One term I take literally is "out of town"

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Because most people don't work in the same town as they live, some cross several towns on the way to and from work.

Your right that phrase could be used for lots of other situations that it is not used for but I assume people just say "out of town" because it's shorter & simpler than saying "out of town because I'm spending weekend visiting", or "out of town because of business trip", or "out of town because of vacation". Plus people may not want to say why they are out of town or exactly when they might be back for privacy, security, personal reasons, &/or might be kinda unsure themselves exactly where they will end up & be back.