In my experience there are two types of travelers: Those who collect destinations like Boy Scout merit badges, and those who travel to learn, driven by curiosity, not status.
My profesion is tour guide and I travel a lot. But I travel mostly to the same places. Usually my guests have travelled to much more destinations than me. And I don't consider myself well-travelled. And I don't want to travel always to new places. I rather prefer to return to the same places and know them better and feel after a while at home there. However, in the course of a lifetime I do want to visit as many places on the Planet as possible, but slowly.
If I have the time I like to hang out some place for a while, get the feel of it. That’s more important than chalking up a list of countries I’ve visited. Don’t get be wrong though, I’m so glad I saw all the famous sites in those wonderful cities and countries. To me that is total joy. To have seen the notables—an education for sure. But to hunker down somewhere, a country not one’s own, relax into it and just experience it without having to rush off, to me, that’s well-traveled.
Depends on what kind of traveller you are. With a genuine, urgent, and caring interest in seeing other people, landscapes, cultures, histories, foodstuffs, ways and art of living... you can feel so rewarded that you simply don't waste a thought on how this will set you apart from your neighbours. I find the theory of the 'positional good' quite cynical, come to think of it. Smells like Western culture of the eighties... selling selling selling. Human life is not about this. Which is, btw, a thing you learn quite quickly once you leave the Western Hemisphere on your travels and enter the East, the South, the North...
I think being well-traveled is no different than other signs of wealth such as a fancy car. For some it's all about status, for others it's all about intrinsic enjoyment and for everyone else it's some combination of the two.
I remember following some vloggers who would brag about how many countries they went to. A lot of these vloggers were fine people to be sure, but I always felt that keeping a count of all the countries you've visited was a little weird. I just want to go somewhere where my heart sings and I get lost in the culture. Great article Justin.
Thank you, Thomas! Happy to hear you enjoyed it. I agree that I'm not sure I understand the bragging part either. While I think keeping a mental inventory of such things is something humans naturally do, it's also important to realize there is something odd to it too. My wife and I have a scratch-off map we received as a gift years ago and while it's fun keeping track of countries visited, you realize how absurd it is to scratch off an entire country, say Canada for instance, just because you were in a city for a handful of days. Lol. Thanks for chiming in on the post! Cheers!
Personally, no it wasn't and it isn't. I'm well-travelled enough that adding another country isn't going to elevate my status much, if at all.
I started travelling to explore, and continued travelling because I had nothing better to do.
I am the sort of person who grew up spending their pocketmoney in an attempt to complete their sticker albums, and I will probably finish visiting all 41 league football grounds at some point in the next few years.
That said, I've met some archetypal box-tickers. They're very common in Central Asia, as with its visa reforms and cheaper flights, it's become the low hanging fruit once you've been to all the places that aren't all that exotic. Most of these folk are young. How much of that is changing culture and how much is just those goals vanishing once marriage and career take over, I'm not sure.
Also, in my experience, people really don't care that much about your travels. It's a pretty weak flex. Most folk don't want to be with someone who has forfeited their career to sleep in 800 taka hotels in Bangladesh. I'd have been better off putting the money aside for a Ferrari.
For those of us who have lived and been citizens in several countries, travel is not status. It’s just a part of who we are. I have learned to not bring it up, though, because then, it can come across as flaunting. All the traveling I’ve done and do is based on my upbringing of learning and being curious about the world.
For me, being well-traveled has nothing at all to do with status or competition. I was born with a passion to experience and understand other cultures and parts of the world. All the time I was growing up, I spent hours and hours reading encyclopedias (no internet then!) about other countries and imagining I was living there. I started studying foreign languages as soon as I could (German in middle school, French in high school, and Spanish, French and German in university). I spent a year at a university in Germany, taught English in Mexico, earned an MA in Linguistics (so I could study even more languages), joined Peace Corps and was sent to Kabul, Afghanistan, etc. etc.
I was always afraid to take pictures before (which makes me really sad about my time in Afghanistan), but now with a cell phone, I'll admit I take lots of them, and I enjoy sharing them in my Substack posts. Again, not because I'm trying to prove I'm better than anyone else, but because I love sharing the beauty around me and hope I inspire others to visit and experience these places as well.
I think being well-traveled is subjective. As others have mentioned, some like to experience countries and culture, some like to post on social media and some are travelers are curious. Some people choose to show their status, as you say by having a nice car in a driveway of maybe a nice house. I have friends who have been to over 75+ countries, started traveling in their early 20's, without a lot of money and had wonderful experiences. They just wanted to see the world!
My travel has changed also since I started traveling, as I am fortunate now to be able to spend more on maybe a pricer hotel or restaurant. But the 'why' I travel is the same. I'm curious and want to see as much of our beautiful Earth as I can, and I think you can do that no matter your 'status' level if that's what you choose. 'Life is a voyage. Those who travel live twice!
Very well said Marlo. I agree that it’s largely subjective and has more to do with how we invest our time and attention or quality in a place rather than some quantity of countries. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. 😊
In Bulgaria and in the Balkans in general, the people who have visited the Holly land in Jerusalem and particularly who have participated in the Divine service on the Good Sutterday during Easter aqure the title "Haji" to their surname. For example, my name is Petar Petrov and if I go to Jerusalem I can call myself Petar Hajipetrov. And so everybody would know I have been on pilgramige.
In my experience there are two types of travelers: Those who collect destinations like Boy Scout merit badges, and those who travel to learn, driven by curiosity, not status.
My profesion is tour guide and I travel a lot. But I travel mostly to the same places. Usually my guests have travelled to much more destinations than me. And I don't consider myself well-travelled. And I don't want to travel always to new places. I rather prefer to return to the same places and know them better and feel after a while at home there. However, in the course of a lifetime I do want to visit as many places on the Planet as possible, but slowly.
If I have the time I like to hang out some place for a while, get the feel of it. That’s more important than chalking up a list of countries I’ve visited. Don’t get be wrong though, I’m so glad I saw all the famous sites in those wonderful cities and countries. To me that is total joy. To have seen the notables—an education for sure. But to hunker down somewhere, a country not one’s own, relax into it and just experience it without having to rush off, to me, that’s well-traveled.
I totally agree, Jeanine.
I travel to learn, experience other cultures, landscapes, history.
Depends on what kind of traveller you are. With a genuine, urgent, and caring interest in seeing other people, landscapes, cultures, histories, foodstuffs, ways and art of living... you can feel so rewarded that you simply don't waste a thought on how this will set you apart from your neighbours. I find the theory of the 'positional good' quite cynical, come to think of it. Smells like Western culture of the eighties... selling selling selling. Human life is not about this. Which is, btw, a thing you learn quite quickly once you leave the Western Hemisphere on your travels and enter the East, the South, the North...
Traveling is not about status. Putting pictures of it on Facebook is.
I think being well-traveled is no different than other signs of wealth such as a fancy car. For some it's all about status, for others it's all about intrinsic enjoyment and for everyone else it's some combination of the two.
I remember following some vloggers who would brag about how many countries they went to. A lot of these vloggers were fine people to be sure, but I always felt that keeping a count of all the countries you've visited was a little weird. I just want to go somewhere where my heart sings and I get lost in the culture. Great article Justin.
Thank you, Thomas! Happy to hear you enjoyed it. I agree that I'm not sure I understand the bragging part either. While I think keeping a mental inventory of such things is something humans naturally do, it's also important to realize there is something odd to it too. My wife and I have a scratch-off map we received as a gift years ago and while it's fun keeping track of countries visited, you realize how absurd it is to scratch off an entire country, say Canada for instance, just because you were in a city for a handful of days. Lol. Thanks for chiming in on the post! Cheers!
Personally, no it wasn't and it isn't. I'm well-travelled enough that adding another country isn't going to elevate my status much, if at all.
I started travelling to explore, and continued travelling because I had nothing better to do.
I am the sort of person who grew up spending their pocketmoney in an attempt to complete their sticker albums, and I will probably finish visiting all 41 league football grounds at some point in the next few years.
That said, I've met some archetypal box-tickers. They're very common in Central Asia, as with its visa reforms and cheaper flights, it's become the low hanging fruit once you've been to all the places that aren't all that exotic. Most of these folk are young. How much of that is changing culture and how much is just those goals vanishing once marriage and career take over, I'm not sure.
Also, in my experience, people really don't care that much about your travels. It's a pretty weak flex. Most folk don't want to be with someone who has forfeited their career to sleep in 800 taka hotels in Bangladesh. I'd have been better off putting the money aside for a Ferrari.
For those of us who have lived and been citizens in several countries, travel is not status. It’s just a part of who we are. I have learned to not bring it up, though, because then, it can come across as flaunting. All the traveling I’ve done and do is based on my upbringing of learning and being curious about the world.
For me, being well-traveled has nothing at all to do with status or competition. I was born with a passion to experience and understand other cultures and parts of the world. All the time I was growing up, I spent hours and hours reading encyclopedias (no internet then!) about other countries and imagining I was living there. I started studying foreign languages as soon as I could (German in middle school, French in high school, and Spanish, French and German in university). I spent a year at a university in Germany, taught English in Mexico, earned an MA in Linguistics (so I could study even more languages), joined Peace Corps and was sent to Kabul, Afghanistan, etc. etc.
I was always afraid to take pictures before (which makes me really sad about my time in Afghanistan), but now with a cell phone, I'll admit I take lots of them, and I enjoy sharing them in my Substack posts. Again, not because I'm trying to prove I'm better than anyone else, but because I love sharing the beauty around me and hope I inspire others to visit and experience these places as well.
People who are well-travelled are never lost 😉
I think being well-traveled is subjective. As others have mentioned, some like to experience countries and culture, some like to post on social media and some are travelers are curious. Some people choose to show their status, as you say by having a nice car in a driveway of maybe a nice house. I have friends who have been to over 75+ countries, started traveling in their early 20's, without a lot of money and had wonderful experiences. They just wanted to see the world!
My travel has changed also since I started traveling, as I am fortunate now to be able to spend more on maybe a pricer hotel or restaurant. But the 'why' I travel is the same. I'm curious and want to see as much of our beautiful Earth as I can, and I think you can do that no matter your 'status' level if that's what you choose. 'Life is a voyage. Those who travel live twice!
Very well said Marlo. I agree that it’s largely subjective and has more to do with how we invest our time and attention or quality in a place rather than some quantity of countries. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. 😊
In Bulgaria and in the Balkans in general, the people who have visited the Holly land in Jerusalem and particularly who have participated in the Divine service on the Good Sutterday during Easter aqure the title "Haji" to their surname. For example, my name is Petar Petrov and if I go to Jerusalem I can call myself Petar Hajipetrov. And so everybody would know I have been on pilgramige.