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To travel or not is right up there with when to claim Social Security, if a Roth conversion is desirable or the amount of retirement income needed – many answers and personal choices.
I will admit travel can be a hassle, mainly the getting there and back if flying is involved and while trying to get through customs. Because of an incompetent desk agent we missed being stranded in Istanbul by seconds. Leaving Moscow was a nightmare as we were intentionally ignored while Russians were put ahead of us, again nearly missing our flight. Occasionally you will encounter an attitude from a local, but pretty rare.
None the less, in my opinion travel provides a valuable education. You learn about people, about societies and cultures. You learn that your way of life is vastly different than many others – especially valuable for many Americans. You can gain an understanding of history that helps better understand current world events.
Needless to say, the desire to travel is highly personal, but not traveling when there is the ability to do so is missing a great opportunity to learn and understand this world. The greater the difference between our own and other cultures, the more valuable the experience. Russia, the Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Morocco opened my eyes. Hey, they don’t even use toilet seats in the Ukraine.
I have never been to Asia, but my cousin Carol just returned. Do you have a desire to sleep on a mat on the floor and dine on roaches and tarantulas- she did.
Seeing how so many Palestinians live in abject poverty helps you understand the conflict there. Not much happens in the world that does not affect us in the US.
We are not much for resorts, sitting by the pool or on the beach, but I was fascinated walking on the Giants Causeway in Ireland. My vision of Oxford in England was changed after I walked in some of the buildings.
You can better understand how we are all connected when you hear a McDonalds in Europe referred to as the American embassy or feel right at home in a Starbucks in Germany.
I was initially surprised how many people speak English, very good English in many cases, especially among younger people. Hand gestures work pretty too well when speaking different languages😎
Even our aborted South American cruise was a learning lesson about how people react in an emergency under stress and also how nations set their priorities.
Talk about inequality, not much beats Russia where some people in the rural areas live as if it were the middle of the 19th century.
Travel the U.S. and see amazing sites, we have nearly everything from coasts, to deserts, soaring mountains, giant lakes and rivers, and prairies. People who live on the coasts probably can’t understand driving across the Great Plains with barely the need to touch the steering wheel for twenty miles it is so flat and straight.
The differences within our 50 states is incredible. Someone will know where you live once you say a few words. Is it a sack or bag, a sub sandwich, grinder or torpedo, soda or pop? We are Americans but also very different just based on where we live.
For me, not being able to travel as much now is a bit depressing. I truly miss it.
Hey fellow HD’ers,
While we can debate travel or no travel to no meaningful end, please consider sharing a memorable moment or two from your own travels as some have done here. I guess this could become a sector of its own within HD (and if I have missed it, my apologies).
I had the very good fortune of visiting England several times for business, including a six month stint in Bath. I was able to bring my wife over for a visit and then my whole family at the end of my assignment for a two week vacation. I had to work some of the time that they were visiting but I’m very thankful they had a wonderful life experience. (Also, I just don’t fit into the tour vans that took them to many great places – my knees!). I’ve found that I enjoy the longer stays in one location as you have more time to absorb the culture of each community and given time, get to know the people around you and the off-tourist locations to enjoy. And yes, many of the pubs serve terrific food! Stunning local parks and gardens, Cotswolds, Tur (sp?), Glastonbury, Cheddar Gorge/caves, cathedrals and ruins galore, a great rail system, etc. And then there’s London which adds a whole new list of adventures of all sorts. It took a few polite corrections before I remembered to call the The Tube its proper name and not the Subway. Even getting lost a few times ended up as fun adventures. Ever so grateful that I didn’t have to drive, especially on the two-track through a corn field to a wonderful town and restaurant, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
The passion you have for traveling is great, but some find that same passion in gardening, reading, animal care, volunteering, amateur astronomy and other retirement pursuits. There are diverse groups of people in all of these activities! It’s not sad when people choose not to travel or cannot afford to do so. Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme wrote often of his happiness at not traveling, it really made me feel better about being honest about the downsides when one feels pressure to be a tourist.
No pressure from me, each to their own. The activities you mentioned may be enjoyable and fulfilling to many people and that’s a good thing.
However? They are not the same as engaging with people in different societies and cultures. I have a better understanding of the conflicts in the Middle East having been to Israel and with Palestinians on the West Bank and in Ukraine and the Crimea and many other similar experiences.
But as i said, do what makes you happy.
I don’t think it’s necessary to travel somewhere to achieve a ‘better understanding’ of certain events. I used to work with a person who fled Cambodia (as a child) during the Cambodian genocide of the late 1970’s.
One day my co-worker spent a couple of hours telling me about how his family escaped, what they had see–and endured– while in Cambodia and how, when they came to the United States, they didn’t know a single soul here. He told me about his mother going to the library and checking out loads of children’s books so the whole family could learn to read English. He told me about the struggles he faced and how thankful he was to have survived.
I will never forget his story. I certainly didn’t need to travel to Cambodia to get a ‘better understanding’ of the struggle he–and thousands of people like him–went through.
In general I agree with you, but some places do have an effect I don’t think you can get otherwise. At Auschwitz, for instance, I could feel evil emanating from the ground. It took me several days to recover. The bones looming through the soil at Choeung Ek outside Phnom Penh were really disturbing. On the other hand, the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas, even Venice, are breathtaking in person in a way the pictures aren’t.
I’m not saying you should travel if it doesn’t attract you, but some things are different in person.
You do not have to travel to meet, study, work or volunteer with people from all over the world who have come to America. That is among the beautiful aspects of this successful melting pot of ours!
Travel can indeed be expanding, but it comes at a personal financial cost, an environmental cost and people can achieve exactly what you experience when you travel and talk to people for a couple of hours, by volunteering at their local hospital or engaging in a hobby. As many pointed out, self-study of different places through books, newspapers and video can also give far more expertise than a one-day cruise ship stop at the Parthenon, for example.
I have known people to go into serious debt over the pressure to travel including students taking on more loans to do so. There are other ways to engage with diverse people and learn about sites.
As I said from the start, to travel or not is a personal choice. There is no disagreement, either you like it or not, but please don’t equate reading a book or watching a video with the learning and emotional experience of being there.
You can watch a documentary on Auschwitz, but you can’t compare that with walking in the gas chamber or in a room filled with hair shaved from children.
Stand on Omaha beach and look up at the German guns, then read a book about it.
No more comment from me or I will be criticized by someone.
I couldn’t agree more!
I have no idea why international travel has never appealed to me. I suspect it’s partly due to the fact that I’m not a ‘people person’. An ideal vacation to me would be to find a cabin in the woods and stay there for a few weeks.
I realize watching televised shows isn’t the same thing as visiting a location. But I enjoy watching documentaries about the wildlife in Africa (filmed in stunning high resolution) and feel I probably see more of the fascinating interactions between those animals than I would during an actual safari. I appreciate the hundreds (thousands?) of hours of film that it takes to edit into a one or two hour show.
A dozen trips to China over 20 years shaped my character and my worldview as nothing else could have. Sadly, we will never go again — the current government has warped and oppressed every aspect of Chinese society — but I cherish the memories and life lessons I carry from those trips.
Yep. Anything you could ever learn from a tour guide is surpassed by real things like having a crowd gather around you in a railway dining car because they’d never seen a white person eat with chopsticks or a university prof sitting next to you on a bench in a park because he wanted to practice his English and talk about the one child policy.
A guide took just my wife and I on a private tour of Jordan where we went to see our son who was studying there some 20 years ago. We stopped at Jerash, the remains of a Roman built city, and then several school busses arrived. What seemed like a hundred or more young school girls spotted my wife, with her long blonde hair and mobbed her, apparently mistaking her for a movie star. Our guide tried to convince the children this was a case of mistaken identity, but many seemed skeptical!
From what we’ve seen travelling (Europe/Asia/South America mostly), fundamentally, most (normal) people are the same. They want a loving family, provide for them, and come home safe.
I am sure you are right, but how they achieve that, the extent they are able to do that, even defining some of that varies greatly.
When visiting some homes in Europe and elsewhere, I looked around and felt embarrassed at what i and most Americans have and sometimes complained about.
When I was 11, my parents took me and my sister on a 14 day trip to Israel, Greece, and London. We were with a group from a Bible college in Philadelphia, and two professors were the tour guides. 50 years later, I still have some very vivid recollections, especially of Israel. Traveling as a youngster has some advantages as long term memories are more easily formed. That said, these days I like to watch travel videos on YouTube to learn about places I’ll never go. There are some excellent videos being put out by lesser-known folks. You can learn a lot without being at a place in person. In fact, I probably learn more about some countries from certain videos than I would have if I had actually traveled there.
My family loves YouTuber Yan who visits rural China in her series Little China Everywhere. You feel like you are with her as she artfully uses drones and music and samples local food. 😊
Linda, that sounds interesting. We’ll have to check her channel out.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I always try to learn about the politics of a country when I travel there, by reading beforehand and talking with locals while there. I find it fascinating how different it is from what we experience in the USA. I was in Rwanda shortly before their recent election. There were colorful large-scale banners, flags, signs and streamers all along the main road. Seemed unnecessary given the current President was running basically unopposed and ultimately won with 98% of the vote!
We were on the QE2 once with a boatload of Brits. I spent two hours in the cafeteria talking with union leaders about health care. Very enlightening and enjoyable. My wife wondered what happened to me.
As my article today says, I took early retirement so I could travel while healthy, and covered a lot of ground, mostly on the ground. Planes for oceans and really long distances (Bangkok to London, for instance, although I also travelled from Scotland to Saigon by rail), but mostly trains, plus buses, shared taxis, marshrutkas, tuk-tuks/rickshaws/songthaews and the occasional car and driver in countries where they were cheap. I am a big proponent of gap-year travel, before or after university, sadly that doesn’t seem to have caught on in the US. However, I would never insist that people should travel if they’re really not interested – we’re all different.
You certainly don’t need to travel to learn about history. Lots of great online courses, including Great Courses, not to mention books.
You don’t need to travel abroad to see people sleeping on the ground. There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people in the US.
I don’t know when you were in Ukraine, but there were certainly toilet seats when I was there in 2006. You’re actually better off with squat toilets in places where the hygiene is dubious, although they are hard on the knees. Of course, now is no time to travel to Ukraine or Russia.
I don’t know where in Asia your cousin was traveling, but in much of Asia you can sleep in comfort for a lot less than you would pay in western Europe. Someone on another forum once posted that he was spending $700/night for two for a hotel in Japan. I traveled for five weeks in Japan, sleeping comfortably and eating well, for $175/day total (in 2016). Southeast Asia costs less.
I think I traveled so much I no longer feel the urgency to get out there, especially as some favorite places are now overrun with other tourists.
Were you able to communicate while in Japan to get around? I heard English is not that prevalent, I’m interested in going there at some point and I appreciate your rail link tours, I love trains that travel through the countryside.
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There is probably an app these days, and I did try using one a few times in South America. However, I’ve found a combination of phrase book, gestures and sometimes pen and paper will work well. I didn’t have trouble in Japan even off the main tourist trail, although there is indeed less English than you might expect.
The train system in Japan is wonderful and easy to use. I never found the Japan Rail Pass worthwhile, I was moving too slowly, but I used a regional pass one time. There’s a lot of useful info on travel in Japan here.
thanks, there’s an app called ‘google translate’, I am sure there are others too.
I fear you may have missed my point. History books, history YouTube videos are great, but it’s not the same as walking into a gas chamber in Poland or viewing the Book of Kells in person. I really expected a more positive point of view.
I agree with both of you: I am very glad that I’ve had the chance to travel to other countries, beginning at age 17 with a French class summer study trip. It seems like many HD contributors and commenters are inveterate travelers but, as Kathy indicates, not everyone can or wants to (or has even the modest but necessary funds). Some folks travel only to visit family members and don’t feel comfortable eating “strange” food. Different strokes …
So true, personally touring conxentrstiob camps like Auschwitz and going to the border with North Korea wow memorable and haunting experiences.
Oops sorry spellcheck really messed up concentration
I felt you came across too strongly. I don’t like people telling other people what they should do. If someone wants to travel, great, I’m happy to share my experience, but if they don’t that’s fine too. Just like I choose to live in a CCRC and you hate the idea.
Isn’t that what said in the first paragraph?
It was negated by the rest of the post.
We agree that travel is a great way to learn about the world. We’ve traveled as much as we could, doing low cost camping in our early days, and ratcheting up the cost as we’ve aged. I still have a dozen or so of the lower 48 to hit, but I plan to get there. One drive I remember vividly – driving from Albuquerque to Santa Fe in NM. The landscape was so different than anything you see on the east coast.
I’m adding this drive to my bucket list! I really enjoyed my stay in Albuquerque a few years ago to attend the Gathering of Nations Powwow, but didn’t get to Santa Fe or Taos. Thanks.
I share your fondness for travel, both around the US and abroad. And, we’ve done a mix of guided and self guided tours. It really is interesting to meet others in different countries and learn how similar we are. It is unfortunate that for most folks, myself included, we were old by the time we could finally afford international travel, which can complicate our ability to travel as freely as when we were younger. Still, there are many places we plan to visit. I’m sorry your ability to travel has become limited.
We have done different things including individual travel. We made friends in England and France stayed with them and traveled by car with them. River cruises were a great opportunity to visit people in their homes in very small groups without a guide. Great memories.
Agree that travel can be a source of great and repeated enjoyment as it is literally a memory making business.
I would say if your idea of travel starts and ends with tour operators and cruise lines, you’re not really doing it properly. It’s fine if you are wary but it does give you a degree of separation from reality and kinda puts you there in a collective than as individuals.
Of course the world is linked and, getting political for a second, this is why the rest of the world worries intensely about political choices the US makes.
As a single older woman, I’m thinking that I’m okay to travel alone domestically (as I’ve done), but that for foreign travel, I should have a companion who is younger and/or speaks the language. Other than that, I think small group tours are my best option. But I agree that reliance on a tour guide does put a barrier to direct interaction with local people.
Really, you’ll be fine. Start with Western Europe and then branch out. I only speak bad French and I’ve managed fine. Lots of younger people speak English – how else would a Norwegian communicate with a Czech? People in the tourist industry will too. Learn a few key phrases and don’t be afraid to use gestures. And these days there are apps.
I actually feel safer in cities in other countries, there are too many guns in the US. Take precautions against pickpockets and read up on scams, but don’t worry about muggings.
Thanks for your encouragement, Kathy. There’s a small airport near me that has a discount airline (PLAY) that flies to Reykjavik, where further connections are available. I could start with a few days or a week in the UK. I’m thinking about it.
I hope you do it Linda. And please don’t just go to London and think you’ve been to England.
I’d consider a longer stay both to make it worth the flight and so you don’t have to leave as soon as you get over jet lag.
Tip – You can take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and then a nonstop train will get you to Moreton-in-Marsh from which you can enjoy the Cotswolds.
The Express is an expensive option. I always take the tube into London – or now I imagine I would take the Elizabeth line. If you’re going west from Heathrow I would either take the airport bus to Reading to take a train, or use a National Express coach. But for a first trip I would recommend starting in London and taking day trips.
Not sure I’d agree on London then day trips, but I put that down to personal preference for what kind of travel one enjoys rather than destination expertise.
I don’t know if a week is enough for the UK, if you want to go up to Scotland too. You could also go to Ireland, check out CIE tours too.
R Quinn, I’m sorry you’re not able to travel much now. I agree that travel is a great opportunity in Retirement. We finally have the Time and Money to travel and as long as we have our HEALTH to be able to, we plan to travel. It is always fascinating to see other cultures and people, some very different than us Americans but yet many similarities too.
We are slowly branching out to more of the world travel places you mentioned which we would love to visit (without the drama you’ve experienced). Next September, a cruise from Greece to Turkey and the Greek Islands is our first overseas planned trip (not counting the Caribbean beach vacations we will continue to take).
We always ask friends about which tour companies and cruise lines they use to get the best local experiences. Also, where to start exploring the world. We’ve done some international travel, but most of the world is still wide open for us to visit. So many choices!
I recommend Rick Steves for Europe and Intrepid for Asia, but you do need to be in good shape, and I prefer to go solo. I don’t take mass market cruises, but I can recommend Hurtigruten.
I also heartily endorse Rick Steves’s guides!