Why Travel?

People per square mile in my birth town of NY: 27,550.
People per square mile in my home town of Ferndale, WA: 95.

Population of Whatcom County, WA: 205,000. 
Foot traffic every day in Grand Central Station: 750,000.  

Rural values: silence, space, serenity, Growth Management Act, and neighborliness. I see deer on my daily walk and pause often to appreciate trees, fields, sky, and the Nooksack River. Loud motorcycles, diesel trucks, and blaring car stereos are intrusive. 

Urban values? I'll soon find out.

What prompts a ruralite to want temporarily to leave their small provincial town and see the big city? The same reason we change TV channels, download new songs, or shift our weight on a seat: variety. Sameness breeds boredom. My cat eats the same food every day and rarely laments the meaningless of life. She doesn't know the words existential angst. I however, need an occasional change.

Even Proverbs says, "The eyes of a person are never satisfied."

Why is this? What neurological fluke makes us (me) crave contrasts, juxtapositions, and change? I think everyone suffers to some degree from Attention Deficit Disorder. Even the best meal, movie, or musical number would drive us crazy if that were our steady diet.

Traveling also addresses the curious notion of adaptability. Residents in NYC might wonder how anyone could live without the noise, excitement, and stimulation of urban life. I'm curious to learn how people adapt to living congested lives. I wonder who I can ask. We'll see.