My friends, family, and acquaintances ask me over and over again how I do it. Just get up and leave for a new destination without even blinking.
Here are some of my favorite questions from people who have crossed my path or heard my stories since I left for my solo life changing trip to Europe for two months in 2007…
"How do you just up and leave?"
"Aren't you scared? I could NEVER do that!"
"But where will you work? You don't even have a job!"
"Where will you live?"
"Be careful! It's so unsafe!"
"How do you afford to travel like that? I barely have enough money pay my mortgage!"
"Do you know anyone who lives there?"
"Don't you miss your friends and family?"
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Dinero?
I save as much as I can in the summer bartending. Making more than most people do in a an entire year in 6 months allows me the other 6 months to use the world as my playground. Some people spend their money on monetary possessions like decorating their house or buying one, a sleek BMW, the latest look from Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel, or Alexander McQueen (I used to do this and I now still have credit card bills to thank), expensive restaurants, wine… you get the point. And while I like all of these things, and occasionally splurge on them as well, I use most of my hard earned cash on purchasing visa's, plane tickets, hostels, skydiving adventures, bus passes, and hiking equipment.
I don't have a mortgage (and I don't want one just yet either), and lack a car payment. When I am roaming the world, the bus, train, tram, subway, or walking around the city in my sandals suits me just fine.
And if I get low on funding, I have an amazing family who just might let me take out a small loan until I return.
Safety?
You see all of these terrible stories on the nightly news of terrorism, etc. While this does exist, you can not believe everything you read. As long as you are aware of your surroundings, then you'll be fine. Do not live your life in fear. Thats just not living.
Table for 1?
If you are traveling solo, you will spend a lot of time with yourself, so you have to be comfortable in your own skin. You don't have your usual clique to cling onto.
And yes, at times, it can get lonely, but that's what good music and great books are for. They keep me company on any cold and rainy traveling day.
And the positive; there's no compromising what you want do each and every day. I wake up and just go… wherever I want, whenever I want.
Job?
No prob! People are always looking for a good bartender (or what turns into a therapist if you work day shifts at a bar). Since I have saved the summer money, I have enough to live comfortably, and just find a job where I can have some fun, meet the locals, and occasionally drink creamy champagne all night long and pull in just enough dough to pay the rent (or the hostel I am crashing at).
Slumber Party!...
I get used to sleeping in bunk-beds and feeling like I'm 28 going on 12. Having 6 to 9 roommates at any given time with a revolving door of people coming and going keeps it interesting. Always meeting a new face. Not much privacy, but why should I be home anyway? I'm traveling, and I am out exploring anyway.
Friends and Family?
They will always be there, and they are my biggest supporters. I miss them heaps while I'm away. And when I return? I realize even more than before just why I loved them so very much in the first place.
My response to people who question my travels. Quite simple really.
Traveling like this is not for everyone. It is for a very small percent of adventurers. Trading in my Iphone for a Zach Morris one. My car for a tram pass. My blow dryer and straightener for the fresh summer air. Living out of a suitcase (or two) is not always glamorous, although I try to make it that way most of the time, but the most amazing things can happen to you while your exploring the world.
Every time I leave for yet another destination, I think to myself, here I go again! Not knowing what lies ahead, which path I will choose, what new lifelong friends I'll meet, or what lies around the corner is the most rewarding aspect of my life.
Is life really all about timing, or fate? Who knows…
But I do know the tradeoffs of traveling are more than worth hopping on that Boeing 747 each and every time I do it.
...I think Forrest Gump Put it best: "Life is Like a Box of Chocolates. You never know what your gonna get."
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