Why Do I Need to Travel When I’m Perfectly Fine at Home?

I’ve never been someone who needs to travel.

I’m genuinely comfortable at home. Not in a boring way. In a deeply satisfying way. I like lamping around the house reading random science facts, editing footage, playing the Switch 2, watching a movie, or falling down a rabbit hole of camera technology forums. That’s my version of peace.

I have plenty of friends who love to travel. They’ve been everywhere. Their photos look incredible. Different light, different textures, different food, different energy. I get the appeal. I really do. But every time I’ve gone somewhere, whether parts of the Caribbean or different corners of the US, there’s always the same quiet thought sitting in the background.

I can’t wait to get back home.

That doesn’t mean I hate travel. It just means I don’t romanticize it. Flying for umpteen million hours, sleeping in unfamiliar beds, resetting your body clock, navigating logistics you didn’t ask for. None of that calls to me. I don’t feel incomplete without stamps in my passport.

Which is why it’s funny that the one trip I would even consider right now involves Thailand.

Melissa Rose Cooper is hosting a group trip to Thailand through TrovaTrip, and somehow that changes the equation. Not because I suddenly want to become a travel person. But because this trip doesn’t feel like performative wanderlust. It feels intentional.

Thailand isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about immersion. Food that actually means something. Sites layered with history and spirituality. A pace that invites you to slow down rather than rush through an itinerary just to say you were there. I can imagine walking through markets, sitting down for meals that don’t need filters, taking in places that weren’t built for tourists but for people who live there.

And yes, I already know I’ll be thinking about home before I even get on the plane back. That part doesn’t magically disappear. Comfort is still comfort. Home is still home.

But maybe travel isn’t always about escape. Maybe sometimes it’s about contrast. About reminding yourself why you like the life you’ve built by briefly stepping outside of it. About seeing something different without pretending you want to be someone else.

If you’re like me and you don’t identify as a traveler, if you’ve ever looked at travel content and thought “that looks nice, but I’m good,” this might actually be the trip for you. No pressure to reinvent yourself. No expectation to suddenly love airports or overnight flights. Just a shared experience, good food, real places, and probably a little mutual complaining along the way.

Honestly, that sounds kind of perfect.

If you’re curious, you can check out the details of the Thailand trip Melissa is hosting here.

Worst case, we all go, eat incredible food, see beautiful things, and talk about how much we love our beds back home.