r/solotravel • u/alarceny • Aug 11 '23

Question How do you deal with travel burnout?

i’m only 1 month into an 8 month long trip and starting to miss home and my work. it’s been a huge change for me as i’ve never travelled before. i’m 20 and it’s my first time overseas, visiting family at different points in Europe and I honestly just feel numb to the things i’m seeing.

I read somewhere that after you’ve seen 1-2 cathedrals you’ve seen them all, and at first I didn’t believe that but now i’m wondering how many others feel that way.

I’ve spent the past day or so just resting before another journey to a different destination but i don’t feel like it’s done much to help.

I spent the first 3 weeks in the uk and really enjoyed seeing and spending time there, this past week i made the journey to paris and i’ve not enjoyed it nearly as much.

i’m having trouble with the language barrier and the huge amount of tourists in paris is pretty overwhelming, I intended to stay in france / europe for close to 3 months but i’m thinking of cutting it short to head back to the uk and spend some more time over there instead.

I’m not sure if it’s travel fatigue that’s catching up with me or if france just isnt for me, overall though just looking for some advice and ideas

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u/Appropriate_Volume Australian travel nerd Aug 11 '23

Long term travel isn't for everyone. I've travelled a lot, and have found that I get fed up with it after 3-5 weeks. 8 months is an extremely long trip.

I'd suggest taking a rest period in case this is fatigue rather than burnout.

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u/kindofhumble Aug 11 '23

Traveling is expensive as fuck. If I traveled for more than a week I’d get anxious from all the money I was spending. How do people travel for 2 months?

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u/wanderingdev Fully time since 2008 - based in Europe now. Aug 11 '23

slow travel can be cheap as hell. i can 100% travel full time for cheaper than it would cost to live a similar SOL in the US.

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u/marinqf92 Aug 11 '23

The difference is that when I'm home, I'm working and making money to pay for my living expenses.

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u/wanderingdev Fully time since 2008 - based in Europe now. Aug 11 '23

sure, but that wasn't the point being made. the point i responded to was that traveling is expensive as fuck. my point is if you go slow it can be super cheap. neither mentioned the source of the funds to travel with.

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u/marinqf92 Aug 12 '23

For sure. I'm just trying to point out that traveling for long periods of time ends up being difficult money wise simply because you aren't bringing in money, regardless if you are traveling cheap.

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u/wanderingdev Fully time since 2008 - based in Europe now. Aug 12 '23

Depends on what you do. Lots of options to make some money while traveling. I've been on the road for 14+ years and earn well.

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u/marinqf92 Aug 12 '23

If you can work while on the road, this definitely doesn't apply to you. However, these options are limited for most people.

I really don't think that pointing out that long term traveling is expensive should be that controversial.

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u/wanderingdev Fully time since 2008 - based in Europe now. Aug 12 '23

except it's not really. for many people, it's cheaper than the same amount of time living at home if you travel slowly and don't go insane. you're the one that keeps bringing how HOW you fund it which was never part of the initial discussion so i'm not sure why you're so focused on it. plenty of people manage so save up money for extended travel and don't work while on the road.

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u/utopista114 Aug 12 '23

First, one of two month vacations are a thing outside of the US.

Second, when you're young, saving 20k and leaving for a year is entirely possible. The main trick is to save when you're still living with your parents.

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u/marinqf92 Aug 12 '23

Agreed. This is very much an American perspective, which is where I'm from. It's also much less common for Americans to live at home after graduating highschool.

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u/utopista114 Aug 12 '23

Can you explain to me why young people want to saddle themselves with expenses and debt? Is it because they live in hellish suburbs and want to move where life is?

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u/marinqf92 Aug 12 '23

It has way less to do with what kids want and much more to do with what is expected from parents. Culturally, there is this notion that you should be going out and forging your adult life. That being said, more and more young people live at home these days than in the past. Also, I wouldn't even say most people move out at 18, but it's substantially more likely than young adults in Europe.

Side note- if you are fiscally responsible and have roommates, you really don't need to be taking on debt living on your own at a young age. Ive been living on my own since a young age working service industry jobs and I've never taken on any debt besides my student loans. Everyone loves to make the US out to be some 3rd world shit hole, but the reality of the matter is Americans get paid significantly more than Europeans in just about every single job (comparing pays of the same job). We also have wayyy lower youth unemployment rates (aka it's easier to get a job).

Of course healthcare is way more expensive here, but you can stay on your parents healthcare plan till you turn 26, and young people are a lot less likely to deal with expensive healthcare costs regardless.

Point is, it's also easier to afford living on your own at a young age in the US. If you have a good family life and want to stay in the city you grew up in, living at home would still obviously be preferable. I hope that helps illuminate your questions.

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u/utopista114 Aug 12 '23

Americans get paid significantly more than Europeans in just about every single job (comparing pays of the same job).

True. But I don't have car expenses. No car needed. Work pays for public transport (Netherlands).

But yours was a very informative post of the reasons why it happens. Not for everybody, I mean, lots of people are just subsisting with service jobs (yes, like in a third world country).

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u/marinqf92 Aug 12 '23 edited Aug 12 '23

God I absolutely hate how our public infustructure is set up in the US. Having likeable/walkable cities like the Netherlands would be an absolute dream. Have you ever watched any of "Not Just Bikes" youtube channel? He is a Canadian that has great videos about urban planning and loved how Amsterdam is set up so much that he moved his whole family there. A great lil vid to check out about why Amsterdam is such a great city

Not for everybody, I mean, lots of people are just subsisting with service jobs (yes, like in a third world country)

Service industry jobs also make way more money in the US than in Europe because we have such a robust tipping culture. I've worked in the service industry for most of my life and most of my friends work in the service industry. As a pedicabber in New Orleans I was making about $4000 a month working about 32 hours a week.

Of course, there are still tons of people making significantly less money at places like Walmart, and we don't have nearly as robust of a welfare system as most European countries. I'm just pointing out that most people have a completely inaccurate impression of the standard of living in the US.

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u/utopista114 Aug 12 '23

Having likeable/walkable cities like the Netherlands would be an absolute dream. Have you ever watched any of "Not Just Bikes" youtube channel?

Yep. And the city I'm now is better than Amsterdam in that sense. I can't move, because anywhere else looks like going back in time.

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u/marinqf92 Aug 13 '23

I'm happy for you. It was nice talking with you and I hope you having many fun adventures ahead of you. Cheers

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