Relationships can be difficult to maintain when traveling with both the people you meet on the road and those you leave behind.
Making New Friends
I love meeting new people while traveling. There is something incredibly special and unique about traveler friendships. We’re all living in a sort of alternate universe, making travelers incredibly open to new people and relationships. So many times I have sat down next to people in a hostel, after an hour knew their life story, spent the day or evening with them, then woke the next morning discovering they’re gone. If I’m lucky I added them to Facebook, but many times I don’t even remember their names. And yet these fleeting relationships usually result in amazing fun and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Fun times on the road.
This kind of relationship cycle becomes very much the norm whilst traveling, and to me, it’s not a bad way to live. I’m thrilled to be making such deep connections with people so quickly, and these meaningful relationships are the ones that continue.
Unexpected friendships result in unexpected experiences.
It’s a pretty great day when I catch up with friends I met months back, and we just pick up exactly where we left off. I love knowing that meeting up again somewhere in the world is a possibility.
I have spent wonderful moments with new people as if we’re old friends.
Saying Goodbye
But with the wave of new faces and people I get to meet, is the huge number I have to say goodbye to. As a traveler who’s constantly on the move often spending only a couple of days in a location, I leave a lot of people behind. It’s not easy.
Some days sadden me more than others, especially when I’m leaving people with whom I’ve become incredibly close. I’m thrilled to have met them in the first place, and am very aware of the irony that if I wasn’t constantly traveling, I wouldn’t know them at all.
I’m fortunate to have had people enter my life in an amazing, unexpected way and blow all expectations out of the water.
I meet staff who work in hostels, hotels and eateries that are often saddened when guests depart and I occasionally find myself connecting with them on the subject of loss. I explain my regret at being the person who is leaving, but my excitement at discovering a new place, and the new people that come with it.
A completely random group of internationals from different tours, hostels and countries who came together for some fantastic days in Madrid.
Unique experiences with others connect you for life.
Missing those at Home
Probably the most difficult relationships to maintain while on the road are with friends and family back at home. Whilst you’re off living an amazing, independent, nomadic lifestyle, those at home are enjoying their own lives without you.
Yes your closest relationships will survive. They may even prosper beyond anything you could have imagined before you left. You quickly discover who’s supportive of you no matter what and willing to adjust to the crazy traveler you are, and who’s not. Phone calls at odd hours, deep and meaningfuls through text messages, missed birthdays and life highlights are all things that happen whilst you’re literally world’s apart. But with some effort, understanding and a combined want to succeed, your relationships with those waiting for you at home can not only survive, but thrive.
I’m extremely fortunate to have a small group of amazing friends and family whom I support through anything, and who in return support me. Watching each other excel in a chosen life path is what best friends do, no matter the circumstances.
My friend Nicole and I met on a USA Contiki tour 6 years ago, have remained great friends despite living in different states and were able to meet up in Dublin during my RTW traveling. It was awesome 🙂
Having said that, there will be friends who fall by the wayside. Those who don’t understand the wanderlust that calls, feel they can’t compete with your crazy life, and have no idea they don’t have to. So those people drift away. It’s unfortunate, but you never know, maybe you will reconnect some day.
I don’t regret this life that I’ve chosen. I was asked recently if I would prefer to never have met the people I miss so much, and of course my answer was no. I will happily spend whatever time I’m given with the people put in my path, whether that be whilst exploring the world, or enjoying my time at home.
My most valued relationships will endure, and I know my life will lead me back to those key few whom I truly treasure. And if circumstance doesn’t allow, I hope many will come and find me.
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