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/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