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Tuesday 17 May 2011

Returning home and wanting to stay, is this normal?

So, yes, after suggesting (clearly stating) that the last post was going to be our last post, here I find myself again - posting this time as a blogger, rather than a traveller.

We have been home for a few weeks now and the reality of stationary life has well and truly sunk in. The joy of not having to worry about where we are sleeping each night, the disappearance of that constant where-is-my-passport-I-must-know-it's-exact-whereabouts-at-all-times feeling is a relief. And, most of all, once again being surrounded by people who we know and love and are happy to pick our broke asses up and drive us to the pub and buy us a beer just because they geographically now CAN is a massive bonus (some even bake us cakes! yum!)


But what of the down-sides? Are we feeling bored now that every experience is not a new sensory overload? Do we miss meeting weird and wonderful people from all over the world on a day-to-day basis? Is it strange not to be spending as much time with eachother? Well, yes and no.
I walked from my sisters place in Angel to a friends place in Camden along the Camden Canal the other day - a walk I've never done before - and it was beautiful. Posh redevelopments merged into grimy and disused building sites and all the while barge boats floated by with families and friends aboard, merry in the sunshine. Yes, there was a dead swan bobbing upside-down in the murky waters, a homeless and clearly drunk man was shouting incoherently at everyone who passed and the closer my proximity to Camden locks the stronger the smell of spliffs. But it was a joy. I loved feeling like a tourist again - looking through the eyes of a traveller in a city I call home. Our friends and family certainly fill up the 'weird and wonderful' quota and as for eachother, actually it's been nice to have our personal space back and luckily we live near eachother so it's still easy to meet up.


And so we look to the future; I have began a job hunt in a less-than friendly climate ("the economy will be better when we get back from our trip" - or not) and Rob is busy geeking up on his IT things before embarking on a similar employment mission. The plan is to job-up, settle-down and begin our life in one place together. But why do we not want to travel more?

This is a question that has kind of been bugging me...we had a great year, we loved travelling, there were no major disasters and plenty of plans for future trips so why would we rather stay in London (image: london met uni.com)? Is that normal? Shouldn't we have been bitten by the travel bug? Isn't it proper that we have itchy feet now? Maybe so, but that's just not us...what we're looking forward to now is stability, building exciting and challenging careers and - dare I say it - an income to enjoy spending after a year of strict budgeting.


I'm interested in what other readers and travel bloggers think about this...when you return home do you ever think 'I'd like to stay'? What drives you on? And - most importantly - are we normal?

13 comments:

  1. Hey guys, I didn't expect to read that!! But you know what, I ask the question "what's normal?" It's how you feel about it and that you both agree that's what counts.... and I for one think that it's awesome that you've returned home and decided that's where you wanna be. That must be a great feeling! And whether it lasts or not is not the point, coz right now it's obviously the right place for you both to be... take care guys, good luck with the job hunting, and when we're all jobbed up I insist on a lobster-spaghetti and then The Boston reunion! Loadsa love, Steveie B x

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  2. HOME FOR THE WIN!
    Plus, I think our outdoor gym session constitutes a new experience and a 'sensory overload' :)
    Well I'm glad you're agreed and decisive, and I'm secretly glad you are not going to be jetting off too soon in the future :P
    Much love
    See you soon!
    x
    *Enjoying the fact that 'See you soon' now means in a matter of minutes, not a couple of months*

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  3. Like Steve said, if your where you want to be then you're doing great.

    Looking forward to your next last post.

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  4. thanks for your comments all - i'm feeling more normal by the second :)
    yeah i think the fact that we're in agreement is pretty important...maybe there really is no place like home?

    @steve - you're on for that tufnell park reunion, we need to talk dates

    @sophie - our jogs are probably closer to public humiliation than sensory overloads

    @mike - i'll see what i can do ;)

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  5. Mac says: Good call! Thanks guys, if you can look after the budgie, we'll stay over for a few more days/weeks/months here in NY.

    Trish says: So here we are in New York and I'm checking to see where my passport is every 5 minutes. We were also talking about your itinerary you might be able to set up for us in Thailand. So what I'm trying to say is just cos you're not in the mood right now, you have plenty of time in the future to do more if you wish. Verdict: totally normal!! See you Saturday! xxxxx

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  6. I think we're always going to travel (we're already considering our next travel options for when our RTW is finished) - but there comes a point where you need to set up your futures and if you both know that time is now then great!

    Hopefully your RTW set the framework for the rest of your lives - good luck with everything!

    And if this truly is your last post, please be sure to keep in touch... we'd love to share a drink in London and hear more about your adventures!

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  7. lookinmg forward to seeing you too trish
    & mac!

    @kieron - if your travels ever take you over to our green and pleasant isles, definitely get in touch, i'd love to hear about your travels over a beer or three

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  8. Kat - dropped you guys an email a few days ago to the addy on your contact page, hopefully it went through! :)

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  9. Hey Kat, Welcome back! Seems like you had a great time. I have just come back from a ski season and while 5 months is not as long, I do understand where you are coming from. When I was on my season everyone was talking about coming back and at the time it seemded do-able but since being back everyone has decided to get jobs and settle down a little bit. I realised that I missed so much being away and that there are still exciting things going on in this city. I am really glad that I did my season as at the time that was all I was thinking about but now I am looking forward to building a career and finally having a little bit of cash behind me!

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  10. @kieron - right back at you (apologies for slackness)

    @sarah - thank you for your message, i guess we're both in the same boat then? only you're probably a semi-pro skier and all i've got is a fading tan :) best of luck with the job hunting and (soon enough) happy spending!

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  11. i AM JUST GLAD YOU'RE HOME AND i CAN SEE YOU FOR A MINUTE (OR TWO) EVERY NOW AND AGAIN BETWEEN PICKING YOU UP AND TAKING YOU BACK TO THE STATION! jOKING ASIDE - JUST GOOD TO KNO YOU'RE IN THE COUNTRY AND WE CAN SPEND SOME TIME IN EACH OTHER'S COMPANY.........WITHOUT HAVING TO WAIT 1 YEAR OR SKYPE ....LOVE YOU

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  12. You have the spirit of Traveling :)

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