I suspect that the problem here is simply that you are wrong.
I'm not sure why, but you're consistently trying to be condescending about those who value travel. What do you gain by categorizing and marginalizing others? Living somewhere is okay, but merely traveling through is just "novelty seeking"? As if "novelty seeking" cannot itself be an activity that leads to personal growth?
Hey now, though he's not saying it well, he's got a point. I've been on some extensive travels and sometimes everything starts to blend together. I sit in a cafe and can't remember which city I'm in. It's really the people you meet that stand out, but the sample size per city is still quite small. It's easy to claim that you get exposed to a different culture, but if you only get to know a few dozen people then you might have found a similar culture back home in a different neighborhood.
I think the key is the attitude change that is often stimulated by, but not necessarily caused by travel. You could get the same thing by waking up one morning and realizing you'd like to meet some folks from the other side of town and learn what they think about life, work, love, etc.
Disclaimer: I travel for work. Meeting up with CouchSurfers keeps me sane.
I suspect that the problem here is simply that you are wrong.
I'm not sure why, but you're consistently trying to be condescending about those who value travel. What do you gain by categorizing and marginalizing others? Living somewhere is okay, but merely traveling through is just "novelty seeking"? As if "novelty seeking" cannot itself be an activity that leads to personal growth?