Raise your hand if you have a friend that studied abroad and came back “a new person“.

Raise your hand if you have a friend that lived abroad, came back, and now won’t shut up about it.

Now, raise your hand if your friend that’s been “all over the world” says things like:

• “Oh, but in the jungles of Costa Rica, the fruits are so much sweeter and natural than whatever we find in the supermarket!”
• “I used to order beers for 1€ and now I have to pay $7?!”
• “While traveling through Southeast Asia, the traffic was crazy, the street food was amazing, and I really found myself.”

Can’t think of a friend that is like that in your group? Yikes, you might be the snobby travel friend!

Are you the snobby travel friend?

For all snobby travel friends out there, I hear you. It’s not your fault that you were able to traverse across South America, swim in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean, or eat bugs and other exotic dishes from around the world. It’s not your fault that you chose a life of adventure while your friends decided to choose the mundane route. While they chose to dedicate their lives to their cubicle, you chose to do something different. You chose to pop your own bubble and get out there. So, why is everyone calling you the snobby travel friend? Why won’t people listen to your AMAZING travel stories?!

What about the mountain that you trekked across? Don’t they want to hear about the beers you shared with a group of 10 people who all came from a different country? Are they NOT interested in the moments that you had where you felt extremely alone, but filled with gratitude that you were actually where you were? Snobby sounds mean. Snobby seems like you didn’t work hard to save your money and prioritize travel. You’re not snobby, I know you’re not. I’m not snobby, either! Heck, I only wanted to share my adventures with my friends and family and inspire them to travel, too! Why is everyone so salty?

I get it. Us snobby travelers need to stick together, because how can our friends not see that we really were changed after living abroad and drinking the kool-aid somewhere else? Is it really our fault?

Are you the salty stay at home friend?

For all of my salty stay at home friends, don’t even get me started about the snobby travel friend in the group! We were the smart ones, the rational ones, and the ones that looked towards our future. Of course we would have loved to take a year off before heading into the “real world”, but we chose responsibilities first. We didn’t choose to sit behind a cubicle for the rest of our lives, that’s a bit rude of you, snobby travel friend, to assume. We’ve learned the importance of hard work and navigating through office jobs and office politics. At the end of the day, we’re happy with our choice because we decided to build a stable future for ourselves.

While we can’t recount the fresh sushi we tasted in Japan, or another experience that took us abroad and in far off lands, we can share other life lessons. We can tell you about the rewarding feeling of finishing your work and seeing yourself progress in a company. We can tell you how it feels to really invest in your job and watch the systems you’ve put in place grow the company. We’re not salty! We’re just sick and tired of seeing all of the “wanderlust” photos plastered on social media all the damn time. We get it. It’s not that we don’t want to travel, but right now our priorities are probably a little bit different than yours.

I get it. Us salty stay at homers need to stick together. How can our snobby travel friend really understand how important it is for us to create something more stable for ourselves? Is it our fault we wanted to invest in our future now, besides gallivanting around the world?

Not sure where you fall? Are you a mix of both?

Find out if you’re the snobby travel friend or the salty stay at homer by taking this short quiz below!

When you’re out with friends, what do you catch yourself repeating unintentionally?

• a) This is cool, but in [insert country], they did it like this.
• b) I am so happy it’s the weekend… it’s been SO busy this week.
• c) Did you see their post on Instagram? Looks like they’re off to a new city again *eye roll*.

What’s your go-to conversation starter when meeting someone new?

• a) I just visited [insert city or country] and I loved/hated it! Have you been?
• b) So, what do you do?
• c) Want to hear my office drama this week?

Your latest social media posts have been:

• a) A sunset photo, you standing with your arms out with a beautiful background behind you, the typical window seat shot out of the airplane
• b) A photo of the beach (with the hashtag: #tbt), your coffee or green smoothie, an outfit photo
• c) A picture of you and your friends out drinking, your coffee (5 points if it’s a Starbucks cup), a selfie of you looking good

Your friends constantly ask you this:

• a) Are you going to be here this weekend or are you traveling again?
• b) Want to plan something for the next month?
• c) How’s work going?

If you chose mostly As, I hate to break it to you but you’re probably the snobby travel friend! 

While you have great intentions, I’m sure your friends secretly eye-roll every time you compare life at home to where you’ve been. I have been so very guilty of this, too, so don’t feel like I’m calling you out! While I would never consider myself the “snobby travel friend” *ahem…* I would say that after moving home, I was pretty snobby. I don’t think I even realized I was comparing everything all the time. Living abroad for two years really changed my perception of things. Oh goodness, here I go again.

I was always timid and shy to share my stories with my friends and family, unless asked, because I never wanted to sound pretentious or snobby. This is probably another reason why I have this blog! It’s much easier to talk to someone who’s lived abroad and was an expat because they get it! I don’t want to be the snobby travel friend, but sometimes I get so darn excited about travel that I want to share my stories!

If you chose mostly Cs, y’all might be the salty stay-at-homer.

You’re right, you’re not salty. It’s tough being a millennial and having “travel” shoved down your throats all the time. You swear, if you hear another quote like:

Traveling, it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.

You might go crazy! When did travel become such a huge thing, anyways? It seems like these days, if you’re NOT traveling, than what the heck are you doing? You’ll tell all those people, YOU’RE WORKING YOUR BUTT OFF! That’s right. You’re working your butt off at your job to provide a stable future for yourself, your future family, and whomever else. It’s not that you don’t want to travel, that’s just not your priority right now. And that’s totally ok, too! Since moving home, getting a full-time job, and getting back into “normal life”, I’ve transitioned from snobby travel friend to salty stay-at-homer. I’ve accepted it, I’ve gotten jealous of my other friends who travel more than I do, and I’ve scrolled through Instagram rolling my eyes.

I don’t want to be the salty stay-at-homer, but my priorities shifted a bit. I wanted to make “real” money, save up for bigger things, and invest in my career. No shame in that! Sometimes, I think I let the pressure of “keeping up with the Jones” get to me, whether that be for travel or the next best thing (ie: that new car). I’m not salty, I’m genuinely happy, I just don’t like feeling the pressure that I need to do something a certain way.

*If you answered mostly Bs, you’re somewhere in the middle! If you’re being honest, which one do you identify with more? Snobby travel friend or salty stay-at-homer?

In all friend groups, I’m sure there is one or two of each. The salty stay-at-homer needs a little push to step outside of their comfort zone sometimes. The snobby travel friend needs a good reminder that home is also a great place to explore. They can both inspire each other to see the world in a different perspective and appreciating different things about each lifestyle. While the salty stay-at-homer may know all of the greatest spots in your home city, that you never even knew of, the snobby travel friend could inspire you to dream a little bigger and step outside of the bubble!

What type of friend are you? Let me know in the comments below! Has anyone ever called you the snobby travel friend or the salty one?

Enjoyed this post? You might like these, too:
How to be a Cultural Ambassador While Traveling
Finding Time for Travel
9 Habits I Lost While Living in Spain
How I Make Travel a Priority

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