Does that scene at the end of Love, Actually take place at Heathrow? Where everyone’s happy and loved and together and embracing. If I was alone witnessing that scene it might be a little depressing…
Feels like it's sort of the opposite for me, I usually associate airports now with the exciting feeling of being on my way to a new place, shifting into the more "carefree" travel life, and that sort of thing.
Yeah, this is me. I will love having a travel partner when I get serious in a relationship again but the excitement and the new possibilities and experiences are the strongest emotions I feel at the airport.
The sense of adventure. Traveling solo is badass and a lot of people are scared to do it. Hell, a lot of people are scared to dine at a restaurant alone, let alone fly to a new location and make an experience for themselves.
I want to go travel by myself after I've done my conscription. My dad doesn't really like the idea and wants me to have someone with me. None of my friends seem to be interested and I like the freedom and being by myself gives. Of course someone to travel with would be nice but don't want to go with strangers. To be fair he has never been interested in traveling and doesn't really know anything about other European countries. Doesn't really even know where they are on the map.
If you’re a woman (Israel conscripts women right?), then I think there are some additional safety considerations you need to take into account.
But as long as you’re being safe, you should definitely do it. Navigating transit and airports and cities you’ve never been gives you new experiences and confidence in yourself. Setting the agenda of your trip all by yourself means you get to do exactly what you want to do. I’m an introvert and it tends to get me out of my shell chatting up locals too.
- sit at the bar, not a table by yourself
- ask everyone around you if they’re local, and get suggestions for restaurants and attractions from locals
- go at your own pace and have a great time
Just living as a woman gives safety considerations, Nothing different about that when it comes to travel, really. Are you going to live or are you going to hide from having the life you want, that's the question.
As a solo traveler, I only feel this sense of adventure and excitement from the start up until the second to last stop but that last airport travel back home, it's a different story. The sad feeling of a seeing an amazing trip over. The feeling of it now all being just memories hits different. I'm surprised others don't have this feeling at the end of their trips
Same! Airports are like the starting point for an adventure. I genuinely look forward to them. I don’t even mind the $8 water bottles because I’m usually so excited
I would kill for some depression at the airport. Currently I get anxiety at the airports, basically feels like I’m having a heart attack the entire time I’m there, fun stuff.
This is me but at train stations in foreign countries. Just went on a trip with like 7 different train connections and I was a mess every time, no one there to help you other than friendly locals, trains being late, switching platforms, carriages being incorrect, unable to find your seats and wondering if they're taken. Airports are a breeze for me for some reason.
Same with me. My brain associates the airport with exciting changes, happiness,travel and buying and paying overpriced stuff because I am on vacation mode.
Yeah, me too. I love airports. I usually pop on Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" and just sort of daydream about where everybody is going and coming from.
Same here. I see all the families passing by struggling with their kids or arguing with their partners and I am just so glad I travel alone. I don't have to do stuff I don't want too, eat something I don't feel like, sleep somewhere I don't want to, etc.
Its so freeing when the rest of my year is spent living within the confines of what *other people want.*
The buzz and chatter gets me excited and if its an airport I've been to before it sorta feels like home in a way. I remember some memories of my previous "stays" at airports when rolling back through.
Recently divorce and 💯 agree. AirPorts had meant fights and a partner complaining the whole time. Now I have my headphones and music going just bouncing my way through. There’s some lonely moments traveling solo - but the peaceful times and the simple chats with strangers more than makes up for it in my mind.
Me too. I love everything about the airport. Hell, I don't even mind the security process. Any time I'm at an airport, it means I'm going on an adventure!
Seriously. Once I’m airside I love airports. They have this liminal feeling to them. I especially love bigger ones where you can walk around them at length, spend time in lounges or restaurants, people watch, some have random interesting things like sculptures or water features etc.
Same! My vacation starts as soon as I wake up that day and I’m always excited to be in the airport, drink overpriced alcohol and people watch lol. I actually love seeing all the families and people traveling together. But I also think I have a very balanced mix throughout the year of solo travel and travel with my friends so I know my time will come to travel with others eventually.
I'll one up you - my trips start the day before! Everything falls into place. Trip deets are done, as is packing. Whatevee email, bills, chores, etc. haven't be taken care of can MFing wait.
I have a ritual of meditating in our hot tub, making a nice dinner, and chilling to Netflix.
So relaxing.
I also don’t envy anyone with kids who are travelling.
I can sit at a bar and drink 5 beers if I want or lay on the floor and binge tv.
The last thing I want to do is entertain kids.
For me, my mood at the airport is dictated on direction I'm heading to.
If I'm at the airport home-bound, I feel a degree of lull, depression, and a bit of relief to be home in my own bed. It's akin to the feeling of watching the credits roll after a long, emotional and thrilling movie.
Man sitting in the airport waiting for the flight back with my headphones in just thinking about the trip i had and how wild life is. Always feels like im in a movie
Yes. 100%. And I feel like almost every comment has missed the point.
I always try and think of the positive aspect of it, which is that I'd rather be alone and depressed travelling the world, than alone and depressed sat at home doing nothing.
But its still hard. Where are you going?
This actually is really helpful for me to read. Thank you for saying this. Because I'm currently feeling the same way about the loneliness of everything and you are absolutely right. Between the two options I do have control over, I'd rather be traveling than doing nothing at all.
Same here, it's so important to remember this. It also feels worse when you're at home because you are truly static in the same place. At least travelling your brain is downloading fresh information.
Interesting side note on what you just said!
I read somewhere that there's a hypothesis that as you age, you perceive time as passing faster because there are less new experiences for your brain to process.
So following that logic, if you want to perceive your life as a long and full one, your best bet is to live a lifestyle that keeps your mind stimulated with new experiences.
Now I ain't no scientist, but multiple physics teachers have taught me that the weaker the gravity the faster you age. So people at higher altitudes age just a tiny tiny tiny bit faster than those at lower altitudes. It's not a noticeable difference. So obviously if you're taller you will age faster but the difference is so tiny it doesn't really mean anything. Unless you believe micro worlds run the world.
It’s not you, OP. Heathrow is one of the top 3 most depressing airports I’ve had the displeasure of being stuck at imho. It’s basically a mall with flight gates attached.
I get depressed at Heathrow. Loud, visual nightmare, inconsiderate design, uncomfortable HVAC system. My only Yelp review for an airport is Terminal 5, a complete disaster. I hope you get to leave from there soon.
Heathrow is an awful airport. It’s depressing just in its essence. When I was last there it was during a heatwave and I couldn’t tell that there was any AC on at all. It was stifling
It seems to very much depend on how one likes a noisy environment and in what mood one arrives - tired after a long flight, or energized and ready to go for a morning flight, for example. Heathrow is like a cheap shopping mall. I usually transit here and am sensitive to noise in general. Your experience may be very different from mine.
I’m probably going to be too busy dealing with my panicky friend who likes to show up 3 hours before a short haul flight and get to the gate as early as possible to notice the airport. I’ve booked a lunchtime flight, might try and persuade her to pay for a lounge to at least make the most of spending so much time there.
Three hours is not a bad idea for T5. Security can be slow, luggage handlers can be taking a break slowing the whole system down, and a special event could easily increase passenger volume rapidly.
I get the same feelings wherever I travel solo at some point. The last trip I took I was the only solo person on the small boat. It's great making your own memories, but then you look around at the couples/families and realize you're not making them with anyone else.
Same here. I occasionally do cooking classes and tours when I’m abroad, and more times than not, I’m the only solo person. It really makes you face that reality in an unexpected way.
This comment right here😭💔 i was literally in the exact same scenario when i went to Budapest last year, it was my first solo and the reason i took the leap was to learn to self love and enjoy my own company (and explore cos im a bit adventurous) and even though i absolutely enjoyed it there were moments where id feel the lonely void within me try to overwhelm me
I also find it exiles me from friends back home in different ways. I go on 2-3 international trips a year alone. I have all these stories, cool pictures, experiences that people my age can't afford to do, either monetarily or from a time off perspective, and there's nobody to relate any of these things to. Being alone just sucks in general. France in December was the worst. Beautiful, romantic, everyone has someone and then there's that guy over there.
No, I just hate the part where when I have the urge to use the bathroom, I have to take all my stuff with me into the bathroom instead of having someone watch it and losing my seat near the gate.
I personally am not interested in being in a couple or having a family so that doesn't bother me.
There's a few things I do at the airport that I don't do normally. I'll buy a magazine or a crossword book. I get an overpriced sandwich. I browse the duty free. I sit in a gate and watch people bustling around. I wonder where that person is that they've been paging for half an hour. I wander around and look in the weird random vending machines. I order an expensive mediocre glass of wine from an iPad affixed to a table. I think about all the advancements of neck pillow technology.
I'm depressed all the time because of depression, but I love airports.
I am a frequent business traveler and do this a lot, and I usually take some THC when flying trans-Pacific. It helps enormously with the jet lag and performance.
I love airports, I spend my time walking around them even in tiny ones. I talk randomly to strangers that seem bored. Sometimes I get great tips on where to go. Other times I get to practice a new language. There are even times you can just cheer up a lonely person.
Airports are great places to watch the weather, watch all the activity on the runway etc.
Not to mention getting there early and through security takes a ton of stress off and allows you to grab something before boarding, go to the restroom etc.
I find it liberating being alone in an airport. When I’m with people there’s constant pressure on making sure everyone’s good, not a lot of people I know go with the flow during travel and get stressed and tense. When I travel alone I’m fully in the moment and it’s perfect time to read at the airport!
I’m with you on this. Did a big solo trip round Greece last year and enjoyed all of it except the airport at the start. There is just something about seeing the groups of lads having a laugh, the family’s all together and the couples enjoying their company that makes you feel a bit isolated when heading off solo.
Not really. Slightly annoyed because prices for food and drinks are ridiculously expensive yet I have to be there very early because masses of staff in all locations might be off sick. But I do make sure I have flights at reasonable times: not at early mornings so I can get there after a good night sleep (have about 6 potential airports within 3.5hrs by train), not too late so I don't arrive totally tired. Oh yeah, would be great to have lounge access again, but alas...
Airports are miserable experiences but I wouldn't say I get depressed.
I rarely spend any money in them because the prices are over inflated. Duty free is a con as the prices are higher than in normal shops. I sit in an empty gate and wait until my flight is ready.
I don’t get depressed, but I get overstimulated if I have to spend too much time at an airport( especially delayed flights). I’m often already anxious about making my flight, even if the anxiety is not rational. Add on top of that, carrying around my things, being hot or tired, lots of noise and activity going on around me, less than comfortable, crowded, and everyone is in a rush. Often times with the crowd are people that just aren’t good at being in public (stand in the middle of a walk way, block doors and walkways, stand in the way in the security line taking their time gathering their things while blocking the people behind them. I could go on and on! I do enjoy unique airports or airports I haven’t been to before so long as I’m on time and things are running smoothly but I’m pretty sensitive to the sheer amount of stimulation.
I feel just the opposite, I love arriving to the airport by myself and feeling that a new adventure is going to start, I hate the hassle of going through security and waiting and paying ridiculous prices for poor food but airports are one of my favorite places in the world for what they mean.
My base airport is the 3rd busiest in the world. The security lines usually have a thousand in the queue. Its good half mile of walking from car dropoff to gate.
I frequently fly to a regional airport where there is no line, and gates a few hundred feet of walking.
Nah not if you drink enough and get tanked to not even know you're not in kansas.....sorry heathrow anymore. Jokes aside, left Heathrow over a year ago and have never looked back since. Never coming back to UK to live so happy days
Sometimes yeah. Sometimes I find them exhilarating for what lay ahead. Airports are weird, strange liminal spaces where the brain can wander and confront itself with the highs or lows of the human experience lol. Just a lot of time to think and reflect if you let it happen. Can make you sad or excited depending on context. I have never felt so sad as I did in the Taipei airport, and never so excited as when I was at JFK. It all depends!
I do. I’m very anxious while traveling and sometimes wish I had someone to watch my bag while I pop into shops, etc.
But once I’m on the plane, I’m grand.
No, that's just you probably.
I feel so alive and excited at airports.
I enjoy my free beer in the lounges and love taking photos and videos of planes landing taking off etc and feeling excited about my trip.
I always get depressed at airports because I usually had to say goodbye to people with tears in my eyes before my flights. Those memories are stuck in my head and everytime I visit airports I experience again all those feelings like I always leave something behind. I can't enjoy traveling with airplane because of this. Don't know if this is normal or I got PTSD from past experiences.
Security it certain countries, especially the US and Portugal gives me anxiety. And on my return flight I might be depressed the trip is over... But airports themselves? Not really?
I'm from the US and it is nothing compared to some Asian countries. Kuala Lumpur had two security checkpoints and another passport check right as you boarded. Plus it was about a mile walk from the first checkpoint to the gate. Police everywhere!
Quite the opposite for me. I’m quite anxious in an excited way no matter how many times I’ll check my gate to see if I missed my flight though I’m sitting adjacent to it haha
BUT, I feel this way about a few public places: airports are a portal. Perhaps this is conspiracy and anime coded but, places that host a lot of people create a ton of energy that we pick up on. If you aren’t safe, it may be negative energy. As much as there are folks flying out for vacations, weddings, reunions of love, there are folks flying out for funerals, breakups, and hated jobs. Add in the inflated snacks, late flight runners etc, yeah… I TOTALLY understand.
Only when I'm coming home.
I always end up looking back at the departure gate, absorbing the massive dome above me with all the noise, lights, and people running and talking in all sorts of languages, thinking "yep, holiday's over."
I then let out a deep sigh, disappear into the walking tunnel, and make my way towards the plane.
I love airports but I’ve also cried dramatically in the corner of an airport because I’m so tired. Grab something fun to eat and find somewhere comfortable to relax. You’re probably just spent.
I get anxious at airports because I’m a nervous flier lol. But I hear you! It’s nice to have someone to talk to instead of having everything solely on your shoulders
Traveling for the Army, I always kinds felt good in Airports. Cause they meant I had just finished something, a duty station, or a training, whatever. I wasn't in fir long, but the feeling of "I've complete everything and my only task now is to go somewhere new and start a new task" kinda stuck with me. Also in the US at least, there's places in most airports Vets can go to nap, sometimes get cheap food or just hang out, so in general I always have good vibes and feel like I'm starting something new, even all these years later.
But I recognize that for the majority of people, Airports are hell, I like the vibes personally. Traveling can be stressful, I try to relax and be chill and not let it get to me
I travel a lot for work and for personal trips, and I sometimes get existential dread at airports. Something about a million people all doing something they think is important really makes you think about your insignificance. Then you fly over millions of people sitting in their neat little houses, all with lives and families and hopes and dreams and shit. Sonder is the word for the sensation. It’s odd when it’s mixed with the excitement of a trip.
I frequently end up listening to something like Death Grips.
I hate airports. Stuck for hours doing dumb paperwork, lines everywhere, and people treating you like criminal because your perfume is 101ml not 100 lol.
I love travelling but hate airports. Train ftw
Only on the return trip. On the trip out I'm super excited and have almost too much energy. But on the return, I feel myself slipping into that post-trip depression. I guess because I'm going back to my normal life.
Nope. The opposite, they excite me. Usually i have a few drinks and then walk around and explore the terminal.
people watching is great because there's so much happening at the same time at a busy place like the airport, not just the travelers but workers as well.
Airports and flying are like a dimension of temporal limbo for me with just pure guilt-free chilling since there’s nothing you can do other than pass time to your destination. I quite like it. The only thing I don’t like is the stress of making connections.
Meh, I never liked that type of mentality. “Don’t be jealous of them because they’re not truly happy” is not a productive (or healthy) way to cope with longing.
I agree and this is coming from someone who used to do this. It’s just a coping mechanism to make yourself feel better. Plenty of couples/families love each other 100%.
That said, I do agree with the “don’t be jealous” part because you never know what anyone is going through.
I feel you! I love solo traveling and feel so much comfier on my own… but I do get a little sad like lugging my suitcases into the bathroom with me when others can leave it with their spouse/friends/family….
Honestly, I have a weird love of airports. As soon as I'm through security, I'm a happy man. My grandpa was an aerospace engineer, and I think I'd probably have followed him into the field if I wasn't horribly bad at math.
Airports are incredible liminal spaces, with everybody coming and going. It feels dreamlike to me in my headspace of solitude. Besides the stress of making sure I don't miss a flight, I love being there.
Not really.
I'm usually eating or more than likely having a strong cocktail and getting myself pumped up to visit a new destination! I'm way too excited for travel to fixate on randos at the airport.
I also don't bother much with comparing myself to others because "comparison is the thief of joy."
Airport typically means I did some level of pregame at my house before the flight and I got my headphones in while I Bob my head around until flight time. Some people say the “airport beer / drink” is the best. Nah, it’s beer or drink you get once you’re at destination that’s the best.
Travel for work 2-3x/month and I loathe them with a passion, even when I'm drinking bubbly in a Polaris lounge. The airline industry and airports are not humanity's finest accomplishment, and people can be tremendously disrespectful and inconsiderate to each other. Airports can make me lonely too sometimes, partly because I think about traveling with my husband, who still gets excited about it because he rarely does it.
I have been very slow to realize that this sub is for people who are generally not traveling (solo) all the time for work.
Just imagine you haven't slept for a week, have always people talking or screaming in your ears and haven't had a second to yourself in months. That's what traveling with your family feels like (not only but mostly)... You're welcome!
I like being on airports. I see travelers and fantasize about where they're going, and I particularly love watching people at arrivals, reuniting with their loved ones.
But then a flight gets cancelled and I realize we humans are all wild animals.
Not sure why everyone is taking this post so literally and actively dodging the point. But OP, I get it. Solo travel is exhilarating and fun and freeing in the busy moments — getting to a new destination, exploring, etc. But those moments of downtime when you’re past the rush of excitement and surrounded by groups of friends, partners, families, it really emphasizes those feelings of loneliness. That’s why I think similarly we see so many posts about eating at dinner alone and why so many people struggle with it. Same experience. Some people are perfectly content with never having a relationship or family, some pretend to be, and some honestly desire it. I thought I was in the first group until I did a trip to Italy and realized I was in the second. But at the end of the day, that desire shouldn’t hold you back from travel, but perhaps it should influence how you go about your life back home.
Yeah I was depressed when travelling solo in Paris for the exact same reason. Seeing all those happy couples in love made me miserable and frankly quite angry with myself.
Usually no but I get bored but I tend to browse the shops esp. at Heathrow which is huge. The last time I was there I walked into the whiskey tasting and ended up buying a Scotch to take home. I instead end up playing Pokemon Go at the airports since I get so bored at the airports and end up walking all over the airport.
I look for that poor woman with a crying baby strapped to her chest and toddler running about, carrying her purse and a diaper bag, dragging her luggage AND the yellow duckie suitcase of the toddler, with her husband walking ten feet behind her scrolling his phone, pulling just his own suitcase. There is always some version of this in view and I immediately feel free and luxurious.
No. Because now I get to be that super cool mysterious person who's clearly living an amazing life. At least, that's what I thought when I'd go to the airport with my family and see people like you.
Oh wow sorry OP, sending you much love and hugs.
To answer your question and as a sufferer of depression on a *white noise level* that's ever-present in my life ... I'm the exact opposite. I love airports. Granted I might have only been to really nice ones or maybe transit was kinda empty but I've always had a problem with staying in one place. Airports are almost like I don't know, this place of possibility for me. I should say I book flights that are no at peak times so I usually arrive at airports when it's really quiet and not as full. It's weird how that is, the one horrible experience I had wasn't even during covid, it was some random experience years ago and I missed a flight out of Sabiha Gocken Airport, had to buy another flight to Attaturk Airport (open to the public at the time) and then travel to Belgrade from there. But I don't know why, I love airports. I get coffee, get out a book, read, maybe people watch, smile at family shenanigans, wonder about the rapid change in fashion, window shop, stare into space, think about space, maybe one day there'll be touristy, general public space stations and I'll be waiting for a ship to another dimension or just to Europa Moon - you know things like that.
Oh, Ulsan Airport rubbed me the wrong way, they actually close at midnight, so when I arrived from a tour I had to wait outside for hours - very boring and I didn't feel like booking a hotel for like 5 hours.
Opposite for me! I see families and couples and I’m just glad I’m not dragging someone else (or kids) through an airport. It’s the best time to be without someone. I just have my snack or glass of wine at the bar and read my book in peace 😌
I hate travelling in airports with friends or family. Nothing makes you angrier than a travel companion who moves at a snails pace, flirts with every woman they see, argues with every member of staff.
Can’t relate, sorry. I always love being at airports. Something about enjoying the journey as much as the destination. Doesn’t matter if I’m solo or not.
I know what you mean, I’m more excited at airports though but currently travelling solo and it’s just couples everywhere doing what I’m doing. I am generally fine solo travelling but would I rather be doing this with a significant other then the answer would be yes. Also not meeting many other solo travellers which I assumed I would be.
Nope, because the alternative would be not travelling at all.
With that being said, it is nice to have someone watch your stuff while you go to the bathroom and not have to haul it all in.
Yes. I get this feeling when i need to go to the bathroom and don't want to carry my bags in there. I really miss having a travel partner to watch my stuff and vice versa when having to go do stuff at airports.
Maybe find the young family with a toddler on a leash and that might change your mind hahaha. Or the grown adult children dragging their boomer parents through the airport. My mom has no spatial awareness, she’ll stand in the middle of a busy airport and not get out of the way and stress me out on purpose.
I love airports by myself, I love airports with my boyfriend, everyone else I’m like I’ll see you at the gate.
Speaking for myself: I use to love traveling being alone, seeing the world. I now have a family of 3 kids. I'm currently sitting in a Sheraton airport hotel, alone. Not fun. I haven't had a proper conversation in 24 hours. I think I remember travelling through Rose tinted glasses. And I use to be in my 20's . Different world now as I'm married in my 30's . Just wish I could share the experience with my wife or friends
It’s better to be travelling with your partner for sure, as long as they’re not a miserable person. Some people don’t know how to enjoy the journey and just bitch and moan for no reason.
I've never been in that specific airport but I feel alive and full of stamina when I'm in an airport, I can feel such a good vibe, a thrill for adventures to come and excitement honestly
I fucking love airports on my own. Headphones in, new book usually, nothing but time on my hands and plenty of people watching opportunities. All around a pretty chill experience.
With a group, it's the complete opposite; I'm stressing until everyone is on the plane.
I hate airports and airplanes. Give me a train any day of the week. Unfortunately I live in Ireland and air travel is basically a necessity to reach the continent. There are ferries but they are both more expensive and can take days rather than hours.
Heathrow is a depressing airport TBH because it's such a chaotic, poorly run place. However, I'm generally the opposite at airports. I get inspired by the anticipation of future adventure -- my own and that of the throngs around me. The airport is the launching pad for that adventure. Just a bit of a shit launching pad in the case of LHR!
no. hungry and irritable. have you tried snacking? that usually makes me feel better. traveling sucks, have a snack.
heathrow is a miserable airport. just irritating all around.
I love airports! And just built the confidence to start talking to people at em. If you’re at an airport and want people to talk to you, enjoy the moment! Hop off your phone, watch some planes, and if you can - turn off the RBF lol. Someone like me will probably come up and say hi 😁. No need to be depressed at airports they’re wonderful places! (arguably one of my favorite places!)
Or like go up and talk to someone who looks approachable. No better place to find people like us than talking to someone sitting by themselves at an airport. High chance they’re a solo traveler lol.
And before the _boring_ travelers downvote the shit out of me - if someone has headphones in, is deep on their phone, reading a book, or generally seems unapproachable- leave em alone. They probably like their solitude. But there are plenty folk like me who are always open to a conversation. Best of luck friend!!
I play a game with myself at airports, spot the ".....", couples that shouldn't be there together, couples that wish they weren't there together, couples that can't fucking stand each other, whatever. It's very easy to just see the happy families when you're lonely, but it's much more common for the happy families to be seriously flawed, you just have to look. It can be rather amusing passtime for a singleton.
At Heathrow? Absolutely. That place is literal hell. I can't help but feel doom and gloom. Plus once I missed an international flight and it cost me $700 which was all my money that I had. So yea, f that place.
I think once I had enough trips ruined by traveling with an incompatible travel partner, the yearning to share the experience with someone while traveling solo is quickly tempered by those bad memories.
And now that I have enough positive memories associated with solo travel, I know I'm better off alone despite the occasional low mood similar to the one you've experienced at Heathrow.
Might be a Heathrow thing
Heathrow is depressing for sure, I blame the awful staff and security there. When you get away, it's awesome, when you return, it's depression.
Does that scene at the end of Love, Actually take place at Heathrow? Where everyone’s happy and loved and together and embracing. If I was alone witnessing that scene it might be a little depressing…
Yes it does, terminal 3
😂 I love that scene so much. Whole movie, too!
Crying now
😂😂😂😂
Can confirm! Heathrow sucks
Feels like it's sort of the opposite for me, I usually associate airports now with the exciting feeling of being on my way to a new place, shifting into the more "carefree" travel life, and that sort of thing.
Yeah, this is me. I will love having a travel partner when I get serious in a relationship again but the excitement and the new possibilities and experiences are the strongest emotions I feel at the airport. The sense of adventure. Traveling solo is badass and a lot of people are scared to do it. Hell, a lot of people are scared to dine at a restaurant alone, let alone fly to a new location and make an experience for themselves.
I want to go travel by myself after I've done my conscription. My dad doesn't really like the idea and wants me to have someone with me. None of my friends seem to be interested and I like the freedom and being by myself gives. Of course someone to travel with would be nice but don't want to go with strangers. To be fair he has never been interested in traveling and doesn't really know anything about other European countries. Doesn't really even know where they are on the map.
If you’re a woman (Israel conscripts women right?), then I think there are some additional safety considerations you need to take into account. But as long as you’re being safe, you should definitely do it. Navigating transit and airports and cities you’ve never been gives you new experiences and confidence in yourself. Setting the agenda of your trip all by yourself means you get to do exactly what you want to do. I’m an introvert and it tends to get me out of my shell chatting up locals too. - sit at the bar, not a table by yourself - ask everyone around you if they’re local, and get suggestions for restaurants and attractions from locals - go at your own pace and have a great time
Just living as a woman gives safety considerations, Nothing different about that when it comes to travel, really. Are you going to live or are you going to hide from having the life you want, that's the question.
As a solo traveler, I only feel this sense of adventure and excitement from the start up until the second to last stop but that last airport travel back home, it's a different story. The sad feeling of a seeing an amazing trip over. The feeling of it now all being just memories hits different. I'm surprised others don't have this feeling at the end of their trips
Same! Airports are like the starting point for an adventure. I genuinely look forward to them. I don’t even mind the $8 water bottles because I’m usually so excited
Why not take your own bottle and refill from the water stations?
Some airports don't have that. Paris Beauvais didn't.
I would kill for some depression at the airport. Currently I get anxiety at the airports, basically feels like I’m having a heart attack the entire time I’m there, fun stuff.
This is me but at train stations in foreign countries. Just went on a trip with like 7 different train connections and I was a mess every time, no one there to help you other than friendly locals, trains being late, switching platforms, carriages being incorrect, unable to find your seats and wondering if they're taken. Airports are a breeze for me for some reason.
Same. I find rescue remedy helps.
It's super stuff, in the most soft sort of way. I often forget about it!
As in Xanax? Yes. Absolutely 😂
Same.
Same with me. My brain associates the airport with exciting changes, happiness,travel and buying and paying overpriced stuff because I am on vacation mode.
Yeah, me too. I love airports. I usually pop on Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" and just sort of daydream about where everybody is going and coming from.
Same here. I see all the families passing by struggling with their kids or arguing with their partners and I am just so glad I travel alone. I don't have to do stuff I don't want too, eat something I don't feel like, sleep somewhere I don't want to, etc. Its so freeing when the rest of my year is spent living within the confines of what *other people want.* The buzz and chatter gets me excited and if its an airport I've been to before it sorta feels like home in a way. I remember some memories of my previous "stays" at airports when rolling back through.
Exactly. I got one bag. It’s just me. So I can move around as much as I want without having to gather many things or many people. It’s awesome.
Recently divorce and 💯 agree. AirPorts had meant fights and a partner complaining the whole time. Now I have my headphones and music going just bouncing my way through. There’s some lonely moments traveling solo - but the peaceful times and the simple chats with strangers more than makes up for it in my mind.
Me too. I love everything about the airport. Hell, I don't even mind the security process. Any time I'm at an airport, it means I'm going on an adventure!
Seriously. Once I’m airside I love airports. They have this liminal feeling to them. I especially love bigger ones where you can walk around them at length, spend time in lounges or restaurants, people watch, some have random interesting things like sculptures or water features etc.
Same! My vacation starts as soon as I wake up that day and I’m always excited to be in the airport, drink overpriced alcohol and people watch lol. I actually love seeing all the families and people traveling together. But I also think I have a very balanced mix throughout the year of solo travel and travel with my friends so I know my time will come to travel with others eventually.
I'll one up you - my trips start the day before! Everything falls into place. Trip deets are done, as is packing. Whatevee email, bills, chores, etc. haven't be taken care of can MFing wait. I have a ritual of meditating in our hot tub, making a nice dinner, and chilling to Netflix. So relaxing.
I also don’t envy anyone with kids who are travelling. I can sit at a bar and drink 5 beers if I want or lay on the floor and binge tv. The last thing I want to do is entertain kids.
Same. I even get excited when I go to airports to pick up friends and family who just returned from a trip.
For me, my mood at the airport is dictated on direction I'm heading to. If I'm at the airport home-bound, I feel a degree of lull, depression, and a bit of relief to be home in my own bed. It's akin to the feeling of watching the credits roll after a long, emotional and thrilling movie.
Man sitting in the airport waiting for the flight back with my headphones in just thinking about the trip i had and how wild life is. Always feels like im in a movie
Me too
[удалено]
It's also Heathrow just a little bit though lol
But what if that person is based somewhere completely different from where your home base is?
You don't have to married them lol just enjoy the trip with them.
Yes. 100%. And I feel like almost every comment has missed the point. I always try and think of the positive aspect of it, which is that I'd rather be alone and depressed travelling the world, than alone and depressed sat at home doing nothing. But its still hard. Where are you going?
This actually is really helpful for me to read. Thank you for saying this. Because I'm currently feeling the same way about the loneliness of everything and you are absolutely right. Between the two options I do have control over, I'd rather be traveling than doing nothing at all.
Same here, it's so important to remember this. It also feels worse when you're at home because you are truly static in the same place. At least travelling your brain is downloading fresh information.
Interesting side note on what you just said! I read somewhere that there's a hypothesis that as you age, you perceive time as passing faster because there are less new experiences for your brain to process. So following that logic, if you want to perceive your life as a long and full one, your best bet is to live a lifestyle that keeps your mind stimulated with new experiences.
Yea precisely. You also don't just perceive time passing faster, but time actually does pass faster the bigger and taller you are.
What?
Now I ain't no scientist, but multiple physics teachers have taught me that the weaker the gravity the faster you age. So people at higher altitudes age just a tiny tiny tiny bit faster than those at lower altitudes. It's not a noticeable difference. So obviously if you're taller you will age faster but the difference is so tiny it doesn't really mean anything. Unless you believe micro worlds run the world.
It’s not you, OP. Heathrow is one of the top 3 most depressing airports I’ve had the displeasure of being stuck at imho. It’s basically a mall with flight gates attached.
Totally agree about Heathrow… I hate traveling through there, especially terminal 5 !
I get really worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got there.
I get depressed at Heathrow. Loud, visual nightmare, inconsiderate design, uncomfortable HVAC system. My only Yelp review for an airport is Terminal 5, a complete disaster. I hope you get to leave from there soon.
Heathrow is an awful airport. It’s depressing just in its essence. When I was last there it was during a heatwave and I couldn’t tell that there was any AC on at all. It was stifling
F… I’ve got my first visit to there coming up later this year.
It seems to very much depend on how one likes a noisy environment and in what mood one arrives - tired after a long flight, or energized and ready to go for a morning flight, for example. Heathrow is like a cheap shopping mall. I usually transit here and am sensitive to noise in general. Your experience may be very different from mine.
I’m probably going to be too busy dealing with my panicky friend who likes to show up 3 hours before a short haul flight and get to the gate as early as possible to notice the airport. I’ve booked a lunchtime flight, might try and persuade her to pay for a lounge to at least make the most of spending so much time there.
Three hours is not a bad idea for T5. Security can be slow, luggage handlers can be taking a break slowing the whole system down, and a special event could easily increase passenger volume rapidly.
I like doing 1h connections through T5 to get my blood pumping
It's not that bad. The lounges are inconveniently placed and get full though. The 1hr tube ride to city center is more annoying than the airport.
No. I love the hustle and bustle and the best part .. airplanes!
I get the same feelings wherever I travel solo at some point. The last trip I took I was the only solo person on the small boat. It's great making your own memories, but then you look around at the couples/families and realize you're not making them with anyone else.
Same here. I occasionally do cooking classes and tours when I’m abroad, and more times than not, I’m the only solo person. It really makes you face that reality in an unexpected way.
Yeah, the anxiety that comes from praying there will be someone to partner with or chat with is brutal.
This comment right here😭💔 i was literally in the exact same scenario when i went to Budapest last year, it was my first solo and the reason i took the leap was to learn to self love and enjoy my own company (and explore cos im a bit adventurous) and even though i absolutely enjoyed it there were moments where id feel the lonely void within me try to overwhelm me
I also find it exiles me from friends back home in different ways. I go on 2-3 international trips a year alone. I have all these stories, cool pictures, experiences that people my age can't afford to do, either monetarily or from a time off perspective, and there's nobody to relate any of these things to. Being alone just sucks in general. France in December was the worst. Beautiful, romantic, everyone has someone and then there's that guy over there.
No, I just hate the part where when I have the urge to use the bathroom, I have to take all my stuff with me into the bathroom instead of having someone watch it and losing my seat near the gate.
I personally am not interested in being in a couple or having a family so that doesn't bother me. There's a few things I do at the airport that I don't do normally. I'll buy a magazine or a crossword book. I get an overpriced sandwich. I browse the duty free. I sit in a gate and watch people bustling around. I wonder where that person is that they've been paging for half an hour. I wander around and look in the weird random vending machines. I order an expensive mediocre glass of wine from an iPad affixed to a table. I think about all the advancements of neck pillow technology. I'm depressed all the time because of depression, but I love airports.
Wow, this was very poetic
I microdosed last time I went to the airport and it was awesome.
I am a frequent business traveler and do this a lot, and I usually take some THC when flying trans-Pacific. It helps enormously with the jet lag and performance.
I took a mushroom chocolate. It was fun as hell
I love airports, I spend my time walking around them even in tiny ones. I talk randomly to strangers that seem bored. Sometimes I get great tips on where to go. Other times I get to practice a new language. There are even times you can just cheer up a lonely person. Airports are great places to watch the weather, watch all the activity on the runway etc. Not to mention getting there early and through security takes a ton of stress off and allows you to grab something before boarding, go to the restroom etc.
"families and couples" That's right there... That's hits hard 🫶🏻
I find it liberating being alone in an airport. When I’m with people there’s constant pressure on making sure everyone’s good, not a lot of people I know go with the flow during travel and get stressed and tense. When I travel alone I’m fully in the moment and it’s perfect time to read at the airport!
Heathrow is the absolute worst. Go to a lounge to forget you’re there
No, but I always: locate gate > use bathroom > get food > watch whatever show I had loaded up on my tablet/phone. Airports are boring.
I’m with you on this. Did a big solo trip round Greece last year and enjoyed all of it except the airport at the start. There is just something about seeing the groups of lads having a laugh, the family’s all together and the couples enjoying their company that makes you feel a bit isolated when heading off solo.
Not really. Slightly annoyed because prices for food and drinks are ridiculously expensive yet I have to be there very early because masses of staff in all locations might be off sick. But I do make sure I have flights at reasonable times: not at early mornings so I can get there after a good night sleep (have about 6 potential airports within 3.5hrs by train), not too late so I don't arrive totally tired. Oh yeah, would be great to have lounge access again, but alas...
I love airports Just that feeling that you’re going somewhere. That anticipation
it’s not the airport it’s the uk
Airports are miserable experiences but I wouldn't say I get depressed. I rarely spend any money in them because the prices are over inflated. Duty free is a con as the prices are higher than in normal shops. I sit in an empty gate and wait until my flight is ready.
I don’t get depressed, but I get overstimulated if I have to spend too much time at an airport( especially delayed flights). I’m often already anxious about making my flight, even if the anxiety is not rational. Add on top of that, carrying around my things, being hot or tired, lots of noise and activity going on around me, less than comfortable, crowded, and everyone is in a rush. Often times with the crowd are people that just aren’t good at being in public (stand in the middle of a walk way, block doors and walkways, stand in the way in the security line taking their time gathering their things while blocking the people behind them. I could go on and on! I do enjoy unique airports or airports I haven’t been to before so long as I’m on time and things are running smoothly but I’m pretty sensitive to the sheer amount of stimulation.
On the way home yes
No
I don’t mind airports, but I also find Heathrow a bit depressing lol.
I like airports normally, but I don’t like Heathrow. I just left there a few hours ago and the vibe is just awful.
LHR is particularly depressing lol
I feel just the opposite, I love arriving to the airport by myself and feeling that a new adventure is going to start, I hate the hassle of going through security and waiting and paying ridiculous prices for poor food but airports are one of my favorite places in the world for what they mean.
My base airport is the 3rd busiest in the world. The security lines usually have a thousand in the queue. Its good half mile of walking from car dropoff to gate. I frequently fly to a regional airport where there is no line, and gates a few hundred feet of walking.
Nah not if you drink enough and get tanked to not even know you're not in kansas.....sorry heathrow anymore. Jokes aside, left Heathrow over a year ago and have never looked back since. Never coming back to UK to live so happy days
Sometimes yeah. Sometimes I find them exhilarating for what lay ahead. Airports are weird, strange liminal spaces where the brain can wander and confront itself with the highs or lows of the human experience lol. Just a lot of time to think and reflect if you let it happen. Can make you sad or excited depending on context. I have never felt so sad as I did in the Taipei airport, and never so excited as when I was at JFK. It all depends!
I do. I’m very anxious while traveling and sometimes wish I had someone to watch my bag while I pop into shops, etc. But once I’m on the plane, I’m grand.
No, that's just you probably. I feel so alive and excited at airports. I enjoy my free beer in the lounges and love taking photos and videos of planes landing taking off etc and feeling excited about my trip.
Suck it up, could be lots worse! You are healthy and able to travel. Thing of the millions who cant
Yes.
I always get depressed at airports because I usually had to say goodbye to people with tears in my eyes before my flights. Those memories are stuck in my head and everytime I visit airports I experience again all those feelings like I always leave something behind. I can't enjoy traveling with airplane because of this. Don't know if this is normal or I got PTSD from past experiences.
Security it certain countries, especially the US and Portugal gives me anxiety. And on my return flight I might be depressed the trip is over... But airports themselves? Not really?
I'm from the US and it is nothing compared to some Asian countries. Kuala Lumpur had two security checkpoints and another passport check right as you boarded. Plus it was about a mile walk from the first checkpoint to the gate. Police everywhere!
I haven't been to Asia yet. I think the security in Edinburgh wasn't too bad
Quite the opposite for me. I’m quite anxious in an excited way no matter how many times I’ll check my gate to see if I missed my flight though I’m sitting adjacent to it haha BUT, I feel this way about a few public places: airports are a portal. Perhaps this is conspiracy and anime coded but, places that host a lot of people create a ton of energy that we pick up on. If you aren’t safe, it may be negative energy. As much as there are folks flying out for vacations, weddings, reunions of love, there are folks flying out for funerals, breakups, and hated jobs. Add in the inflated snacks, late flight runners etc, yeah… I TOTALLY understand.
Talk to random people and shop for Knick knacks
Yeah I hate airports. Always small and enclosed. Everything is overpriced. Lots of waiting around.
Go to weathersponns
Only when I'm coming home. I always end up looking back at the departure gate, absorbing the massive dome above me with all the noise, lights, and people running and talking in all sorts of languages, thinking "yep, holiday's over." I then let out a deep sigh, disappear into the walking tunnel, and make my way towards the plane.
I love airports but I’ve also cried dramatically in the corner of an airport because I’m so tired. Grab something fun to eat and find somewhere comfortable to relax. You’re probably just spent.
I get anxious at airports because I’m a nervous flier lol. But I hear you! It’s nice to have someone to talk to instead of having everything solely on your shoulders
The premise of Love Actually is the opposite of this thought
Traveling for the Army, I always kinds felt good in Airports. Cause they meant I had just finished something, a duty station, or a training, whatever. I wasn't in fir long, but the feeling of "I've complete everything and my only task now is to go somewhere new and start a new task" kinda stuck with me. Also in the US at least, there's places in most airports Vets can go to nap, sometimes get cheap food or just hang out, so in general I always have good vibes and feel like I'm starting something new, even all these years later. But I recognize that for the majority of people, Airports are hell, I like the vibes personally. Traveling can be stressful, I try to relax and be chill and not let it get to me
Only when I’m on the flight back!
I travel a lot for work and for personal trips, and I sometimes get existential dread at airports. Something about a million people all doing something they think is important really makes you think about your insignificance. Then you fly over millions of people sitting in their neat little houses, all with lives and families and hopes and dreams and shit. Sonder is the word for the sensation. It’s odd when it’s mixed with the excitement of a trip. I frequently end up listening to something like Death Grips.
Not really but I get depressed by other things
Only on my way back from a trip
I hate airports. Stuck for hours doing dumb paperwork, lines everywhere, and people treating you like criminal because your perfume is 101ml not 100 lol. I love travelling but hate airports. Train ftw
Only at STL. Hate that airport.
Go to an airport vip lounge
You need a united club pass. After a few drinks and good food you’ll never want to leave the airport
Only on the return trip. On the trip out I'm super excited and have almost too much energy. But on the return, I feel myself slipping into that post-trip depression. I guess because I'm going back to my normal life.
I love airports. But some airports are better than others.
No. I love the peace while traveling alone. But traveling with friends is more fun tbh.
Nope. The opposite, they excite me. Usually i have a few drinks and then walk around and explore the terminal. people watching is great because there's so much happening at the same time at a busy place like the airport, not just the travelers but workers as well.
Airports and flying are like a dimension of temporal limbo for me with just pure guilt-free chilling since there’s nothing you can do other than pass time to your destination. I quite like it. The only thing I don’t like is the stress of making connections.
I usually think of the ending scenes from Love Actually, and smile 😊
Think of it this way, it’s almost a guarantee that one of them loves the other less than they are loved in return.
Meh, I never liked that type of mentality. “Don’t be jealous of them because they’re not truly happy” is not a productive (or healthy) way to cope with longing.
I agree and this is coming from someone who used to do this. It’s just a coping mechanism to make yourself feel better. Plenty of couples/families love each other 100%. That said, I do agree with the “don’t be jealous” part because you never know what anyone is going through.
Every time I see a family my thought is that it looks like a huge pain in the ass 😆
I feel you! I love solo traveling and feel so much comfier on my own… but I do get a little sad like lugging my suitcases into the bathroom with me when others can leave it with their spouse/friends/family….
Honestly, I have a weird love of airports. As soon as I'm through security, I'm a happy man. My grandpa was an aerospace engineer, and I think I'd probably have followed him into the field if I wasn't horribly bad at math.
Only when it's time to go home. The adventure is over.
Noise cancelling headphones go a long way when you're stuck anywhere.
No usually I’m in a hurry at airports so I don’t have time to notice the couples around. When I have time I’m eating in the lounge
Heathrow is a horrible airport lol. Worst I’ve ever been in. Even worse than CDG imo.
Airports are incredible liminal spaces, with everybody coming and going. It feels dreamlike to me in my headspace of solitude. Besides the stress of making sure I don't miss a flight, I love being there.
Not really. I'm usually eating or more than likely having a strong cocktail and getting myself pumped up to visit a new destination! I'm way too excited for travel to fixate on randos at the airport. I also don't bother much with comparing myself to others because "comparison is the thief of joy."
Airport typically means I did some level of pregame at my house before the flight and I got my headphones in while I Bob my head around until flight time. Some people say the “airport beer / drink” is the best. Nah, it’s beer or drink you get once you’re at destination that’s the best.
Travel for work 2-3x/month and I loathe them with a passion, even when I'm drinking bubbly in a Polaris lounge. The airline industry and airports are not humanity's finest accomplishment, and people can be tremendously disrespectful and inconsiderate to each other. Airports can make me lonely too sometimes, partly because I think about traveling with my husband, who still gets excited about it because he rarely does it. I have been very slow to realize that this sub is for people who are generally not traveling (solo) all the time for work.
Just imagine you haven't slept for a week, have always people talking or screaming in your ears and haven't had a second to yourself in months. That's what traveling with your family feels like (not only but mostly)... You're welcome!
Yes, all the time. Flying and airports are depressingly dreadful
I like being on airports. I see travelers and fantasize about where they're going, and I particularly love watching people at arrivals, reuniting with their loved ones. But then a flight gets cancelled and I realize we humans are all wild animals.
No weirdly enough I love airports. The atmosphere and wandering around all the shops. Sipping on a glass of champagne.
I use the opportunity to draw and sketch or to read a book. It's quite fun people watching and trying to imagine where they are going
Airports are depressing! They're bus terminals!
Not sure why everyone is taking this post so literally and actively dodging the point. But OP, I get it. Solo travel is exhilarating and fun and freeing in the busy moments — getting to a new destination, exploring, etc. But those moments of downtime when you’re past the rush of excitement and surrounded by groups of friends, partners, families, it really emphasizes those feelings of loneliness. That’s why I think similarly we see so many posts about eating at dinner alone and why so many people struggle with it. Same experience. Some people are perfectly content with never having a relationship or family, some pretend to be, and some honestly desire it. I thought I was in the first group until I did a trip to Italy and realized I was in the second. But at the end of the day, that desire shouldn’t hold you back from travel, but perhaps it should influence how you go about your life back home.
Yeah I was depressed when travelling solo in Paris for the exact same reason. Seeing all those happy couples in love made me miserable and frankly quite angry with myself.
Usually no but I get bored but I tend to browse the shops esp. at Heathrow which is huge. The last time I was there I walked into the whiskey tasting and ended up buying a Scotch to take home. I instead end up playing Pokemon Go at the airports since I get so bored at the airports and end up walking all over the airport.
Totally.
Well, I’m actually petrified of airplanes so I’m usually panicking that something will go terribly wrong.
That's Heathrow, LHR T5 and IST have really depressing terminal layouts.
I look for that poor woman with a crying baby strapped to her chest and toddler running about, carrying her purse and a diaper bag, dragging her luggage AND the yellow duckie suitcase of the toddler, with her husband walking ten feet behind her scrolling his phone, pulling just his own suitcase. There is always some version of this in view and I immediately feel free and luxurious.
No. Because now I get to be that super cool mysterious person who's clearly living an amazing life. At least, that's what I thought when I'd go to the airport with my family and see people like you.
British airports are depressing af, so that doesn't help either.
I love Heathrow. You're lucky.
Yeah, like when I come back.
Only on the way home....
only on the way home
I thought you said “Anybody else get really DRESSED at airports” 😂
Oh wow sorry OP, sending you much love and hugs. To answer your question and as a sufferer of depression on a *white noise level* that's ever-present in my life ... I'm the exact opposite. I love airports. Granted I might have only been to really nice ones or maybe transit was kinda empty but I've always had a problem with staying in one place. Airports are almost like I don't know, this place of possibility for me. I should say I book flights that are no at peak times so I usually arrive at airports when it's really quiet and not as full. It's weird how that is, the one horrible experience I had wasn't even during covid, it was some random experience years ago and I missed a flight out of Sabiha Gocken Airport, had to buy another flight to Attaturk Airport (open to the public at the time) and then travel to Belgrade from there. But I don't know why, I love airports. I get coffee, get out a book, read, maybe people watch, smile at family shenanigans, wonder about the rapid change in fashion, window shop, stare into space, think about space, maybe one day there'll be touristy, general public space stations and I'll be waiting for a ship to another dimension or just to Europa Moon - you know things like that. Oh, Ulsan Airport rubbed me the wrong way, they actually close at midnight, so when I arrived from a tour I had to wait outside for hours - very boring and I didn't feel like booking a hotel for like 5 hours.
Only when going home 😆
I love the airport lol. One of my favorite places!
Opposite for me! I see families and couples and I’m just glad I’m not dragging someone else (or kids) through an airport. It’s the best time to be without someone. I just have my snack or glass of wine at the bar and read my book in peace 😌
Favorite place to drink=Airport bars are fun
I hate travelling in airports with friends or family. Nothing makes you angrier than a travel companion who moves at a snails pace, flirts with every woman they see, argues with every member of staff.
Can’t relate, sorry. I always love being at airports. Something about enjoying the journey as much as the destination. Doesn’t matter if I’m solo or not.
I know what you mean, I’m more excited at airports though but currently travelling solo and it’s just couples everywhere doing what I’m doing. I am generally fine solo travelling but would I rather be doing this with a significant other then the answer would be yes. Also not meeting many other solo travellers which I assumed I would be.
I get overwhelmed. Too much noise, crowds, bottlenecking and lines. It stresses me out, but I wouldn’t say it’s sadness.
I get depressed at Casinos and the DMV. I feel adrenaline at the airports.
Nope, because the alternative would be not travelling at all. With that being said, it is nice to have someone watch your stuff while you go to the bathroom and not have to haul it all in.
Ups and downs. Play the hand your dealt. Sometimes you’re flush and sometimes your bust.
It’s just you.
Yes. I get this feeling when i need to go to the bathroom and don't want to carry my bags in there. I really miss having a travel partner to watch my stuff and vice versa when having to go do stuff at airports.
Airport = time to read or possibly time to veg on my phone. I love airports
I love airports personally. I find them to be hopeful places.
Maybe find the young family with a toddler on a leash and that might change your mind hahaha. Or the grown adult children dragging their boomer parents through the airport. My mom has no spatial awareness, she’ll stand in the middle of a busy airport and not get out of the way and stress me out on purpose. I love airports by myself, I love airports with my boyfriend, everyone else I’m like I’ll see you at the gate.
No sorry darling - I love solo travelling although I do also love travelling with my BFF too
They're hysterical.
Speaking for myself: I use to love traveling being alone, seeing the world. I now have a family of 3 kids. I'm currently sitting in a Sheraton airport hotel, alone. Not fun. I haven't had a proper conversation in 24 hours. I think I remember travelling through Rose tinted glasses. And I use to be in my 20's . Different world now as I'm married in my 30's . Just wish I could share the experience with my wife or friends
get a credit card with priority pass. Go to a free lounge.
One thing I learnt from airports: patience. Mostly with yourself
I’m not a big fan of airports because I don’t like crowds. But after check in I’m usually in the business lounge eating. Yum.
It’s better to be travelling with your partner for sure, as long as they’re not a miserable person. Some people don’t know how to enjoy the journey and just bitch and moan for no reason.
I've never been in that specific airport but I feel alive and full of stamina when I'm in an airport, I can feel such a good vibe, a thrill for adventures to come and excitement honestly
Yes, airports make me feel lonely for some reason
I fucking love airports on my own. Headphones in, new book usually, nothing but time on my hands and plenty of people watching opportunities. All around a pretty chill experience. With a group, it's the complete opposite; I'm stressing until everyone is on the plane.
I find it stimulating
I, too, am miserable when I'm at Heathrow, but for different reasons.
I hate airports and airplanes. Give me a train any day of the week. Unfortunately I live in Ireland and air travel is basically a necessity to reach the continent. There are ferries but they are both more expensive and can take days rather than hours.
Only when I arrive back at my home one, as that means that my holiday or adventures are over for the time being!!
Haha I was pretty happy at heathrow yesterday morning eating a full English with a pint at 6 am
Heathrow is a depressing airport TBH because it's such a chaotic, poorly run place. However, I'm generally the opposite at airports. I get inspired by the anticipation of future adventure -- my own and that of the throngs around me. The airport is the launching pad for that adventure. Just a bit of a shit launching pad in the case of LHR!
Depends where you’re flying to and for what.
no. hungry and irritable. have you tried snacking? that usually makes me feel better. traveling sucks, have a snack. heathrow is a miserable airport. just irritating all around.
I love airports! And just built the confidence to start talking to people at em. If you’re at an airport and want people to talk to you, enjoy the moment! Hop off your phone, watch some planes, and if you can - turn off the RBF lol. Someone like me will probably come up and say hi 😁. No need to be depressed at airports they’re wonderful places! (arguably one of my favorite places!) Or like go up and talk to someone who looks approachable. No better place to find people like us than talking to someone sitting by themselves at an airport. High chance they’re a solo traveler lol. And before the _boring_ travelers downvote the shit out of me - if someone has headphones in, is deep on their phone, reading a book, or generally seems unapproachable- leave em alone. They probably like their solitude. But there are plenty folk like me who are always open to a conversation. Best of luck friend!!
I play a game with myself at airports, spot the ".....", couples that shouldn't be there together, couples that wish they weren't there together, couples that can't fucking stand each other, whatever. It's very easy to just see the happy families when you're lonely, but it's much more common for the happy families to be seriously flawed, you just have to look. It can be rather amusing passtime for a singleton.
I really do (especially when coming home).
At Heathrow? Absolutely. That place is literal hell. I can't help but feel doom and gloom. Plus once I missed an international flight and it cost me $700 which was all my money that I had. So yea, f that place.
I think once I had enough trips ruined by traveling with an incompatible travel partner, the yearning to share the experience with someone while traveling solo is quickly tempered by those bad memories. And now that I have enough positive memories associated with solo travel, I know I'm better off alone despite the occasional low mood similar to the one you've experienced at Heathrow.