Often I get asked how I have managed to travel as much as I have, and let me say, it is 100% because of the ideas below that I have been able to make it happen. I have yet to make a lot of money. I have no family abroad. My father is not a pilot. Basically, I haven’t had any perks to assist me with travel yet I have traveled to many European cities, spent a month and a half driving down the west coast of Turkey and attended a wedding in Taiwan where we also popped over to the Philippines.
I also spent two weeks driving across my country (the US) and have gotten to see some pretty cool places and cities around here. Now although I have SO many places left to see, this is a pretty good start considering the year I went to Turkey, I was living in NYC and made $18,000 so if I can do it, you can do it. There is something to be said for mindsets and openness when it comes to traveling more.
Now I am telling you this as an average American. I was raised to go to college, get a job, and use my two weeks of vacation to really live, all while being responsible and saving for my future. Now although I have ventured from that path, I was on it at the start. Of course, I am not saying that being irresponsible is the way to go but I think these ideas and worries can keep us in a small, safe mindset, which will hinder our ability to travel, and therefore hinder our understanding of the world.
I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had where people are like “oh, I don’t know how you do it” with people have more money than I do! And, not to mention, have been responsible for a lot longer than me 🤷🏼♀️. Now I’m going to be honest here, I do not have children. I understand that there are added stresses when you have a family to care for but I still believe you can consider these mindsets when feeling like you want to get out and see the world. So here we go:
Prioritize it
Stop spending hundreds of dollars a month getting your nails done. Go out to eat less. Don’t spend so much at the bar. Alright, not all of us do these things but you get the idea. There are a lot of things we do in our culture that we accept as a norm or something we can’t let go of, but I promise seeing the world will be much more rewarding. This is crucial when learning how to travel more.
We let other things take priority because its easier and it provides immediate gratification. Sure, going to get your nails done is fun and its great that the dip lasts for weeks for only $30 dollars more BUT if your heart is craving travel, its time to put that first. Once you get a taste of true cultural enlightenment, there will be no turning back.
It’s time to be honest about where you’re money is going, pay attention to it.
Be open minded
When you meet someone from a different country, get to know them. If you are a person who is curious about the world, you will likely have things in common. Meet as many people as possible, maybe even friends from unexpected places. I was not planning to go to Turkey in 2015 (one of the most amazing trips ever), but circumstances led me there.
One of the beautiful things about living in New York is you meet people from all over the world on a daily basis. I know this isn’t the case everywhere but there are probably more international people near you than you think.
For me, I was out at a crazy New Years party, a Disclosure show in what felt like an airplane hanger in Manhattan to be exact, where I met all kinds of people throughout the night. One of them happened to be a nice guy from Turkey and luckily for me, after we exchanged numbers, he followed up and we became super close friends. (I have found that travelers share a deep bond no matter where they are from).
I think it can be easy to meet people and just write them off, especially when they are from a country we don’t know much about. After a few weeks, I eventually met up with him and a friend and the rest is history. He became one of my closest friends in New York and my exploring companion. It was a sad day when he had to go home but he invited me to come visit and we planned an epic road trip down the West Coast and around through Cappadocia, all of which would never have been possible if I hadn’t given myself the chance to get to know him.
I have many more stories like this that I won’t drone on about right now but you get the point. If you want to travel, start opening your mind and your heart now, get over all the things that you are taught about other countries and other people, most of it’s not true anyway, you never know what could come.
(Also, just a side note here, if you meet one person from a certain country and he’s a dick, don’t assume everyone from that country is a dick. That just makes you a dick. Also, don’t listen to what anyone tells you about a place until you go there yourself, it’ll just skew your experience and what could be your very awesome reality. 😉)
Stop Making Excuses
Back to my earlier point, so many people tell me they can’t do it, as if my life somehow just allows for me to experience these things. If I can do it, you can do it. Not having enough money is an obvious go-to excuse and I understand that some of us make less money than others. But I hear this from people who certainly make more money than I do (and do not have a family to support).
Stop wasting money and set up an automatic saving system with your bank. I transfer $10 a day automatically to savings, and you know what happens when you don’t see that money? You don’t spend it.
One thing you certainly must stop doing is talking about all the things that are holding you back. All the reasons we are stuck where we are. What we believe deep down becomes our reality, and what we say, we think and therefore believe. The way we talk about ourselves and our situation will be our truth. Start to think more positively and talk about things like they are possible! Because, well, they are.
Get uncomfortable
If you are tight on money, be willing to get uncomfortable. Book your stay at hostels instead of hotels. If you want to really experience another place, another way of life, you will have to allow yourself to be uncomfortable. Step away from your normal day to day, talk to people, order different food. Take the public transit, even if you never have used public transportation. This is a great way to experience a place and you save a TON of money by not taking taxis.
On this note, talking to the people is crucial to an enriching experience. It is important to understand that people from other countries are raised differently, have different beliefs, and different ideas about communication. Don’t go anywhere expecting them to treat you/talk to you the same way you get treated in your own country. They are from a DIFFERENT CULTURAL BACKGROUND. Don’t forget that and don’t judge them.
Sure, you’re going to go places where you will have unpleasant interactions and you will meet some real assholes, but that happens at home too! So don’t put so much weight on it just because you’re in a different place.
Be flexible
Wondering how to travel more? be flexible. Ok, so this one is necessary for when you travel at all (and in life in general) but I swear it will lead you to more opportunity. I lived in NYC for 3 years and one of those years my W-2 actually showed me that I had made $18,000. Eighteen thousand dollars!! In New York City! That was the same year I went to Turkey for over a month.
Now there were many factors that made this possible but a big one was the way I lived that year. I lived in 4 places over the course of one year. I started out in a tiny room in Greenpoint for the lowest rent I could find, stayed for a few months until it turned out not to be an ideal living situation. So I spent the next month in Long Island with some awesome friends from Turkey.
After that I stumbled in to a situation where I cat-sat for a woman on the Upper East side for 4 months. RENT FREE. Call it luck, but these are situations we can find when we are open to them. Now, I should mention, this was not some luxury Upper East Side condo. The apartment was cluttered and the cat threw up A LOT but it provided me what I needed to get to Turkey later in the year. And it was FUN.
Now I LOVE change and switching things up so for me, this year was a blast. I loved the challenge of making it work in New York and all the crazy and rewarding experiences I had in return. Once you let go, you might feel the same 🙂
Obviously I am not saying, give up your entire sense of security (even though it is quite liberating and certainly teaches you whats possible) but loosen up a little. Seek opportunities that might not be perfect but will help you get to your goal. Nothing is forever and your comfy life will always be waiting for you.
Take a little risk every once in a while
When I was invited to Taiwan for a friend’s wedding I thought, there is NO WAY I am going to miss out on this incredible opportunity. I was still living in New York at the time, living on the freelance Merchandising Assistant hourly pay and couldn’t front the money for the flight. This was the first time I used credit to make a large purchase like this. (Not to mention we found round-trip direct flights for $700- this is where that open-mindedness and deep-seeded belief comes into play).
I AM NOT SAYING SPEND RECKLESSLY HERE. I am just showing you an example of how a little risk won’t kill you. We stayed in hostels (with private rooms) the whole trip and even got to spend a couple nights free with the wedding party in their AMAZING hotel in the south of Taiwan. Afterwards I payed the credit off in a few months and washed my hands of it. You have options, you just have to be open to them and willing to go for it.
Seek new opportunities
Last but not least, the best way to learn about the world- live somewhere different. There are a lot of opportunities out there to spend significant time in a new country, whether it’s 3 months or a year or FIVE years. It’s enough time to learn about a new place and grow in ways you never thought possible. It’s also easier than you think, you just have to start looking.
There’s always the chance you can get sponsored by your job (or a new job) in a new country, particularly when you have special skills, but there are other options too. There are countries with working Visas, such as Australia and New Zealand, where you can come over, live for a year (or two), work and explore the country. The US has a version of these visas too.
As a native English speaker- the world is your oyster. SO many countries are seeking English teachers and no, you don’t have to speak their language fluently to do this. When I taught in Spain, we were not allowed to let the kids know we could speak Spanish so they would be forced to practice English if they wanted to talk to us.
If you’re interested in teaching English in Spain, check out my how to guide here. These opportunities exist in Europe and all around Asia, I hear the pay is great in South Korea and Japan, just something to think about.
The best thing about these kind of opportunities is that you get exposed to a whole new part of the world. Although I spent a lot of my time over there staying in Spain, and enjoying my weekends in Madrid, getting to know it, really LIVING there, I also got to see a lot of Europe over the course of the year.
I am moving to Australia here in a month on their Working Holiday Visa and can’t wait to experience it and enjoy the country but I am also excited to be in a new part of the world and so close to so many beautiful countries that I have yet to see.
So there it is, nothing too crazy but very real changes we can all make to help us get out there. I hope you find this helpful and inspiring and I hope it shows you that you CAN travel, how to do travel more and that you can do it now.
xx,
Hannah
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