> I travel to a high-end restaurant. A local restaurant does not deliver that experience
That is very generic.
There are people who travel to restaurants that are a walking distance from my place because they are known from afar to be very good. And they are not necessarily "high end" in the sense that they don't serve plates dressed according to a chief desire nor do they have sommelier, they just happen to make very good dishes anyway.
Not all good restaurants are the ones where you are greeted by some people in a tuxedo. And the good ones aren't necessarily far away from you.
It is however true where I live, and in all of the locations I've lived throughout my life.
And I did not say there aren't good ones closer, but that they don't offer enough of an experience for me to value wasting time traveling there, and eating somewhere where I don't have the comfort of being in my own home.
Some time I just go to the restaurant next door BECAUSE it is more comfortable than being in my own home: I don't have to set the table or clean it afterwards, wash anything or make sure they are correctly put in the dishwasher, or manage the trash etc and I can meet people there I wouldn't necessarily want in my own home, at least at that exact moment.
For me it's exactly the opposite, and there lies probably the reason why you don't understand why anyone would do this. I'm much more comfortable at home, and I don't want to run into people most of the time, or have a bunch of stranger around me when I'm relaxing. And I don't want to feel I have to eat by a dining table - I might eat while working, or while watching TV.
When I go out to eat, the experience needs to have sufficient redeeming qualities to overcome what to me is the substantial detriment of not being at home.
That is very generic.
There are people who travel to restaurants that are a walking distance from my place because they are known from afar to be very good. And they are not necessarily "high end" in the sense that they don't serve plates dressed according to a chief desire nor do they have sommelier, they just happen to make very good dishes anyway.
Not all good restaurants are the ones where you are greeted by some people in a tuxedo. And the good ones aren't necessarily far away from you.