In my previous post, I talked about why we should travel and what travel brings to our lives.
This time, let’s look at the opposite: why not travel?
Although we often call the 21st century the age of technology, at least in its first half I think it is more accurate to call it the age of marketing.
Endless ads, sponsored profiles, influencers, and more.
The same applies to us. Our social media presence has become an important part of our identity and our reality.
Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, markets themselves. I won’t go into the deeper reasons behind this urge to share, but anyone with a social media account inevitably gets caught in this marketing race.
And this race also creates uniformity. The way we dress, eat, drink, what we write, what we do—everything starts to look the same.
It’s no different with travel. You’d have to be blind not to notice how travel profiles are all starting to look the same, with copied photos of the same scenes taken from the exact same angles.
Like anything popular, travel too has suffered under the curse of popularity. Sometimes we focus so much on capturing the perfect image that we miss the real experience of traveling.
In my previous article I talked about the different types of travel and how they are a personal choice.
So I won’t judge here—I’ll just move on to reasons not to travel.
Reasons Not to Travel
1. You Can Access All Information via TV or the Internet
One of the best things about technology today.
You can visit famous places and museums virtually, from the comfort of your home—no mud, no risk, no hassle.
You can also read traveler stories, see their photos and videos, and even experience it through VR (virtual reality).
In museums, you already can’t touch anything and have to keep your distance.
So why go through the trouble and spend a ton of money to be there physically?
2. Responsibilities
We’ve all known someone who, caught up in wanderlust, abandoned their family to travel—only to end up broke and miserable somewhere far from home.
Or you’ve heard stories about how families react to such decisions. They call it irresponsible!
And in a way, they’re right.
Leaving your home, job, and family behind for months or years—is that a wise move? Why not stay where you are, earn money, save, invest, build your future?
Adventure, exploration, becoming a better person through travel… Really?
What company would want to hire such a person? And even if they did, they’d think this person will soon disappear again.
If you want a stable life: don’t travel and don’t idolize those who do.
3. Health
If your health doesn’t allow it, you won’t be able to travel anyway.
While traveling, you risk exposure to new viruses and bacteria you’ve never encountered before, which could cause illnesses or even death.
4. Food
Like health, food can be a big problem. Some people eat horse, others spiders, snakes, bats…
Eating unknown things in unfamiliar places can put both your health and stomach at risk.
Even when eating normal foods, you don’t know how or where they were prepared.
5. Language
Don’t fall for the fantasy that you’ll learn a language just by traveling.
Even living in a country for years doesn’t guarantee you’ll learn the language, let alone traveling there for a few weeks.
Taking selfies and staring at sights without talking to locals won’t teach you a thing.
And you don’t even need to—Google Translate is enough to get by.
6. Cost
Flights, accommodation, food & drink, visas, passports, stamps, bribes, fines—it all adds up.
Especially if you live in a country with high taxes, the best option is to stay put.
Not just money-wise—time-wise too.
You invest time and energy into planning and executing the trip. For a 1–2 week trip, you give up many things from your daily life.
The opportunity cost is high. Think about what else you could buy or do with that money…
7. Addiction
Travel can be addictive. Once you go, you’ll want to go again.
You get used to being on the road, and staying in one place becomes unbearable.
When you’re not traveling, your dopamine levels crash, your mood dips—similar to drug withdrawal.
So think twice before getting hooked.
8. Social Problems and Superficial Relationships
You’ll meet lots of people while traveling. That might sound great, but it often isn’t.
Most connections are shallow because everyone knows they’ll part ways soon.
Conversations tend to circle around the same surface topics.
If you’re lucky and form meaningful friendships, you’ll face problems when you return.
Your old friends may find your stories boring. You’ll feel misunderstood and disconnected.
You may grow apart from your old friends and cling to your travel friends. The result? Addiction, misunderstanding, social tension.
9. Clash with Traditions and Traditional Lifestyle
No need for much debate here.
Traveling will likely detach you from traditional values and lifestyles.
You’ll be out of step with the “grow up-get married-have kids-raise them-retire-play with grandkids-die” cycle.
While everyone else is happily within that cycle, you won’t fit back in—and you may even be seen as a bad example.
Balancing both worlds is almost impossible.
And really, how many people can go traveling with young kids? Not many.
Leaving your kids with grandparents? That only complicates things further.
10. Distancing from Loved Ones
As discussed earlier, both physically and socially, you’ll become distant from your loved ones.
Your shared experiences will dwindle.
You won’t be able to see them whenever you want.
Is it worth it?
11. Travel Has Become a Trend and Superficial
Final point—and we already touched on it earlier.
Even if you think it’s your own desire, would you really want to travel if it wasn’t so trendy?
You can learn more, see more, from home today.
Decades ago, you might never have even left your village.
Read stories of old travelers to see what they endured—no planes back then!
Would you still travel if it were that hard?
Probably not.
Now, with cheap flights and easy transportation, we travel and cause environmental harm in the process.
In the end, the choice is yours.
Whether you travel or not—make sure you are certain about what you want, what awaits you, and the alternatives.
That way, you won’t regret it later.
bahadirhancicek 
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