To find it weird when men proudly say they travel constantly “because they don’t have a girlfriend?”

[TheTidyShark]

A male colleague casually said he goes to Amsterdam seven times a year because he doesn’t have a girlfriend “tying him down.” It wasn’t a throwaway comment, he clearly meant it as a flex.

AIBU to find that a bit telling? Like… what exactly are you doing in Amsterdam that you think a partner wouldn’t approve of?
Why do some men frame being in a relationship as some kind of restrictive jail sentence that stops them from “living”?
Is it just immaturity or something else?

I think it’s fine to embrace not having something that is considered a societal norm.

I’d love to meet the right person, but there have been many many occasions where I’ve felt glad to be single and to be able to make certain decisions just for me. I’d also love to have kids (at some point, I think), but there have been many occasions where I’ve woken up at 9am on a Saturday and gone onto Instagram to see stories of people saying they’ve been up since 4.30am watching Bluey or up all night with their kids who are sick and thought “thank god that isn’t me”

Theres no right or wrong way to “do” life. For some people contentment comes in the form of freedom, for others it’s nice days out with their partner and/or kids. Both are ok.

Apologies.

I think Amsterdam is clouding the conversation. The implication is that he's going there to pay for sex and must therefore be a wrong 'un. It's not unusual for people to be proud of being foot loose and fancy free. And it's a fact that being in a relationship doesn't exactly lend itself to that option. If you have 7 holidays a year solo, then most normal marriages wouldn't survive.