After spending 2 years traveling with my van, (and many trips before I moved into my van) I’ve learned a thing or two about traveling.
I always assumed that I would be happier if I were in a better area - If I were somewhere with more snow, better resorts, and more access to the backcountry than Tahoe that I would be happier and having a better time.
Tahoe is where I used to live, and we are notorious for not getting the best snow. All too frequently I was looking at Utah & Colorado to compare our snow quality to theirs. This of course made me feel like I was in the wrong place.
Even still, when I am skiing in Tahoe with my friends, I think about being somewhere else with better snow. Recently I’ve been skiing up in Oregon and Washington with some great snow all the while thinking about my group of friends who are in Tahoe.
All in all, I have learned that bad conditions don’t make for a bad traveling experience. The lack of great friends while traveling creates bad traveling experiences.
In other words, it’s not about where you are, it’s about who you’re with!
COVID obviously makes hanging out and meeting new people a ton harder, but nonetheless it is still possible.
Living in a van by myself really put that into perspective for me.
One of the best parts of being in Washington is that I can stay with one of my best friends who was my old roommate. This is without a doubt the highlight of being in Washington. Hell, some of the skiing days have been awful but I still had plenty of fun with him.
I feel as if many other areas of life are similar, whether it be work, school, roommates, or exercising at the gym. The locations, conditions, equipment, tasks, and wage are all important factors, but significantly less important than who you are with.