Why You Should Travel as Much as You Can in Your 20’s

There are a lot of words that make people cringe. Moist. Smear. Curdle. Mucus. (I asked my co-workers what words make them cringe.) The words that make me want to drink bleach are norms and timelines. Societal norms and timelines. Things that keep people of all ages, but especially the younger crowd up at night. Other than TikTok and insomnia.

You’re born, you go to school for 12 years, you are told you should probably pay to go to school for another 4 years, and then work your life away in an ugly depressing office with a bunch of 60 year olds. That’s if you go the corporate America route, of course. Then you probably get married, have some kids, go on a couple Mexico trips and finally, wait for retirement. The American Dream. Guess what? It’s far from a dream. To me at least.

I was fortunate enough to get to live in Spain for a couple months in 2022.

While there, I worked and played. It was a drastic life change, so naturally I had to adjust to a lot. The most important thing being culture. Punctuality was not too important, thus being “on time” to events meant maybe 40 minutes to an hour after the scheduled time. Everything started later and lasted longer. Work started around 9, siesta was two hours long, dinner didn’t start until around 9, and clubs and bars didn’t get popping until 2am. As time went on, I realized why. I started to notice that people enjoyed every second of their time. 

At work, during lunch, while having a coffee, or tapas, everyone took their time. Relished in it. They weren’t killing themselves over work. They weren’t thinking about how and when they were going to make more money. The average person made enough money to live comfortably. And so it made sense. When you weren’t stressed about paying a 2k rent every month, spending $100 minimum a week on groceries, and worried about how fast you were going to climb the corporate ladder, it made sense that one would have the awareness of the time they had to actually stop and smell those damn roses. 

Additionally, another big cultural difference was how important relationships were. I remember my employers asking me about how I was and actually meaning it. I wasn’t treated like a robot. I was treated like a friend, and eventually even family. People were genuinely kind and welcoming. 

Hence, I was content and relaxed. I was satisfied with just breathing. I remember letting out happy sighs every couple hours every single day I was there. On my balcony while eating breakfast before work, waiting for the bus at the stop… Even rainy days were nice! My wallet was also letting out happy sighs because of how affordable everything was. I needed about $30 for groceries every week, $5 for a big lunch combo per day, and $50 a month for public transportation.

“Traveling is expensive.”

The second you tell yourself something is “too expensive”, you’re taking it out of your reach energetically and working that into your subconscious. You’re making it unattainable. Instead, recognize that there are cheap ways to travel. Want cheap flights? Look at SkyScanner, Skiplagged, and Google Flights. Be flexible as to when and where you can go. It'll open the door to an endless amount of affordable travel opportunities. Instead of paying $300 a night at subpar hotels with shitty breakfasts, look into hostels on Hostel World and Airbnb’s. Another game changing tip is simply saving your money for travel. Crazy concept, I know.

Saving is hard. I’m aware. Especially when every other thing you see you want. But think about it…

How is that new outfit going to benefit you after you’ve worn it once and taken the Instagram pic in it? What are those new dunks going to do for you other than crease and not really get noticed by anyone but you and some other sneakerheads? Those feelings of instant gratification and validation are temporary and most of the time leave you feeling emptier than before. Kinda like how I feel a couple hours after a Target run. 

Now imagine, saving a bit more of the money you make, instead of spending it on materialistic things. Imagine saving up enough for a week or even a weekend away. Imagine the memories you’ll make, the people you’ll meet, the food you’ll try, or even the things you may find to buy THERE. 

Furthermore, just remind yourself how short this life is. We don’t really know when our last day will be, sadly. It could be years, months, days, or even seconds from now. So I beg you, face your fears, be open to new experiences, and get out there.