What’s up with the ‘out and about’ brigade?

[Nayouknow]

You know the ones. ‘I like to be out and about’ brigade. The ‘I’d be climbing the walls if I didn’t leave the house every day’ crew. The people who view time spent in their homes to be ‘wasted’ and time spent outside it to somehow automatically be more rewarding/interesting/energising/virtuous/insert positive.

I’ve only really come across this sort of mentality on MN and I find it fascinating. What’s their deal? Do they not like their homes? Do they have no indoor pursuits that they enjoy enough to be occupied for one day? Is it the actual outside air (not to be confused with the air in their gardens, as those of them who have gardens are generally very clear that hanging out in the garden isn’t sufficient)? Are they hardcore extroverts?

Like everyone else I know, I like to go out and I like to stay in. Walks are nice. Activities are nice. Spending a weekend at home cooking/reading/watching box sets/playing with DS is also nice. Based on their comments, the aforementioned crew would consider the latter a ‘wasted weekend’.

My DP is like this, he’s only happy at home if doing DIY or something, he cannot just chill on the sofa for a few hours you can see him physically itching to get up and do things. In the same way he can’t understand how I enjoy just chilling out for a day and not doing anything.

Well, it can go on without me having to be there watching it! 😁

I wfh 3 days a week and love it . I also love the 2 days in the office , it's a nice balance .

Saturdays are for chores and catching up with friends . Sunday is my favourite day of all . Totally indulgent, get pastries / coffee / papers and relax . Then take dogs for a long hike at the beach . Then home to cook something lovely for tea and Netflix .

I like to see friends but I love being at home . I was never bored during lockdown but do have a big garden so makes a huge difference.
As someone else said I also shut my door Xmas Eve and don't come out again until Jan 2nd . I love the solitude and it's when I plan my year ahead .

One of this things I miss from before I had a child was just being able to stay in all weekend! Get some housework done, watch a bit of telly, get a bolognese on about 4 to cook for a few hours, maybe a drink out the front before dinner if the weather is good. Bliss.

now I have a toddler who needs walked like a dog morning and afternoon for bloody hours to be in any way manageable 🤣😂

I hear you. 4 kids I need to be out the house with them all day everyday otherwise the house get trashed, they end up fighting eachother, I'm pestered endlessly for snack after snack and they are all iPad/tv avoiders they have the attention span of 10 minutes with electronics because they don't get why mummy can't play with them every second of every day

Mine is similar. He loves pottering at home but this usually involves breaking things and putting them back together.

I love pottering at home but each weekend do like a little 'trip' even if it's only to go to an icecream cafe (yesterday). But i am quite introverted and being around people makes me socially anxious.

Our neighbours are crazy busy with the activities they do every weekend- paddle boarding, hiking, kayaking, sailing. Out all day every day. I would quite like to be slightly more like them- but not too much.

I'm an "out and about" person, I'm single and extroverted by nature so being at home on my own for too long is draining. I don't mind the odd day spent mostly at home - today I am going to the gym and food shop then I'll probably be home for the rest of the day. I couldn't do it for a whole weekend though. I have a DS but he's a teenager and does his own thing with friends mostly at weekends.

DH and I have this personality difference in our own household, it took us years to get into a good activity rhythm. As long as I put in a ‘request’ the day before so that he can work himself up to it (eg “I want to go out on a family bike ride tomorrow since it’ll
be nice weather”), he seems happy to accommodate. He’d quite happily flop for a week by a beach or pool, where I’m like a dog that needs to be exercised or I start to chew the furniture. I think it’s because I’m a SAHM (not exactly by choice, we’re abroad and I’m a trailing spouse) and he’s tired from being out at work all day, so we want different things in our downtime. We try to plan so that both of us feel energized at the end of our weekends/holidays.

It is worth noting that you take away the option of relaxing with any type of screen, everyone in our family (including DH) seems more interested in an outing or at very least some sort of creative/productive activity. 🤔 I do like to relax and am not opposed to puttering at home for a weekend reading a book or playing board games with our kids, but I am convinced that screens put my entire family into a lazy stupor.

That’s exactly our set up too! I would love to be like your neighbours though and that is absolutely DP’s dream once the kids are a little older

You might draw your energy from within, from an outside place. A walk in the countryside or a bike ride can be solitary

People are different, if you got out more you might have noticed :)

We are lucky to have a largish house and good sized garden so don't feel the need to get out all the time. I imagine if you are in a small flat with no garden you'd want to get 'out and about' a bit more! It's all relative.

I get antsy if I don’t get out at least once a day. We have a dog so have to get out for a proper walk.
DH is the same.

going away with his kids is trying as they can easily just naff around the house all day while DH storms around muttering ‘missing the best of the day’.

I’m a total introvert.

😂 I find it all too easy not to get distracted by housework indoors. Craft/book/Kindle easily see to that.
I do nearly always take myself out for a walk though.

I don't think there's anything "wrong" with me. I just enjoy doing different things to you! I'd not think someone odd for wanting to do the things you do, but neither could I see myself in a relationship with someone with very different interests

I kind of straddle both views. I like to get out daily in nature with the dog, as being outside underneath sun dappled trees does me the world of good and lifts my mood. However, I like to do it alone so I can have some space and time just for me and to listen to an inspiring podcast etc

But if going out involved constant socialising all weekend I would not enjoy that. I love seeing my friends, but not every single weekend and I need time at home to recharge.

I think it's about balance- staying in all the time or going out all the time is too much. Its nice to have both to feel you have the best of both worlds.

They are not a ‘brigade’ or a ‘crew’ just people with different preferences.

And I doubt they all work from some uni-mind that has decided your indoor crafting or whatever you enjoy are a ‘waste’.

Why get worked up about it?

That's the whole point . The thread IS about the people that think staying in is a waste of time, dull, boring,lazy etc. not the "live and let live people".

That's the "brigade" and some have popped up on the thread. They're actually living don't you know?

I believe what it is is, is for pretty much a minimum of 50% of the year we get rain, cold, hail, fog, damp, and just generally grim weather in this country. The most we are likely to get (in the UK,) that is proper nice, is 4 months of the 12. And some people will be stuck inside at work for some of that!!!

So when we do get a really nice weekend, it just seems ridiculous to be stuck in 'watching box sets' and 'playing video games' and sitting watching telly or playing board games.. It IS a waste of time and it IS a waste of nature, outdoor activities, and fresh air and sunshine, (and the opportunities to go for walks. Walking is very good for your mental health and physical health.)

And yes, I do judge people stuck in their house for the whole 48 hours of the weekend when it's glorious sunshine. Why on Earth would you?! Especially if you have got children. At least get in the garden! And keeping your kids in?! Why? Why on earth do THEY not want to go outside? Are they learning from you?!

These 'CBA to go out in the sun coz why SHOULD I just coz other people do' people, are the same ones that will be whinging and moaning and crying into their coffee, when the summer holidays come, and it ends up pissing down for 80% of the six weeks and they can't get out to do anything. I've seen it happen before on here.

Oh and @Nayouknow YABU. I would rather be part of the 'out and about brigade' than the 'stuck in the house when it's sunny and warm outside brigade!' I'm off out in about half an hour, (to a Nature Reserve,) with DH. It's beautiful here, and like hell am I staying cooped up inside when it's like this!

DH and I have always enjoyed being outside - hillwalking, cycling, just going for a walk... I think part of it is that our jobs are very 'indoors' (some days we might walk in to work and not see natural light for 12 hours) so being outside helps switch that 'work mode' off.

DC is quite high energy, too. They need to run around outside every day. So it's actually quite a good fit.

We still enjoy movies, crafting, reading, etc. DC and I just need to go out to play before we can settle to do it.

BoudiccaOfSuburbia · Today 08:48
They are not a ‘brigade’ or a ‘crew’ just people with different preferences.

this ^

@Scirocco

We still enjoy movies, crafting, reading, etc. DC and I just need to go out to play before we can settle to do it.

Well yeah, DH and I enjoy movies, reading, occasionally playing video games, and crafting, and indoor creative activities, but not when it's gloriously sunny outside. I mean, there's nothing wrong with staying inside for a few hours doing indoor activities if it's sunny and warm outside, but not ALL day/ALL weekend. That's batshit!

I'm with you. We usually go out all day at the weekend and do those things in the evening. They're nice, but I couldn't do them instead of actually going out and connecting with the world.

I like to get out most, if not everyday, especially when the weather is good.
I like to go running, or maybe out for a walk, I would sit on a beach if there was one nearby. We've been on holiday before where MIL has spent all day indoors "pottering" or cleaning the holiday accomodation. (It wasnt dirty she just enjoys cleaning!) That's my idea of hell but arguably she's been more productive than me sitting on a beach or going for a run so I've no reason to feel superior because I was outside!

@BoudiccaOfSuburbia case in point.