Do You Have Wanderlust?

I do have wanderlust but no funds to support it. I grew up traveling all over the Caribbean and Europe with my family, but now that I'm grown up, I can't afford the same. But I want to share traveling with my boys. To show them other cultures, to show them the world. I want to travel more.

I definitely have wanderlust. I grew up in a small town in Arkansas and while I have done some traveling within the country and spent a summer in Italy, I still have the urge to constantly travel. Luckily, my husband feels the same way and we spent our honeymoon travelling through London and Paris instead of at a beach resort. I hope we get to travel a lot more in the coming years.

I TOTALLY have wanderlust. I went to Germany on an exchange when I was 15 and had the opportunity to travel in Europe a fair bit. I was hooked. I love travelling. I just started working for an airline and the best perk is the travel.

I want to have wanderlust...but I don't. I really like the idea of travelling to new places, but the reality is that I like to go to the same places over and over again because they are familiar. I like knowing all the good restaurants and things to do. Even though we go to the same vacation place every year we always find new things to do there.

I definitely have wanderlust. I used to travel for my job and that was very fulfilling for me, but once I had children, I changed jobs and very rarely travel now. I miss it so much... I hate the feeling of coming home.

I don't think I'd categorize my travel desires as wanderlust...I love to travel, but I like travel that's planned right down to the train I"m taking from Rome to Florence. And like you, Karen, I love the feeling of coming home - I find that I appreciate trips so much more with a comfortable place to come home to, and I appreciate home so much more when I have seen amazing sites!

I get "bitty" wanderlust that I call 'restlessness.' Sometimes I'll jump in the car and just go downtown and wander around, have lunch and window shop. Seems to recharge my engine. Other times I have a need for a complete change of scene and will take off for a weekend visit...usually with family. When my daughters were little, the three of us would take day trips. Pack a picnic lunch and just go for the day. Didn't matter where so much as the spending time with the girls. And they have fond memories of those little trips partly because they remember how many times I'd have to stop and ask directions! I'm navigationally-challenged!

Oh Karen, I had wanderlust something fierce. I grew up in a small town too, and I wanted to get out of Pennsylvania so bad when I graduated. I got to work on a traveling magazine crew for three years and that enabled me to see most of the USA. The army helped with foreign countries (germany). Now? Not so much. There's no place like home. Oh and when I was raising my kids... i wanted to do it in PA. :)

I used to have wanderlust. I think now, with a family and children I have become more of a homebody. We've also moved around so much that I just enjoy being at home and don't have a desire to travel as much anymore.

Yes, I will get in a car and just drive. Tho I prefer to jump on a train with a good book!

Since I have always had wanderlust I was very fortunate to have had a career that took me too many corners of the world. My wanderlust began as soon as I could wander the globe through books, movies and stories. The planning, anticipation of a new adventure and of course returning home with great memories completes the adventure. Until the next time…..

I have unfullfilled wanderlust. I dream about going to exotic and far away locations from the privacy of my cubicle at work, but I'm not in the position to be able to afford to actually go anywhere. I worry about being able to afford the gas to commute to work every day. But every once in awhile, I think about making my escape. I have always dreamed of visiting Morroco, but India and Italy are also way up on my wish list.

Now that you mention it, and now that I am in my 50s, I DO! I have "wanderlust," and I am not ashamed to admit it. :) Hubby and I FINALLY, after 29 years of being married, took our first real vacation (a road trip) to Oregon ~ 5-days of nothing but he and I. And it was awfully wonderful! However I agree with you, coming home is what I look forward to.

~Virginia

I think I have short term wanderlust. I would love to go to certain places for two weeks or so, but in the end , there is just too much at home that I would miss. My dogs being the main thing. They are too hard to travel with. But, I do have a long, long list of places that I would love to run away too for a certain amount of time. The world is so full of beautiful places; I can't imagine not seeing so many of them.

I do, but with two small kids it has taken a back seat to keeping them happy and on a schedule. One of my biggest dreams is to go on the Amazing Race. I would love to do that, See the world, adventure, excitement. I've had two great adventures in travel, a month in Japan, and three weeks in Europe. Sigh, can't wait to take the kids somewhere exciting

I totally have wanderlust. I have a long list of places I want to go and things I want to see. I was an anthropology minor in college which exposed me to so many different cultures. I want to see all the classic typical things (that I have seen already! Been to England and Italy), but I also want to and spend time with people who are so different from myself and learn all about their ways. I want to see, but mostly I want to experience.

I do to a certain extent, which is mostly hindered because I don't have the means to wander. Someday .....

Absolutely, without question. I read travel magazines for pleasure, I keep a journal of places I dream of going and what I'll do there. I picked up and moved across country to California with what could fit in my car, only because I couldn't get a work visa to move to London. It was 3000 miles either way and I didn't care which. If I don't go somewhere new, even local but still new, by 6 months I get itchy. I could live like Lucy until I had kids--then I'd need to grow some roots to go with my wings.

I don't what to say but it feels like a very different thread here compared where I hang out at an international cycling women's Internet forum. I've been there for over 5 yrs. and at least 45% or more of the women are over 40 yrs. and they do demonstrate wanderlust on their bikes. And these are NOT racers. The majority are like me. Building up cycling and just enjoy freewheeling about and exploring.

I am certain there is enough women here who could join that group.

I don't know that I've experienced wanderlust on any large level. There are times I've wanted to get away from home, but not necessarily for long periods of time. Oh, sure, I was going to move across the country when I was in high school looking for a college to attend, but the reality was that 45 minutes from home was far enough for me. Sometimes I think the distance is what you make it.

I think it's possible to have wanderlust and yet be most comfortable at home. For us, after spending the pre-kid years doing lots of traveling and saturating that bug, we merged our wanderlust with our homebody tendencies by moving to another region of the country, to live on an island. Years later, it's now home to us while still having a fresh, new feel to it.

I absolutely love to travel. We're away from home at least a month every year...but we also love to be home, and have been in the same house for 6.5 years. I am more comfortable to stay away longer than my husband, generally, but we're mostly happy as long as we're together. ;D

(We work on our computers & mostly stay with friends and family, which is how we can afford to be away so much!)

I too love the word "wanderlust." I think it's just so romantic sounding. But, I also totally agree with this statement from your post: "What I've learned from traveling is that I really, really like being home." I moved to Germany to teach for a semester after college and while I loved being able to travel, it really wasn't the same without my then boyfriend to share it with. Eight years later, we're now married and have a 1.5 year old daughter and things couldn't be better. While I still love traveling, I must say "there is no place like home"....esp. when you are madly in love with the company you keep there.

I have wanderlust. We moved so much when I was younger that it is hard for me to just stay in one place. Luckily my husband feels the same way and we find the time and money to travel no matter what.

I definitely do. I like to have "base camp" and I've found that, unexpectedly, small town west texas is fine with me. I don't have any desire to live in a "cool" city like San Francisco or anything like that- but I LOVE adventures and traveling to Africa and sharing those experiences with my family.

I really don't. Never have, really, which may sound strange since I just moved 1,600 miles from the state I spent most of the last 30 years in. I tend to put down roots in a place and get really comfortable.

That doesn't mean I'm not interested in travel or seeing new places, though. I'd actually like to live in Europe at some point, but for the most part I really want to stay still and be part of a community.

I feel like as I get older, I more want to be HOME. I want to travel, yes, but I want to have somewhere to come back to.

i think my wanderlust was born out of my growing up as military brat... i love to travel! and am always dreaming of my next adventure...

I love change and get bored easily, but as I get older, I also like familiarity. There is something really special about knowing all the ins and outs and history of your town.

One of my favorite words! My next tattoo is going to be a compass rose with the wanderlust incorporated, somehow. There are so many places I want to see, but a budget that only allows me to visit them through literature. ;-(

You betcha. I think its a phase for me though. I'm approaching 40, I completed my 1st solo trip abroad 2 years ago, I love learning about new cultures, & would love to travel more. Curiously, my West African husband who has lived in US for 20 years has been permanently cured of the 20 something wanderlust that sent him here... the only place he wants to go now is "home" to Africa.

Wanderlust...yes! I adore traveling. In fact, we love it so much, we now live in Buenos Aires. Much to our delight, our son, at 4, has wanderlust, too. Seeing new places and cultures through his eyes has definitely increased my love for it.

Mandy [url="http://threelittlebaers.blogspot.com]Our Very Own Traveling Circus[/url]

I definitely love to move around. I've been in each place I've ever lived (except childhood home) for no longer than four years. Four years in Richmond, four in DC, 1.5 in New York City, and now I'm heading to Philadelphia. I think there's a difference when you are tied down with a house/mortgage, dog, spouse, children, job --- it's easy to be transient in your 20s and try to see as much of the world as you can before settling down. (However, as an aside: I don't think I'm running away from anything, whereas Lucy clearly was.)

No wanderlust over here. My husband and I both grew up in the midwest and moved to upstate New York about a year and a half ago. While we love the "adventure" of living somewhere completely new, we hope to move back to our beloved collegetown someday. We love to travel and explore, but I think we're both homebodies at heart!

I absolutely have wanderlust. I was 5 years old when I told my mom I was going off to college. 3 years is the max I am comfortable in one place. I married a naval officer who also loves to move, so we have moved up & down both coasts & traveled cross country several times. My first trip to the Florida Keys was in college. A friend & I got in her truck & drove south until we couldn't drive any more.

I was born and raised in the same city, so I had wanderlust for the following 10 years after high school. But, now that I am married and a mom, I find myself wanting to settle down more and lay roots down. I want q place I can call home!

I could not afford any wanderlust after university. But even after that it was limited.

But then I returned to cycling in 1992 on a regular basis. I've been car-free for past 3 decades, so I bike-commute (when it's not snowing/nor icy), use it for fitness rides or exploring! Most of our vacations have been cycling trips that we made up ourselves.

So I absolutely will say yes (!) that wanderlust spirit and a new way of seeing your world, is from the bike saddle and make it part of your daily lifestyle.

I have chosen to live in neighbourhoods close to transit, services/shops and some bike routes. It's been like this for....well nearly my whole life. Which is more than 45 yrs. :)

Jean http://cyclewriteblog.wordpress.com

Oh yes, bad wanderlust here. I picked up and moved 1400 miles from the little town I grew up in, right after I graduated from college. My husband and I spent 14 years in Dallas, traveling whenever we could, including with our kids. They've each been to 12 countries and about half the states, husband and I have been to many more. He re-enlisted in the Army recently and we moved to Colorado, we're praying that the next move we get is overseas (Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan). It sounds amazing to me.

I WANT to have wanderlust, but the truth is I'm perfectly content to to take yearly vacations with my family and call it good. The thought of great travel appeals . . . but not as much as staying home, where I've lived for years. Lucy's life sounded so exciting, but I also felt sorry for her that she had missed so much of her family's life.

I swear you just described the town I grew up and went to high school in. I lived in the country - a 20 minute drive to town AND high school! Rolling hills, land to explore, and farms and cows and horses, oh my!

Back then, I felt I did have a bit of Wanderlust. I wanted out, to further horizons and explore the great big world.

Now that I've lived in five states - in the Midwest, South, and Northeast - I find myself longing for the great feelings I had when I was small-town living. I've settled in a small village that often resembles my "old home," even with the lack of farm land, and I realize that a part of me will always long for that "home" no matter how many experiences I've had, and places I've traveled.

I used to have wanderlust, and a full passport to show for it.

But, for most of us, it's very hard to constantly travel once you start a family. Damn that Angelina Jolie - she makes it look so glamorous and easy to travel with kids :)