Until the mid-1850s, the average human being didn’t travel very much. They tended to stay put where they were born and if they did make a journey, it was a major event and they probably went no further than the next village or town. Then came trains and gradually people grew used to the idea that they could travel more than a mile or two.
The perfect view
Tourists started to visit other countries and by the beginning of the 20th century and following hard on the heels of trains came bicycles and motorised vehicles. Of course, it wasn’t long before the Wright Brothers found they could fly and air transport started to grow apace.
By the early to mid-1950s, the first tourists found that they could go to Spain and enjoy cheap holidays, the sea and an infinitely better climate than anywhere in northern Europe. About 10 years went by and it dawned on a few hardy pioneers that if they enjoyed their annual two-week holiday by the Mediterranean that much, then once they had saved enough money, why not move there permanently?
And so the word spread. In the last decade people began to look further afield. The Mediterranean was fine and during the 1980s Florida had been one of their favourite destinations but now, with cheaper airfares and faster planes, why not South Africa? And how about Morocco, the Philippines or Australia?
Even if they preferred to stay at home, many people left the cities and moved to the country or near the sea. The globe instantly grew smaller and with computers, mobile phones and web cams, keeping in touch with family and friends became that much simpler.
In the last 150 years the human race discovered that homes and travel go hand in hand, to the extent that now you’ll see at airports a new breed that has been christened ‘residential tourists’, who are heading for their second homes. These are the ones you’ll notice who often don’t have luggage to check in and who carry a bag just big enough to take their credit cards, cash, passports and boarding pass.
A home near the coast can be a safe harbour
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Very best wishes
Stewart Andersen
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