Making travel dreams a reality
With the world gone corona-crazy, there are a lot of people sitting at home and dreaming about a life when the world goes “back to normal,” whatever that means. For some (and us included!) it might mean simply chowing down on a pizza and beer on a nice sunny patio somewhere. For others, it might mean getting out of the confines of their home at long last to go on an outdoor trip. Travel costs could be pretty low as tourists destinations try to woo people back, and this could even be the time to courageously take the leap into that big trip that many people have always dreamed of.
But turning that dream into reality isn’t always easy. Whether it’s money, fear of the unknown, or not knowing where to start, there are a lot of things that can get in the way. People sometimes ask us how it is that we’re able to travel so much and go to all of the amazing places we’ve been to. It really comes down to a few simple things, and if we can make it work, you can do it too.
- We’re lucky. Plain and simple. We were born in Western countries and given tremendous opportunity that has allowed us to pursue almost anything we want. In our case, that happens to be travel.
- We’re cheap. Thrifty. Economical. Whatever you want to call it, we don’t spend a lot of money in day-to-day life, and especially not when we travel. At home it’s often as simple as making coffee at home instead of going to a coffee shop or inviting friends over for dinner rather than going out. When we travel, it means traveling mainly to countries where things tend to cost a bit less. It also means that “comfort” doesn’t have much meaning to us. It’s more of an adventure when you say no to luxury anyways! Check out more tips on traveling cheap.
- It’s our priority. Everybody faces decisions on how they want to spend their money and live their lives. For some people it’s a new car, for others it’s checking out new restaurants. For us, we prioritize travel. It’s as simple as that!
- We believe in the the best of people. We believe that 99.9% of people are inherently good, friendly, and helpful. It’s easy to fear the unknown when you’re in a new place filled with strangers, but from our experience it almost always turns out ok to just let go and show a little trust. With all of those nice people in the world, it sure makes it easy to want to go and meet them!
- We find time and make time. Very few people can afford to be full-time travelers, ourselves included. We plan our lives to make sure we have a month or two off between jobs or school, a couple of weeks free of commitment during holidays, or even a three-day weekend to discover local wonders. It’s not always easy synchronizing the lives of two people, but we make it work!
- We don’t collect ‘stuff.’ The less stuff you have, the more free you are. We have a nasty tendency as a society to collect all manner of things we really don’t need, but those things then become our prisons. This is an area we’re still working on, but let me tell you- heading out for a month with nothing but a small backpack and some absolute necessities is liberating like you can’t imagine!
This is our recipe for travel, but no one size fits all. If you’ve always dreamed of packing up and heading out the door, sit down and take a careful look at your life, what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you can make it happen, and maybe some of these tips will help you along your way.
Most important of all, JUST DO IT! Don’t focus on the obstacles to travel. You can easily overcome most of them some way or another. Rather, focus on how amazing it will be to truly explore and discover new places, meet new people, and experience life in ways you can’t even imagine!