I travel all the time.

I travel all the time.

Don’t you feel rootless when you travel all the time? Are you never going to live a serious life? Why do you travel all the time? aren’t you soon done with seeing the whole world? These are questions I get all the time.

I have been on the road pretty much non stop since 1987 and I have no plans to stop.

I live more than 300 days a year in a hotel room. And I work as a freelancer in tourism. And have my little laptop as my portable office I can set up anywhere in the world. These days I make a pretty comfortable living out of my constant travels, but there are some people who just don’t get why I have chosen this kinda life and why I think it’s fun to travel all the time.

On the road for more than 2 decades.

On the road for more than 2 decades.

Are you selfish if you chose not to have kids?

I love children, but I don't need my own.

I love children, but I don’t need my own.

One of the main topics that comes up when people try to tell me that I am having a horrible life as a non stop traveler is that I have not had any children. And that this is the best thing that can happen to you in life. I am sure that most of the people who have kids think this is the best that ever happened to them. But it’s not for everyone. Kids need stability when they grow and secure settings and this is not something I can offer with my lifestyle. And I am not ready to change my life. If life becomes a string of daily routines, where what I am having for dinner is the highlight of my day. Then I slowly start to crumble. And would soon become some grumpy old fart sitting in front of my computer every night, telling my friends on facebook what I hate.

I don’t ever want to go down that alley. It’s not that I don’t like kids, but I am quite happy with my two nieces and have never had that thought that I would like some myself when I see other peoples children play and be happy. I’m quite happy to be nice to children that belongs to my family members, as well as to any other kid I encounter along the way. While many people have kids for the right reasons, I have to say that I see quite a few people who only have kids for selfish reasons. Such as wanting kids cause they want the unconditional love that children give their parents. Or because they see having kids as something you must have in order to be a so called normal person who is respected by society. I remember once I had a frustrated girlfriend who said to me one day that “I am looking in brochures with baby clothes, while you are looking for plane tickets to Madagascar”. That was sort of the end of that relationship and I am happy with that as I am happy that I have chosen not to have children, but to travel all the time instead.

 

Is it important to win prestige among so called normal people?

I prefer this to a million dollar mansion.

I prefer this to a million dollar mansion.

I know many people, including people who really like to travel, who think I am some sort of a weirdo, because I have never invested in a house or an apartment. Never had a car. And never had what people call a normal home, where you hang nice art on the walls and clean up whenever you get visitors on order to impress them with your home. Just like some people, especially guys, like to have a nice looking car to show off. I seriously can’t give a crap what people think about the home that I don’t have.And my total lack of interest in material status symbols.

I have no problems that some people like this, but I invest all my money in experiences around the globe.  I’m happy with living in various hotel rooms around the globe and have zero interest in getting an apartment, a house or a million dollar mansion.

 

I’m not tied to a country.

One thing that some of my fellow Danes think is both weird and maybe even scary is that I both work as a tour leader around the world and also spend the majority of my free time going to exotic countries. Many Danes are sure that all we tour leaders want when we are not working, is to go home to where we grew up. Eat danish food, listen to Danish music and find a Danish partner. And then sit there and wave our little national flag.

I meet some people who turn a little negative to me when I say that I do not really feel tied to the country I was born in any longer. Other than I like to go there and visit my family some times. But I would want to visit them just as much if they lived in a foreign country. It’s been many years since I stopped saying “going home to Denmark”. Now I just say “going to Denmark”. And I am very fine with that. Cause the whole world is my home these days and not just one little nation and I feel at home in almost all the countries where I spend longer amounts of time.

 

I’m not traveling to sightsee any longer.

I'm not queing up to visit castles anymore.

I’m not queuing up to visit castles anymore. 

Some people also have this idea that when I do all this traveling around the world, then my life must be a lot of endless sightseeing like they do themselves, when they are on holiday. My life is not like that at all though. My life is not a life as a tourist anymore. But as a nomad who moves around. Stops for a while where I like the place. And then moves on again to new horizons. Living in the same place for good has never attracted me as I am extremely curious about the globe we live on. But I am not traveling the world in order to see as many old buildings and monuments as possible and cross out things on a bucket list of all the things I have to do before I die. I like to just exist when I am in a place. All while learning about the place from watching the place and people living there. Talking to them. Listening to them ( a lot of people who travel only talks and never listens to the people they meet). Reading the local newspaper. And slowly making friends there with people who have similar interests to me. It fascinates me a lot to see how similar we are around the world when we start to talk about some common interest and I often find it easier to talk to someone who is from a culture totally different than myself, if we share some common interests, than to an ordinary danish person that I share few interests with.

 

I do not travel the world in order to escape it. I travel the world in order to get to know it.

 

I’m a global citizen and I love it.

Travel the world, meet the people, talk and listen to them and you will learn a lot.

Travel the world, meet the people, talk and listen to them and you will learn a lot.

We live in an age where the world is getting smaller. And more global. Those who can deal with that and turn it in to an advantage, are those who will thrive in the coming years. I see a lot of people being very negative about some of the globalisation aspects. And they moan and complain on facebook. And vote for extremist political parties to the left and to the right. But this is not going to change that the world is global and I am super happy with that. Being dedicated to the whole world and not one country or region also means that I can hold a fairly intelligent conversation about most countries, cultures and regions. Because I take an interest in the world.

In my job I meet people from around the world every week. And I love that aspect of my job. Cause I have still not come across a part of the world where I could not have a nice and interesting conversation with the people. I might not agree with everyone I meet along the road, but I am able to talk and listen to them all, cause I am interested in the world and the people who inhabit it.

Hanging out with the local police girls in Northeast Brazil.

Hanging out with the local police girls in Northeast Brazil.

So I am really sorry to tell all the people who think you can make me change, that this will not happen. I’m happy where I am in life and what I am doing and I am nowhere close to becoming a grumpy old fart. Even if I am 46 years old.

Some people say that you are trying to escape life if you travel. i say that you are grabbing life by the balls if you do travel. So I travel all the time.

Travel the world and be happy.

Travel the world and be happy.

Cheers everyone 🙂

9 Comments

  1. Loved this post! I loved your honesty and humour and your outlook on life. I can relate to alot of what you are saying – why the hell should we settle down and confine ourselves to a ‘normal’ life! My favourite quote that sums up the reason why I travel is “we travel not to escape life, but so that life does not escape us!” Keep on enjoying your travels and writing. ☺

  2. This post made me chuckle and nod my head in agreement many times. It’s superficial to do things simply to impress or fit in with other people- whether those things are amassing material possessions, having kids or even travel. Funny enough, I think it’s pretty obvious to most people who is just going through the motions for the wrong reasons and who is truly living a life that makes them happy. Your joy, fulfillment and genuine curiosity for the world around you are quite obvious so those busybodies should concern themselves more with finding their own version of happiness.

  3. Hi Klaus! Travel is such a personal thing. Everyone gets something different out of where they go and everyone has a different reason for going there. Thanks so much for sharing your side and encouraging others to hit the road and see what is out there!

  4. People see different things in different ways:) As long as it makes you happy and you are NoT hurting anyone. Go…. Travel. Learn. Evolve.

  5. I love this post. While I don’t live a nomadic lifestyle, and currently am not planning on changing that. I love to hear the stories of true nomads and their adventures. I get restless, after 2-3 years in one place and have moved from Europe to the US, to China, back to the US and now moving to Europe again. Always looking for a new adventure. But there are people who just can’t comprehend this kind of lifestyle, just like you and I can’t understand how someone can stand to be born, live and die in the same village without ever leaving (other than the odd 2 week vacation maybe). Luckily we have a choice and don’t have to live their lives and they don’t have to live ours 😉

  6. Claus, I love your post. I laughed at some points and I was smiling at others. I love the Brazilian police girls! I admire your energy to move around so much. I am constantly thirsty for new adventures when I am staying at home tied to my keyboard..

    Bon voyage and hope to meet you somewhere!

  7. I love your honesty in this post. It’s great you found something you love and keep doing it throughout your life. You seem like a stand-up guy who I would really like to meet one day 🙂 Happy travels Claus!

  8. Keep living the life that makes you happy, there is too little of that amongst people.
    When someone with children tells me I don’t know what I’m missing, I tell them “No, you don’t know what YOU’RE missing.” I love children and feel they are all my children. But I’ve never regretted my decision to not bring more into this world.

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