Is being a world traveler the picture-perfect lifestyle?

Just another day in paradise

In the era of travel, more and more people are fixated on sightseeing everything, everywhere. The options are endless and alluring. You can sunbathe on a beach in Corfu. You can eat pasta made by an Italian, right in his home in Tuscany. You can walk the streets of Phuket and pick up street food. It seems like every traveler on social media exists in a utopia, with never-ending delicious food and perfect views. So with grueling jobs and a housing market that makes you want to crawl under a rock…questions pop up. Should I quit my job and go live as a goat in Nepal? Or bounce around odd jobs and travel the world? Someone asked on a social media group, “Should I sell my house and travel the world?”. This made me think how ridiculous and risky this person might be. And then I remembered I also travel the world without owning a house. Here are things to consider while you reflect on taking on full-time traveling and what’s behind the clickbait.

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Income and funds

Traveling full-time requires a lot of money and work. Things don’t just happen, you need to budget, plan, book, and be on time. And if something goes wrong, you will have even more work to do. The first thing is- how will you fuel your traveler lifestyle? Immediately becoming a social media travel star who makes millions would solve most of the problems. You can get deals, sponsors, and paid partnerships that make sure you just travel. You only need to work on making reels and glamorous posts every day. I think a steady income is mandatory, plus an emergency fund. There are work and travel gigs for young people who don’t mind staying at a hostel and doing various jobs. You would be meeting cool new people, partying, and having excursion buddies. But you could be exploited and barely make enough to sustain your adventures. Selling the house would get you started, sure, but money will fly as fast as you do, even with economy seating. And FOMO is real. You’ll want to make the best of your time in a foreign land. So you still need to do something that pays for the transportation, housing, food, toiletries, clothes, and laundry. These are only the big picture. Every day will reveal that you didn’t realize how many things you use.

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Where to?

The options are vast, depending on your passport. You could stay in your “neighborhood”, starting with your own country. You’d be surprised how much you overlooked before your traveler mindset. Also, visit your neighbors, so it’s easier and less risky if things don’t go well. You get a taste of how much you want this. Will you get sick of moving around or will you still crave it? Obviously, answering how long you plan on traveling will answer other questions. Like income needed, renting your house instead of selling, when you can finally get cats. Traveling doesn’t have to mean you must go across the world. As a European, you could travel around Europe, spend two months in each country, and never get bored. Or as an American, you could start exploring the country. You could chase the sun and warm weather, with so much to do and see in each state. It’s tempting to try an “eat, pray, love” kind of thing in Asia. I did love the quick trips to Southeast Asia that I had the opportunity to take. But to travel around Asia for a long time is not for the faint of heart. It can be magical, and it’s fully romanticized. But you will not find the comfort and customer service of the West. Traveling for months by bus with only one backpack and staying in hotels/ hostels is an adventure. Up until my twenties, I would’ve been up for that, and I had my share of no comforts, traveling or not. If you can go on without back pain and having to carry an assortment of prescription pills, that’s great. But as we age we need more stability, medical care, and orthopedic everything.

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Comfort and familiarity

An ideal full-time travel system is to have free time to roam and own tons of money. You’ll be able to go where you like and move on if you don’t enjoy the place. You could do trips on your own time and keep your comforts with you. Otherwise, you definitely need to scale down. Only carry what you really need. When you move around you’ll want to save on checked luggage and not break your back when taking the bus or the train. You may think that you can live with little, and you can. It is actually a good exercise. But at some point, you’ll find your limit. If you’re used to regular trips to shops and late-night online purchases, you’ll have to rethink your strategy. You won’t be able to buy a bunch of souvenirs at every stop, as you won’t have space in your luggage. You might find yourself spending a lot on shipping your finds to your family for safekeeping.

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Freedom to roam

The great news is that you don’t have to keep up with electricity bills, house repairs, or the washing machine breaking down. It is freeing. You have a different type of worries. You need to be adaptable and solution-orientated. Have plans A, B, and C at least. You cannot be fixed on things being easy and going as you imagined. Your experience could be worth it and be the best thing that you did. Or it could give you a new appreciation for the familiar place you started from. The owner of the Everything Everywhere blog is a huge success story. He did well, now having so much to share in the form of podcasts, blogs, social media, and books. He did start with capital and knowledge of websites, which helped. And then made a lot more capital. All while he did what he enjoyed.

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It gets old

For most, the novelty wears off after a few years. You get tired. Tired of planning, of always needing to pack and move, unpack and repack. The new food experiences become stale. You miss comfort foods that you cannot make or find ingredients for. The language barrier gets to you, you miss easy interactions in your own language. Not to mention scammers. You miss having your own stuff that only you use, like pillows and bathrooms. Getting sick in a foreign country is scary, especially when you struggle with the language. Having a travel partner can make all the difference, as they can advocate for you. Which brings us to the next point- a support system is hard to build and keep as a traveler. And when you go home, you realize everyone has kept going on with their lives. They have families, habits and hobbies that don’t include you. This can make you want to stay put, or just go back to your new normal. This should be considered before you start traveling, and answered before you stop. Do you want to return to where you started? Or are you planning on finding a better place for yourself? Certain places just click, and you know that’s where you would thrive. It is difficult to adapt to staying put again. Of course, it doesn’t mean you swear off travel. But finding that ideal place is a dream for many. There are a lot of things to consider, like language, jobs, house market, retirement plans. You do gather wisdom as you go, so at least you get an idea of what you like. Or what you don’t want. I hope your decisions are informed and smart. I think we shouldn’t miss out on adventures. We should do our research first and make the best out of everything, everywhere.