No desire to travel

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Am I crazy? I feel like everyone around me is always talking about how much they want to travel and all the places they want to go and I just, don't? I hate airports and flying, traveling means a drastic change in my routine and an onslaught of new things to absorb.

I never had a desire to study abroad and I'd rather spend my money at home than for flights and hotels. I prefer stability but I really feel like everyone else loves traveling and wants to do it. I like different foods and cultures and art, but I'd rather live in a city where I can experience all of that and be home for dinner. Does anyone else feel like this?

I consider most travel to be an inconvenience.

►I have traveled to visit relatives...it somehow seems important but is still inconvenient.
►I have traveled to conventions...recurring, familiar events I kind of enjoy, but it is still inconvenient.
►I have traveled for work...it was unavoidable and inconvenient.

I think its very much a neurotypical thing

NT's like to have the occasional break from their routine. And a holiday, especially international is suppose to be the ultimate break.

A lot of Those with Autism however, thrive on their routines, and a disruption in routine is unpleasant, sometimes even stressful.

I usually bring my laptop overseas, it gives me a sense of normal in these times of chaos.

Oh man, so much! Until recently, I felt ashamed that I hated traveling. I love culture, and food, and art, and all of that. But traveling itself is stressful and generally makes me unhappy unless it's a highly curated experience.

One time I traveled with a group of friends to Hawaii and we rented a house for a week. We bought groceries to last the week, and every night we took turns cooking and everyone else cleaned up afterwards.

Outings were optional, and some of us mostly opted to stay by the pool reading books in the shade.

That was an amazing trip!

Another time, I visited Paris. That was just different and by the time I was there a few days, I was exhausted. I didn't know I was autistic then, so I just felt guilty for bringing everyone down.

Under ideal circumstances I would want to travel but:

No $$
Diseases like Coronavirus
Frequent urination
Exhausted all the time
Nobody to go with
No common sense

I hate travel.

Looking at the place online is always sufficient.

I like spending time (and living) in other countries because my strangeness is usually ascribed to my being a foreigner. At home, I'm just weird.

But your likes and dislikes are your own. There's no need to ask for anyone else's approval.

not my thing, either. visual processing disorder means when I move in any vehicle I get sick to my stomach. I have tried motion sickness medications and they make me sick too... I am much happier staying home. I would rather have broken bones than to vomit. I avoid that feeling at almost any cost. Its worth it not to have that particular sensory experience.

When I traveled frequently for work I got sort of used to it. The first few times were bothersome, but after repeated trips I got comfortable. (But, by choice, I did almost no touristy things while on business travel.)

It's more my ME/CFS (chronic fatigue) that makes travel pretty hard and mostly unpleasant. But then there are the aspects of having to deal with people and figuring out how to behave, which is hard enough in a an environment with which I am familiar and have somewhat learned the expectations, and very stressful in an unfamiliar one. Otherwise I actually love traveling. If I could get there by snapping my fingers, without the actual traveling, that would be pretty great. (And if I could be invisible when I'm there, then it would be pretty perfect.)

I don't much like the actual travelling. I'm always a bag of nerves when I have to fly between the UK and the USA. Might not be quite so bad if I didn't have to connect between a transatlantic flight and the domestic flight, and the journey from Leicester to Heathrow always worries me. They always get something wrong - usually a flight delay or a rail strike so that I end up having to rush, or no room for my luggage on the vehicle. And I hate going through security. Everything out of pockets, liquids bag, shoes off. And the crowds at the airport are pretty inconsiderate.

I used to get advised to declare my ASD, till I tried it and got offered a wheelchair. So I just wing it. I wouldn't dream of taking more baggage than I can carry onto the plane - what do I do if I'm waiting at the carousel and my bag doesn't appear? I hate being forced to trust the staff. It's a rich man's game really. Pay through the nose for first-class seats, priority boarding, etc., and it's probably quite comfortable. Economy class sucks. Some jerk in front of you tilts their seat back and you're trapped like a sardine in a tin, movie screen in front of you end up too close to your face to see properly. Still, once I've arrived I get a rush of euphoria at having completed the mission. Travelling alone is probably the cause of most of my fears. It's reassuring to have somebody with you rather than having to make decisions on the hoof with nobody you feel good about to run your ideas past.

As for simply being in another place, I don't get much out of ritual holidays or seeing the standard sights. They charge tourists way too much money. But I'm rather happier if I can get off the beaten track and see something a bit more real and less commercialised. I like visiting friends and living in a private space that I can arrange how I like. When I used to take holidays in Cornwall I always went for a self-catering flat.

I like visiting new places on holiday but I don't like the actual travelling in cramped spaces such as on aeroplanes. Which is a sensory challenge for me. Even buses I find difficult.

The only method of transport I am truly comfortable with is being a passenger in a car. Mostly because you don't have overhead lights if you don't want that.

Traveling by plane or ships is how germs and deadly diseases get spread to every country. There are going to be many more pandemics after Christmas because humans are selfish germ-ravaged parasites who don't care about the safety of others.

This thread is awesome. For so long I've felt alone in this perspective on traveling, only to discover here that I'm in the company of so many people like me!

I agree. The buildup and planning really stresses me out, especially if it's a pretty long trip overnight. I like the journey, just not the destination(s).