Why You Should Drop Everything and Travel

Ahhhh. Travel. A luxury that was once only reserved for the wealthy. While international travel is becoming increasingly cheaper by the year, many people still put it off. They say things like, “I can’t travel. I don’t have the money” or “There’s no way I could get the time off of work” or even the cringe-worthy “I’ll travel when I retire”

You know when the best time to travel is? Now.

Three years ago, I ditched my law school dreams and headed to Taiwan to teach English. People asked me, “Why Taiwan?” or said, “Wow. I wish I could do that”. I would just laugh because not only did have no idea why I was doing it (I just HAD to) but it was also something that ANYONE can do. Not only CAN anyone do it but I think they SHOULD.

There are so many reasons to drop everything right now and travel. I’m going to give you what I think are the best reasons. However, once you do actually drop everything and go for it, you’ll find that your reasons will differ greatly from mine.

1. “It’s the economy stupid”.

Alright, so I hate that quote. But seriously, the recession IS a good reason to travel. You might think, but I’m broke and how do I get the money to travel? International travel is a great way to leverage the money that you do have (or can earn) to buy you a better lifestyle than you have at home.

For example, in Taiwan I had a furnished studio apartment. It was small and Spartan. It had two queen sized beds pushed together in the bedroom. I had a small balcony and an amazing view of the mountains just outside Taichung. For this, I paid $300 USD. AND I found out later that I was actually get “ripped off” with the price.

Now that I’m back in California, I can’t even find a ROOM for $300 USD.

Now, if you can either find a job abroad or find a way to have cash flow coming in from another source then you’re well on the way to traveling in countries with low cost of living. Look at Asia first for the sweetest deals. But I’ve also heard great things about Central and South America.

2. I’ve got friends (bros?) in different country codes.

Traveling has allowed me to meet the most amazing people on Earth. Not only that but I can literally pick a destination off a map at random and I either know someone who lives there now or I know someone who has traveled there and can give me pointers. That’s invaluable. Relationships are really the key to be happy and successful. When you travel, you meet and network with people who are like-minded, adventurous, and just plain fun. These are the people that you want to know.

3. Experience AKA It makes you cool

Experience is a funny concept. All it means is that you’ve done __________ for a decent amount of time to warrant some type of wisdom.

Travel doesn’t just give you travel wisdom. Travel, international travel in particular, gives you a global knowledge that sets you apart from the pack.

So many people are struggling to find jobs in this economy. You know what can give your resume that extra edge that it may need? Travel. Always put any international travel longer than 1 or 2 months on your resume. Even better if you gained work or volunteer experience. This tells your employer that you’re well-rounded, willing to take risks, and that you can deal with unfamiliar situations. Or, at the very least, it gives you something interesting to talk with your interviewee about. They might remember you just based on that crazy story you told about being stuck on a bus in Vietnam for 12 hours.

These are just a few of the reasons that I give my friends when they whine to me about how they can’t travel.

However, I think the biggest reason to drop everything and travel depends entirely on YOU. What do you dream about? What excites you? What makes you motivated? If you know what your passions are then you should get out there and do them. However, if you’re unsure about any of these things then you probably just need to get out of your comfort zone. You may have become complacent and happy with the day-to-day humdrum existence that so many of us fall into. International long-term travel IS the cure. It will push you directly out of your comfort zone and make you question just about everything. It’s good for the soul.

If you’ve been putting off that dream trip, I urge to make plans TODAY. Just go for it. If you think you CAN’T then talk to me and we’ll figure out how you CAN. I assure you that you CAN. And when get back, drop me a line and we’ll trade stories.