There are many people who spend a lot of time traveling, seeing places, experiencing new cultures. And many of them spend several months or as much as ½ year traveling; but it is a constant moving in, moving out, and moving on. While it’s fun to see many different places, the constant change can become tiring and exhausting.
So, many people choose to have that “other” experience in one place where they can set down some roots, learn a culture in depth, make friends they can reunite with each year, and feel that they truly have a second home. They like the stability of going to the same place each year; of getting to know the locals; of learning the language.
When you spend considerable time in a place, it changes you. You begin to take on some of the local perspectives and attitudes and practices. You find yourself thinking differently; you hear yourself inserting words from the second language into your everyday conversations. And all this growth can be fun and rewarding.
You won’t get that changing countries every two weeks.
But, if you rent for a period of time each year or buy a place (and perhaps use it as a vacation rental when you’re not there) in your adopted country, you can enjoy becoming a part of the local landscape – and get to know a place “up close and personal.”
It is travel … with roots … and it can be very satisfying.
