What are the benefits of travel?
Yes, I stole this idea from https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/one-more-benefit-of-travel
How about a lot of quick statements. Play 2017 Twitter and keep it to 140 characters so we have a list instead of a novel.
Learning how to live in the moment. (35 - Have I said this before? 🤣)
Seeing beauty in new ways from new perspectives. (48)
Learning new passions. Who new I'd become fascinated with religious history?
It's invigorating and fun, and you learn a lot.
Something to look forward to away from the Groundhog Day of life.
(Hopefully) Obtaining a world view rather than just a U.S. view
Seeing all the different ways of being human (especially in Third World).
Learning new history and languages.
Getting out of the routine (especially for retirees), scratching wanderlust itches.
Getting to interact, even electronically, with intrepid explorers like Mister E.
Trying to blend in as a local, it is so rewarding to have tourists ask my questions as if I live there. This happened a lot in France and especially Italy.
"What are the benefits of travel?"
Contrarian: None
Wherever you go, there you are. Which explains the ex-pat groups I've heard of from Britain on the Coast of Spain that builds little communities with the same food/drink and everyone speaks the old language and... : )
Of course everyone is not like that, praise the Deity(s).
To discover that there is no "World View" just a lot of small cultural views each as different as the difference between London's Regent St and Sarajevo's .Kazandžiluk St.
To discover every culture as unique values that represent themselves in the decisions they make; resulting in varying tradeoffs in life.
To meet people with different ideas and ways of looking at life, and to mine those people all the wisdom that you can.
To "explore" pedestrian cities and not have to worry about a DUI.
To be able to touch the history that shaped the world.
To be able to wear the same shirt 3 days in one week
Ha!
And a quote I just came across 2 days ago from a blogger writing about traveling in Eastern Europe, wondering what he was doing in Belgrade and Novi Sad:
“ A restless spirit demands to be constantly satisfied.”
TexasTravelmom, I like that quote, although sometimes I wish I were less restless, if that makes any sense.
A sense of accomplishment.
Viaggiare e’ vivere!
Travel keeps me sane and I’ve always appreciated meandering.
Europe (mainly Italy): Seeing things I can't see at home. Etruscan tombs, ancient Roman ruins, Medieval churches and streets, Renaissance art in its original places.
A more "real" opinion.
I once DM'd a person on this forum who, I believe, lived in the London area at that time. She was irritated at other members who were so "us" about her usual days.
For her it was entirely ordinary. Just another day in her life there.
I told her I thought it was like Aldous Huxley's "Doors of Perception". In that he talked about how we create so much of our World ourselves, and don't realize it. When we travel (and are open to it) the "strangeness" of seeing Streets we're not used to, Building shapes we're not used to, people speaking diff languages, and saying different (cultural, historical, etc) things we're not used to...
...Can pry open those self imposed doors a smidgen. And suddenly the World is an amazing place. : )
While for local people it remains quite ordinary. While at home our World is so "ordinary".
Mike, it makes all the sense in the world….
We can experience something exhilarating with all of our senses that we otherwise can only enjoy with our eyes through a book or on-line.
It humbles you in countless ways
Born and raised in the USA, I had a rather naive concept of American Exceptionalism. Traveling to Italy, England and France showed me this belief to be either entirely wrong, or that any form of American Exceptionalism, has some sort of precursor to it that originated elsewhere. :)
You get to eat better food
