Irritating Things that DNs Do (or Don't Do)

  1. "I'm poor." No, you're not. You're almost certainly in the global top 10%, maybe top 1%.
  2. Treating the lifestyle as a right. It isn't. You gotta pay for shit.
  3. Forgetting that you are a guest. If locals criticize you as a force for gentrification, listen to them. They might not be correct, but their opinions matter much more than yours do, as a guest.
  4. Travel as competition. Just shut up. Your recitation of the list of every country you've transited is tedious.
  5. Refusal to learn local language. This one is particularly depressing.
  6. Acting as force for cultural homogenization. Lisbon really does not need yet another yoga studio in Alfama Cais do Sodré. Roma Norte does not need yet another eatery catering to fashionable First-World dietary neuroses. Shut up and enjoy some tacos. Ask a local to take you fishing, or teach you how to grow orchids.
  7. Cliquishness. Make some local friends. This isn't high school. Get to know someone older than 30. Spend time with someone who doesn't share a language with you.
  8. The hard sell. I get that you're trying to make a living advance-selling timeshares at a vegan DN crypto commune, scheduled for completion in 2032. When I said I'm not interested, it meant I'm not interested. Switch off the sales mode, or fuck off.
  9. Refusing to admit if you don't like the lifestyle. I've encountered a lot of people who clearly dislike travel, but really want to be recognzied as intrepid travelers. It's not a moral failing if you dislike travel. There are sustainability issues to a modern nomadic lifestyle, and it's a real shame to engage in it if you don't enjoy it.
  10. Tread lightly, and be mindful of your impact. At very worst, any place you visit should be no worse for your visit than it was before. Really (see #1), you are in a position to leave destinations better off than they were before your arrival. Do that.

That's all for now. I dare you to come at me and try to kill me.