I’m A Travel Addict – But Is It Nature or Nurture?

I think I’m pretty similar to you in that respect Amanda. I’ve been traveling since I was a baby (you should see my first passport photo… I was such a cutie!) with trips to Guatemala (where my family is originally from) and Mexico being a very common occurrence. As I’ve gotten older, my love of travel has only increased, and I’ve gotten to the point where I just want to see everything and yet go back to all the places I’ve been before. I think that my upbringing definitely had a lot to do with that, but my personality is also a huge part of it because I am very curious and I also love to imagine what it would be like to be other people (usually movie or book characters) and go on adventures. My siblings though, could not be any more different than me if they tried. They love the creature comforts of home and travel abroad begrudgingly, unless they happen to be able to stay in 4 or 5 star resorts, which to me isn’t what traveling is about at all. Sorry about the lengthy response, but thanks for the great question!

Definitely a mix of both. First trip abroad was probably at 6-8 months old.

Couple a family that loves to travel (residing all over the globe) with a super curious personality and insatiable fascination with geography, voila!

For me, my parents instilled th elove of travel in me. My first vacation was at 2 years old to Poland, and I haven’t stopped traveling since. I’ve got the bug, where I cannot go a few months without traveling somewhere…I really do not know where I would be if my parents had not traveled with my sister and me.

Thanks for the interesting comments so far, it looks like there are a few nature and nurture mixes like me, but to brian and Eva who said it was more learned, that’s really interesting! I guess this is a perspective I don’t have myself, but it’s good to see that even people who don’t travel early in life can suddenly get the bug. That gives me hope for all those people who’ve never traveled – it still could happen one day.

Please keep your comments coming – are you nature or nurture? – because remember, I’m insanely curious!

Your personality traits sound a lot like mine…except that I am easily amused instead of being easily bored. I totally agree that being open minded and curious are keys to the travel addict.

I am also fascinated by discovering how other people in other cultures live. I guess I am a travel voyeur….I love learning how different people go about their daily lives..what makes them happy, what they like to eat, and how they interact with others.

I have to force my one sibling and my parents to travel…so I definitely believe that genes have only partly to do with it. Put me on the fence on this one.

Of both a bit, my parents loved to travel and so do I, but what I love even more is living in foreign countries, perhaps I am by nationality “Expat”? SY

I run through this with friends from myhome town all the time. I ask- why don’t you guys get up, get out and get something? What are you still doing here? Don’t you realize that you can go anywhere you want at any time you want? It’s incredible, but many of them just don’t have that urge. Me, I like walking down the street just because I know it’s going to expose me to something new, something that I otherwise would not have run into. Experience is what it’s all about. you just don’t get that staying in the same spot, doing a lot of the same things. Good piece- thanks for that!

I agree with Ahi’s comment that genetic makeup, or instinct, could play a role. After all, our distant ancestors spread from Africa to cover the globe (albeit rather gradually).

Total, 100%…nature.

By the time I was born, I was the last of several kids and essentially raised as an only child. I guess after being in so many wars, my parents had absolutely no interest in travel. I spent most of my childhood spinning a National Geographic globe, dreaming of going to faraway places. I watched Charles Kuralt wandering in search of random stories in his RV and was horribly jealous!

I grew up on the East Coast, and it wasn’t until I was 20 when I finally got west of the Mississippi River. Got my first passport at 22. Ten years later, I’ve hit 4 continents and 22 countries…but trying to make up for lost time completely burned me out.

Interestingly enough, about half the time I want to stay “home” (wherever that may be at the moment) and be bored. It’s good to give the body and mind some rest and time to process all that I’ve experienced. So I’d say I’m 25% restless, 50% curious, and 25% open-minded

I’m just not sure where the need to travel comes from. My parents took my brother and I all around the Western United States in road trips when we were kids. They did a few trips abroad but when I was an adult I made my own decision to see the world. For me, it might have to do with my family because they are always striving for new experiences and a better life so my translation of it is to see the world I guess.

HI guys,
I think that it dependds on you whether nature or nurture;
but I like the fact that Amanda was risen up with travelling !me too I want to travel abroad
That’s cool !I can learn other’s culture and so on I like that