Homebodies

My husband is one.
He hates flying and being away from home.
He stays home with the cat, and I go off into the wild blue yonder.

Same as SJ, but with a dog instead of a cat.

We have friends like that and it’s hard for me to understand why they have no interest in traveling.
They must wonder why we don’t stay home more!

Travel is a privilege that homebodies prefer to ignore. Their choice.

A definition of homebodies please. Is it a hermit who never leaves their house? Their town? Their state/province/county? Someone who never, ever travels, or someone who travels only infrequently? If the latter, how infrequently?
The reason I ask is because when we are home, we are home; only travelling outside our immediate locale to occasionally visit family. I'd call that being a homebody. But we also travel internationally twice a year on average.

I would consider myself a homebody in that I enjoy being in my home, and consider it a treat to spend an entire day there once a week. I also enjoy travel as it enriches my life. The two are not mutually exclusive in my opinion. Just because someone enjoys tea and hot buttered toast doesn’t mean they can’t also enjoy the mystery amuse bouche that showed up before their lunch in Italy

Depends on the person. I'm a homebody introvert who has lived abroad for 9 years. And I love to travel. When we travel, it is not go go go. The paces that are recommended in RS books are insane to us, but we also have the good fortune to be able to travel a lot more than most.

I don't see "homebody" as someone who doesn't like to travel. I see it as a person who likes being in their home more than constantly being on the go-go-go in their home area.

Even though I was like that, and I now travel full time, I consider myself a homebody.

Most people travel for 2-3 weeks at a time and want to fill their time with as much as possible. I'm the opposite. I travel slowly. I take my time. I will plan in time for days or even weeks to do nothing but relax and enjoy my surroundings. While I was "traveling" this past summer, I only stayed in four different places during three months because I needed the down time and didn't want to fight the summer crowds. My hotel rooms became my temporary "home." I spent a lot of time in them planning my future trips and just "chilling."

I just find the hotels in Europe better run these days than similar hotels in the US.

Travelling is a calling and not everyone gets the call ... it ain't no big deal.

I'm a homebody (with a dog) when I'm home.
I also fit in 5 trips this year, ranging from 1 week to 3. The 2 sides coexist happily.

We’re in the homebody when at home but travel two or three times a year group. We don’t go out much when at home, just enjoy being there all the while planning another trip. Now I’m not sure, exactly what is a homebody?

Frank II voiced our travel style: we like longer stays because we like to settle in, feel like we are just living somewhere. We are more active than at home because we don’t have chores and appointments, but we cook, observe the community’s day-to-day life, and don’t crowd our days too much. A privilege for certain.

I would consider myself a homebody in that I enjoy being in my home, and consider it a treat to spend an entire day there once a week. I also enjoy travel as it enriches my life. The two are not mutually exclusive in my opinion.

Exactly. Being a homebody does not mean that you don't love to travel. I love my home and enjoy the comfort of staying at home, reading a good book in a comfy chair with a wood fire going. But I also love the thrill and adventure of heading off to different parts of the world. No person is just one single part. Being a homebody and a traveler are just two parts that make up our personality.

I consider myself a homebody and have no problem not leaving the house all weekend, but when I travel it's go-go-go. I find nothing worse than sitting in my hotel room doing nothing when there is somewhere to explore. Being a homebody also doesn't mean I'm idle at home; I'm constantly in motion or at the very least keeping my mind active.

We don’t go out much when at home, just enjoy being there all the while planning another trip.

I could have written that!

I would consider myself a homebody in that I enjoy being in my home, and consider it a treat to spend an entire day there once a week. I also enjoy travel as it enriches my life. The two are not mutually exclusive in my opinion.

Same as Leslie and several others have said.

I am definitely a homebody.

And I love to travel.

I too am a homebody that loves to travel. We downsized in 2021 to a cute little cottage and I just love being at home.
I am a short trip traveler, because while I have an extremely flexible job, I get paid by the hour. So I'd rather not take more than a week off. I also find being gone for just 5-6 days suits me, because by them I am longing to be home in my own bed, with my husband and dog.
Honestly, my life is divided between staying at home as much as possible when not traveling, and traveling.

A neighborhood you live in where you can walk or bike to get groceries and fresh food while working from home and love is part of my homebodyness.

From the Cambridge dictionary - "a person who likes spending time at home rather than going out with friends or traveling to different places."

Joann has the definition I'm familiar with. And therefore the answer to the OP's question is - they are glad to finally get home after travel.

"they are glad to finally get home after travel."

Stan's definition describes my husband. He enjoys our trips when we're on them and is glad we went, but never seems too excited during the lead up and always seems a bit relieved when the time comes to go home. On the other hand I am instantly cranky when we land back in the US and want to turn around and go back.

I consider myself a homebody. I like to stay in and stick to my routines. I also am an introvert and need time away from crowds, coworkers, people, to be alone and recharge. However, I LOVE to travel. I can’t wait until I am retired and can be away for more than two weeks at a time.

To quote Mardee, ”Being a homebody does not mean that you don't love to travel. I love my home and enjoy the comfort of staying at home, reading a good book in a comfy chair with a wood fire going. But I also love the thrill and adventure of heading off to different parts of the world. No person is just one single part. Being a homebody and a traveler are just two parts that make up our personality.”

If I wasn’t a homebody for several months of the year, I couldn’t do all of my research for the next trip!

On the other hand, there are homebodies in my extended family who do not enjoy traveling - domestic or international. They’re happy being home, so that’s fine, too.

I agree with the poster who said we are two parts. Sometimes I prefer being home but I'm not in my rocking chair yet and still have an interest in travelling too.

My last big trip was before COVID and I've become more of a homebody since then. I'm 4 years older now and my stamina isn't what it once was. The world is a different place now too. I've cancelled 2 trips in the past year due to unrest in certain places I wanted to go.

It's more like I like the "idea" of travel. I'm interested in exploring and seeing new sights but I'm a little averse to the inconveniences and rigors and annoyances of travel.

And part of me knows that another trip, another destination, are okay but never going to fulfill me to the fullest extent. In other words, not seeing the Taj Mahal or Eifell Tower is not going to matter when I'm on my deathbed. Not really. People think it will, but it won't.

Not really. People think it will, but it won't.

I love that!

"In other words, not seeing the Taj Mahal or Eifell Tower is not going to matter when I'm on my deathbed. Not really. People think it will, but it won't."

I think it depends on the person. My Mom had dementia but at the end of her life every. single. day she would say she only had 2 regrets in life....not doing an African safari nor visiting The Great Wall. I would redirect her to things she DID see and get her started talking about how much she loved Venice. For myself personally, it won't matter but I've seen a lot of things that are important to me.

Most of my family members are Homebodies. They do not understand why I love to travel, lol. I had a serious conversation with my brother yesterday about feeling some pressure to travel before I "age out" of solo travel!!

Thank goodness for my local RS meet up group, for my friends that DO travel and for my buds from this forum, lol!!

not seeing the Taj Mahal or Eifell Tower is not going to matter when
I'm on my deathbed. Not really. People think it will, but it won't.

Perhaps not for you. But I would not assume the same holds true for every one. Like Pam's mother, in her last years my own mother frequently voiced a profound regret at never visiting Ireland, her own mother's homeland. Travel bucket lists exist for a reason. Of course they are more important to some people than others, but I count myself as very fortunate that I've visited most of the places on my own list. But there is one that is now beyond my reach due to health reasons, and I deeply regret that.

I love to travel but am a homebody at home. As is my cousin. On the flip side, my friend is a social butterfly..always out but limits travel to visiting friends in other states.

Let's hope that more and more people consider the "homebody" path. Many interesting places are just getting "touristed" out.

Travelling is a calling and not everyone gets the call ... it ain't no
big deal.

Sometimes it's a wrong number.

. In other words, not seeing the Taj Mahal or Eifell Tower is not going to matter when I'm on my deathbed. Not really. People think it will, but it won't.

My mother always wanted to visit Norway, the birthplace of both of her parents, but she could never talk my dad into traveling that far away from home. I have always wanted to do that trip in honor of my mother, and that finally happened this year. It was our fifth trip to Europe, and while I still hope to make more trips to Europe, I will be more content if that never happens. I don't know what was going through my mother's thoughts on her deathbed because she was no longer verbal, but if she had any regrets, I would bet it was never traveling to Norway.