My parents love to travel as does my brother...so my whole family is in on the gig.
However its only my father and I who travel to countries where you shouldnt drink the water. Its funny because he has the same curiosity for the... less pretty as I do. When I was going to France I asked my younger brother where the oddest place to go was. I ended up hotelling in the projects and commuting with the Parisians and spending most of my days in the odder parts of the city.
Come to find out my dad did he exact same thing 2 years earlier when he was there.

So that sorta shook my theory about travel being nurtured. I think that some of us are just drawn to things naturally. If we get encouragment to do so or if we decide to ignore it is our choice. But I think I really do believe its somethign you cannot really...get over. Ive actually tried in the past not to travel and it always works against me.

Stand on the edge of the sea and look out across the water... wonder where the wind could take you.

Stand on a long straight road, and can see forever in both directions... be torn, as to which way you should step.

Standing. That is where wanderlust comes from. When you have to be where you are, somewhere else is calling your name.

whistler- no i dont want canada to become another state because then we would have to add another star to our flag. and besides do canadians really want to be american? i dont think so

quote:

Question: Out of curiousity, would you all like Canada to be another state? And if so, why?

No, Whistler, I would not want Canada to become another of our states. Canada is wonderful, just as it is.

It probably is something your born with but it's somthing you can learn too. As a kid I always wanted to climb the next hill just to see, plus there were a few books on the bookshelf that sparked some deep curiosity in me. If I were to never travel it would be like a religious person who never found religion.

I think wanderlust is both nature and nurture. The nurture part is easy - as a kid, I always got a kick out of maps and coloring in every state I had been to and countries too. The more I traveled, the more I wanted to.

But, I was having a conversation last night and my friend was saying that he really enjoyed hanging out with people unlike himself because it allowed him the opportunity to mentally toy with the idea of life in their shoes. As he's a more introverted, shy guy, that kind of made sense to me. Then I started thinking about myself - and I like adventures, traveling, skiing, anything that involves, pushes, and feels good physically. i.e. I really like to ski because I'm good at it and thus it feels really good. Travel is somewhat an extension of that idea. I'm not ok with watching a program on TV about some far off land and mentally imagining life there - I want to go there and physically experience it myself.

On that note, I'd imagine a good majority of people on this board might enjoy more active activities than passive ones... just a guess!

I think it's human nature to want to travel, in our ancestors it manifested itself in a desire to conquer and colonise large parts of the world. I think we are each doing that in our own ways now (although thankfully with less violence).
Nurture certainly plays its part but I think it only brings out what is already within us. I am just thankful I was born when I was and have so many opportunities to travel which weren't so easily available to previous generations.

I have no idea where I get it from. My family..I traced back 7 generations never left the area for more than 500km! My parents were the only ones...so maybe growing up away from the extended family did give us an idea that life is different (even in India from Region to Region).

My father is a typical National Geographic traveler. Why travel yourself when others are doing it for you. Mom a little bit more adventurerous.

I had this curiosity from the time I was young..especially in my geography class.

But I wish I did not have this wanderlust on days like this...when I have to buckle down to my desk and work on a stupid project plan!!! I rather work on my travel plan.

Like most things, there's probably a mix of both nature and nurture...but I tend to believe it’s mostly nature. I mean, everyone can react differently to the exact same situation, based on who they are within. As a non-traveling-related example, I became hooked on birding when, as a 5th grader, I browsed through a photography bird guide of my grandfathers’, and saw a photo of a particular warbler. I distinctly remember this. Now, one could argue there’s nurture there, in that I may never have discovered this interest if my granddad didn’t have a book there for me to look at; however, I argue that you could throw 100 other 5th graders at the exact same book, and the majority would have no interest in it whatsoever. It would have zero lasting impact on them.

I'm brainstorming as I type this..but I'm thinking nature is what gives a person an instantaneous interest/passion in something, nurture is what can, over time, bring something out in a person. The bird example -- I have been interested in it for about 18 years now. My mom became interested by default, because she had to do it with me as a kid, because I was too little to drive myself around. About 12 yrs after I started it up, my brother starts getting into it...and 17 yrs later, he's really getting into it. My Dad humors everyone for many years, but isn't truly interested in it...then at about 15 years into it, he's starting to show genuine interest/fascination. I'm so proud - I helped foster a whole family of birdwatchers. haha.

I know that seems like a tangent -- but I think all of it's related - at least, the way I think about things!

I suppose for all travelers there’s a basic thing we have in common – not really sure what it is, but I suppose it could be a curious nature, or a need to constantly be stimulated by new things, or something like that. Some aspect of our personalities. My brother and I grew up the same way, but he is quite different from me, and he’s perfectly fine staying at home, and not going on any vacations. He’s content. I’m starting to rub off on him though, because he’s willing to start traveling with me to certain countries, but vetoes other ones. So, that’s where the nurture comes in…..I think over time some people can change or be influenced by others in their life…based on the depth of the connection, and the persons’ starting point as far as their personality goes.

My dad traveled a fair amount when he was in the navy before he got married, but I sometimes think that he ‘got it out of his system’ during those years, because I think he’d be able to live a happy life these days without leaving the country. My mom didn’t travel much at all, and actually I think it’s my recent, frequent travels that has spurred some envy in her, and now she’s getting my dad to go on more trips. They actually went to Costa Rica last year.

Honestly, I never really fantasized about traveling outside of the country, when I was younger. I was involved in so many other things that traveling never really crossed my mind. I mean, we took family vacations to various states and national parks growing up, which I *LOVED*, so I am so grateful for that upbringing…maybe that made it not so much a big deal when I DID finally leave the country. I first stepped out of the country at age 25, sort of randomly, and it was only then that I got excited about exploring the world…or maybe, the act of leaving the first time made the possibility more real, and it made me realize it was possible to do it NOW, if I chose.

Sorry for the novel of a post!!!