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Post by gato on Feb 28, 2021 7:27:37 GMT -5
I just watched Nomadland, a film about the portion of Americans who live on the road all the time. They drive from place to place in vans and RV's, briefly drawn to gatherings, filled with others of the same mindset. The idea is not to arrive anywhere in particular, but spend a lifetime getting there. The travel is the draw, not the destination. They're seasonal, in the sense that they seem to stay ahead of the weather, stopping off to do odd jobs, like working at Amazon warehouses for a stint.
The travel bug was extinguished in me early in life, because when I was a kid, my family moved around quite a bit, coast to coast. Living out of a suitcase does not appeal to me. Living out of a duffel bag in the Army only doubled down on my dislike of travel. Even traveling in luxury is anathema to me.
My next door neighbors have a gigantic RV, with everything including a bathroom with a shower. I pick up their mail for them while they're on the road. They live in the comfort of a house on wheels, driving hundreds or thousands of miles, to get to an RV park where they plug in and emerge from the RV to enjoy the outdoors they could have enjoyed right here.
Many people I know spend thousands of dollars to fly off to exotic locales ...
If I were forced to choose: unlimited travel for free, or fork over thousands to stay home, I would write that multi-thousand dollar check in a heartbeat.
Moe's dudes: are you travelers? What is the lure?
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Post by Laker on Feb 28, 2021 8:38:48 GMT -5
Two of my good friends traveled the US pulling a 5th wheel trailer for many years but it wasn’t an aimless venture. They would follow the seasons and hit major motorcycle events around the country where they would set up a business selling t-shirts. They seemed to really enjoy that vagabond lifestyle.
My traveling was taking annual motorcycle trips where my wife and I always tried to do five thousand miles in two weeks but it always felt good to get home. Now days I am very content to relax and enjoy my home and friends. The lure of those trips was all about the ride and not so much about the destination. If you have ever traveled by motorcycle you’ll understand.
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Post by Sharkie on Feb 28, 2021 8:50:23 GMT -5
Lots of folks in this neck of the woods escape to the warmer climates for six months. No snow and shorts and T-shirts appeals to me, but driving an RV for days or pulling a fifth wheel doesn’t. So we buy a good snowblower and book a flight to the Caribbean once a winter.
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krrf
Wholenote
Posts: 376
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Post by krrf on Feb 28, 2021 9:09:01 GMT -5
I think the point of that movie was that some people are being forced into living in a van. Those weren't the snowbirds you are typically thinking of, but elderly people that seemed like they had no choice. It was pretty depressing to me. Fun fact, I passed through Quartzite all the time and it's as depressing a place as depicted in the movie.
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Post by tahitijack on Feb 28, 2021 11:39:41 GMT -5
I like going places far from home and living the life of a local for several weeks. I 2020 we would have been living in Tuscany for three weeks.
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Post by LTB on Feb 28, 2021 11:39:52 GMT -5
To go somewhere for a short stent would be nice but to just get in an RV and live traveling here and there does not sound like the life we want. Being retired and having to spend almost all of it in the house I am ready to do something when I am able.
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Post by Ragtop on Feb 28, 2021 11:40:08 GMT -5
I used to want to be on the road constantly. Every time I had a break from college, off I'd go, usually with a buddy who was the same way. We once drove, on the spur of the moment, nonstop from Omaha to San Francisco just to see if we could. And we did. We always went west, to Phoenix or Las Vegas or Colorado. I think that's where my love for the wide-open spaces of the American West began.
But I guess I got it out of my system. I'm content now to stay home here in the High Rockies. We have frequent visitors, people like to come visit to see the sights. A good deal for me, as I get to see our friends and don't have to drive anywhere.
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Post by gato on Feb 28, 2021 14:06:09 GMT -5
I don't know if it's still all the rage, but last year people were falling all over themselves to buy tickets on planes that would take from Point A --- back to Point A. They didn't go anywhere.
"Some airlines call these “scenic flights”; others are more direct, calling them “flights to nowhere.”
These bits were advertised as "satisfying the itch for travel."
I'm guessing that urban bus drivers also get to satisfy their itch for travel, without going anywhere. Plus they're able to meet interesting (crazy) people, dine in exotic locales (Tina's Taco Truck), and embrace the indigenous ambience (gunshots and sirens.)
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Post by HenryJ on Feb 28, 2021 17:10:32 GMT -5
My wife and I have not traveled since 2019. We were planning to stay home in 2020 anyway before you-know-what hit.
Our idea of travel is to drive to the airport, fly to our destination, and take the shuttle bus to the hotel. For three years in a row we went to NYC. We really heart NY. We found a hotel across the street from Rockefeller Center where we have stayed 4 times (2012 plus 2017-19). Subways take you everywhere in NYC, and we weren't afraid to take them.
Don't have any idea how NYC may have changed since 2019.
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Post by Taildragger on Feb 28, 2021 18:15:47 GMT -5
To go somewhere for a short stent would be nice but to just get in an RV tour bus and live traveling here and there does not sound like the life we want. Uh-oh...sounds kinda like:
"So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star? Then listen now to what I say Just get an electric guitar Then take some time and learn how to play And with your hair swung right and your pants fit tight It's gonna be all right"
---Sincerely, The Byrds
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