As some of you will know, come the summer I will be spending 4 weeks in the USA to celebrate a wedding (not mine) and also my 30th birthday. You can read about the early planning thoughts here: The big 3-0!
I travel a lot but that isn’t everyday life for me. I applaud those that have built themselves a life to work whilst traveling around the world but personally I’m working a regular 9-5 (5:30) Monday-Friday office job.
A four week holiday, unfortunately, has consequences for the rest of the year.
I managed to squeeze in a trip in February but that’s used up the little remaining annual leave I had for 2018. Sadly now I’m back home, the wanderlust is kicking in and there’s not much I can do about it. I am craving a trip somewhere and I still have FOUR MONTHS until my summer adventure begins (128 days to be precise, not that I’m counting right?).
I can’t remember the last time I had to go so long between trips! People around the world live in warzones, poverty, abusive situations, inequality and I’m not really sure where my ‘woes’ sit on the scale of important world problems.
Bizarrely I’m finding little sympathy with my life ‘struggle’. My peers have been of no use and apparently there isn’t a suitable helpline for those struggling from the dreaded disease (wanderlust), so I decided I’d put together my own little list of remedies to ease the pain.
I have to warn you, these are only temporary measures! I’m no miracle worker. There is still no known cure for wanderlust but hopefully these will tie you over until you get your next “fix”.
So here are my top tips for managing wanderlust and what I’ll personally be doing over the next four months:
Make time for family and friends!
“You’re never here”, “You’re always on holiday”, or “where’s next?” are a selection of commonly used phrases amongst my loved ones. I feel like there’s a subtle point they’re trying to make somewhere in there but in 2017 the catchphrases particularly had some conviction to them.
2017 was my most travelled year to date and I hold no regrets in that, it was a wonderful year. However it did also feel like a year where I saw a lot less of my favourite people.
Whilst technology makes it easier than ever to stay connected from anywhere in the world, it’s certainly nice to actually catch up and spend time together in person. There have already been a few occasions in 2018 where I’ve got to see a number of family and friends which has served as a good reminder to make more effort when I am in the country.
I’m hopeful 2018 has many more opportunities to see the important people and I’m pleased there are a few events coming up in the weeks ahead to maintain this. Starting this weekend with a little ‘adventure’ to Kettering!
Make some penpals!
This is one suggestion I’d recommend for everyone, regardless of how frequently you travel! Not everyone can dedicate their time and money to traveling as other things in life take priority. So whilst you’re unable to travel why not send just a little piece of you around the world instead through the joy of having a penpal.
I’ve been doing this for a few years in my spare time and I think it’s a great way to have a little taste of foreign culture, learn more about the rest of the world and make some good friends along the way.
Whether you go for the traditional “snail mail” route or prefer to stick to chatting online, it’s always a nice feeling to have some new mail (whether physical or electronic) waiting for you.
The age of technology makes it easier than ever to make contact with people from all over the world and from the comfort of your own home too!
Read a book!
Of course it doesn’t all have to be about technology. People were going on adventures long before the days of the internet. Forget all that nonsense with border control, books can take you to an infinite number of destinations and you don’t need a passport to do it either!
Once you’re stuck into a good book nothing is stopping you from visiting places such as Narnia, the Middle Earth, Hogwarts or Space which are beyond the reach of your typical traveler. A little imagination can take you anywhere!
If you’re not much of a reader: TV shows, movies and video games can also take you on quite the journey.
Learn a new skill!
One of the best things about traveling is experiencing something new, so why not do the same at home? Learning a new skill can be a great help in life and potentially on your travels too. I started learning German a while ago and it has made visiting Germany since then much more enjoyable.
Of course it doesn’t have to be a language. You could improve your cooking skills, learn to sew or learn an instrument for example but with a bit of free time between trips there’s so many skills you could learn that come in handy both in life in general and potentially on future adventures too!
Go local!
and if all of the above fail, why not go local? Traveling doesn’t always mean you have to go to the other side of the world to have a little adventure. Sometimes it’s easy for us to overlook the places closer to home which still have their own highlights and quirks of their own.
Visit a local town or city and see how it differs to home. Better yet, see what’s happening where you live. Attend that festival this weekend, go see a show, visit your local museum or just treat yourself to dinner at that new restaurant that just opened.
It’s a little dependent on where you live but you don’t necessarily have to jump on a plane to experience something new or make some lasting memories. As much as that urge to travel consumes me, maybe I should embrace some of the better things about England.
With four months until I go to the US I’ll be focusing on some of these options to limit my travel envy. What are some of your own methods for coping with wanderlust? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
All the best!
Jason
Jason likes to travel 
I struggle with severe wanderlust too. I have 6 trips planned by the end of August and I’m already looking tickets for Las Vegas on October. I agree, summer in the UK (weather permitting) is beautiful. That’s why I saved July for a no abroad month and just drive around in the UK.
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Haha I’m so jealous! Where are those 6 trips taking you to? Las Vegas also sounds fun!
There’s so much to see in the UK so I’m hoping these four months I can make the most of it and see a bit more before the summer trip 🙂
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I have Carcassonne, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malta, Copenhagen and Oslo booked up until August. A mini trip of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest is also in the works for the latter months of this year. I’m quite fortunate that I am getting these trips relatively cheap. In the UK, I would suggest making a trip to North Wales, absolutely stunning in the summer months. Aber Falls is beautiful.
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Oh wow, I’m very jealous. That’s a good mix of places!
Interesting! I did a similar tour back in 2014 of Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Salzburg. I’ll be posting about all four in the next few weeks 🙂
I’ll keep your North Wales tip in mind. Definitely a country I want to see more of!
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These wanderlust tips are spot on! I haven’t made any “pen and paper” pen pals, but I love the idea of connecting digitally with people from all over the world. (Part of that is already happening through blogging!) As for learning new things and discovering all of the wonderful attractions at home – Bravo! Hubs and I have included in our list to eat at every “non-yucky” restaurant in our town, and to discover all of the available arts, hikes, and culture opportunities within 50 miles! ~ Lynn
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Thanks Lynn, I really appreciate your comment. I agree that blogging is a great way of connecting digitally, having pen and paper penpals is nice but can get expensive too haha.
A 50 mile boundary should give you plenty to see! Good luck on your discoveries! 🙂
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Ugh, I’ve been just dying to go somewhere too!! A four week vacation sounds amazing though! Where in the U.S. are you visiting?
Ps, I think it’s awesome that you still have penpals! I haven’t heard of anyone having one in a loooong time.
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Haha it’s always so tempting to go somewhere! I’ll definitely be in Washington and I’ll be visiting Oregon, California and New Orleans too. There’s still a few details to work out but I’ll be booking my flights on Monday so that should finish up the itinerary fairly soon. I still don’t know where in the US I’m flying to or home from so those are the final pieces of the jigsaw haha.
It’s great having penpals, mind you it just adds to the wanderlust most of the time!
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Awesome! I’ll be in Portland, OR area in May!
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Awesome, I’ll know who to come to for tips then! 🙂
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4 months is a long time to go without a trip somewhere! I definitely feel your pain and offer my condolences! After 4 weeks on holiday, I’m sure it will also be a challenge to return to work afterwards, and then I imagine it will be some time again before you can take a significant amount of time off.
I love the book recommendation! Have you read the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel? I’m on the second book in the series and I think it is quite good!
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It is! I’m trying to squeeze in a few day trips here and there but itching for more haha.
I’m dreading going back to work after four weeks off but I’m not thinking that far ahead yet. The four month wait will be worth it which is what I keep reminding myself, I haven’t booked my flights yet and it’s so easy to cut a week out and squeeze in some adventure before the summer haha.
I haven’t read those but I will definitely put those books on my list! Thank you!
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I have severe wanderlust and try to always have something planned even if it’s just a day out from home or an overnight stay in the UK. It’s so nice to read that you have pen pals, I still have two, from when I was at school but nowadays we correspond by email which although instant isn’t as exciting as a letter dropping through the letterbox. For over a year now I have been a Postcrosser, have you heard of it? I love it and it’s a safe method of sending and receiving postcards from all over the world. You can send as many or few as you wish then always receive one back from an unknown destination. I keep mine in a nice Paperchase box and love to look at them and the attractive stamps. Do take a look at Postcrossing.com and see what you think. There is a flat rate of £1.25 (new price from Monday) to send a postcard worldwide s I aim to send about one a week when I’m at home. Have a good weekend, Marion.
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Haha I can completely relate. They introduced a 26-30 railcard that gives me a third off rail travel so I’m hoping I can make good use of that until the summer. Your little UK adventures are offering some good inspiration!
It’s so much easier corresponding by email but I like having something other than bills to come home to haha.
I’ve heard of Postcrossing but not tried it yet. I’ll check it out so thanks for the tip! I hope you enjoy it! Have a good weekend too! 🙂
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Great tips! Completely agree about going local – it’s so easy to overlook what’s on your own doorstep. I’ve made it my mission to get out there and explore more of my hometown too. Hope time flies until your epic adventure!
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Thank you! Yes, it’s so easily done. I’ve got a hotel booked for tomorrow night which will be a mini staycation. Hopefully I can squeeze in a few more daytrips to tide me over until the summer.
I’m glad you’re getting out and seeing your hometown too 🙂
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I completely know how you’re feeling! I’m working on replenishing my savings after a long trip in December, so nothing but weekend or day trips for me for the foreseeable future.
This is a very useful list as I usually just resort to watching TV, and I’m trying to cut down on that. I love the pen pal idea–I used to do that through my school when I was younger, and it was a lot of fun!
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Hopefully the day and weekend trips will suffice for now.
A lot of people seem to have commented on the penpal suggestion. It’s good fun if you’ve got the time 🙂
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Completely understand why you needed to make this post! I agree with some of your suggestions. When I don’t travel I try to visit friends and family. I also try visiting local places as much as possible. I’ve started to think about reading travel books. I’ve never read someone else’s account of travel (apart from blogs) so I am going to see if that can curb my wanderlust for a while! 🙂
Pen pals sound so fun too! But I have no idea how I could find one!
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Thank you! Reading travel posts could be a good idea, I’d recommend Bill Bryson’s books if you do.
Penpalworld is a decent website for penpals, failing that just check out the hashtag on social media. I’ve met a few that way too 🙂
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Totally agree with this list! I have a severe case, and one planned trip abroad won’t cut it…but I’m a reader with an active imagination!
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Thank you! I agree, one trip isn’t enough to maintain it. I haven’t gone this long between trips in years so it is a struggle haha.
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I get anxious too when I can’t go on a trip. My next trip plan is in December and thats far away. I’m going to try to plan something for the summer. I have to save and plan. Sometimes I like to go on little weekend trips and that helps my wanderlust sometimes.
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December is a long time to wait! I hope you can find somewhere to go in the summer! Weekend trips are nice but can’t beat a proper getaway 🙂
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Yes I’m going to try to go somewhere in the summer. December is to long to wait. I’m going to start planning!
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Loved this post! Keeps the crazy at bay 😜 between trips
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Ah thank you! Haha, it does for a while. Can’t keep it at bay for too long 😉
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Such good ideas. I always like tti have a trip planned which is obviously really difficult now, but I’m always thinking about where I want to go. Living in Canada and being from the UK means I always at least want to go visit family too. If only there were more time for all these trips
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Thank you! Yeah, having important people in other countries adds an extra problem. Too many places, too little time!
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