20 Signs To Diagnose Your Chronic Wanderlust

There’s love of travel, and then there’s chronic wanderlust. It’s a drug and a disease all at the same time. It only spreads bigger as you feed on it yet the only way to find relief is by satiating it. It’s not genetic; it’s simply in your soul. It can be quite contagious and there is no antidote known to this day. Here are the 20 signs to diagnose whether you’ve reached the final stage where unfortunately, there’s no turning back.

1. Aladdin has always been your ideal prince.

Because he took Jasmine around the world on their first date. #relationshipgoals But to be more realistic, your idea of a great date always involves adventure, such as hiking or trespassing to restricted properties for some great sceneries. Wining and dining no longer impresses you.

2. You plan another trip while you’re still in the middle of an ongoing trip.

You need to figure out your next move, there’s just no time to waste. Plus it’s always a good idea to have a ballpark on what budget you’re looking at so you can properly plan out how many hours you need to work and how many days you need to starve.

3. You look forward to your honeymoon more than your wedding day.

You’d rather have a small wedding and spend more on your honeymoon, anyway. And instead of having a wedding registry for gifts at Macy’s, you open an account for honeymoon/travel fund instead.

4. You trust strangers.

And you also have a pretty good instinct so you know right away which ones not to trust. This skill can only be mastered in the wild.

5. While most people collect shoes or designer purses, you stay thirsty for passport stamps.

You measure your success not by the digits in your bank account, but by the amount of stamps and by how thick your passport is.

6. Geography has always been your forte.

From naming capitals to locating countries in a globe, you’re pretty good. And you always know a cool trivia or two about different places in the world.

7. Others read CNN in the morning, while others tune in to ESPN. You go straight to your favorite booking site to check if there’s any flight promos.

Not only do you have alert notifications, but you also know legit hacks on booking cheaper flights. You’re also pretty familiar with many airport codes as well.

8. You are constantly getting caught zoning out.

You miss your exits, you space out during conversations, and you even find yourself daydreaming during a movie. You’re guilty of always being a world away, dreaming of new places.

9. Your phone is about 5 generations older.

Either you haven’t updated because you bought the latest GoPro instead, or you had to downgrade because you broke it while traveling. Either way, your camera equipments are at least on top of it and the rest of your traveling paraphernalia are still nicer than your vintage iPhone.

10. You’re determined to learn lucid dreaming so you can travel in your sleep too.

Because wanderlust never sleeps.

11. Your legs are almost always covered in bruises or bug bites.

Most of the time, you don’t even know where or how you got them. That explains why you always have an antibacterial ointment ready, wherever you go.

12. You struggle getting out coins because it’s mixed with other currencies.

Don’t even get started on the bills too.

13. You have a mental map of your local airport to a T.

You know the short cuts and you know where to find cheap taxis. You’ve also made friends with airport employees.

14. Travel blogs are your literary erotica, and travel shows are your porn.

Yet you’re torn between following them or not because you’re afraid you’ll just end up hating. You also find Anthony Bourdain as a real piece of eyecandy.

15. You have a stomach of steel.

Sure, you’ve had unforgettable episodes of almost dying from dehydration caused by stomach flu from eating in the streets. But throughout time, you have managed to get immune just like the locals. It took time, and you’re still cautious. You know better not to drink tap water still, but, your stomach is more welcoming now than it ever was.

16. Your favorite books are travel related.

The Sun Also Rises, Into The Wild, The Beach… whatever it is, it has brought you to another place one way or another.

17. You’ve memorized the in-flight safety instructions by heart.

Maybe you even have a song about it composed in your head.

18. You’re totally okay with long layovers.

You know you can put that 6 hours to productive use. That’s at least one museum, one landmark, and a couple of good local restaurants to check out.

19. You agree that one of the most depressing things in the world is unpacking from a trip.

Unless you don’t even unpack anymore. At least not until you’re off to go somewhere again.

20. You can’t get no satisfaction.

The more places you see, the bigger the wanderlust grows. There’s just something about the unusual that leaves you wanting more. But it doesn’t matter because you know that wanderlust isn’t about getting satisfaction. It’s about thriving.