Many years ago, a friend asked me a question that stayed with me.

We were talking about one of my upcoming trips when she said, “Why are you always travelling? Are you running away from something?”

It bothered me more than I expected.

Why does loving travel have to be analysed as though something must be wrong? Why assume that if someone wants to keep moving, she must be unhappy or trying to escape?

Can’t someone travel simply because she is curious about the world?

I like leaving—and I like coming home

I love my life. I love my family, my work and the property projects I am building.

I am not searching for somewhere permanently better. I just do not understand why loving the life you have should mean staying in one place.

Some journeys begin with work or a property I need to manage. Others begin simply because I want to see somewhere new.

Travel is not a reward for surviving my life. It is one part of it.

Work may give me the reason; curiosity keeps me going

Quite a lot of my travel now involves work or properties I manage. Something may need checking, fixing, renovating or organising.

But I am still me. If work takes me somewhere, I will probably look around. If there is somewhere interesting nearby, that may become part of the itinerary too.

Property sometimes gives me the excuse. Wanting to see the world is why I keep going.

I collect ideas like other people collect souvenirs

I love beautiful hotels, but I am rarely only enjoying them.

I notice the bathroom layout, lighting, tiles, furniture and landscaping. I notice how a tiny room works, an unusual material, clever storage or a colour combination I would never have chosen myself.

Something I see in Iceland might eventually influence a property in Spain. Something from Spain might give me an idea for Switzerland. An idea can sit in my head for two years before suddenly becoming useful.

You cannot search for something you do not yet know exists. Sometimes you have to see it first.

Not every journey needs a property calculation

I can go somewhere for completely different reasons and before long I am looking at buildings, checking property prices or wondering whether I could live there.

But a beautiful destination does not have to become somewhere I buy. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the surroundings and see where the day takes me.

I have to remind myself of that occasionally. 😂

Life on the water

Sailing has become another part of that freedom.

There is something about being on the water that makes everything else feel quieter. You cannot control every wave or change in the weather. You adjust, pay attention and carry on.

My partner is much more experienced on a boat than I am, but I enjoy the movement, the sea air and leaving the land behind for a while.

It is not always as calm or glamorous as the photographs suggest. That is part of the experience too.

Still travelling. Still curious.

There are countries I have not visited, people I have not met and experiences I cannot have by remaining in one familiar place.

Some places surprise me. Some do not live up to my expectations. Others stay in my mind long after I leave.

Then I come home with a head full of possibilities.

Perhaps my friend’s question bothered me because it made curiosity sound like a problem requiring an explanation.

It does not.

I do not want a life I need a holiday from. I want the travelling, projects, accidental discoveries and coming home to belong to the same story.

So no, I am not running away.

I am still travelling. Still curious.