Why You Can’t Appreciate One Without the Other

I used to think “home” was a dirty word. Out there — on the road — was where life happened, full of exciting adventures, fascinating people, and endless possibilities. No dreary commutes, 30-minute lunch breaks, mind-numbing meetings, or endless lists of to-dos squeezed into a rushed weekend.

Why would anyone want to be home, the place where routine seemed to sap your will to exist? It baffled me.

My first trip overseas — a vacation to Costa Rica — made me fall in love with travel. For all the reasons mentioned above, I realized why “vacations” were so romanticized in work culture. There was a freedom to them that stood in stark contrast to the daily corporate grind.

So, when I finally quit my job, I set off on an adventure to experience all the world had to offer for as long as I could make my money last.

I mean, who could possibly tire of life on the road?

Well, me.

Eventually, I did tire of being a full-time nomad. I craved a stable group of friends, regular workouts, a bar that knew my name, a kitchen to cook in, and my own bed.

Suddenly, I realized that “home” wasn’t a dirty word. It just felt that way to a young, restless soul for whom adulthood felt eons away.

I had come to understand what someone who is just setting out with romantic notions about travel couldn’t: You can burn out. On my first trip abroad, after 18 months, I hit the wall and decided to cut my trip short. Then, years later, in 2013, I decided that being a nomad was no longer the life for me and decided to stop traveling full-time.

It was time to grow up, I said. Time to stay put and move on from nomad to… whatever came next.

But the allure of the road — and the business of working in travel — pulled me back constantly.

As the years went by, I lived between two worlds: one in which I am traveling, longing for home, and another in which I am home, longing to head out again.

There were moments where I longed for a clone so I could live in both and satisfy my dual desires.

After all, you can’t — and shouldn’t — live solely in one forever.

Because travel and home are complementary forces, yin and yang. Without one, you can’t appreciate the other.

All travelers hit a wall, that moment when they look around and go, “I’m ready to stay in one place.” When and why that happens is a product of many factors, but I have yet to meet a traveler who doesn’t have that experience. When I started traveling in my twenties, it took me…