[speedplane]

> I never understood travel culture, but I've seen it contribute to depression in my friends and neighbors because they somehow have been convinced that a meaningful life requires global travel ... I view travel culture as very toxic

Sure, traveling just to achieve certain bragging rights is superficial and silly, but that doesn't mean travel itself isn't valuable. Similarly, reading books just to say you've read the most or the hardest is silly, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read.

Traveling allows you to viscerally see how people live and value things differently from you. There is much to be gained from it if you do it for the right reasons.

[aikinai]

Very very few people “viscerally see how people live and value things differently” when they travel. And they can’t without an order of magnitude more time and money to spend on that travel.

Actually living in a different place will certainly do that, but “travel” almost never will.

[speedplane]

> Very very few people “viscerally see how people live and value things differently” when they travel. ... Actually living in a different place will certainly do that, but “travel” almost never will.

Take one extreme case: a typical college grad doing a euro-trip to 10 countries in 14 days. They will certainly not be able to experience those cultures deeply, but compare that person to someone who never went to Europe, never saw their respect for the past, train travel, food cultures, and the high value they place on vacation.

Even consider those young travelers that mostly stay within the confines of their hostel and their group activities, or in a national bar where things appear familiar and comfortable: they are still better off than if they just stayed home and had not seen any of it.

Certainly, 10 days of travel is not much, but it's a lot more than 0 days. For some, those 10 days may be truly meaningful and eye-opening, for others, a familiar party with different scenery. Traveling is generally uncomfortable and different, and the experience can add something to even the most shallow traveler.

(caveat: It happens, although uncommon, that travel can be a detriment. Particularly, when someone goes to a country that is poorer than theirs, and attributes their lack of development to some genetic or racist defect. While this is possible, I do think it's exceedingly rare. When one sees how other people live up close, it's natural to look for the patterns and similarities rather than come up with differences.)

[aphextim]

I had a good experience right after college. Went to Germany for 21 days. Stayed with an exchange student I had become friends with senior year in high school and we kept in contact.

She had my girlfriend and I stay at her home in a little town Nagold. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagold

We stayed with their family for a week, experiencing the smaller town life, hiking in the black forest and going to the market for fresh bread every morning.

We then rented a vehicle and traveled around the Autobahn visiting many major cities and either staying at a hostel ($20 a night per person plus an amazing breakfast included!), or with a mutual friend of her's whom she had met in college.

There are only a few Universities in Germany so she knew someone is almost all the major cities we stayed at and it was nice to converse with them in their home, trade stories and experience the night life as a local would.

We did go to a few tourist areas which were neat to experience, however most of the fun did come from 'off the beaten path' where you got to interact with locals and see more of the slower, simple life.

One thing that I found astonishing is the amount you can converse/communicate with someone even if you don't speak their language. Granted most people in Germany can understand English well, but with the few broken phrases I learned before going I was able to do quite well when our translator (my friend from high school) would not be with us sometimes.

I much would rather do this, go to one specific country rather than go to 14 countries in 10 days.

Haven't traveled since as work/school/family is now my priority but doing at least one travel to get out of your comfort zone is a good experience I think everyone should get to experience once (if they want to).

[astura]

Taking a two week vacation to Europe can be enjoyable, but it is certainly not going to make you a better person.

[saiya-jin]

Nice echo chamber developing here. I couldn't care less about how and why other people travel, but for myself, it has shapen my personality (for the better) more than any other experience or activity in my life (and there are quite some, like weight lifting and climbing). It made me a better person on many levels. Is this selfish pursuit? Obviously, what in life isn't?

But there are many forms of travel. For me, it is and forever will be only backpacking-ish style. Done for example 6 months in India in very remote places. When you come back from such a visit, you are not really the same person inside that left. Or at least I can't imagine not being changed by all the positive and also negative things experienced. 1 week feels like 3 there, 1 month more like 5 years, and after 3 the idea of my life back was just a distant memory of a dream I once had. You can't tell properly others about those 1000s of small and big adventures, they wouldn't understand most of the appeal. Only those with similar experiences would. Photos or videos, even done with full frame equipment, tell only small part of the story.

And these instagrammers/'influencers' (that's a too pretty name for what it usually is, if they travel around like that they are rather 'influenced') ? Well they are for people with sheepish mentality. I would have to have utterly bland life to be interested in some John Doe's life, where he made this or that selfie and consistently follow them. I guess I am too old and experienced for Instagram bandwagon. With all the travel photo I do, I would anyway end up as one of those 'influencers' (at least that's what people tell me when they see my photos and the amount I create)

[arvinsim]

Yeah, traveling for a week for a vacation is very different from staying in a place and interacting with the local culture for an extended amount of time.

[pnongrata]

> Traveling allows you to viscerally see how people live and value things differently from you. There is much to be gained from it if you do it for the right reasons.

Yes, they also have tours to help you 'experience' the life of a local, like going through a favela in Rio. Anedoctal, but from what I've seen it can be really offensive to people on those places, because it works pretty much like a safari.