Starting to lose my zest for travel

I'm currently on my first stage of travel, which is doing a working holiday in England. After my YMS visa ends in 2014, I am (was) planning on doing a London-Singapore overland trip via Turkey, Iran, etc.

It's been great so far. London is a good base to travel around the UK and in Europe (currently on holiday in Greece right now). And I just love London and I have met some good people to hang out with here. But lately, I have been missing my friends and family back home in Canada. Heck, even though I find my job here more fulfilling, I am missing my old job and coworkers. I do miss my life back in Canada. And lately, I am starting to lose my zest for travel. Maybe it's because Christmas is coming up and I am away from family. Or maybe it's because I am in Santorini right now in late November and it is empty, except for a few couples (which is depressing). I naively thought that Greece is to Northern Europeans what Mexico is to North Americans. Always busy lol.

While I have no regrets of moving to London, even though just temporarily, I sometimes think of those moments I am missing back home, like family gatherings or with friends. I still have the desire to travel for a long period of time one more time, and I still want to go to India and revisit SE Asia and China -- partly to relive my youth when I backpacked around Europe for 3 months and had such a great time. But unfortunately, the desire is not as strong as before. Everything just feels so transient - transient friends, experiences, etc. There's a new part of me that wants to go home after my working holiday is done and settle down. The old part of me wants to do that RTW trip and relive that sense of adventure and restlessness that made me quit my job in Canada to move to the UK in the first place.

Oh god, the thoughts that come to my head when I am bored in my hotel room since everything is closed during low season.

No problem, it sounds like you're committed to the UK for another year, after that take a break back in Canada for a month or so. Chances are 9 out of 10 that you will have changed enough that all you have in common with old friends are memories. Then you can resume your travels with a clear conscience.

On the off chance you fit back in, look for a job.

Either way it's a win-win situation.

I think busman7 has it nailed- no reason you can't go home for a few weeks and see where things stand. Plus who knows? A lot can happen in a year, so I think it's very premature to worry about whether you'll end up doing your rtw or not.

My experience frankly with going home is I enjoy seeing friends and family of course but just as you don't stay the same nor do things at home- all but a few friends of mine still live in the city I lived in for 7 years, and my parents sold my childhood home/ none of my friends live there anymore either. Of course it is great to see the people who you will be close to for life, and I don't think you ever fully stop missing the people you are closest to, but by this point the world is filled with so many people I love I'll never be able to track them all down. Both a good and bad thing!

For the next year, though, how about arranging your closest family/friends to come visit you in Europe? I'm sure some are planning on it (and if not invite 'em), and in my experience knowing X family member will be visiting can really help when living abroad, even if it's months down the line.

Oh and final note, yeah, Greece closed about a month ago and will reopen in the late spring. Until then if you want to meet people and find excitement the best bet are either big cities or ski towns.

Good luck!

As they say, the grass is always greener. The longest I've ever traveled for is 5 months, and there's no doubt that I was ready to come home at the end of that. Once I was home, it took me about 2 months to be ready to travel again. As it happens, that was 6 years ago now, and I've enjoyed my shorter trips (max 3 weeks) that I've taken in those 6 years, and I definitely like having a predictable paycheque to fund those trips, but I still dream of taking another big trip for many months or years. I could go, but there's many things that I've started here that I'd like to see completed, so that means staying put for several more years.

Enjoy your time in London, and either get people to visit you, or take some time to visit home while you're there. Then once your visa is up assess where you are in your life and whether you really want to keep traveling, or if you're ready to settle back into a life at home. Either option can be the right one, depending on where your mental state is at the time. Just remember that it can be a lot harder to leave than it is to keep going, so make sure you make a decision that you won't regret.

Thanks guys for all your comments!

I am starting to think that long-term traveling is like sex: it's for the young. I'll probably go on traveling more while I still can, and while I still have the desire for it. I could go on and if it ever starts feeling like a chore and I decide to end it, I could buy a one-way ticket back home. Anyway, I still have time to think about it.

Thanks again.

heymikey wrote:Thanks guys for all your comments!

I am starting to think that long-term traveling is like sex: it's for the young. I'll probably go on traveling more while I still can, and while I still have the desire for it. I could go on and if it ever starts feeling like a chore and I decide to end it, I could buy a one-way ticket back home. Anyway, I still have time to think about it.

Thanks again.

For the young?!

Couldn't help myself.

heymikey wrote:Thanks guys for all your comments!

I am starting to think that long-term traveling is like sex: it's for the young.

Thanks again.

You finished school in 2004

You have a ways to go yet but you will realize how wrong you are on both counts.