I wouldn't consider living abroad for 7 years travelling (unless you change location often?), although I absolutely agree that actually living in some different country for years might deeply change you as a person.
However, I agree with OP that most travel stories (staying a few days to a month in the same place) sound very superficial and I also struggle to figure out why I should be travelling more often.
The issue is that there is only a limited set of things to do while waiting for someone. I can't get down to work to solve any problem of the day because I may be interrupted at any moment by the person arriving. Then I have to sacrifice my time (and perhaps my other plans) after the meeting to get my work finished, perhaps at a time when I figured the meeting would already be over and my remaining work already done.