“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”
Robert Frost, The Death of the Hired Man
When you constantly travel, you get to miss your friends and family members, that’s obvious. Although I’m a tough girl, I do sometimes get homesick. It usually happens during Christmas, Easter and other big events and holidays I can’t attend because I’m on the road. Homesickness comes and goes, that’s the way it is. How do I cope with it? Sit down in a closed room and cry? Try to find the quickest way to get back home as soon as possible? Not really! I have a few tricks I keep using to be less homesick or not to feel homesick at all.
Here are my top 5 ways to beat Homesickness:
1. Keep yourself busy and active.
I travel constantly and live actively so there is not much time for being homesick. My schedule is always tight and I’m usually out and about exploring various places, taking pictures, eating different food and having a blast with locals. When I get back to my hostel room or apartment, I’m so knackered so I fall asleep immediately.
When I get homesick I often go jogging, dance, cycle or go for a walk. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins which make you feel much happier. Moreover, the first thing I do after my breakfast is shooting a few e-mails to my friends and calling my mom on Skype. That gives me a lot of positive energy for the rest of my day!
2. Call home.
When I’m very homesick, I call my friends and my mom immediately and we can talk for hours. Releasing your emotions is a great way of dealing with homesickness. My mom usually tells me to shut up, stop being silly, go sightseeing and send her some pictures of me having a blast on the road. She also explains to me how lucky I am to be able to be in these wonderful places and if I don’t want to be there, there are many of my friends who would wish to swap with me. It’s a great push for me!
3. Eat, eat, eat!
Sometimes a nice dinner or lunch with locals can make my day and I stop missing home. I always buy the food I enjoy, have some extra dessert or drink fruit shakes when I feel homesick. Treating yourself with your favourite food can easily make you forget how much you miss your loved ones.
4. Talk to someone.
When traveling, I always bump into people who, like me, are sometimes homesick. Talking to them can cheer me up and makes me realize I’m not the only one who has moments of weakness. The “I’m so homesick” conversation might turn into a nice chat and I quickly stop thinking about feeling lonely.
5. Carry photos of your loved ones in your wallet.
I always have a few pictures of my close friends and my mom with me. If I know that I’m going to stay in one place for a long time, I stick these photographs on the wall and keep looking at them till I feel like they are all with me. I can look at them all when I wake up and go to sleep every day. The pictures I take with me are the funniest ones so I can smile every time looking at them.
Everyone is different and we all have different ways of dealing with homesickness. The most important though is to find your own way of beating it and always stay positive!
Travel update: In less than 7 weeks we are coming back home for summer so we can’t wait to see our friends, family members and fellow travel bloggers from Poland. Cez is going to Poland, whereas my plans are a big secret for now!
What’s your best way of beating homesickness when traveling?
93 thoughts on “5 Ways To Beat Homesickness When Traveling”
I think you sum up the secret perfectly and that is to keep busy. Keeping your mind occupied and busy stops you thinking about things which might make you feel sad/lonely. There are always friends to make and interact with, you just need to go and make it happen.
Exciting news of your forthcoming trip home. Also looking forward to you revealing your future plans!!!!
Nice gesture by Webjet Hotels. I hope you give yourselves a very special treat, you deserve it.
Thanks a lot! I am going to travel with my mom a lot as I want to teach her how to travel on the cheap, but she doesn’t know that so shhhhhh :)!!
I also keep myself active when I start being homesick. That’s the best possible way to handle it in my opinion! Your mum seems to be great, telling you to go sightseeing and enjoy your life on the road! It’s important to have the people at home (which are important to you) supporting you and your way of life.
I totally agree ! :)
Good post Agness. I’m very like you – I keep active – always busy and for me and I never get “homesick”. I also have some peculiar traits like wearing a football shirt of my home teams and flying my country’s flag (Northern Ireland) so it feels like my home is somehow travelling with me. In fact, I’ve never actually been homesick, I have to admit it. I’m not sure that day will ever come. If it ever does, I probably won’t know what to do…Safe travels. Jonny
It’s great to keep active and busy!! :D
Great tips…I have to say this is something I am a little worried about before I set off on my travel adventure in 6 weeks. I’ll definitely follow your advice. I particularly like “eat,eat, eat!”
Have a great time back home :)
Don’t worry about it. As long as you keep yourself busy with exploring new places and stay in touch with your family, you will be absolutely fine!
Great suggestions for dealing with homesickness. Can’t wait to hear what your secret plans are.
You will soon :)!
Well Said, Agness – I completely agree! Sometimes it helps me to eat some foods from home, too. :-)
My husband and I both agree that holidays are the most difficult times during our travels. Christmas is my favorite holiday and my husband’s favorite is Thanksgiving. We definitely plan to be HOME next year for both!
:-)
I also love Christmas and can’t wait to spend it at home this year :-)!!!
Running keeps me sane, too! :-)
Running keeps me sane, too! ;-)
I know. I’ve been jogging for more than 2 years and it’s a great therapy for me!
Totally agree with you there. Nothing is better than keeping busy. I have noticed the only time I start feeling down is when I am doing nothing. Nothing may sound relaxing, but, it really is a killer to the mood. Not to mention all the physical benefits of staying active. Creating memories is fun, and it keeps your mind off of things like being homesick. Great post!
Thanks Dave!! True!
Great tips! Eating is number one on my list. :)
HAHAHAHA, I knew that!
These are great tips, but I think that embracing the homesickness is a vital part of walking away from traveling with a greater understanding of the world and yourself. Things can get very lonely on the road, but without that experience, you’ll never learn to grow as a person.
True Jeremy!
Love the blog- it’s so easy sometimes to feel so far from home and every now and then that little kick from someone reminds you that you’re not missing out on much and usually were in the most amazing places that we almost forget. Food always helps too ;)
The worst is when you’re that little be sick or ill and just want that hug from your mum but it’s usually then, when I’m at my lowest, that I normally find my interaction with the local community steps up a notch. You seem to open yourself up more and they do the same.
Travel safe ;}
Brad
I totally agree. Being sick sucks and I know something about it. You wish you were home with your mom looking after you and cooking for you :)!
good tips, I get homesick sometimes too and youre right a good meal and skype call can go a long way.
Totally!
Agness, you are coming home and your plans are a big secret? Well, if you are really that home sick, then I guess you will be sitting at home with your loved ones until you are ready to listen to your mom again. I really like her advice by the way… :)
Hey ho Dennis! Yes, I am going home soon but only for a few days. I will be travelling with my mom around Europe a lot, but it’s a kind of surprise so shhhhh :)!!
Hi Agness, great article. My wife misses her mum a lot, so they are constantly on Skype. Our 2-year-old Jack even knows how to switch on the iPad, fire up Skype and call his “Nonna”. I think everyone should download Skype and Viber on their phones, make sure everyone they want to keep in touch with does the same, and contact each other whenever the urge arises and you have good wi-fi connection.
Skype is great to keep in touch. I skype with my mom daily and that keeps me alive when I travel :).
One word to take from this post – ‘dance’. Love it!
LOL :)!!
These are some great tips! When I lived in Thailand I was lonely and homesick from time to time. Skyping family members at home was great. I’m so glad that we have things like skype, email and facebook to keep in tough with people at home ;)
Nice tricks, Agness! In addition to “Eat! Eat! Eat!” there is also “Drink! Drink! Drink!” It helps me a lot ;)
HAHAHA! I don’t drink alcohol, but it really works with Cez :P!
I always try to keep myself busy so my mind is temporarily occupied, making a phone call at home and chatting with friends always help too :)
I know something about it, Franca :).
running definitely makes me stay sane, and I’ve starting biking too. It helps with homesickness and just the stress of being abroad in general I think. I always feel better on days I run then on days I don’t. Also a good meal does wonders for the soul.
Do you fancy biking as well? I go to work by bike every day and I love it! Jogging is amazing for your brain, skin and mind!