Don’t let excuses hold back your travel dreams. Though many Kaleidoscopic Wandering readers are familiar with the travel industry, many others are not. As part of the Why People Don’t Travel series, I’m taking a hard look at five different things that keep people from traveling. In this series, I hope to provide solutions and additional resources for people who would like to travel more.

Today’s travel concern: “I want to travel but my partner doesn’t want to.”

Every once in awhile, the perfect match is made in heaven, but there’s one small problem: One half of the couple can’t live without traveling, and the other one hates to leave home. Some people would walk away from this relationship, but others stick it out, knowing that somehow, travel may have to go on the back burner for the sake of a relationship.

Just so there’s no confusion, you should all know that I’m one of the lucky ones who is in an awesome relationship with a guy who adores traveling as much as I do, but I also know many people who yearn to hit the road even though their significant other doesn’t want to.

If you have wanderlust, do you have to just stuff it in a closet and let it get dusty?

NO! There are lots of ways that you can still feed your travel bug while not alienating your other half. Here are three things to consider:

• An increasing number of couples are taking time to travel (or stay home) on their own, so it is completely acceptable to travel without your significant other. If he or she is working, your other half will hardly realize you’re even gone.
• It may be possible that your partner just thinks he or she doesn’t want to travel. If travel wasn’t part of how he or she grew up, and it was never something ingrained in the fabric of life, then the lack of interest may just be a hibernated interested.
• That said, it is important to realize that some people do not like to travel, and it’s important to respect that.

But the problem still remains: You want to travel, and he/she does not. How to remedy this?

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When I worked in Corporate America, one of my bosses was notorious for working 24 hours a day. I’d arrive at work with emails sent from her at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. On a vacation with her grandchildren at Disneyland, she called regarding materials that were coming in from the print shop. One Christmas morning she stopped by the office to “catch up.”

What did she achieve? That’s a good question. She was frazzled, pulled through the days by can after can of soda. Her paranoia regarding our department’s achievements was incredibly severe, as if our lives depended on it.

And therein is where the problem lies. Work is work and life is life, but work should not be life. Making time to travel is important in keeping a balance between work and play. Can you believe that a quarter of people say they haven’t taken a family vacation, if they’ve taken one at all? There are lots of reasons why people don’t travel—in fact, many people don’t even like to travel — but there is still an incredible need to take time away from the workplace.

Studies have shown that there are very positive effects when people take the time to vacation (this includes those who take long-distance trips and those who stick around their own backyards). Consider the following benefits of vacations:

• Increased creativity
• Increased productivity and efficiency on the job
• Less likely to burn out on the job
• Regular vacations keep stress levels lower and energy levels high
• Improved mood
• Better relationships with family and friends
• Less stress overall

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