A Lifetime of Travel Adventure Awaits, If You Want It July 25, 2018Featured, My LifeOff

Of all the hopes and ambitions that people have, none are quite as common as wanting to travel. It’s the top of many people’s bucket list for a reason: it’s insanely fun and exciting! There’s nothing better than leaving the everyday behind and going on an adventure, exploring new places, and meeting people from different walks of life. But alas, there’s a downside: reality sometimes – no, often – gets in the way of our traveling ambitions. So if you’re dead set on seeing the world, but feel like it’s always just out of reach, what do you do? Do you give up on your dream? No way! You just find ways to make it possible. Below, we take a look at a few useful tips for ensuring your next trip is never far away.

Weekend Opportunities
The problem that most people have when it comes to traveling is that they, you know, need to work…and the people at that work would get pretty annoyed if their employee didn’t turn up because they were off gallivanting around the world. So sure, you can’t just get off for a week when you feel like it. However, you’re not working every day, are you? You’re going to have those weekends to play with: why not use them? You can easily travel somewhere within a few hours drive or flight on a Friday after work, and then return Sunday evening. Hey presto, that’s forty-eight hours you’ve had exploring! It gets even easier if it’s a long weekend, and you don’t have to be at work on the Friday or Monday. And of course, it goes without saying that you should use your vacation weeks wisely – don’t spend them getting the house in shape, get out there.

Local Exploring
We tend to think of traveling as something you do far away from your home, but no law says it has to be this way. We’re all attracted to the lands that are far away, but what is our local area has something to offer that we haven’t yet seen? It’s not boring just because it’s in your own backyard! Most people underestimate how interesting their home is. Take a look at what’s out there, and make a day trip. OK, so you won’t be speaking a foreign language, and the people you encounter won’t be all that different from you, but you’ll still be on an adventure, and that’s all that counts. You’re likely to have a car, so take a look at what’s within a one or two-hour drive, and use your Saturdays in the best way possible.

Adding to the Travel Jar
Sometimes, it’s not a lack of time that stops us from traveling – it’s that traveling costs money. How much it costs is generally overblown (you can visit almost anywhere on the cheap, including the “expensive destinations”), but still, when you have other bills to pay, even those small amounts can begin to look off-putting. So get saving! If you add to your travel jar each week, you’ll quickly find that you have enough cash for a small trip away. And then when you’re back, start the process again. Save, travel, return, repeat. A simple method that’ll have you out in the world in no time.

Leave the Expensive Travel Aspects Behind
If you’re on a budget, then remember that it’s always possible to travel cheaply. But you might need to leave some of the expensive travel aspects behind. Transatlantic flights might be out, as may hotels. Instead, you can visit where the flights are cheapest, and stay in alternative accommodations types. There’s much to love about spending a night out in nature, in a tent under the stars, too. Traveling does not have to be all about luxury!

Slow Travel Options
There is an alternative to taking many small trips, and that is to make one long trip. There’s a growing number of people who are opting to adopt the “slow travel” mentality, whereby they spend longer periods in one destination. Rather than seeing eight places over the course of eight weekends, you can save up your vacation time and take one longer trip. If you’re a freelance, remote worker, then you can spend months at a time living in places away from your usual home. A good way to do this is to invest in an overseas property, one that is located in what could be considered a “travel hub.” Take Singapore, for instance. Take a look at the most affordable resale HDB flats, and you can not only explore the country from the inside but also explore the surrounding areas too. You’ll be able to spend months exploring a region, and whenever it comes to take a trip, you’ll know exactly where to go.

Friends and Family
Alternatively, you might not need to buy a place if you already have close friends and family living somewhere exciting. When someone you know and love moves away, don’t lament that they’ve left you behind: use it as an opportunity to see a new destination (and of course, spend time with them). There are usually rules you need to follow if you’re going to be spending time at someone’s home (guests are to be thought of as similar to fish: after three days, they stink), but these don’t apply if they’re like a brother or sister to you (or if they actually are your brother or sister…).  

Get Flexible
Most people have a bucket list full of places they want to visit. While there’s nothing wrong with this, if you’re only trying to work your way through your bucket list, then you might be waiting a while. What if the flights to that destination are expensive? As such, keep an open mind when it comes to where you’ll visit. If you see that flight tickets to some obscure destination are running cheap from your local airport, then why not go? It might not be on your bucket list…but it’ll be sure to be an adventure!

Home-swapping and Volunteering
The good thing about traveling is that there are few rules. You can think outside of the box, and if you can come up with something good, then you can go ahead and do it. Two “out of the box” ideas are volunteering and home swapping. Volunteer with sites like HelpX and Workaway, and you’ll be able to travel to off-beat destinations, live with a local family, and it won’t cost you a penny – you’ll pay your way by donating your labor and skills. If you own a property and live where someone might like to visit, you can take a look at home swapping. This is the process of temporarily exchanging homes. You get to live in a house, like a local, for free – and the person you swap with can do the same at your place.

Don’t Overthink It
Sometimes we become paralyzed by indecision. We elevate traveling to such a high position in our mind that we become obsessed with the details, obsessed with making everything just right. Of course, when we need to everything to be “just so,” it becomes less likely that we’ll actually do anything. It’s much better just to book the flight and then figure out everything later, rather than making sure everything has fallen neatly into place before we proceed with our plans. People tend to overthink most decisions in their life; sometimes, you can see why they’ve done it, but when it comes to traveling, it’s all just time that could be better spent doing other things…like traveling!

It’s All An Opportunity
Sometimes we’re forced to travel for reasons that are beyond our control. If we’re invited to a wedding overseas, or we need to travel for business, then these will take us somewhere new, but they won’t always allow us to explore. We’ll be too busy having business meetings, or spending time at the resort with the other wedding guests. However, remember that there’ll be an opportunity before and after your obligations to explore a little. You can tack a couple of days on after the wedding or business trip has finished, and see some of the sights that you didn’t get a chance to explore.

Don’t Take No For An Answer
Ultimately, how much you travel comes down to only one person: you! Our lives reflect what we valued most in life. If you’re spending all of your money on, say, decorating your home, then it’ll show that you valued having a well-designed home over seeing the world. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does go to show that if you really want to travel the world, then you can. Don’t take no for an answer!

Final Thoughts
With the tips above, you’ll hopefully have some ideas to get you going when it comes to your travels. The next time you’re lamenting that seeing the world seems impossible, take another read, and see what you can come up with. Adventure awaits!

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