9 Signs You’re That Travel Snob Friend (But You Don’t Know It)

9 Signs You're That travel Snob Friend But You Don't Know It

I saw something on Facebook the other day that made me cringe.

This isn’t exactly unusual, I see multiple things a day that make me question why Facebook’s algorithm thinks I want to see them.

In this case it was someone writing about how they don’t fit in with their old friends because they’re all getting married and having babies and they want new friends who fit into their idea of what life should be at their age. That idea being travelling.

I get it. It happens. People want different things as they get older and sometimes we grow apart from friends as we go in different directions. It’s nice to meet new people who we can share our interests with. My problem wasn’t the subject matter of the message, but the way it was written. It implied the friends who didn’t want to travel had made some horrific mistake with their lives.

Should you write off old friends because they’re making their own life decisions that are different to yours? I don’t think so.

More importantly, does that mean you should put down other peoples life choices because you think yours are superior? Definitely not.

If you do, it might be a sign you’ve become a bit of a travel snob, without even realising it.

So to test the theory, I’ve made a list of some of the things I consider make you a bit of a travel snob, in the sense that you think if other people don’t travel, there’s surely something wrong with them.

Signs you’re becoming a travel snob

  1. All your stories start with “When I was in {insert country/city other than your own here}…”. Or maybe you throw in obscure travel words which are cool but no one knows them.
  2. When people tell you they’re going on an all-inclusive vacation or a cruise, you secretly think they’re not a “real traveller”.
  3. When someone tells you they’re going somewhere you’ve already been you declare you are SO glad you went already because now it’s SO much more touristy now and therefore not as good.
  4. You see someone travelling with a suitcase and wonder what’s wrong with them. Real travellers have backpacks.
  5. You actually use the words “real traveller”.
  6. You see people who stay in hotels as wasting money and not having an “authentic experience”.
  7. You’ve fallen into having the ridiculous traveller vs. tourist debate with someone, and thought that clearly “travellers” are superior.
  8. When another friend announces their engagement, new house, pregnancy {insert other important life event here} you think they’ve made a mistake because clearly travelling is the most important thing in life.
  9. You think people who haven’t travelled haven’t lived. It’s entirely possible to travel and stay just as narrow-minded as before. I know. I’ve met some of those people.

The truth is, I’ve thought some of these things at times too! It happened a lot more when I first discovered the joy of travelling the world in my 20s, and I couldn’t understand why everyone wouldn’t want to do it. But now that I’ve had more time to think on it, and watch my friends go in all sorts of different directions, I like to think I’ve come to appreciate the different paths that we can take.

I’m not saying if think the above you’re a bad person, but next time one of these things crosses your mind, think about how great it is that people have the choice to travel at all, not everyone has the privilege and sometimes travel bloggers are the worst culprits in forgetting this!

I’m all for encouraging people to step outside of their comfort zone. Maybe for them going to another country on an all-inclusive trip is just that and a dream come true, or even just choosing the adventure by going to a different town close by. If your friends aren’t travelling but choosing to build their life in one place, well that’s a whole other adventure on it’s own and they should be proud of that too.

The people we meet travelling can become some of the best friends we have, or they can pass in and out of our lives. Don’t discount the ones you leave behind. We are all people, striving to live meaningful lives, whether that means travelling or not.

What do you think? Is it okay to want new friends if you’re older friends aren’t interested in the same things? Does this mean you should let them go as friends?

Check out 24 Unusual Travel Words You Should Know to help you be less snobbish (or would that be more…) when talking about travel!

Sonja x

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Signs you're a travel snob

 

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