A recent blog post, Don't Date A Girl Who Travels, posted on lovethesearch.com
by Adi Zarsadias got quite some interesting traffic after sharing it via
social media. What was most interesting were the comments, with many girls
agreeing that this post was exactly what girls who travel are like and with
guys and a couple of girls stating that it made the girl look too carefree or
flakey.
To summarize the
article, the author states men should not date girls who travel unless they can
keep up with spontaneity and adventure. Among some beautiful sun-kissed descriptions about girls who travel were these hard-hitting ones: This type of girl
may have wasted her degree, doesn't have a permanent address nor knows when her
next paycheck will come in. You can see why girls who love to travel got upset
at those descriptions. But in all honesty it's quite the accurate description
of a girl who travels.
While I disagree
with the term 'wasted' her degree, I think she transferred the skills of
independent thinking, responsibility-for-self, continuous learning, etc.to any occupation.
A girl who travels -
this is not someone who goes on two-week vacations. This is someone who is
nervous yet excited about uprooting her life and moving away for a year, at
least. She might be cherry-picking in Australia this year, cow-tipping in
southern France next year and teaching English in Korea the year after that.
Truly, she knows not when her next paycheck will come in nor who will be the
one paying it.
A girl who travels -
while you may think she's flakey because she may change jobs frequently and may
not even have a job you consider a 'real job' - before you criticize her or
even try to understand her, realize she is living in a different league from you
- not better nor worse, just different. There's no point comparing her to
mainstream girls who just have a love for travel and dream of travel but could
never even entertain the thought of a total uproot, let alone a backpacking
adventure in hostels for months on end. There's a reason she's a freelancer, it
always allows her to jump - flake, according to some - at any adventure.
The reason she
doesn't have a permanent residence is because she's so used to living in
different countries, she can't guarantee she'll be in this one for much longer.
Or, that she lives with family when she's back in her 'hometown' as she'll be on
her next adventure in no time.
And yes, she may
never need you, but she will want you. She's independent enough to not depend
on a partner but knows a very deep love, you'd be lucky to experience. She'll
give you your space and encourage you to be your own individual but continue to
love you, no matter the distance. Neither of you will be limited in your own
bucket-lists just because you're a "couple" now.
Yes, most women who
love to travel do share similar appreciations of travel as women who travel.
They both want to see the world, both may be willing to backpack, stay in
hostels, experience local cultures and become aware of the good and not-so-good
that a country has to offer.
We all have a little
bit of the Woman Who Travels in us, but can rarely commit to it as well as she
can.