The type of people you find in online travel groups

Happy summer, fellow cadets!

I hope you can travel soon. I’ve had my last three planned trips canceled for a few reasons. Flights canceled, uncertain lockdown in one of the countries, other unspoken reasons for another. I’m going to enjoy the summer in Prague doing my regular freelance work. It has been three years since I had a proper summer there and a friend offered to rent her extra room to me for a very fair price. I’ll probably make a couple of shorter trips to nearby countries. I’ll get to traveling for real again in September or something. I will enjoy just being able to do things I enjoyed before having to stay in a shoebox studio for over a year.

Speaking of time wasted at home, I wrote a few months ago about the type of people you stumble upon in ex-pat/foreigner groups on social media. I’m going to now write about the type of people you find in online travel groups. I spent much time lurking groups like these over lockdown and have found some more reoccurring characters.

The country counter: This person’s biggest joy is counting the number of countries they have been to. They use their country count as some kind of resume. ” I’ve been to 96 countries, so I know everything” Some of them will spend like a day or even less in some of these countries. They don’t seem to find much other enjoyment with the actual location they visited. They really use it for bragging right. However, some do it for fun and have it as a fun game. It’s also not a bad thing to be proud of being an extensive traveler. However, it requires a lot of work and sacrifice for many. Why not be proud?

The nomadic peasant: This person is usually on a lower budget. They usually have a couple of jobs that they do online. It could be content creation, language teaching, translations, some research, IT, or content writing. Hell, they probably have done all these jobs. They tend to be pretty knowledgeable, as they manage to find a way to make a pretty decent life for themself on less than 1500 or 1000 or even 500 USD a month somewhere like Tbilisi or Jogakarta or Bishkek. They usually know exactly where they can go, for what price, for how long, what they need to be able to stay.

The digital nomad: Most people that say they are digital nomads are probably more of the category from above. Although, there are some differences. These people usually have a more established source of income, so money is not as much of an issue for them. They could be trust fund kids, own a company, have a full-time remote job with an American or Norwegian salary. Self-proclaimed digital nomads can be a little annoying and pretentious, but not always. They are usually trying to find a long-term visa somewhere like Iceland or happy to settle for Estonia or Croatia. They are sometimes seen constantly asking how they can extend their allowed time in Bali.

Here is a blog post my friend did about me explaining this term. Check out her work as well!

The one-upper: Oh lord! This guy! They are often some 50+-year-old male from some Northern European country or maybe North America. They like to one up and try to talk over people’s experiences because they have been there and had an easier time. If you did this in a country, they definitely had a more genuine experience. Yeah, that is great you hitchhiked to Bangkok 30 years ago. Oh wow! You went to Syria some years ago, and your experience overrules the experience of refugees fleeing the area? Do tell! On the other hand, they can be very informative and a wealth of information.

The high roller: You can see this person in some groups like ” Every passport stamp.” so I’m pretty sure they friends with the one upper and the country counter. Perhaps, they are what happens when one upper and a country counter get married. Money is not an issue for them! They can be found asking about what kind of North Korean tour they can get for 10k. If you lurk on their page, you can find them hanging out in a villa in Socotra for two months or doing something cool in the Nordkapp. However, you can also see less adventurous versions of this person, such as renting the best resort in Tulum or something.

The super-low budget traveler: This person manages to travel the world on a shoestring. So, you see them posting in hitchhiking groups and online hospitality groups like Couchsurfing and bewelcome. They are usually very knowledgeable, as they have to be. They are often from less privileged places, but not always. So, they tend to be friends with the nomad peasant. Maybe they are dating each other? Who knows! This person is probably the most fun of them that you will meet in person, as they usually have a good perspective on life and are not bound to material items. But, of course, they can also be a bit of a mooch at times.

I don’t know how these people manage to travel: This person is often from an Anglophone country, making it even sadder. Although, I’ve seen them be from a bunch of other places. They ask a lot of basic questions. They forget google and search is a thing. This person might be interrailing in Europe, although sometimes they can surprise you, and you will find out they have been to over 20/30 countries and still clueless. Although, lately, this is not as annoying as many things have changed with going to the most basic destination. I’m thinking more precorona times. First, they would ask, ” How do I get from Schipol to Amsterdam Centraal?”, now you see questions from them about PCR / vaccines tests, which honestly changes all the time.

So there you have it! Have you found yourself yet? I’ve been at least 3 of these at different times. Many of these overlap, and I’m probably missing a few. Let me know if there are any characters that you would add to this list?