Globetrotting.....No responsibility?

[schenkel]

Does anyone think that people who ride/drive round the world for long periods (months and some times years) have no responsibility or care in the world?
Is it normal not being like everybody else and have a family, kids, house or mortgage, steady job or a career?
Is it normal travelling for years?

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by schenkel

Does anyone think that people who ride/drive round the world for long periods (months and some times years) have no responsibility or care in the world?

Not a care in the world? I guess the lucky ones fall into this group!

Originally Posted by schenkel

Is it normal not being like everybody else and have a family, kids, house or mortgage, steady job or a career?
Is it normal travelling for years?

I think for a lot of travelers it's about growing up, finding themselves and trying to put meaning to their lives. Broad swath stuff, yes, but defining "normal" sort of invites comments like this.

Young people join the military and stay for 2 to 3 years. No family, no kids, no mortgage ... and really only a temporary job. Traveling is a job too. It's not all goofing off. It's also a bit of the school of hard knocks ... so it can be educational too. But it can also be an opportunity for a traveler to pitch in and share skills/knowledge he/she may have with others out in the world.

For most riders, travel is not a permanent job position. It's a transition period for many ... may open a window to the next "phase".

For older riders it may be a re-discovery, a chance to re-light some enthusiasm in their lives, share knowledge/wisdom with others and knock off a few things on their bucket lists.

Many will have all the trappings you've listed above but have worked out some way to "escape" for a while. So clearly, they still are attached and DO have lots of responsibilities ... and travel is but a momentary interruption.

Very few wander for decades ... but I'm sure a few have, but pretty rare.

[ta-rider]

Originally Posted by schenkel

Is it normal travelling for years?

Normal is to buy a new phone or TV every few months and throw away the old on even its still working. Same with cars in Germany. They really tell the people its better for the clima to destroy a fine running car and produce a new one. Normal is to waste half of ons life in an office just to find out at the end that doing so you just sponsor war and failing banks with your tax money.

Travelers are not normal. They think about what they do and not just do what everyone else does. This way they do care about the envirement theyr in. They behave more responsible with their waste then the locals and dont rely on social service as many people at home but earn their own living

http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_faq&design=nature

[PaulNomad]

Originally Posted by schenkel

Is it normal not being like everybody else and have a family, kids, house or mortgage, steady job or a career?
Is it normal travelling for years?

You have a contradiction of terms Schenkel. If you think that 'everybody else' has the things you mention, then not being like everyone else and travelling for years is not 'normal'.
Everything is a choice. If you choose to travel around the world by motorcycle you will find a way to do it. If you choose to have a mortgage and steady career then you will find a way to do it.

The thing I know about long-term travellers is that they never STOPPED making choices.
They are a young couple or single wanting a great adventure before committing to kids and mortgage, they make the choice.
They are older and have paid off their mortgage or sold their house or business and their kids have grown up, they make the choice.
They are people that simply don't care to have a house and mortgage or kids, they make the choice.

They make choices every day. They challenge the concept of routine.

It can be reward for years of taking responsibility.

To think that people who ride/drive round the world for long periods (months and some times years) have no responsibility or care in the world comes from a mindset that we should stop making choices. Making choices demonstrates responsibility and lots of care for the world.

If you think long term travellers don't have a care in the world then maybe you have never challenged yourself in this way, pushed past fears and 'safety' advice from well meaning mortgage owners, to put yourself out there at the whim of the world.

Self responsibility stops when we stop making choices. I know what I choose...

PN

[pheonix]

Originally Posted by ta-rider

Travelers are not normal. They think about what they do and not just do what everyone else does. This way they do care about the envirement theyr in. They behave more responsible with their waste then the locals and dont rely on social service as many people at home but earn their own living

Not necessarily true
People claim or rely on benefits for all sorts of reasons. That doesn't mean they're not travelers nor less responsible.

I've met travelers who don't care at all for the people they meet, the country they visit or the environment they travel through.
I've met travelers who are purely interested in ticking boxes;
I've seen 'travelers' dump rubbish in the middle of nowhere.
I've seen smokers flick stubs anywhere they please.
I've seen chewing gum splattered on the floor of beautiful cities.....

I've also met people who behave like every human should aspire to be & I don't care whether they have a passport or not

[Toyark]

I'm with Elaine on this one-
I've (sadly) experienced travellers:
who don't help you when you've broken down and ride on...
who will not lend a hand to less fortunate people they meet.
who have 'all the toys' yet no local awareness, nor care, nor respect for local customs and contribute nothing on their way through.
Who couch surf their way around, always taking- never giving...
who make massive wood fires unnecessarily, using up precious local resources, then leave their burned mess behind-
who abuse alcohol and behave irresponsibly.
and the list is sadly very long.... but I'll stop here. (groan over)

Then again, I have come across some extraordinary people who have been an inspiration and, thank Goodness, to date, they still outnumber the ****** above.

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by schenkel

Does anyone think that people who ride/drive round the world for long periods (months and some times years) have no responsibility or care in the world?
Is it normal not being like everybody else and have a family, kids, house or mortgage, steady job or a career?
Is it normal travelling for years?

This sounds like homework from an undergraduate philosopy course. "Responsibility - a necessary evil? Please discuss".

I'd certainly like to think that was the case, that you could travel round the world for as long as you wished and have no responsibilities or cares but I suspect there are few people like that (and I've never met one). Everybody has responsibilities - primarily to themselves but inside there'll be a list of others - family members, friends or whoever, or cares about something, even if it's only whether the front tyre is going to last until the next town. As the saying goes "no man is an island, entire of itself"

Being a free thinking liberal () I'm willing to give most people who decide, of their own free will, to spend time traveling by whatever means they chose, the benefit of the doubt. Some may be undergoing a personal crisis of existential angst about the nature of freedom, others may just need some time away from years of overwork and underpay. Still others may be using the trip as part of their future - Ted Simon did ok out of Jupiter's Travels. Walk a mile in a traveller's shoes and then decide whether he's a shirker or a saint.

The reality is that most people who leave, Laurie Lee style, do so still tethered to their previous life. Sooner or later they reach the limit of their resources, be it money, time, enthusiam, physical wellbeing etc. and have to make decisions about where they go / what they do next.

As for the list of normal attributes - career, family, house etc, almost all of them are not easy to get. Where do you "get" a wife (or husband)? I've had 2 1/2 and it's not been by design. Good luck as a first time house buyer in the south of the UK at the moment particularly if there's only one of you.

Career is interesting; the word that is. Using it like "I've had a career in sewage disposal" isn't quite the same as "I've had a career in vascular surgery". The latter suggests something you've had a hand in, climbing to the top of a greasy pole. Come to think of it so does the former. If you can think of an angle, a reason, a lifestyle that sits well with you there's no reason why professional traveller isn't as good a career choice as any other. The fact that most people can't make it pay doesn't disqualify it. A few people make money out of things that many more pay to do. I do. I make money out of that, quite literally.