So I’ve said before and I’ll say again that the elitist popularism surrounding travel is problematic for many reasons. I also totally understand that some people effectively just can’t- economic factors, responsibilities, other reasons. That’s ok. With all that said one thing I will say is…. Travel doesn’t have to be going to some far off beach paradise or tropical island or “exotic” location. Travel can involve just walking to someplace new. People who will tell you to go discover the wide world often haven’t even seen or experienced a fraction of the culture and places in their own country. The irony being that you can travel to the far side of the globe and come back saying how you saw so many different things compared to your home town… but a weekend trip a few postal codes away might also show you new and different things or landmarks or natural beauty.
I will also say this though at the risk of sounding like one of the condescending advocates of wanderlust- ask yourself if you REALLY want to travel, and what is REALLY stopping you? In life we often have to give things up or take risks for what we want.
Are you unable to travel because you are broke, or are you broke because you’re just surviving? I mean no disrespect- but for many people when they are young, they may have periods where they aren’t really doing anything. They aren’t going to school, they aren’t working a career that will grow- just a job that pays bills. If you are young and lucky enough that you don’t have responsibilities like taking care of a family or others, you don’t have a committed relationship you think is serious and long term etc… you can gamble a little more.
What I’m saying is that if you have people relying on you, if you’re working your butt off towards a goal or to build a career and a life or a future through education or saving or skill development- if you just walk away from your daily life tomorrow you might throw that away; but if you are just punching a clock and don’t know where you are going and aren’t really working constructively towards a goal- what are you risking? Chances are you can find another room to rent or your parents house will still be open to you. Chances are if your job is some sort of high turnover industry or considered “unskilled” labor that you can get another equivalent job later. You may not end up with the same chill manager or cool coworkers or easy commute- you may end up in a place you like less etc- but at the end of the day those things would probably be temporary and really in life probably not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
So the message to travel when young is sort of really a message saying: “if you’re in a position to take risks and go after your dreams- do it.” When the worst consequences are you have to lose some cheap furniture and maybe couch surf a bit the world is a different place than when you have a mortgage with a million dollars on the line and need at least $7 a month income to not throw away decades of work building something, or when you have people who need you there and need your support to survive. It gets harder to chase dreams and you tend to need to give up more as you accumulate responsibility and have more relying on you. I’m not saying in this day and age hitchhiking is something to do- but there are lots of ways to make friends and travel even inside your own country or beyond and have all kinds of adventures even if you don’t have much money.
Being young doesn’t just often mean you have less responsibility or that society tends to ask less from you and forgive you for indulgences older people might be judged poorly for- it means you are young! Lol. You have more time to recover from things.
There generally isn’t a huge difference between graduating college at 24 or at 26, if you take a year or two for yourself it probably won’t drastically derail your life plans. Until or IF you ever reach a level of near total financial “independence” from work or a status near in disposable as a professional- taking a year or two to just do whatever you want is very likely to impact your career and life heavily. If you make a mistake that “wipes you out” you likely will lose much more and have much less time to get things back. Being young means that “mistakes” tend not to cost as much or hurt as badly. Your life savings at 18 might be an amount that at 50 you can make back in a day of work, but your life savings at 50 might take you…
30-40 years to make back if you lost it. Maybe more, maybe never.
If you REALLY want to travel you probably can- but some people really just can’t justify it or make it happen. That’s ok. You may also just not REALLY want to travel enough to take the risks or pay the price- that’s ok too. Travel can be lots of fun and expand our world or create unique experiences. You don’t need to travel to expand your world or have great memories or unique experiences though.
Better advice than travel while young to me is to have a goal or a dream and follow it, or if you don’t, try doffer r things until you find something that you feel a passion for. You’re never too old for these things but as said- they can be easier or less risky when you’re young and age can change how we experience things too and we can’t always have the same experiences when we are older as when we are young. Don’t get too caught up in all of it though- live life as fully as yo can or you dare.
Remember that humans have looked at the moon for tens of thousands of years and knew they could never go there. We finally have the technology and have been there as a species, but most of us will never go there. That’s just the way it is. If you can manage to live your life just fine knowing you’ll never step on the moon, you can live without regrets as long as you take the shots to try and have the life you want and be the person you want to be. You can’t control the world or certain circumstances or realities. You can’t have everything you want unless you never want anything beyond what is given to you.
You can only try your best. Don’t waste life- have the experiences you can while you can have them and don’t torment yourself over the stuff that just isn’t. Youth often has drawbacks but it has some benefits too lol. Enjoy the good you have now, it won’t last forever but there’s other good stuff to enjoy down the road.
Are you unable to travel because you are broke, or are you broke because you’re just surviving? I mean no disrespect- but for many people when they are young, they may have periods where they aren’t really doing anything. They aren’t going to school, they aren’t working a career that will grow- just a job that pays bills. If you are young and lucky enough that you don’t have responsibilities like taking care of a family or others, you don’t have a committed relationship you think is serious and long term etc… you can gamble a little more.
There generally isn’t a huge difference between graduating college at 24 or at 26, if you take a year or two for yourself it probably won’t drastically derail your life plans. Until or IF you ever reach a level of near total financial “independence” from work or a status near in disposable as a professional- taking a year or two to just do whatever you want is very likely to impact your career and life heavily. If you make a mistake that “wipes you out” you likely will lose much more and have much less time to get things back. Being young means that “mistakes” tend not to cost as much or hurt as badly. Your life savings at 18 might be an amount that at 50 you can make back in a day of work, but your life savings at 50 might take you…
If you REALLY want to travel you probably can- but some people really just can’t justify it or make it happen. That’s ok. You may also just not REALLY want to travel enough to take the risks or pay the price- that’s ok too. Travel can be lots of fun and expand our world or create unique experiences. You don’t need to travel to expand your world or have great memories or unique experiences though.
Better advice than travel while young to me is to have a goal or a dream and follow it, or if you don’t, try doffer r things until you find something that you feel a passion for. You’re never too old for these things but as said- they can be easier or less risky when you’re young and age can change how we experience things too and we can’t always have the same experiences when we are older as when we are young. Don’t get too caught up in all of it though- live life as fully as yo can or you dare.
You can only try your best. Don’t waste life- have the experiences you can while you can have them and don’t torment yourself over the stuff that just isn’t. Youth often has drawbacks but it has some benefits too lol. Enjoy the good you have now, it won’t last forever but there’s other good stuff to enjoy down the road.