I recently read a post called Date a Boy Who Travels and I know it hit the nail on the head for a lot of my friends (considering all the shares I saw on my Facebook wall). While it’s a great post and very well written, I couldn’t quite relate as I have a different outlook when it comes to boys.

Yes, travel is a very important part of living a fulfilled life and I do believe it is essential to see the world and explore the earth. I do believe it opens your mind and really helps a person figure out who they are. I love travelling and I will do it for as long as I live, but it will always only be a hobby, not a lifestyle.

Simply put, I think it’s important to date a boy who has his shit together. If he’s well-traveled then that’s a great bonus but I’m personally attracted to men who live a more structured life and have a specific direction they are travelling in–up. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the free-spirited boy who lives to travel, there is definitely quite the appeal there for anyone, but my personal choice is someone who is more interested in settling down than living out of a suitcase.

I have no qualms with a travelling man, but the dream life I see for myself consists more of planting roots in a neighborhood close to family and old friends with a driven man who shares the same values as I do. Some may beg to differ that we’re young now and this is the time to travel, but the way I see it is, I’m young now and this is my time to get a head start and when I’m older and established then I’ll have many years to travel. I’ll have the money to take my kids travelling and show them the world. The way I see it is: If I work hard now I can settle down earlier.

Just because I’m a driven, career focused woman doesn’t mean I disagree with the lifestyle many of my friends have chosen: to travel now. I know many of them are also career driven and strong, but they felt that now was a better time for them to travel, and that’s perfectly fine. I just think it’s important to date a guy who knows what he wants, when he wants it, and how he wants to get it.

A hand woven bracelet is beautiful and scenic pictures are definite musts, but to me a nice house and a growing savings account means an easier future. I married a man who works hard everyday planning for our future, a man who will teach our children the value of a hard day’s work. I married a man who will teach our children that you can cultivate even more memories and travel double the amount if you start working towards your goal now.

Yes, travelling men know the value of hard work. Travelling men are great men. I’m not saying the opposite is true. But if you plan to date a travelling man just be sure he has his shit together. If he doesn’t know where he’s going tomorrow you should at least be confident that he’s coming back to you at some point. I’m not saying that a travelling man doesn’t have his shit together, in fact, if you date a travelling man who does have his shit together then you are on the up and up.

Everyone is different. Everyone likes different things and this is what makes the world go around. No boy is better than the next boy because of the lifestyle he leads. Everyone should do what makes them the happiest and if that is sitting in an office or travelling the globe, then that is fine. Just be sure that the boy you choose to date loves you and will go to the end of the earth for you (and return if he does). Be sure that at the end of the day he values you a small notch more than he values travelling. Be sure that he treats you right and makes you smile and gives you the love you deserve. In the end, this is what having your shit together means.

Getting my own shit together,
The Love Hawk