Coming home can be anything from a drag to a celebration: it all depends on what you're coming back home to and how long you've been away. To lessen the blow, here are some tips, culled from long-term travellers I met. They don't all apply to me, but that's no reason not to mention them.
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Try to have some money in the bank account when you get back. It's extremely tempting to stay away as long as possible and spend every last penny you have, but returning home without any money is a miserable experience. Conversely, if you're building up a debt to go travelling – and that's never a terrible idea – bear in mind that when you return, you're going to spend more money before you get any coming in. It's a fact of life...
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...as is the fact that living in the West without a source of income sucks. Try to get a job, even if it's a part-time, low-pay affair. You'll have a hard time adjusting to the rat race as it is, but adjusting while your mates are all out spending money on beer and night clubs and you're broke is no fun at all.
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The first few days will be magical – you're the centre of attention, everyone wants to hear your stories and it's great to see your friends and family again – but the next few weeks will probably be a downward spiral. You'll see yourself getting into a 9-to-5 routine, you'll probably be returning to lousy weather (compared to the tropics, anyway) and you'll wish you were still on the road. I wish I knew a cure for this; but knowing it's going to happen helps to take the sting out of it.
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The chances are you'll want to plan another trip, and that's no bad thing. But give life at home a chance before heading off into the blue yonder again; you have to ask yourself, are you leaving because you really want to, or are you leaving because that's just what you're used to? After a few months you might have a different perspective...
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Non-travellers really couldn't care less about your trip. The first time they see you again, all they want to hear about is how you ate dry-roasted locusts in Africa and how you braved the testicle-eating tribes of Asia, but after one telling your stories will become pretty annoying to those who stayed behind. This is probably just jealousy at work, but get used to the fact that you'll never really be able to explain that desert sunset to anyone else, unless they've seen it too.
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You'll have changed, and so will your friends. You'll come home, look at your CD collection and wonder, 'Why the hell did I buy that? I must have been mad!' The same will happen with your friends, and you'll probably find that one day you're in the pub with a mate, and a voice inside your head will say, 'This guy's a complete idiot!' Only you will know how to deal with it, but one thing's for sure: it's not your fault, and it's not his or hers. It's just a fact of life.
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If you find yourself at a loose tether, check out the Internet (oh... you already are). There's a great travel community out there, and armchair travelling does wonders for the acclimatization.
