When my girlfriend and I decided to spend a year traveling around the world, most of our friends and family couldn’t really believe it. Depending on where you’re from, taking a long time “off” to travel or volunteer abroad might not be the norm. You’re lucky if it is, but if it isn’t, that doesn’t mean you can’t take that trip you’ve been daydreaming about for years.
Since we’ve been back and had some time to reflect on our journey, as well as talk to those same disbelieving friends and family about it, one thing has become fairly obvious: most people say they would love to have done something similar. Older people say they wished they had done it when they were younger, and younger people say they wish they could “take a break from reality” like we did.
Traveling around the world is hardly a break from reality, but for many people it’s hard to make the leap from the rat race to long term or extended travel. There are a million reasons why people haven’t taken that trip, but if it’s something you really want to do, then chances are those reasons aren’t good enough. So here’s 10 reasons why you should stop thinking about it and start putting some wheels in motion right now:
- The reasons keeping you from traveling will most likely always be there; find a way around them.
- It doesn’t cost nearly as much as you think.
- You will never regret the decision to travel; you will, however, definitely regret the decision not to have traveled.
- An extended trip is the perfect way to break out of a rut.
- A long time on the road will show you what you need to be happy and comfortable, and help you realize that it isn’t as much as you thought it was.
- While not always a picnic, traveling is not as difficult or intimidating as you might think.
- Believe it or not, you can impress potential employers with the experiences gained while traveling the world.
- For better or worse, you can pretty much get by only speaking English.
- There’s no better way to gain some perspective on how people live in different parts of the world.
- The sooner you take a big trip, the sooner you’ll get to start planning your next one.
I’m sure there are more than just 10 reasons why you should start planning your trip right now, but hopefully these will get you started. The biggest thing I learned from talking to people after our trip is that most people would love to travel the world, they just don’t realize that they can. Once you decide to make it happen, it’s only a matter of time.
If you’ve taken a trip around the world or traveled for an extended period of time, what motivated you to make it happen? Please share in the comments!