Is Travelling Easy??
On 22nd April 2017 by HelenThis is a post I’ve been thinking about writing for ages and after talking to many different people I’ve decided to write it.
We all come travelling for different reasons…to see the world, to gain confidence, to ‘find ourselves’. I think it’s very easy to leave you’re home and think you’re about to have an amazing year of non stop fun and constant adventure but the reality is it isn’t always that great! Yes you meet incredible people from all walks of life, you see new places which you normally wouldn’t have the chance to see and you escape your own reality but with that comes with some harsh realisations. Having spoken with fellow travellers these are some of the common things we either wish we had been told or things we have realised whilst on our journey so far:
There are complete highs or utter lows and not a great amount in between. You’re either flying on cloud nine; you’ve landed a job and now have money, you’ve just spent the entire summer lying on a beach, you’ve parachuted at 14,000ft and lived to tell the tale, to complete lows; I’m a long way from family, the job I’ve got is great but I bearly earn enough money to feed myself, I’ve been in the same city for way too long etc…
As travellers you help each other on a daily basis by talking through your problems. You feel like you’re in a bit of a private members club (with a zillion members) but you can all empathise with each other and understand what each of you is feeling but I think sometimes that can become distorted when explaining things to people not in your position. Does anyone else agree?
As an example I think it’s harder for people not travelling to interpret your bad days because unless you are Skyping or FaceTiming they cannot see you. On bad days you’re running of heightened emotions, but I think it’s important for family and friends to realise the bad days don’t define you. Just because you call or text home and express your feelings doesn’t mean you’re not happy. From my own experience having suffered with anxiety I know it’s been harder for people to recognise my bad days as a one off. It’s harder for them to understand that I’m not actually anxious or having low mood I just sometimes need to vent as I feel a long way from home and a bit needy. I do understand though after feeling anxious for so many years it’s going to be hard for people to change the perspective they have of me as it’s really all they’ve known. But it’s also important to say you cannot be on cloud nine every day. Since being on my travels though I have become that cliché of ‘finding myself’. I’m happy, I enjoy life and I know what changes I need to make once I am back in the UK to never look backwards, not saying I’ll never be anxious or low again but hopefully it’s more controlled.
Another thing you realise is life is life. As soon as you land a job you get straight back into a routine. You set your daily alarm, you have breakfast, you go to work, you come home, have dinner and sleep. Ok, so I’m super lucky that I only work 3 days a week in an awesome job that allows for me to have a great work life balance but not everyone is that lucky. Things really get thrown back into perspective as soon as the seasons change, the temperature drops, the weather gets worse, it gets dark in the evenings and then you see wherever you are in the world, life goes on. It’s not all, and I coin a phrase widely used here, ‘shits & gigs’ (excuse the language).
I also think it’s important to say to people travelling and the family and friends back at home that travelling is not an endurance test. It’s different for each and everyone of us. I’ve been around people who feel they’ve accomplished things in 3 months and people that feel they won’t even have accomplished things in 3 years. I’ve had friends say they don’t want to go home until they’ve reached a certain time frame as that’s what their friends did and they feel they will be judged for any less time. People get worried their friends and family judge them for going home ‘too soon’, but really when is ‘too soon’? Your friends and family are not on your journey, they don’t see the things you see or feel the things you feel, so who cares when you leave or how long you stay? So long as you’re happy then that’s the main thing. Why force it?
When you travel you also don’t get to do what you want all the time. Money is a huge factor and think everyone wishes they had been warned about before arriving in Australia especially. It’s a huge shock to everyone. Money here doesn’t really get you anywhere, everything is expensive. Yes in theory your wages are higher but the reality is they don’t give you a massively cushy life. For example bread for me is roughly £4, chicken is roughly £8-9, a pint of beer here is £6, whereas KFC and McDondals is about £1.50 which is crazy! A GP appointment is £45. On average for a day trip you’re looking to spend between $50-80 to ensure a good day without scrimping. I came out here with around £5000, roughly $7000 and I should have doubled that. I wish someone had told me this harsh lesson a lot sooner!
I really didn’t want this post to be negative, travel has taught me far more good than bad and I will do a post on this later on, but I wanted to share the reality of it with people who may be thinking of travelling and people back at home who maybe don’t understand so much.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this? Has it been similar for you whilst travelling?
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