Hi Ladies, For those of you that tour how long are you on the road? Lastly, how do you combat the loneliness? Usually, by the 2nd week I have hotel fever...Thanks!
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Hi Ladies, For those of you that tour how long are you on the road? Lastly, how do you combat the loneliness? Usually, by the 2nd week I have hotel fever...Thanks!
My longest tour was 16 months. I loved it! But I'm pretty good at being alone and live to travel... I also met tons of people along the way. Don't feel like I was really alone, all that much...
hm. longest I was on the road was 8 months. You just have to find things to do to occupy your downtime like reading, working out, or sightseeing. I don't tend to meet people unless they're through work. Otherwise, I travel with a pet to help ease the loneliness.
Im cardio kickboxing and weight lifting 4-6 days a week. However, outside of clients it feels as if you're cut off until the tour is over.
Aside from that some clients are emotional vampires/drain you whether creepy, whiny or whatever..
Actually, have contemplated buying a pet. However, its the "training" time and separation anxiety that worries me.
You ladies impress me with such extended tours!!
My longest was 6 months and I only returned due to my visa limitations. It was surprisingly easy for me to be away. I only got sad when I came home. I go between periods of being social to a hermit for down time. But there was so much to do that I stayed busy.
Obviously, my process isn't working. My day is gym, dates with clients and that's it..Based on advice provided above. I should get out, see the city and mingle a bit. Going to take a bit of "pushing" myself to be an extrovert. Thanks Ladies
I dont tour nearly as long as you ladies do, only a few days at a time. But I still always make some time for myself to decompress and do some sightseeing. I love learning about the history and culture of new places, and no matter how small and hokey a city is, there is always some sort of museum or gardens or something that tells a story about the place. I also like to find out what the best eatery is..food is a *huge* part of any city, because it tends to be influenced by the people / history of it. So I try hard to avoid any chain resturants, and go on the hunt for local cuisine.
Im a loner lol so I dont at all mind going out and doing things on my own, it gives me something to do to clear my mind and refresh myself for work and I enjoy the adventure of it too.
I love a spa day, when I'm on the road and feeling burnt out...
Ditto the spa day! Ive only done that once when on tour, but it was *fantastic!!* felt like Id taken a whole vacay in one afternoon and was ready to take on the world LoL
I get pretty burnt out after 2 weeks but it also depends on what city I go to. Some cities have a plethora of, like you said, emotional vampires and so it gets draining pretty fast but other cities have guys that love to tip and buy me things on top of the donation so that makes me a much happier traveler! ;)
I toured for 5 months and barely stayed in my home state. I never work an entire week or I'd snap. It's too emotionally exhausting for me.
I bring my puppy with me to incalls. It's great to bring a pet but at the same time they can slow down your tour schedule with constant bathroom trips every 1-2 hours outside of the hotel. Dog potty pads in the room will leave an odor in the room. Also, you're left to a much smaller selection of pet-friendly hotels if you tour. And hotels have a 30 pound weight limit on dogs so no big dogs :(.
I'm glad you guys brought up the pet thing, as I feel that right now, having a pet is really preventing me from touring. Do clients not mind that there's a dog sitting there staring at you guys? Or what if your dog really likes a client, and won't stop asking to be pet? What if they whine? Aren't those all mood killers?
I've trained my puppy to be quiet when left in a room or his crate alone so I just keep him in the bathroom during appointments with a chew bone and a non-squeak toy. The client lets him out when it's time for the guy to shower. I've tried using a crate but that thing is such a drag to bring along because I already am carrying a lot of luggage.
I've read reviews where the hobbyist mentioned that the provider had a dog in the room who watched them. I know that's really awkward for the client to have a dog in the room watching and I totally understand so the bathroom is a great choice.
Tiny dogs are an advantage because you can bring them as your carry on in a bag versus in a crate. Pet airline tickets are 250-300 dollars for one way!! It's crazy expensive.
^ Look up "emotionally supportive animal." I take my dog on planes with me as much as I can. Get a letter from your doctor with the guidelines it states for an ESA. Your animal rides free and there is basically nothing the airline can do about it because they are afraid of getting sued with the whole American with Disabilities Act thing. Without claiming your dog as an ESA, you go through airlines being shitty with you for bringing your pet or having it in cargo. My baby gets to ride in the plane with me as my carry on. It's awesome. :D
And I just want to say I feel more normal now after reading this thread. I travel a lot and I am barely ever home. Not even so much touring anymore as I have had a lot of things go on in my personal life that required me to be away from home but, even so, it doesn't really bother me at all. Lots of people think I am nuts and wonder if I get lonely but, I don't know, I just like it! I am glad to see that other girls are the same way. :D
what happens if your dog is too big for carry on? Can the ESA get you a free ride in cargo (which sucks, I know) for the pet in its crate?
I never knew the dog rides free if it's an ESA. Thank you so much for posting this. One thing I just learned is that some hotels, despite being pet friendly, have an extremely high fee for bringing a pet. I arrived at a hotel two days ago only to find out that it's 200 dollars extra to bring my dog. So ridiculous. I usually stay at the Westin so much that they no longer charge me for my puppy. They just raised the dog weight to 40 pounds there so it looks like I'll stick to hotels I know that won't charge. Kimpton Hotels also let your pet stay for free but the price to stay there right now is too expensive.
I think there are actually ways around cargo for an ESA, bc my hair Extensionist has a lab and took her dog with her, she just had to call the airlines and let them know so they could make sure she would have the right seat. I am not sure if they have ESA/service dogs in cargo but I could be wrong.
Since this is an open forum and anyone (including the hotels and LE) can read these posts, you may want to edit out the hotel names and details. :)
Think about it, these companies usually have someone monitoring their reputation. Could mean tighter measures against us if they keep seeing their hotel names/chains on these boards.
Just a reminder guys there is a Providers United group where your post aren't out in the open. If you are interested in joining send me pm.
The longest I've gone is 4-5 days at a time. I bring a bunch of e-books and exercise videos for downtime or I do some day job work. If there's a nice pool I'll hang out there, or, I see the local sights, take lots of pics, eat the local specialties. I look stuff up before I leave and note special events or holidays in the area. When I get lonely I chat with my friends online or on the phone.