When it comes to travel television, shows like Anthony Bourdain’s “The Layover” and “House Hunters: International” rule the airwaves. Designed to take viewers to far off places while remaining firmly and safely in their La-Z-Boys, travel shows pander to an audience that longs to adventure abroad.
Unfortunately, like most other reality television, travel shows create a false sense of accessibility to not just traveling abroad, but living abroad as well.
Take “House Hunters: International” for example. In this show, you see couples, families, military and more uprooting themselves from their homes and “taking the leap” to live somewhere new and exciting. From Paris to Panama, Namibia to New Zealand, “House Hunters: International” follows the movers to three potential homes and documents their decision on where to live. “House Hunters: International” does a fantastic job of depicting the allure of moving and living abroad; however, it completely ignores the immense amount of work it takes to move to a new country.
In order to move to the European Union you must first acquire either a working or student visa. Without a visa you can only legally stay in the EU for 90 days. To get a visa you must, obviously, get a job or enroll in school in the country you plan to move to. Some countries are less strict on how long you can stay without a visa and don’t always require a job, but you will eventually find travel and living regulations enforced in any country in the world.
On top of the long and frustrating process that is acquiring a visa, “House Hunters: International” also skips over the stress of packing and selling items from your old home, furnishing your new place and adjusting to a new lifestyle. Another subject the show rarely touches on is the language barrier faced by those that move to a country where English is not the first language.
“The Layover” also skips over the more undesirable aspects of traveling. Hosted by Anthony Bourdain, a well-known chef and travel writer, “The Layover” shows travelers things they can do, places they can eat and drink, and locations they can stay 24-to-48 hours in cities around the world.
Although the suggestions are undoubtedly superb, I couldn’t help but notice that regardless of the city he is in, Bourdain never seems to run into any problems. Whether it’s communicating with others for locations, finding reservations for the best restaurants or making it back to the airport in time for his flight, Bourdain is always able to bypass the things that make traveling so frustrating.
With all of that said, I am obviously someone that has their TV tuned in to the Travel Channel or HGTV almost 24/7. Looking back on when I was first drawn to shows like “House Hunters: International” and “The Layover,” I recall doing so because I wanted to travel the world one day and looked for tips and ideas on how to do so in the shows. Now, years later, I realize I haven’t traveled as much as I thought I would have based on my interest in those shows – and maybe it is in fact because of travel shows that I haven’t.
Not only do travel television shows misrepresent what traveling and living abroad is like, but they perpetuate a false sense of adventure that promotes laziness and complacencies. So my advice to all you travelers out there is this: Just go and don’t worry about what other people have done before you as documented in travel television. You will find your own adventure without Anthony Bourdain by your side.
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