from the "when are you going to grow-up" dept.

"Immaturity? Take a left at Juvenile..."

When, like me, you travel a lot or live abroad, you hear two common reactions from your friends:

Reaction #1: Wow! I am so envious...

Reaction #2: When are you going to grow up?

An essay over at Vagabondish examines the reasons behind Reaction #2.

"Is the long-term traveler really nothing more than an immature child in others’ eyes? Not a curious soul seeking answers but rather an intellectual teenager, ignorant of the future and focusing only on the pleasure of the moment? [...MORE...]"

I have never understood why living in, say, West Africa for a year, would be considered immature. After all, isn't life all about learning new things? Traveling is simply the best education, period. New languages, new music, new cultures... and yes, the odd pint.

And in reality, the career traveler's life is tougher than you might think. You give up relationships, your home and it's really hard to make a living at it.

Personally, I would rather squeeze nickles than stay in a job I hate for 35 years... and then wonder, "where the hell did my life go?"

Where it all began: Portugal, 1993

I made peace a long time ago with the "responsibility" issue: I may not have a lot of stuff, but if I were to die tomorrow, I would go out knowing I had lived the life that I wanted to live. And I would have absolutely no regrets... except for the fact that I didn't start traveling until I was 30.

Cheers!