--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never quite understood that feeling…" description: "\"I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing but familiar experiences.\" — Bill Bryson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png" --- # I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive… ![“I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing but familiar experiences.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png) > “I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing but familiar experiences.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often crave familiar comforts even when exploring new places, highlighting a tension between curiosity and comfort. **In simple terms:** We seek familiarity in unfamiliar settings. Key Takeaway Embrace both novelty and comfort. Themes exploration comfort psychology Mood curious thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - tourism - relocation - cultural immersion - learning new languages Key Concepts cognitive bias adaptation nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to familiarity? - How can unfamiliar experiences enrich us? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook the growth from stepping out of comfort zones. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) ## Related quotes > [It's a bizarre but wonderful feeling, to arrive dead center of a target you didn't even know you were aiming for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-s-a-bizarre-but-wonderful-feeling-to-arrive-dead-center-of-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“The most valuable gifts in life often arrive in very strange packages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hoffman/the-most-valuable-gifts-in-life-often-arrive-in-very-strange-packages/) [Tom Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hoffman/) > [The Internet is a really strange place to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/the-internet-is-a-really-strange-place-to-be/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [New Mexico was such a strange place; it was like filming on Mars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-macdonald/new-mexico-was-such-a-strange-place-it-was-like-filming-on-mars/) [Kelly Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-macdonald/) > [“A universe without coincidence would be an exceedingly strange place xxx”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-morrow/a-universe-without-coincidence-would-be-an-exceedingly-strange-place/) [James K. Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-morrow/) > [I mean, I love California, but LA to me is still a strange place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-speedman/i-mean-i-love-california-but-la-to-me-is-still-a-strange-place/) [Scott Speedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-speedman/) > [There was something special about being in a strange place, all alone in a mass of people even if you had just screwed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/there-was-something-special-about-being-in-a-strange-place-all-alone/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [“There was a strange place, between knowing and not knowing. A place where things could live in the back of your head without weighing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/there-was-a-strange-place-between-knowing-and-not-knowing-a-place/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Glasgow is a strange place. If you don't have someone close to you looking out for you, your head will wander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lafferty/glasgow-is-a-strange-place-if-you-don-t-have-someone-close-to-you/) [Kyle Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lafferty/) > [“Get used to it. The world’s a big and strange place, my dad says, and just because you haven’t seen a thing doesn’t mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyn-november/get-used-to-it-the-world-s-a-big-and-strange-place-my-dad-says-and/) Sharyn November > [I think in L.A., in terms of the music scene, it's a really strange place. It's really hard to get the feeling that something's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksa-palladino/i-think-in-l-a-in-terms-of-the-music-scene-it-s-a-really-strange/) [Aleksa Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksa-palladino/) > [School was a strange place where they tried to make you into something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/school-was-a-strange-place-where-they-tried-to-make-you-into-something/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm at a strange place I suppose in my life. I think that what happens when you lose a parent, where you lose-you drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-m-at-a-strange-place-i-suppose-in-my-life-i-think-that-what-happens/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [The White House is a strange place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin-fitzwater/the-white-house-is-a-strange-place/) [Marlin Fitzwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin-fitzwater/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Arrive quotes > [Because when I arrive I, I'll bring the fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudolf/because-when-i-arrive-i-i-ll-bring-the-fire/) [Kevin Rudolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudolf/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [It is through beauty that we arrive at freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-through-beauty-that-we-arrive-at-freedom/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [In my head, at least, the business of spinning stories has no closing time. Twists in my characters' lives, glimpses of their secrets, obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-my-head-at-least-the-business-of-spinning-stories-has-no-closing/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [When you come to America, it's a very serious thing. It's not like you arrive and they say, 'Hey, come on! Do movies!' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-q/when-you-come-to-america-it-s-a-very-serious-thing-it-s-not-like-you/) [Maggie Q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-q/) > [God is our name for the last generalization to which we can arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/god-is-our-name-for-the-last-generalization-to-which-we-can-arrive/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I've always been very good at convincing people. For instance, if I arrive in an airport and I'm in economy, I can always convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-seigner/i-ve-always-been-very-good-at-convincing-people-for-instance-if-i/) [Emmanuelle Seigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-seigner/) > [Through doubt we arrive at the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/through-doubt-we-arrive-at-the-truth/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Hello?” he said, waiting out the shrill stream on the other end of the line. He smiled, “Because I’m her husband. I can answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/hello-he-said-waiting-out-the-shrill-stream-on-the-other-end-of-the/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [When you arrive where you thought you wanted to be, you'll just begin a new journey so enjoy each step along the way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/when-you-arrive-where-you-thought-you-wanted-to-be-you-ll-just-begin/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“No, how can one preserve one's life and at the same time arrive at the truth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solschenizyn/no-how-can-one-preserve-one-s-life-and-at-the-same-time-arrive-at-the/) [Alexander Solschenizyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solschenizyn/) > [Cinema is made to film material: the body. By filming the material, the mechanical, the worker, we arrive at the spiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/cinema-is-made-to-film-material-the-body-by-filming-the-material-the/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [I like to arrive in the box often and I don't care if I'm there as a no. 9 or a no. 10.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/i-like-to-arrive-in-the-box-often-and-i-don-t-care-if-i-m-there-as-a/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) > [Some wonder whether some day we will arrive at a theory of everything and run out of new problems to solve - much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gross/some-wonder-whether-some-day-we-will-arrive-at-a-theory-of-everything/) [David Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gross/) Browse all 183 Arrive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing but familiar experiences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Bryson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling-that-you-arrive-in-a-strange/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling-that-you-arrive-in-a-strange/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/bill-bryson-340_arrive_i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling_2312449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing…” — Bill Bryson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Bryson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've never quite understood that feeling:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling-that-you-arrive-in-a-strange/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-never-quite-understood-that-feeling-that-you-arrive-in-a-strange/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```