Is Wanderlust Biological?

Dictionary.com defines "wanderlust" as:

Being from what you coast-dwellers so nicely call "flyover country", I'm used to people moving away. In the years after high school, the friends who left the state far outnumbered the ones who stayed. They all seemed to be itching, obsessed with getting-the-fuck-outta-here no matter the logic or logistics. You can say "Do you know what the rent is there? Where will you work? Do you really think your problems won't follow you?" Doesnt matter. But I thought, well, it's Oklahoma, probably comes with the territory.

But now I've traveled all over and met people from everywhere, and it seems like no matter where you live, there is a certain percentage of people who've just got to GET AWAY. There are probably 19 year olds in Paris, France right now going "Zis citee sucks. I must leave."

So I got to thinking -- what if it's encoded in us? A natural drive to move even if it doesn't make sense -- to spread the genes around or make sure the species is spread over a wide area. It certainly seems to be on that basic instinctual level that can't be reasoned with or ignored.

My mother always said "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."

I grew up moving around because my father was in the military, so when I was little I never wanted to leave because it meant leaving friens and starting over yet again. I've now lived in Indiana the past 10 years and it starts to do things with your mind. Crazy things. Oh the corn! basketball! auto racing! When will it end?

This really wasn't a good response.

i think wanderlust is one of our defining characteristics, humans have always traveled, journeyed with the animals they hunted, traveled to discover the world, traveled for discovery, enjoyment, new trade routes.
travel is what made the human race grow and only now that society has become so comfortable (not to mention that average western person so bloody useless at practically every skill of life) we stay mostly in one place.

even now there's a certain type of person that needs to climb the tallest mountain, hurl himself out of a airplane or find a way into space.
we are wanderers, modern life just beat it out of a lot of us.

[Edited on Feb 28, 2005 by Snottlebocket]

My dad had such a terminal case of this no one bothered to even find out if he was still alive somewhere until I turned 21...of course,his current location being an aussie prison has since slowed him down a little...kinda hoping I inherited his love of travel,but not his love of funding it with others money...lol On a more serious note,some people put wanderlust down to the fact that as people we are constantly searching for new stimullii,and also the fact that our ancient ancestors would have been forced to move around to find food,new land etc.That said,some people are just restless,and like the actual sensation of travel.I know a guy whos been backpacking for four years,and he reckons its because he has a short attention span and a low boredom threshold.

[Edited on Feb 28, 2005 by Laruby]

That's true, Snottlebocket. It's just that a friend and I were talking about this earlier today, and his parody of the gotta-get-away from Oklahoma people was

I can certainly understand the desire for someplace better, but I can't help feeling like a lot of people use their environment as an excuse for their dissatisfaction with themselves.

I had that desire, and i moved, and you know what??
things are rough all over... there are the same problems here that were there, homelessness, poverty, no medical treatment, etc.

but I think I am the only person in my family who really had that desire...everyone in my family lives in the same place they have lived their whole lives...kansas city must be a magnet or something..
the only person who broke free besides me is dying to go back.

and oh yeah, i like to travel because i like seeing the culture in other places, i like to people watch, and see how people interact with one another...


[Edited on Feb 28, 2005 by sakita]

Had one girlfriend in high school, a year older than me, caught the bug and moved out to L.A. after she graduated. Last time I talked to her, years ago, she was sleeping on a mattress on the floor in an apartment with six roommates. I couldn't help but wonder "Damn, is that really better than here?"

No matter where you go, there you are...

I have experienced the pangs of wanderlust, and I can say that it wasn't because I wanted to go someplace better. I know that wherever I am, I can make the best of it, but sometimes, you need a change of scenery. I moved from Massachusetts to Florida on a whim, had some cash saved up, so I quit my job, and when they stopped paying out my vacation time, I loaded up my truck and headed out. I'm doing fine here, just as I was back in MA, and when I have sorted out what I have to sort out, I'll probably move back. It wasn't so much as to experience something better, but more of something different. I didn't want to be 70 looking back on my life, plagued by the question of "What if..."

I think one of the things which facilitates wanderlust is how easy it is to travel now - which lends an entirely new reason to travel to the age-old needs of more space, better hunting, whatever. Now, practically anyone can scrape together $60 and hop on a greyhound bus, or save up a bit and get on a plane to just about anywhere. I agree with Laruby, in that the search for new stimulii is always a plus, but I think there may be more than even that involved in the desire to roam free. I put it down to imagination. If you have a button pusher who is happy with where he is and what he's doing because he seldom imagines anything outside of his encapsulated universe, then he's a lot less likely to travel than someone whose mind is always actively seeking out new and interesting ways of diverting itself.

And let's face the simple truth. We all travel for those cool snack packs they give us on the airplane.