Once you’ve got the travel bug, it becomes very hard to stay in the same place for too long.
Travel has been absent from our lives for more than a year now, and we still have a while to go before it picks back up completely. In the meantime, we’re scrolling through countless photos from past trips, baking our way through lockdown, and finding creative ways to bring the outdoors in. Or at least that’s what we like to believe. The reality is that we do a lot of weird things when we miss traveling, and we bet you do, too.
Keep reading for a list of funny signs that you miss travel (maybe a little more than you care to admit) and see if you can relate!
1. Your Netflix list is empty, and you’ve already rewatched all the movies set in New York. Twice. Come to think of it, this is not a bad time to start watching Friends, again.
2. You find yourself daydreaming. Every 5 minutes, changing dream locations.
3. You pack and unpack your suitcase every other day just to verify if your packing skills are still there. They’re better than ever!
4. Drooling on Insta, getting pissed on Twitter, finding some inspo on Pinterest, watching some late-night soft porn on Tumblr. You’ve already deleted your Facebook account, you thought everyone else did 😲!
5. You’re bored, stressed, nervous, and you feel like you don’t belong where you currently are.
6. You buy stuff you have no use for, like packing cubes, a portable grill, and a backpack for every adventure, just to make sure you have all the travel gear you need for when that time finally comes.
7. You start talking in Spanish with your Dutch neighbors out of nowhere, without even realizing it.
8. You take selfies in your bathing suit (with a selfie stick!) just to make sure it still fits. It doesn’t!
9. You are obsessively checking flight prices, who knows when you will find that 1 USD deal?!
10. SPF cream: checked; Outdoor speaker: checked; Ice-cold cocktail: checked; Towel: checked – It’s time for sunbathing on the balcony and testing that sunglasses collection!
11. You virtually plan trips around the world – one each day. You never know when you might end up working as a travel planner.
12. Sometimes you sleep on the floor, in the sleeping bag, with all windows and doors open, the AC turned on. Yup, it’s cold, but this is how life outdoors is supposed to be during this time of year.
13. Google Street View is your best friend these days. How else can you window shop on 5th Avenue and La Rambla on the same day?
14. You ask your smartphone’s assistant every day new words in a foreign language – Hey GooRi, how do you say ‘Where is the closest bar’ in Mandarin?
15. Your passport, ID, driving license, cards, and foreign currency are safe and sound in your travel wallet…on the table, all alone, looking at you every damn day. Sometimes, when you pass by it, you can almost hear it whispering “Wheeen?”.
16. You walk around the house with your GoPro camera strapped on. Who knows when you might catch that important moment that will make you famous on TikTok?
17. You listen to Italian-speaking radio channels. You have no idea what they say, but it sounds delicious.
18. Your apartment feels smaller than ever. Did it shrink?! Anyway, you’re not feeling at home anymore inside a house. You need to get out, get back to your roots, be one with mother nature.
19. You write passionate love letters to your favorite countries. (e.g., To my one and only love, Italy…I love your colorful frescoes and foamy espressos, your fine wines and turquoise grottoes. I love how your cobblestones take me back in time and how your food makes my heart sing….)
20. You start brewing your own beer. Hell, it’s not Oktoberfest, but after a while, it sure starts to feel like it 🍺.
21. You practice yoga meditation on the rooftop of your building and pretend that you are in a landscape hotel in Norway. That, until the administrator comes and messes up your zen.
22. You finally get to use all those postcards you’ve collected on vacations. You write every single one of them, pretending you are there, describing what you have been doing. Then, you send them to yourself and impatiently wait for the postman to show up.
23. You take pastry cooking classes on Skillshare every day.
24. You only buy international newspapers. Even German ones, although the only words you know in that language are Uber, sauerkraut, and Mercedes-Benz.
25. You ride your sofa like you’re on a safari.
26. You try to recreate the Northern Lights in your living room, using a green laser on crystal glass. Okay, that’s kinda cool!
27. You learn Bulgarian, Greek, and Romanian cause you never know when you might need them 🤔.
28. You eat french fries with Prosecco🍟🍾. Nobody’s there to see you.
29. Sometimes, you deploy your tent on the balcony and sleep there. You even make yourself a couple of sandwiches for the road.
30. Other times, you people watch from your balcony. Only 5 hours each day.
31. Suddenly, that annoying parrot🦜 of your neighbor makes you feel like you’re in the Brazilian jungle, exploring and discovering new treasures. Wake up, Lara!
32. You try snorkeling in your bathtub. You try.
33. You name your plants after cities.
34. You take a photography class, or two. You need to keep those shooting skills alive and kicking. After all, why travel if you cannot take good photos to make all your friends back home envious?!
35. You ate the cockroach you found in the kitchen the other day just because you miss the street food in Bangkok.
36. You release lanterns from your balcony just to feel like you’re at a festival in Thailand. At least until your neighbors called the firemen.
37. You’re thinking about opening a bubble hotel in the living room for you and your neighbors. Not a bad idea!
38. You strap on the backpack, tighten the belt securely, put your best hiking shoes on, prepare your carry-on luggage, take cash + all credit cards, and get ready for an amazing journey! It’s supermarket day! (It’s not a trip to Bali, but it sure feels like one for you.)
39. You constantly find yourself thinking of memorable dishes from your travels and try to cook them at home, like that delicious pork sandwich you’ve had in Lisbon, or that surreal gluten-free chocolate cake in Vejer de la Frontera.
40. You organize themed evenings every weekend. For example, French Night Friday (think: baguettes, cheese platters, and Amélie ), Carnival Saturday, or 1960s Americana Sunday, with diner-style food, milkshakes, and retro outfits.
41. You subscribe to all kinds of travel newsletters. Thanks for subscribing to this one, too!
42. You rearrange your online photo albums by date, destination, and what you were wearing.
43. You throw tomatoes🍅 at your neighbors. Who knows, maybe they accept the challenge and you will start your own La Tomatina in the hood. If so, you know you need to team up with the lady from the 1st floor who goes to the supermarket every day. I bet she has lots of tomatoes. Canned, too!
44. You buy a new piece of luggage every week. The offers are so damn attractive, you simply cannot resist. Now, they serve as home decor items.
45. You’ve already planned your trips for the next 10 years. In detail. You even know what you will be wearing for breakfast on the second day of that trip to Mykonos in 2026.
46. You order the weirdest things online, like beach sand from Ibiza, a candle-powered fondue mug reminiscent of your week in the Swiss Alps, or that zombie survival kit.
47. You watch Lost for the 5th time because the thrill of being trapped on an island suddenly doesn’t sound that bad. Now the phrase “We have to go back” in the final minutes of Season 3’s last episode takes on a whole new meaning. Might even put it on a T-shirt!
48. Sundays are for beer spas. In your bathtub.
49. You actually miss all the things you used to dislike about traveling, like waiting to be security screened or the discomfort of long-haul flights.
50. You reread this post. Over and over. You think something is missing. In fact, you’re sure something is missing from this list. You don’t know what, but you know something is missing. You leave a comment.
OK, guys, this sounds like me not traveling. How about you? What’s your weird behavior during these difficult times? Feel free to share your quirks in the comment section below.
