’t have any travel plans on the horizon you get a bit antsy.

16. Anthony Bourdain is the kind of person you aspire to be. Visiting every country around the world, immersing yourself in the culture, and going on random adventures without hesitation is absolutely the life you want to live.

17. You spend at least an hour every day reading travel websites or checking out how much various trips would cost you.

18. You have a travel fund and put money in there every chance you get.

19. Every time you make a purchase when you’re home you think about how far that would get you if you were on the road. A $5 latte could buy you a meal somewhere, spending $10 at the movies could pay for a room at a hostel, etc.

20. House Hunters International is by far your favorite show. Pretty much all of your favorite shows are travel related – An Idiot Abroad, No Reservations, or anything on the Travel channel.

21. You’re always counting down the days to your next trip. It seems like the time in between trips is far too long.

22. Even if you’re too broke to travel at the moment you live vicariously through other travels via travel forums or blogs.

23. Your favorite books to read are guide books or travel memoirs.

24. You know what the local beer is in at least a handful of countries. When you come back home you find domestic beer boring.

25. You’re not really sure where “home” is anymore but you’re completely okay with that. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Former senior staff writer and producer at Thought Catalog.

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