The Reality of the World Traveler Fantasy

Michael Manicotti

If you look on any of these dating apps it asks "What job would you have if money didn't matter"

All these gals respond "World Traveler".

You don't need a lot of money to travel the world - People think you have to be rich to travel the world. Wrong. You have to decide what you value more in your life, possessions or time. There are many places in the world where it would actually cost you less to live than the United States or any first world country. There are a lot of books that have been written on this subject for example how to travel on $50 a day or whatnot. The point is that it is cheaper than you think.

All the things you want to do have already been done - A majority of the world travelers I meet are just putting their own spin on an old journey. Sometimes they don't even go that far. They just put themselves in the same journey taken by so many before them. Unless you're embedded with NATO in some war torn region of the world like the Congo, then chances are what you are doing has already been done and therefore it's not unique. It might be unique to you seeing it for the first time, but it's not unique to other world travelers.

Traveling is about learning how to do more with less - The first time I "backpacked" I took that big ass backpack that you see everyone toting around Europe. The second time I went backpacking, I took a Jansport. I reduced my bullshit by about 85% because the truth is that you don't need it. If you do, you can probably buy it where you're going and maybe even for cheaper. The best thing that traveling taught me is how much you really don't need most everything we have in our lives.

When you travel, you are stepping into a fantasy - Most people travel to escape their reality. The reality of travel is that it is a fantasy. Eventually it will end. If it doesn't end, it's still a fantasy. There are people that have been backpacking for over a decade and are now in their 30s , 40s or even 50s. While that may be their "reality" the reality is that the reality has changed. They are still by themselves wandering the planet for whatever reason. People get younger as they get holder and the law of diminishing returns starts to set in. They aren't really deepening themselves or their experience because they have been overstimulated by their previous experiences.

Experienced and extremely well traveled individuals are jaded - If you meet one of these folks that have rescended the outside world and become a long term traveler you might find it hard to connect with them no matter how open minded you are. Can you imagine all of the experiences this person has had? Nothing you say or do is going to phase them or provide value to them because they have seen too much shit. I have met hot girls for example that go on and on about Indonesia and Tailand, Bali and Budokahn and how great it was there and why I should go, blah, blah, blah. They have no life experience other than experiencing life's experiences. There's lots of experiences but no wisdom that only comes when someone faces Eminent challenges you can't escape from without hard work. You can't for example compare a world traveler's experiences to someone who had to flee their country to escape genocide. That is an experience that challenges all kinds of aspects about what it means to survive and be human. These world travelers are just trying to get a dopamine hit.

You're never ever going to see the people you met the rest of your life. - The most devastating reality of the world traveler fantasy is that you will probably never see whoever you meet ever again. Anyone who has traveled the world knows about this. You meet an amazing soulmate or maybe you spend a few nights with your dream girl and then she's gone. You're not going to move to the other side of the world to be with her and maybe she doesn't even want you to. It hurts but that's the reality of it. You might talk to them on Facebook but they too are meeting so many more people that you might even become a distant afterthought. That's just what happens.

You can count on meeting real people most of the time because there are no social consequences to their actions - I've seen so many people do shit outside of their social norm because there were no consequences. Girls acting like or being sluts while their boyfriend is back at home. People doing drugs recreationally that never have before. All kinds of shit happens when nobody is watching. From a liberation standpoint it's great, but this all changes upon their return which is why it's a fantasy. I've had girls I talked to totally change upon their return to protect their image back home. It's kind of sad that people have to slide back into those roles, but I get it.

Experiences are great, but they are not sustainable and they don't provide lasting satisfaction compared to working on something worthwhile - I have a lot of experiences but nothing has compared to the lasting experience I have felt through the creation of art. The satisfaction of creating something timeless is hard to describe. The art will always take you back to that moment and will never change. The challenge with traveling is that people you may meet and places you may go often change. It's the sad reality but I have talked to people that I have shared experiences with and something has changed about them. We have grown apart or no longer have anything in common.