“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”
Love the exercise tip! When I get homesick or “culture sick,” I do one of two things: hit up a fancy hotel and have a coffee in their lobby (fast WiFi, staff speaks English, etc)OR I find a mom. It could be a local friend’s mom, or maybe the woman who runs my guest house. Most mothers have great instincts, and even if you’re not “their” kid, they’ll take you under their wing and make you feel better.
Coffee in the lobby? I used to do the same thing! There is nothing better than a nice skinny latte and fast WI-FI, huh? :) My mom also has a great instinct and she knows how to make me happy! :D
There’s nothing better than a long skype call with someone back home for me. Catching up on the all gossip, chatting about nothing as you do with the people you know the best and maybe a few tearful, I miss you’s, always gets the homesickness bug out of my system until next time.
So true. I skype with my mom every single day, no joke! That’s my favourite part of the day!
Poland is a long way from the Philippines :)
That’s so true!! :) UNFORTUNATELY… :-(
I can’t wait to read about your future travel plans! Taking a walk for me is a great cure for homesickness. Nice to know it works for other people too!
Stefania, it will be all about Europe – mostly Poland, Germany, Portugal and Spain :-).
Great list of tips!! I find talking to and connecting with love ones very helpful. Also, I find talking with other expats and travelers can help as well because they may be feeling and experiencing the same emotions.
Yes, definitely. A nice chat with fellow travellers can help a lot!!
What a great post – homesickness is such a real thing and it does hit especially hard when something big is going on at home! I can’t believe only 7 more weeks and then you and Cez will be splitting up…I can’t wait to hear about your big plans!!!
I agree. I miss home the most when Christmas and Easter come… Yep, me and Cez are splitting up, but we have already planned some adventures together for 2015 :D !!
Great list of tips! I think staying active is so key! If you’re out having fun, or at least trying to, you’ll adapt so much better than if you are just sitting around staring at the computer!
Definitely!!
I’ve found that a combination of letting myself sulk for a day and THEN getting super active works the best for me. You can’t stay homesick forever, and the best way to appreciate what you have away from home is to get out there and enjoy it.
Still, even though I’ve lived abroad for nearly 3 years now, I always get really homesick during the winter because the cold bothers me so much. I’ve yet to find a way to deal with that one!
So true- you can’t stay homesick forever and I am not homesick very often – perhaps once a week, usually on Sundays when my family gets together!
I agree the being busy and active is important. Often, I find I’m doing so many new things and there are so few reminders of home when I’m traveling that I almost forget to be homesick. It’s not until I actually visit home that I realize how much I missed it.
I see I am not the only one who keeps busy here :)
Great tips! I find that calling home only sometimes helps, sometimes it just makes me cry even more..!
THANKS!!
homesick? i don’t think I ever feel it…what I do really miss is my friend around the world and to get in touch skype and facebook are amazing tools!!
Lucky you Noelia! I am so happy for you right now. Congratulations! Your baby is so amazing!! I can’t wait to see you two on the road one day :)!!! XxX
This is so wonderful.
I always love your stuff. You’re a HUGE blogging (and travelling) inspiration~
I get homesick living abroad sometimes, I’ve also found it helpful to exercise and call home from time to time.
I hope you have a great summer!
Thank you so much Grace. You and your husband are real role models to me and it’s incredible that although there are so many cultural differences between you two, you can still love each other and travel together. Working out helps me a lot, especially jogging. I hope you will also enjoy your summer! All the best!
Brilliant post Agness. What I do to beat homesickness is to walk and walk and walk. And sing nursery rhymes and songs that I used to learn when I was a child.
I also very much like looking at my photographs and videos and sniffing randomly. If it all gets too much, I’ll take the cheapest flight that I can find and spend a weekend, and then fly away!
I run, run, run instead :).
Great tips Agness! I am the same, when I feel homesick I always call home, then I go out and have fun. I also love hanging out with my local friends too! Then before you know it, you’re on your way home for a visit!
Going out helps a lot! :D
Homesickness? Don’t know the meaning of the word!!!
Actually, I find myself becoming homesick for Pakistan whenever I go back to Australia. Strange!!
You must be really missing this place, Tim!
I know that feeling very well. I am really conected to my family. There are lots of hard moments, especially when I see or do something amazing and then I think how I wish my mother or my sister could be with me. Then I usually hear some happy music, talk with my family and give a big big hug to my beloved boyfriend that is traveling with me!(=
Thank you for sharing. I feel the same way :-).
I agree with all of these, homesickness can be very hard. I’ve found over the years that I can get really homesick in certain countries and then not at all in others. I think it has a lot to do with how busy I am.
It can be, indeed!
I definitely believe that cardiovascular exercise enhances one’s level of optimism.
Me too!!
Great tips here, I think that keeping busy will definitely keep you from missing things. When you aren’t doing anything is when loneliness will set in.
Wonderful pictures, and wonderful memories. Thank you for giving us a look into something so beautiful and personal!