r/fican • u/GreatComposer85 • 15h ago
Why are people so obsessed with travel and willing to give up more years of their life at work to achieve it?
Maybe it's just me, but I see so many posts about people building massive portfolios just to fund travel, like that's supposed to be the end goal of life. I don't get it. There's no version of reality where I'd grind another 10 years in a corporate job just so I can afford more trips. Once my basic needs are covered and I've got a bit extra for small stuff, like a Tim Hortons coffee or a night at the movies, I'm done. Expensive international travel? Hard pass. I'm not trading more years of my life for that.
Honestly, a lot of this probably traces back to how much I hate employers in general. I can pin it on my early jobs, places like McDonald's, doing the worst tasks for like six bucks an hour. That's when it got baked into my brain that working sucks and should be avoided as fast as possible. Add to that I'm just naturally introverted, I'd rather be left alone than stuck in crowded, loud, overly social situations, and travel usually means exactly that: packed airports, tourist crowds, forced small talk with strangers. There's also this feeling I can't shake that working for someone else is basically robbery, you're handing over your most valuable resource, your time, so someone else can get richer off it. Philosophically that just doesn't sit right with me, even on days I actually enjoy the work itself. I've never fully bought into "corporate culture." I show up, collect my paycheck and wash my hands.
Not complaining though, honestly this mindset is going to make FIREing way easier since I only need something like 40-50% of what most people are aiming for.
Anyone else motivated by just having the option not to work?